Football clubs in regional WA step up efforts to tackle suicide
The football community was shattered when former West Coast Eagles premiership player, Adam Selwood, died suddenly in May.
It was just months after his twin brother and former Brisbane player, Troy, died by suicide.
Now regional football clubs are taking a closer look at whether they are doing enough for players' mental health.
Data from suicide prevention advocacy group Think Mental Health shows one person from WA dies by suicide every day, with three out of four of those being men.
In Geraldton, about 400 kilometres north of Perth, sporting teams have felt the ripple effect of suicide too many times.
Railways Football Club head trainer Grant Russell said the impact left more questions than answers.
"Sadly I've lost a couple of close mates to suicide, I've also lost other people within the football club," Mr Russell said.
"When I lost a very good friend a few years ago to suicide I thought to myself, 'Why?'
Mr Russell, known to his club mates as Grunter, was diagnosed with bipolar almost 20 years ago.
He said hoped he could harness his experience to help others.
"I totally understand how you can feel lost in the darkness and think, 'Where do I go next?'" he said.
"I'm quite happy with the way I cope with my illness but it is something you must be conscious of every single day."
Earlier this month, the Railways community was rocked when a teammate tried to take their life.
It lit a fire under the club that change was needed.
"It shouldn't have taken that to kick us where it hurts to get ourselves aware and really talking about what the issues are," Mr Russell said.
The Great Northern Football League holds two mental health rounds within a season.
Mr Russell said he wanted to inspire meaningful conversations.
He was able to get the players and umpires to wear blue arm bands and added "Think Mental Health" covers to one of the point posts.
"There were a number of people that asked me, 'Grant, why is there one on one point post only' and I said, 'That's the point,'" he said.
"People are going to ask why and we can now open up and start talking about mental health.
In Northampton, 50 kilometres north of Geraldton, the local footy club has also struggled with mental health issues.
"We've lost some very close friends, cousins, relatives [to suicide]," Northampton Rams Football Club president Anthony Jupp said.
"I definitely think coming from the country it's more about the isolation and thinking no-one's there to help them.
"Definitely one [of our players] thought he was all alone but he didn't realise what he meant to the community, to all his friends and family."
Mr Jupp said the strong country mentality was a constant barrier to players seeking help.
He said a lot of players did not think they needed mental health support or would be too nervous to reach out on their own.
"But if we can get someone to come to the club and speak to the group as a whole I think, you know, if we only reach one or two, that's perfect," he said.
Mr Russell said he wanted people to know it was OK to not be OK.
"I know that [can be a] throwaway line that all campaigns use, but it is OK," he said.
After the passing of the Selwood brothers, Great Northern Football League president Carrissa Bellottie said she was shocked that mental-health rounds were not run at the national level.
"It definitely did come as a shock [because] we've had mental-health rounds here for years," she said.
"More recently Country Footy WA have got a new program called Tackle Your Feelings.
"So that no matter who you are, there's some sort of mental health program that you can reach out to at any given time."
The new initiative provides psychologist-led training for sporting clubs to identify and respond to poor mental health among members.
The AFL created a mental health strategy in 2020 and partners with the Black Dog Institute for the annual "Spud's game".
The AFL Players Association offers mental health support for current and former players.
In a written statement, WA Sports Minister Rita Saffioti said football clubs served as important platforms to talk about mental health.
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