Cloke opens up on Mental Health Struggles.

[SquirrelGrip]

Cloke opens up on mental health struggles. (https://www.sen.com.au/news/2017/10/28/cloke-opens-up-on-mental-health-struggles/)

Recently retired forward Travis Cloke has revealed his difficulties in being able to break away from social media, which he believes was a major factor in his mental health battles this year.

The 2010 Collingwood premiership forward missed two games in the middle of this season for second club the Western Bulldogs after admitting that he was battling depression.


Cloke says that these struggles were a culmination of a tough two to three years mentally, citing the impact of social media criticism as a big factor towards his degrading mental health.

“I took so much on, a lot of pressure and obviously social media is a big influence on all our lives,” he told SEN’s Crunch Time.

“It’s the way the game has gone, the way advertisement is happening and the way players are there to build their own brand.

“Anyone can say what they want to say on social media, and it’s not necessarily those one or two comments that gets you, it’s death by 1000 cuts. You read it after a game, week in, week out. You start doubting yourself and having insecurities and I broke down this year.

“I was just sitting there one day and I thought this was all too much for me, I need to talk to someone here and I need a bit of help here.

“That’s the tough thing. Footy is such a robust, masculine sport. To show feelings or emotions is almost frowned upon, but I think we are getting there as an industry and also as a sport.”

Cloke says that simply removing himself from social media wasn’t a straight forward action, believing that an addiction to social networking sites is tough to break.

“I did remove myself from social media. I deleted Twitter and really limited how I used social networking, but sometimes it’s hard to remove yourself from something that’s so addictive,” he said.

“Addiction isn’t nearly always to do with drinking, alcohol or gambling, you can have social media addiction as well.

“It’s tough. Mental health as well is probably an issue that is on the rise in professional sport, not just football, and in society.

“The way we use our phones now is so important to all of us in any work environment so it is a little bit of education and a little bit of understanding of what we use it for, but it’s also trying to take time away from just your phone in general.”

Cloke says that he feels for the pressure younger players will now have to deal with, advising them to try and spend as much of their time away from their respective clubs off social media.

“I feel sorry for the young kids coming through because it is going to be a tough environment to cope with the mental stress but also the physical stress of AFL football,” he said.

“I worked with young Josh Schache when he was coming through the AIS academy at Collingwood, he was there for a week. I always told him balance about football and lifestyle is important.

“I think that’s the key now more than ever. Really work hard when you’re at the footy club, but you also need to find time to switch off and remove yourself from that football world and that bubble because it is so contagious here in Melbourne and it is so hard to remove yourself from.”

Cloke played 256 games in his 12-year AFL career, booting 452 goals.

He says he is yet to decide whether he will emulate his older brothers and enter local footy after their AFL careers were over.

[SquirrelGrip]

So how much should boards and forums like us take responsibility and look at ourselves?

[hujsh]

I very much doubt players go onto football forums and even less club specific forums. It's be twitter FB etc he's referring to.

[GVGjr]

So how much should boards and forums like us take responsibility and look at ourselves?

A fair bit but you won't change people from potting or ridiculing players. If I was a player or coach that was finding the content hard to deal with I wouldn't visit the sites. Don't forget what goes on at the grounds can be pretty bad as well.

I feel for Cloke, good bloke and it's a shame he's lost to footy. Hopefully he will find the right balance.

[GVGjr]

I very much doubt players go onto football forums and even less club specific forums. It's be twitter FB etc he's referring to.

We've had a few players on here over the years but yes it's mainly FB and Twitter that were the issue for him.

[bulldogtragic]

So he's already mentored Josh Schache. Come back Trav, I'm sure Josh and the club would benefit from working together as a mentor/assistant coach type role.

Plus, good on you for having the guts to talk about issues that in past times wouldn't have been discussed openly. Future players will be better off for it.

[Sedat]

I heard this interview today. Sam McLure was hellbent on creating a 'Bulldogs in crisis' narrative at the start but Trav gave him donuts, so the narrative quickly went to social media.

Our club is saying nothing but I am personally sick and tired of the negativity surrounding our club by these pieces of shit in the media who are cultivating a negative narrative about us without any regard for fact. We all need to bombard the likes of McLure and let him know we are onto his bullshit and call him out in it. Ditto Cooney, Barrett, Watson and any other farkwit scribe out there with a mouthpiece.

[bornadog]

I heard this interview today. Sam McLure was hellbent on creating a 'Bulldogs in crisis' narrative at the start but Trav gave him donuts, so the narrative quickly went to social media.

Our club is saying nothing but I am personally sick and tired of the negativity surrounding our club by these pieces of shit in the media who are cultivating a negative narrative about us without any regard for fact. We all need to bombard the likes of McLure and let him know we are onto his bullshit and call him out in it. Ditto Cooney, Barrett, Watson and any other farkwit scribe out there with a mouthpiece.

I can't believe Cooney's negativity, the guy has a chip on his shoulder about the club that gave him an opportunity to play AFL

[ledge]

The club is very good at saying nothing and I prefer that they stick to the club stuff than worry about outside white noise , if they did they would spend most of their time defending the club, let's just let the club attend to business and leave us woofers to call out the crap :-)

[Pickenitup]

Cooney is a flog its embrassing the way he talks about the Bombers like he was a club great when in fact all of the Bombers fans hated him.

[ledge]

Cooney is a flog its embrassing the way he talks about the Bombers like he was a club great when in fact all of the Bombers fans hated him.

He only played 31 games at the bombers I don't understand the unbridled love he has for them.
And he loves putting us down , why ?

[Dry Rot]

I heard this interview today. Sam McLure was hellbent on creating a 'Bulldogs in crisis' narrative at the start but Trav gave him donuts, so the narrative quickly went to social media.

Our club is saying nothing but I am personally sick and tired of the negativity surrounding our club by these pieces of shit in the media who are cultivating a negative narrative about us without any regard for fact. We all need to bombard the likes of McLure and let him know we are onto his bullshit and call him out in it. Ditto Cooney, Barrett, Watson and any other farkwit scribe out there with a mouthpiece.

Round 1 next year.

Let's get our shit together over the pre season and then belt the Giants by 10 goals in Round 1.

That will shut them up for a while.

[bornadog]

Round 1 next year.

Let's get our shit together over the pre season and then belt the Giants by 10 goals in Round 1.

That will shut them up for a while.

I would love to see that, and Tom Boyd run through Stringer, in round 3, legally of course ;)

[Bulldog4life]

I heard this interview today. Sam McLure was hellbent on creating a 'Bulldogs in crisis' narrative at the start but Trav gave him donuts, so the narrative quickly went to social media.

Our club is saying nothing but I am personally sick and tired of the negativity surrounding our club by these pieces of shit in the media who are cultivating a negative narrative about us without any regard for fact. We all need to bombard the likes of McLure and let him know we are onto his bullshit and call him out in it. Ditto Cooney, Barrett, Watson and any other farkwit scribe out there with a mouthpiece.

Yes McLure is a pain. Believes his own bath water. I try to avoid him on the radio. He tries to make headlines up when they are not there. I also can't understand Cooney's love for the Bummers and the disdain for us. He probably still holds it against us for getting rid of him.

[comrade]

He only played 31 games at the bombers I don't understand the unbridled love he has for them.
And he loves putting us down , why ?

Might have something to do with the fact his wife is employed by them. He's loyal to whoever is paying.

[Rocket Science]

Might have something to do with the fact his wife is employed by them. He's loyal to whoever is paying.

Cooney also makes it fairly apparent, usually when discussing others, he was less than thrilled with being traded or the manner in which he feels it went down.

He plays it pretty loose but it's not hard to spot the resultant chip on the shoulder.

[GVGjr]

Cooney also makes it fairly apparent, usually when discussing others, he was less than thrilled with being traded or the manner in which he feels it went down.

He plays it pretty loose but it's not hard to spot the resultant chip on the shoulder.

He needs to ask himself the question about if was he giving his all or being Jack the lad when the decision to trade him was made?
Cooney might have a lot of sympathy for Stringer because I don't think either of them could put their hand on the hearts say their last 2 seasons at the club that paid them very well were as productive as they could have been.

Both of them seem to think their antics should have just been tolerated.

[ledge]

To be fair to Cooney his knee was shot at a very young age , even we struggled to get him on the park.
Cooney should realise if we didn't let him go to the bombers he would have been lucky to get a contract at all. We did him a favour.
What did we get for Cooney ? I can't remember.
Stringer doesn't have an excuse like a debilitating knee injury for years.

[boydogs]

What did we get for Cooney ? I can't remember.

Pick 37. On traded to Sydney for Biggs & 39. 39 was used on Declan Hamilton

[Twodogs]

He needs to ask himself the question about if was he giving his all or being Jack the lad when the decision to trade him was made?
Cooney might have a lot of sympathy for Stringer because I don't think either of them could put their hand on the hearts say their last 2 seasons at the club that paid them very well were as productive as they could have been.

Both of them seem to think their antics should have just been tolerated.

Exactly. Did Cooney also notice how that one club's culture went from expecting and tolerating mediocrity to expecting success and not tolerating excuses? And the other club went in the opposite direction? It went from building successful teams to worshipping individuals and taking shortcuts to success.

Thats why Adam loves Essendon. It reminds him of what the bulldogs were like before Bmac turned up and spoiled everthing for him.

[GVGjr]

To be fair to Cooney his knee was shot at a very young age , even we struggled to get him on the park.
Cooney should realise if we didn't let him go to the bombers he would have been lucky to get a contract at all. We did him a favour.
What did we get for Cooney ? I can't remember.
Stringer doesn't have an excuse like a debilitating knee injury for years.

There is a chance that you cut these guys too much slack. That doesn't quite hold up when you remember things like the fool surfing down a street on an esky lid on a footy trip after missing a chunk of the season. I'm not sure he did everything he could to get the most out of himself.

If he wanted to stay he should have set a far better example and made it hard for anyone to trade him.

[bornadog]

There is a chance that you cut these guys too much slack. That doesn't quite hold up when you remember things like the fool surfing down a street on an esky lid on a footy trip after missing a chunk of the season. I'm not sure he did everything he could to get the most out of himself.

If he wanted to stay he should have set a far better example and made it hard for anyone to trade him.

He is on SEN every Friday for an hour on the afternoon show and he really is a laid back lad type that just didn't give his all.

[Remi Moses]

I heard this interview today. Sam McLure was hellbent on creating a 'Bulldogs in crisis' narrative at the start but Trav gave him donuts, so the narrative quickly went to social media.

Our club is saying nothing but I am personally sick and tired of the negativity surrounding our club by these pieces of shit in the media who are cultivating a negative narrative about us without any regard for fact. We all need to bombard the likes of McLure and let him know we are onto his bullshit and call him out in it. Ditto Cooney, Barrett, Watson and any other farkwit scribe out there with a mouthpiece.
Couldn’t agree more. The media has ran with this for to long , and has been unaccountable in apologising for mistruths.
Decent performances and the narrative changes in 2018

[ledge]

Couldn’t agree more. The media has ran with this for to long , and has been unaccountable in apologising for mistruths.
Decent performances and the narrative changes in 2018

Won't change from Barrett, we could win 3 in a row and have 100,000 fans with 10 mil in the bank and he would still be making up bad stories about us.

[ledge]

There is a chance that you cut these guys too much slack. That doesn't quite hold up when you remember things like the fool surfing down a street on an esky lid on a footy trip after missing a chunk of the season. I'm not sure he did everything he could to get the most out of himself.

If he wanted to stay he should have set a far better example and made it hard for anyone to trade him.

I'm just pointing out a difference between the two , okay they were both dickheads but I don't think Cooney had the issues Jake has.
Must admit though our acceptance to tolerance to fools has become very low and we are more professional, it's a great thing, no matter how good a footballer you think you are, pull your weight on and off the field.

[KT31]

He only played 31 games at the bombers I don't understand the unbridled love he has for them.
And he loves putting us down , why ?

Someone gave me a few hundred thousand dollars for doing next to nothing , I would have great affection for them as well.

[jeemak]

Couldn’t agree more. The media has ran with this for to long , and has been unaccountable in apologising for mistruths.
Decent performances and the narrative changes in 2018


Won't change from Barrett, we could win 3 in a row and have 100,000 fans with 10 mil in the bank and he would still be making up bad stories about us.

What I find astounding is that the negative information - predominantly true - about Stringer is all but in the public domain, meaning these opinion writers are cognisant of Stringer's issues like most of us are, but choose to sling crap at our club anyway.

Imagine your job required you to avoid using facts, and sling crap all over the place to get a result?

[Ghost Dog]

I heard this interview today. Sam McLure was hellbent on creating a 'Bulldogs in crisis' narrative at the start but Trav gave him donuts, so the narrative quickly went to social media.

Our club is saying nothing but I am personally sick and tired of the negativity surrounding our club by these pieces of shit in the media who are cultivating a negative narrative about us without any regard for fact. We all need to bombard the likes of McLure and let him know we are onto his bullshit and call him out in it. Ditto Cooney, Barrett, Watson and any other farkwit scribe out there with a mouthpiece.

Let them do what they want. We won ' the premiership that could not be won' in a manner I doubt anyone will ever again. They can never take that away from us. Cooney is just bitter he missed his chance. But guys like Grant, Jonno, Crossy ( who I think about a lot, good god he gave every inch ) did as well. He is just showing his lack of gratitude.

They would have thrown mud at us had we kept Jake or not. In the end, matters not. I love being a thorn in the side to these people who cling to the likes of Carlton and Essendon with all their faded glory and underperformance.

[Throughandthrough]

Players' Voice — Ben Kennedy
By Ben Kennedy Nov 1, 2017



0



I was kicking for goal after what was a joyful and ‘feel-good’ training session leading into an AFL game late in the season, only I wasn’t playing.

I was stuck with Collingwood’s VFL feeling sorry for myself when I kicked for goal and missed, and what happened next would start a chain of lessons and obstacles I’d have to overcome to fast-track my growth as a person.

It also helped me realise what football was actually doing to me. I broke down for the first time in years.

Football had finally taken its toll on me and all the pressure and expectation I had built up in my own head had caused me to lose my mind in front of my teammates. I had manifested an idea that I was a disappointment and that I was letting all those close to me down in the job I had grown up dreaming about since as long as I could remember.

Kicking the footy in the backyard pretending I was Andrew McLeod, playing in front of 90,000 at the MCG was all for nothing in my mind, because I wasn’t playing AFL football when I had only ever obsessed over being a superstar and nothing less.

I had become insular and had drifted from those closest to me. I’d drifted from the ones who cared about me the most — my family, friends and my girlfriend — those who had only ever cared about my wellbeing and loved me for Ben Kennedy ‘the person.’



A feeling of resentment swept over me and I began screening calls from my girlfriend after games and making excuses not to see or talk to my parents.

The false sense of embarrassment I felt on a Thursday afternoon when the teams came out (I would later joke that I don’t talk to friends on Thursdays) all because I wasn’t competing for two hours on a Saturday afternoon on the big stage.

As my time as a footballer grew longer, my character was starting to break down. I was no longer seen visually as the jovial and energetic character I was once viewed as.

Coaches would joke that I never smiled and if you walked passed me in the corridor you were lucky to hear a peep out of me.

Not seeking help and refusing to let those close to me in, I was knowingly leading myself into a path of self-destruction and feeling my masculinity was on the line.

After I had finally cracked at training from kicking that point, I was told to see someone. That person was sports psychologist and friend, David Stiff.

He always had a different way of thinking and his way of helping was never seen as conventional, but he was one of the easiest people to talk to that I’ve ever come across.

He listened and was able to look at situations and experiences in a way I wasn’t capable of at that point in my life.

I’m no expert on mental health but I do feel that sometimes what someone in a similar position may benefit from is a diverse way of thinking and a refreshing outlook from someone exterior to the reclusive mind of someone that is in pain.

After a few chats, David insisted I see someone outside of football and I did and continued to, even after my days at Collingwood were over. This gave me the tools to identify, action and overcome periods of hardship and understand and prioritise the people and day-to-day things that are truly important to me and would still be there regardless of what I may be feeling or how I was playing.

It helped me realise I had a greater purpose and a reason to get out of bed because these people and things were waiting for me and that football was only a part of my life. Yes, it was a part I loved, but it did not need to define me.



I guess as someone who experienced a deep state of depression both at the middle of my career and towards the end of it, I have learnt that it doesn’t need to be a boxing match. There’s no rule book to suggest you have to fight it alone, you can bring a friend to help or even a whole gang if you need it.

Men in particular seem to have a false hysteria over what is seen as ‘tough.’ Talking about how you’re going doesn’t always have to be a means of introduction, mates want to help mates, we actually get a kick out of it.

Speaking out about something that is destroying you is a hard thing to do, harder than not speaking about it. So, doesn’t that make it tough?

Since my football fate was decided in early October, I found closure in accepting what I was able to achieve and what I wasn’t.

I have learnt to measure my success as a footballer in different ways. Not by numbers in terms of games, goals kicked, or premierships won. It’s the relationships I formed, and the impact I had on teammates, family, friends and inspiring those who played and watched me with my hunger for the contest.

I will miss playing professional football and I will miss spending everyday working with my best mates and come late November, when I would have been due back to training, I’m sure I will feel many emotions.

But if there’s one thing I am very grateful for it’s the lessons this great game has taught me and what I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

They include discipline, building resilience, giving and receiving feedback, the ability to connect with teammates to solve problems, structure and playing your role in a team.

They will all give me a strong foundation to succeed in whatever course I decide to take in life and I feel that is something players leaving this game need to remember when reflecting on their time.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a 200-game player or myself. These skills are all instilled in us well after our time in the game is done.

[LostDoggy]

That's a tremendous article. He sounds like somebody who's dealt with himself very honestly. I hope he has a great future ahead.

[W W Biscuit]

Couldn’t agree more. The media has ran with this for to long , and has been unaccountable in apologising for mistruths.
Decent performances and the narrative changes in 2018

Yeah, but this irritates me too. During the fervour of our premiership, I recall being a bit disgruntled about all of the bandwagon jumpers who began to urinate in our pockets. Say the Doggies have a great 2018 - and even win the lot - I'll be pretty peeved when the inevitable happens and said media hacks begin to pump our tyres again. Some, I think, have burnt their bridges with us over the Stringer affair and I don't really care to read anything that they write about us ever again...good or bad. They can stick it!!!

[Twodogs]

Couldn’t agree more. The media has ran with this for to long , and has been unaccountable in apologising for mistruths.
Decent performances and the narrative changes in 2018


Won't change from Barrett, we could win 3 in a row and have 100,000 fans with 10 mil in the bank and he would still be making up bad stories about us.


What I find astounding is that the negative information - predominantly true - about Stringer is all but in the public domain, meaning these opinion writers are cognisant of Stringer's issues like most of us are, but choose to sling crap at our club anyway.

Imagine your job required you to avoid using facts, and sling crap all over the place to get a result?

The only "Essendon supporter pretending to be a fair and balanced journalist" I have heard be vaguely sensible about their trade period was Rohan Connally on SEN ths morning saying "geez we could have done with reinforcing our midfield instead of getting in yet more "not quite" key forwards." I remember thinking to myself that they won't be able to fit more than 5 forwards in their team at one time and if they think Stringer is going to fill in some of those midfield minutes then they are delusional. More delusional anyway.

[bornadog]

The only "Essendon supporter pretending to be a fair and balanced journalist" I have heard be vaguely sensible about their trade period was Rohan Connally on SEN ths morning saying "geez we could have done with reinforcing our midfield instead of getting in yet more "not quite" key forwards." I remember thinking to myself that they won't be able to fit more than 5 forwards in their team at one time and if they think Stringer is going to fill in some of those midfield minutes then they are delusional. More delusional anyway.

Essendon are even stubborn to not move Hooker back to his best spot in defence. They still think he can make FF.

[Eastdog]

That's a tremendous article. He sounds like somebody who's dealt with himself very honestly. I hope he has a great future ahead.

Yep agree PP very good article. It tries to get it from his perspective on what he was going through.

I used to use Facebook a lot myself but nowadays not at all and have recently deactivated my account. Still use the Facebook messenger app on the iPhone to contact friends if I need to as messenger is still functional even when you deactivate your Facebook account.