While the media pressure is the most spoken about stressor that AFL players generally deal with, Dylan Buckley spoke a few years ago about the financial strain that his time in the AFL system placed on him.
(AFL Photos)
A well-known pressure of being an AFL player is the media coverage a player receives. While this is a widely accepted pressure that comes with being an AFL player, there are many other pressures that come with the responsibility. Most of these things come internally from either the players’ teammates, coaches or the stress of playing for contracts and trying to live up to big expectations.
The issue that Jordan De Goey has raised recently with the way the media is run is quite interesting. The issue De Goey raised was that the media can create a narrative around certain players that might not be necessarily true, this can have a profound impact on the players’ mental health. De Goey is not the first and will not be the last athlete to say these things, but it is interesting to see that this is the only pressure that AFL players speak about enduring.
Dr Ben Robbins is a Psychologist and Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing at the St Kilda Football Club. He talks about how pressure via the media is not the only pressure that a player receives.
“Our (AFL) players deal with pressure that is pretty unique to them, contractual stuff, injuries, the list goes on,” he said.
Dr Robbins went on to explain how the pressure placed on each player is different and talked about how no type of pressure is more significant than the other.
“Let’s say our highest profile player (at St Kilda) is (Jack) Steele, the captain. He has the pressure to perform every week as one of our most high-profile players. The pressure he faces however is different to a young player who has never played a game before and doesn’t have the media pressure, but other forms of pressure.”
“The younger player has other pressures that are just as significant.”
“He (a young player who has played no games) might be under pressure from his parents or his mates, asking him when he is going to get a game, or he might be playing for a contract.”
Dr Ben Robbins is the Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing at St Kilda.
A player who did not suffer a lot of media pressure during their playing career was Dylan Buckley, as he was a low pick in the draft and as a result did not have as much media attention on him. He played for Carlton Football Club from 2012-2017 and GWS Football Club from 2018-2019, playing 41 games in total. At the end of 2017, Buckley was delisted by Carlton and played for the Giants on a minimum contract which was for $75,000 a year. In an interview with the Herald Sun in 2020, Buckley opened up on the financial pressures of that contract.
“I didn’t make a dollar from my two years up there and if anything, I lost money,” Buckley said.
“There were months there where it was really tough, and you are digging into your savings to get by.
“It was a lot tougher than I thought it would be and there were points where I thought I need some other part-time work, or another job (to cover costs).”
Buckley is a prime example of how media pressure is not the only pressure that AFL players suffer and that there are many different types of stressors that player’s face.
Former Hawthorn president, Jeff Kennett spoke to The Age about the pressure of finding a career after footy.
"At Hawthorn, I insisted that everyone learnt a trade or was going to uni," he said.
"But training hours are making it harder. Then there's expectations, because they're professional and so highly paid. Self-imposed, family, community, supporters and the media."
Kennett here shows that it is quite difficult for the players to do an apprenticeship or to study while playing footy. This means that the pressure is extreme for players who aren’t the best or who are in and out of the side, as for some it might be their only source of income, as they have nothing to fall back on when their career is over.
Due to the number of different pressures that players have to live up to, there is support from the football clubs to help make sure the player is okay. Dr Robbins talks about how a he helps out the players who need it from his role.
“We run different workshops and training sessions with our players on a range of topics, psychological skills for performance, education sessions on mental health, what mental health is and how to maintain it,” Dr Robbins said.
“Developing mindful skills is the thing we (St Kilda) work on most.”
There are many different types of pressures that fall upon the shoulders of AFL players today and they don’t all come from the media. A lot of the pressures that AFL players face come from their workplace or family. While there are different types of pressure with none being more significant than any other, no one can say that the AFL environment doesn’t come free of stress.
Interesting article. We are very quick to judge and it is a reminder that they have real lives and all that comes with it. Hopefully they have a much better support system in place than it used to be.