FOOTY can be harsh at times.
We didn’t play well last Sunday and it’s something that didn’t sit well with me, as the captain of this club. I was disappointed with the way we played.
But football is its own world, even though life goes on around it.
For example, last Sunday night, after the loss, I came home to my beautiful boy Oliver.
When I got home, he was happy with life. He was crawling around and playing with his toys, reinforcing there is more to life than football.
Sometimes as footballers, we don’t see that.
Don’t get me wrong, football means everything to me, but when you’ve got a family and a son - it puts life into perspective.
On Monday, we had our review with the whole team. And we know we could’ve done a lot better. There were some positives out of the game, but more mixed emotions than anything else.
Again, on Tuesday, I had another reality check.
It was Oliver’s first birthday. It’s amazing to consider how quickly the year has passed and I reflected that on Tuesday night.
When you’ve experienced something as significant as your son’s first birthday, it puts everything into perspective.
To see how happy he was unwrapping presents - our house ended up looking like Toys R Us - it certainly put a smile on my face.
I love playing footy for the Melbourne Football Club, but to come home and see Oliver having fun - that’s what is great about having a family.
You can go home and realise how happy they are to see you.
I know I can get grumpy and moody at home when I take my work home, but that’s where you’ve got to say to yourself: ‘you’re now at home with your family and you’ve got to spend quality time; there is no need to be moody and crabby’.
My wife Anna knows how I will be feeling after matches, but she always knows how happy I am when I see her and Oliver.
I know there is more to life than football and sometimes as footballers we think it’s the end of the world, but it’s not.
The best thing about footy is that we’ve got another game on Sunday.
We didn’t play well last Sunday and it’s something that didn’t sit well with me, as the captain of this club. I was disappointed with the way we played.
But football is its own world, even though life goes on around it.
For example, last Sunday night, after the loss, I came home to my beautiful boy Oliver.
When I got home, he was happy with life. He was crawling around and playing with his toys, reinforcing there is more to life than football.
Sometimes as footballers, we don’t see that.
Don’t get me wrong, football means everything to me, but when you’ve got a family and a son - it puts life into perspective.
On Monday, we had our review with the whole team. And we know we could’ve done a lot better. There were some positives out of the game, but more mixed emotions than anything else.
Again, on Tuesday, I had another reality check.
It was Oliver’s first birthday. It’s amazing to consider how quickly the year has passed and I reflected that on Tuesday night.
When you’ve experienced something as significant as your son’s first birthday, it puts everything into perspective.
To see how happy he was unwrapping presents - our house ended up looking like Toys R Us - it certainly put a smile on my face.
I love playing footy for the Melbourne Football Club, but to come home and see Oliver having fun - that’s what is great about having a family.
You can go home and realise how happy they are to see you.
I know I can get grumpy and moody at home when I take my work home, but that’s where you’ve got to say to yourself: ‘you’re now at home with your family and you’ve got to spend quality time; there is no need to be moody and crabby’.
My wife Anna knows how I will be feeling after matches, but she always knows how happy I am when I see her and Oliver.
I know there is more to life than football and sometimes as footballers we think it’s the end of the world, but it’s not.
The best thing about footy is that we’ve got another game on Sunday.
As footballers, we do live in a bubble.
All we think about is football. It consumes us. It’s on talkback radio, it’s in the newspapers and every other media. For some people, it is their life and that’s fine.
But players need an outlet - whether it’s family, work or study - otherwise the bubble of the AFL will consume you.
Some people are strong enough to keep fighting it off, but some aren’t and that’s when you’ve got to put life in perspective.
We’re not in war, we live in a beautiful country and it’s a great time of the year.
We’ve got to realise that it’s great being an AFL footballer and the harsh reality is that you will experience wins, losses and draws.
Hopefully we’ll enjoy more wins than anything else and that makes it all worth it.
But it is footy.
All we think about is football. It consumes us. It’s on talkback radio, it’s in the newspapers and every other media. For some people, it is their life and that’s fine.
But players need an outlet - whether it’s family, work or study - otherwise the bubble of the AFL will consume you.
Some people are strong enough to keep fighting it off, but some aren’t and that’s when you’ve got to put life in perspective.
We’re not in war, we live in a beautiful country and it’s a great time of the year.
We’ve got to realise that it’s great being an AFL footballer and the harsh reality is that you will experience wins, losses and draws.
Hopefully we’ll enjoy more wins than anything else and that makes it all worth it.
But it is footy.
