The NRL has been back for a few weeks now, and come Thursday night the AFL is going to follow suit, kicking off their 2016 season with a bang in Melbourne. Footy is finally back, and all is once again right with the world, dear friends.
One of the dominating stories of the tail-end of last year’s season was the abrupt disappearance of star forward Lance “Buddy” Franklin from the Sydney Swans lineup. Franklin withdrew from the club towards the ed of the season, and sat out the Swans entire AFL Finals campaign in order to withdraw from the public limelight and put all his focus into an on-going battle with his mental health.
Franklin’s struggles represented, by far and away, the highest profile footballing personality to publicly confirm a battle with mental illness, and he has largely remained tight-lipped on the issue since the story broke.
However, towards the end of last year it was revealed that Franklin would make his return to the club in time for the commencement of pre-season training, and his progress appears to have been very encouraging, to the point where he is all-but certain to take his place in the Swans side for their Round 1 clash against Collingwood this coming Saturday night.
Fronting media at the SCG with Swans coach John Longmire earlier today, Franklin made what is more-or-less the first major media comments on his mental health, and the massive effort that it’s taken to get himself back up for another season of elite AFL football.
“There was never any doubt in my mind that I was going to come back. I love playing football, that’s what I love to do.”
“I love training and being around the football club so for me that was a no-brainer.”“It was about getting myself right off the field (and) mentally preparing as best as I possibly could, and getting back here on December 1.”
Franklin stated that a big part of his recovery has been learning to be open and honest about how he’s feeling, and to not be afraid to ask for help from the support network that surrounding him during the most difficult phases of his illness.
In particular, Franklin heaped praise on his partner Jesinta Campbell as a major help in getting him back to some semblance of normality. But he was at pains to stress that his battle – like anyone else’s – is a day-to-day prospect.
“(The treatment) is definitely ongoing for me, but I’ve got to continue to speak to those people around me and get on with it as best I can.”“My partner has been amazing, the general public have been amazing, family and the football club have been really good.”“The biggest thing for me was having that support network around me, and I’m fortunate to have that and I’m very grateful.”“If I’m having a bad day or a good day its just about being open with the way I speak to everyone and I just want to play football. Footy is a massive part of my life so for me getting back has been amazing.”
Hell yeah, Buddy. Give ’em hell on Saturday night.
If you or someone else is in an emergency situation, please call 000 immediately.
To contact the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia call their national helpline on 1800 985 944.
To reach SANE, a national charity helping Aussies affected by mental illness lead a better life, call their helpline on 1800 187 263.
If you or someone else needs support in a crisis situation please holla at Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Source: Sydney Swans.
Photo: Michael Dodge/Getty.
