Latest news with #Kosi
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Pickett to commit to MONSTER 9-year deal
AFL: Kosi Pickett is set to commit to a huge contract extension with Melbourne that will take him through to the 2034 season.
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Footy great reveals the shattering reason he used to pray that his team would LOSE their matches
St Kilda great Justin Koschitzke has revealed the shattering effects of how multiple concussion injuries and battling with his mental health led him to secretly hope that his team would often lose matches. The 42-year-old enjoyed a glittering career in the AFL, joining the Saints alongside his good friend Nick Riewoldt as a pick one and two swoop in the 2000 National Draft. The New South Wales-born forward, who would also play as a ruckman for the Victorian outfit, would go on to boot 247 goals across 200 appearances or the footy club before hanging up his boots in 2013. Koschitzke has been open on his struggles with concussion and mental health following his retirement, having stated back in 2022 to 3AW that he doesn't remember multiple AFL games that he played in. This week, the 42-year-old has again been reflecting on his career and revealed to Hamish McLachlan on Channel 7's Unfiltered, that there were some occasions where he hoped his side would lose games. 'It was here at the MCG, it was an elimination final that year against Melbourne,' he said to the legendary broadcaster, during an episode of the show which is set to air on Wednesday. The 42-year-old (right) enjoyed a glittering career in the AFL , joining the Saints alongside his good friend Nick Riewoldt (left) as a pick one and two swoop in the 2000 National Draft 'Melbourne got three or four goals up in the third quarter or late in the fourth. 'Internally, I was the happiest person in this stadium, or anywhere in Australia, that Melbourne were going to win and I didn't have to play the next week. 'Twenty years ago, that's the first time I've publicly said that. It became the worst two hours of the week. 'Then the shame you carry with that. I've got the best job in the world and you try and convince yourself (you do).' After joining the Saints in 2000, Koschitzke would go on to be crowned the AFL's Rising Star in 2001, but the following season, he suffered a hamstring injury that plagued him for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. During the 2006 season, he suffered a devastating fractured skull during his side's Round Six victory against the Western Bulldogs. He was subsequently ruled out for a large chunk of the season, having struggled to retain hearing in one of his ears. Speaking on The Agenda Setters, Riewoldt also spoke on his mate's mental health issues, but added the former footy star was in a 'much better place now.' 'I'm aware of Kosi's struggles, we're still really good mates,' Riewoldt told The Agenda Setters. 'It'll be a really confronting watch for people. Kosi's in a much better place now. But in reference to that, the footy field had just become a really dangerous place for Kosi on the back of head knocks and concussions and stuff like that. 'It just shows you never quite know what's going on in the minds of some of the people you think you know really well, including some of your teammates.' Having sustained several head injuries during his career, Koschitzke opened up in 2022 about how his mental health was, several years after having retired from the sport. 'There's multiple games I can't remember finishing the game or driving home and that's just ludicrous when you think about it,' he said on 3AW's Footy Then and Now Podcast. He added: '[My] mental health goes up and down, there's memory loss, there's mood swings, there's all sorts of things. 'And I'm sure there's a lot of other players out there that feel the same. 'It's just a management thing, knowing how to work on it and navigate through a lot of stuff.' If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or anxiety call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 24 at any time of the day, seven days a week for anonymous support and guidance.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Aussie mum battle sparks idea for six-figure business: 'Gave up $50,000 savings'
An Aussie woman has shared how her decades-long health battle led her to create a 'lifesaver' product for thousands of women. Nearly one million Australians live with endometriosis, a debilitating condition that has no cure and can completely disrupt women's lives around their period and impact their fertility. Kellie Johnson was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis in her twenties but has been living with menstrual pain since she first started getting her period. The 41-year-old Central Coast resident told Yahoo Finance the pain was so severe that she would often throw up or lose consciousness. 'My pain wouldn't stay where my uterus was. It would radiate through my whole torso into my back and down my legs,' Johnson said. RELATED Aussie quits corporate job to launch $1 million company stocked in Woolworths, Coles Centrelink warning over common mistake that could impact your payments: 'We don't' ATO's $11 billion warning for these Aussie taxpayers: 'Moving harder and faster' Johnson was initially put on the contraceptive pill to try and manage her symptoms. She later underwent surgery but her endometriosis recurred within the year. Johnson said endometriosis wreaked havoc on her personal life and career, and she often had to take time off work because of her symptoms or found herself trying to work from the hospital. The sales director, who now has a 17-month-old daughter Lola, said her fertility journey was the 'lowest point' in her life. 'Through my fertility journey, my endo resulted in me having a lot of pregnancy loss, so I had five miscarriages before I finally had my daughter,' she was when she was going through IVF that she took up a new hobby to help pass the time. She had gotten a second-hand sewing machine and, fed up with her old heat packs, taught herself to sew and began crafting her own perfect heat pack. 'I was using heat packs all the time but I was really struggling because they didn't resolve my issue in the way I needed,' she said. 'I really needed a heat pack that would cover that whole area, but I still wanted to be able to walk around and do things and keep the heat in the right spot to help the pain.' Johnson created a hands-free 360-degree heat pack for around the abdomen. She said she cried with relief the first time she tried it on. "It was the craziest feeling. I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed and emotional because having the heat 360 degrees around my uterus, I felt like it felt of stopped the pain from radiating outwards and it nipped the pain in the bud so much better," she said. Johnson said she quickly started contacting manufacturers until she found one that could make her design. She then invested her life savings of $50,000 to create her brand, Kosi, and patented the design. The brand launched in 2023, with Johnson giving birth to her daughter a few weeks later. Johnson recently returned from maternity leave to her sales director role in medical technology, while continuing to work on Kosi on the side. Johnson said endometriosis had had a huge impact on her career journey and she previously 'never spoke' about what she was going through. 'At so many workplaces I've had, I've had to alter the way I work in some way just to try and survive,' she said. 'For example, I've had periods where my endo got really bad so I would be in hospital a lot, so I would take my laptop with me and work from hospital. 'You just worry that people will think that you're being lazy or that you're not taking your job seriously.' Endometriosis Australia found many people were fearful of raising the issue in their workplace, with one in three passed over for a promotion due to their endometriosis, and one in six losing their jobs. 'I think when you feel like you're struggling with pain all the time, you almost feel like you have to work harder to try and prove yourself,' Johnson said. Endometriosis Australia chair Monica Forlano said it was important for workplaces to acknowledge the condition existed in the first place, acknowledge that it could impact productivity, and think about accommodations that could be put in place to support workers. 'Some of the adjustments could be ensuring there's a microwave close by so they can do a heat pack, or allowing them flexibility to work from home when they are having a flare-up,' she told Yahoo Finance. 'The condition creates fatigue, there's pain, there's bloating. So potentially travelling to work can exacerbate it.' The group's research found endometriosis was costing the Australian economy $9.7 billion annually due to medical costs, absenteeism and presenteeism. Johnson is now working to grow Kosi and recently went on Shark Tank where she successfully secured investment from Showpo founder Jane Lu. Johnson estimated that she had sold around 6,000 heat packs, with the business hitting its first six-figure month in November. She said she had people reaching out to her 'every single day' to share how Kosi's heat pads were helping them. 'It honestly makes my heart smile so much because I am them. I had that same feeling when I tried it on for the first time,' she said. 'It's an incurable condition, all you really have is symptom management. Knowing I have created something that is genuinely helping people who have the same struggles as me, that's a really nice feeling.'Sign in to access your portfolio
