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There has been way too much sadness this year, with some of rugby league’s brightest youngest players ending their lives in tragic circumstances.
Personal problems overwhelmed one, another felt he could not deal with a major injury that might have curtailed his football dreams.
Your correspondent, and many more than you know, have shed tears for these terrible losses, but I want to reassure Roar readers there is a really serious effort underway to ensure that plenty is happening behind the scenes to prevent future losses.
I have almost completed what they call the Certificate 4 in Career Coaching.
A few more lectures and assignments and, hopefully, I’ll be fully qualified.
This is a serious NRL initiative and means that all NRL clubs will soon have highly qualified role models on hand to liaise with, and discuss, any potential problems with our current players, as well as the players of tomorrow.
Sure, we are professional football players but we are also people. We run into problems on and off the field and need to know how to deal with them.
The players of today need to know how to deal with so many issues – long term injuries, form, wins and losses, personal lives (some involve young children) and life, in general. It’s never ever easy and the NRL understands that special advisors, trained mentors if you like, should be ultra-active in every place our great game is played.
Season 2013 has already tossed up some major cases.
Benny Barba, at Canterbury, and Josh Dugan, whose contract was terminated by Canberra, are the big two who readily spring to mind.
They crashed off the rails but, thankfully, both look to be travelling the right road to redemption and have brilliant careers to pursue.
Eddy Pettybourne’s comment about the recent player suicides really hit home to me. “Enough is enough,” he said quite succinctly.
And he was 100 per cent right.
Sometimes, these Polynesian, Kiwi or Aboriginal boys, desperately need some extra help: a guiding hand at the very least. A soothing word when your projected world isn’t turning out quite as it seemed.
Rugby League is a tough, uncompromising business and if you lose your way early, it’s a rugged road back to where you should be, or might have been.
Life is tough enough when you are young, but I believe that professional Rugby League is tougher than most sports; the pressure builds quickly and can hit you like a tidal wave.
I think former players have a heck of a lot to offer and I urge every one of them to do what they can to help the current players as well as the following generations.
‘Ex-player’ mentors, in my opinion, can offer so much more than players’ agents, or coaches. We can be asked about injuries, fame, form swings, dealing with injuries, how to deal with home life issues — anything.
And that’s because we have been there, and have probably done that, and genuinely want to help in any areas where needed.
My wish is that the current and future players of our competition look to their mentors as they rise though the ranks.
Yes, I am proud to say that I will soon be one, but around me there will be fellow Certificate 4 holders including Anthony Quinn, Colin Best, Cameron Ciraldo, Craig Smith and Ty Williams.
We all realise that the current players might need some advice. We will be all ears, and no judgement will be offered.
We will be there when needed to offer a friendly voice of experience. We think and believe we can help. Feel free to talk through your issues, or problems
If needed, we will do what we can. We just want to help.
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