Travis Cloke to take indefinite break

Remove this Banner Ad

PhatBoy said:
I don't have any issue with a player taking time off for sorting out these issues and I certainly don't subscribe to the antiquated theory that this problem is simply a player being soft etc - I've had mental demons myself from time to time.

But what I want to know is this: why is there suddenly this raft of instances where players stand down to go away and deal with it. I understand everyone is different and there's no 1 perfect way that works for everyone. It very much sounds like 'things were better back in the day' when I say this, but why were players 20 years ago able to deal with these problems in private and have the fortitude to get on with their footy?

Again, please understand I'm not having a shot at Cloke or any player in the same situation. It's wretched to try and deal with. I just struggle to understand the saturation of cases right now in comparison to other eras (and yes I realise that nowadays it is more accepted to admit you have an issue)
Click to expand...
Social media and the media in general is the biggest driving factor I feel. 20-30 years ago players might have copped a bit of abuse over the fence during a game, but post-game and during the week they could essentially go about their business. These days every single thing you do is scrutinized and analysed to the 9th degree. For someone with as big a name and profile as Cloke, it's near impossible to escape until it eventually becomes too much to deal with.
 
bombersfan4000 said:
Seriously! A millionaire that gets paid to mark and kick a ball is depressed!

It's an insult to pretty much 99% of the population who are nowhere near as fortunate!
Click to expand...

I've never understood people with this attitude. The human brain is part of our body. The most complex thing in our body. It has all kinds of chemicals, hormones and transmitters flowing through it and as humans our upbringings and experiences are unfortunately quite prone to those things going wrong. Why is it so hard for people to believe it can get sick regardless of money earned?
 

Log in to remove this ad.

radiojake said:
Yeah I guess people on good salaries never get injured or sick either, because you know, they're rich :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
it's not really that it's just how self-centred can you be. a lot of being an adult and enjoying life is realising how lucky you really are, how the struggles you face are life and are not unique or exclusive to you.

i hope travis can realise this, but he's a very wealthy 30 year old white male who really shouldn't be held up as any kind of poster boy for mental illness.
 
bombersfan4000 said:
Seriously! A millionaire that gets paid to mark and kick a ball is depressed!

It's an insult to pretty much 99% of the population who are nowhere near as fortunate!
Click to expand...

while is a bit ridiculous i do think you have a point about his job, most people who are depressed can't just take time of work and bum around for a couple of months.
 
PhatBoy said:
I don't have any issue with a player taking time off for sorting out these issues and I certainly don't subscribe to the antiquated theory that this problem is simply a player being soft etc - I've had mental demons myself from time to time.

But what I want to know is this: why is there suddenly this raft of instances where players stand down to go away and deal with it. I understand everyone is different and there's no 1 perfect way that works for everyone. It very much sounds like 'things were better back in the day' when I say this, but why were players 20 years ago able to deal with these problems in private and have the fortitude to get on with their footy?

Again, please understand I'm not having a shot at Cloke or any player in the same situation. It's wretched to try and deal with. I just struggle to understand the saturation of cases right now in comparison to other eras (and yes I realise that nowadays it is more accepted to admit you have an issue)
Click to expand...


The game is completely over analysed now.
Attempted it many times, but I can't sit through or watch the "War Room", they just talk so much rubbish about how and why everything happens. Every incidental event in a game, that any player does has to be married up to a pre-conceived pattern or formula of success / failure. It would drive me away from the game if I were a player.

For me, this is the main point of difference between AFL in other eras and now, and it is every night of week.
From Fox Footy during games, book-ended with the pre-game and the post-game analysis, then Monday night with Classified and Talking Footy, not forgetting talkback radio and internet podcasts, to 360 each night, to AFL tonight, it goes on and on. It is overload and 99% of it is a complete wank. Commentators and ex-players who are all competing with each other to be "the man". Scrutiny, invasion and analysis. The players are all subjected to it to the extreme degree. It's become such an ugly monster that there is no "fun" in football anymore.
 
bombersfan4000 said:
Seriously! A millionaire that gets paid to mark and kick a ball is depressed!

It's an insult to pretty much 99% of the population who are nowhere near as fortunate!
Click to expand...
Jon Ralph said last night it is a mental illness but is not depression. Don't assume as mental illness covers many different forms but a lot do lead back to depression.
 
While I am aware to the point above that this is not necessarily a depression issue, just wanted to point out some logical fallacies in the whole "he has money, how can he be depressed?!" thought train.

From 2014

Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a US government department, released a list of the professions in which suicide was the most prevalent. Here, in order, was the top five:

  • Dentists
  • Pharmacists
  • Physicians
  • Lawyers
  • Engineers
Click to expand...

http://www.smh.com.au/small-busines...ess/its-a-deadly-business-20140716-3c1yu.html

Yes, the poor so underpaid dentists, pharmacists, physicians, lawyers and engineers.

For *s sake, when will people get it through their heads, there's more to job and life stress than just your ******* salary. Family and friend issues (falling outs, illnesses), uncertain future, other health concerns (i.e. insomnia), public focus...
 
katana said:
it's not really that it's just how self-centred can you be. a lot of being an adult and enjoying life is realising how lucky you really are, how the struggles you face are life and are not unique or exclusive to you.

i hope travis can realise this, but he's a very wealthy 30 year old white male who really shouldn't be held up as any kind of poster boy for mental illness.
Click to expand...

Someone call Harvard, this guy has found how to cure depression, just realise that you're lucky!
 
Frank Gallagher said:
I think be struggled at Collingwood with the illness as well, especially late in tbe piece.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be at all surprised.
Most (if not all) that struggle with mental illness do so for prolonged periods of time.
Some manage it well for a time then certain external factors may mean they can no longer manage it as well as they once did.
With regards to his form at Collingwood in his later years there it's a bit of a chicken or the egg scenario; did his form degrade, which placed more pressure on him and allowed the illness to manifest? or did the problems begin to manifest and his on field performance suffered as a result? Although no doubt it is all intertwined in some fashion.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Belnakor said:
while is a bit ridiculous i do think you have a point about his job, most people who are depressed can't just take time of work and bum around for a couple of months.
Click to expand...
Most people don't have a job that causes their life to be played out in the public eye either.

Regardless, stress leave exists in most industries...
 
katana said:
it's not really that it's just how self-centred can you be. a lot of being an adult and enjoying life is realising how lucky you really are, how the struggles you face are life and are not unique or exclusive to you.

i hope travis can realise this, but he's a very wealthy 30 year old white male who really shouldn't be held up as any kind of poster boy for mental illness.
Click to expand...
Can't white males get depressed????
 
[/QUOTE]
telsor said:
My only problem with this is that it needs to be so public.

I like that players do go public about their mental health issues, because it helps reduce the stigma, but they shouldn't HAVE TO be public about it, as seems to be the case currently.
Click to expand...
Because mate it helps other people to seek help. What the hell are you talking about? Get some education on the matter.
 

Because mate it helps other people to seek help. What the hell are you talking about? Get some education on the matter.[/QUOTE]

That and if he suddenly goes AWOL indefinitely questions get asked anyway (and probably rumours started as well)
 
boydee said:
Because mate it helps other people to seek help. What the hell are you talking about? Get some education on the matter.
Click to expand...

Trust me, I understand the issues, I've been dealing with them for quite some time.

I also recognise that sometimes it's not in the patient's best interest for it to be public knowledge, and however much it might help others that should come first.
 
Last edited:
TW Sherrin said:
why?

your coach said he is unhappy playing footy.

life is simple. remove the things that make you unhappy.
Click to expand...
Life really isn't simple.

He probably hasn't just fallen out of love with the game. There are so many factors - media noise, pressure, the grind, the club environment, how it all meshes with his home life, whether other areas are intruding on his capacity to prepare himself as best he can, etc.

It makes sense to take something like footy out of the equation for a little while, but why should he retire if he feels he can have an impact when he's able to reconcile the game with the rest of his life?
 
People really need to think of the consequences when abusing players. Shame on them a disgrace to the league.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Blues90
Travis Boak
2
Replies
36
Views
1K
Atomboy
Atomboy
J
Fixture Days' break differential
Replies
15
Views
318
Farang83150
Farang83150
The Victorian
AFL to take the NRL's lead and take a game to the US?
5 6 7 8 9
Replies
223
Views
5K
sprucemoooose
S
Worm4
Carlton to break consecutive MCG games attendance ( by a long way )
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
146
Views
2K
What else we can do
What else we can do
S
The 5 Day Break is it a disadvantage or not ?
Replies
0
Views
142
speedpeck23
S
T
Here he is... Heeney is ready to take over
2 3
Replies
52
Views
2K
Mr Meow
M
sobrave
Travis Boak 350 games - what is his standing in the game?
Replies
23
Views
630
Lunchtime
L

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top