COACH Paul Roos says mental illness is now one of the biggest issues facing the game.
Speaking after the retirement of star Demon Mitch Clark – who has been diagnosed with clinical depression – Roos said mental illness was “a major issue when you’re involved in the industry”.
“It’s probably the one that’s less seen and a number of people have commented on Mitch and how brave he is to walk away from the game,” he told Roos’ Views on Dee TV.
“I know Wayne Schwass, who’s an ex-teammate of mine has been really vocal about it and we’ve had a number of players, who have declared their battle with depression and I’m certain there’s a lot more than what’s come out.
“There’s the pressure of the game and it’s never been more heavily scrutinised. You’re full-time now and if you’ve got injuries and you’ve got issues – you’re consumed by your footy as well, then you can’t get away. When I was playing, you’d work and there were some sort of distractions.”
“I think it’s definitely an issue – there’s no question and you’d hateto see guys like Mitch Clark lost to football, but equally their health is moreimportant. These things always put footy in perspective and what it doesrepresent. I know it doesn’t happen that often, but hopefully we won’t get toocarried away with winning and losing.”
Roos thanked Clark for his contribution to the Demons and said his only wish now was that the former key forward returned to full health.
“Our thoughts are with Mitch at the moment and as we said from day one, the football side of it was pretty irrelevant, so we’ve just been sitting back, and the doctors have been working with Mitch,” he said.
“The players and coaches have been communicating through text and making sure that he feels that he’s being supported.
“I caught up with Mitch the other day when he retired and wished him all the best and thanked him. In my short time at the club, he’s been terrific, so I think now [he’s at] the next stage of his life, and [we want him] to get healthy and get happy and move on from footy.”
Along with Melbourne, Roos said there was strong support from the AFL and AFLPA, and he expected those organisations to help in Clark’s rehabilitation.
“The clubs are fantastic now with their player welfare and I suspect the club will be in regular contact with Mitch, but equally give him some time,” he said.
“You don’t want to crowd him, but you want to make sure you’re supportive without being overbearing, so that’s a balancing act. But I’m sure he’ll get the best of care through the AFL, AFLPA and certainly through Melbourne.”
Roos acknowledged it had been a big week for the club, given Clark’s situation, the scrutiny on James Frawley’s contract and Melbourne’s winless start to the season, but he remained firmly focused on the bigger picture.
“[That’s] why I came and what I’m employed to do. When you’re in the position that we are – we can’t get consumed about a result or an incident. That’s just all part of the make-up of the week, the make-up of the footy club and make-up of the competition,” he said.
“For us, and for where we want to get to, that’s what Melbourne fans want … they want a team like Geelong and Hawthorn, and it’s a long, long way off. The only way you can do that is by setting a real strong platform that you have standards – you have good leadership and have good players playing in the seconds. They don’t get a game for a long period of time and then all of a sudden when they do – as we’ve seen with Hawthorn and Geelong – you look at it and say ‘gee, he’s a ready-made, senior player’.
“That’s my focus – you get frustrated and you get down, because I’m competitive – but equally I knew what I was coming into and I just continually remind myself of that.”
