Collingwood star Adam Treloar on why he’ll always be there for his daughter, growing up as the ‘poor kid’ and living with anxiety

Adam Treloar could have been a Tiger when he left New South Wales, but joined Collingwood to win a premiership. In 2015, his comments comparing the clubs raised eyebrows. Here’s how the gun Magpie reflects on them now.

Adam Treloar opens up on his journey to the Magpies. Picture: Michael Klein

When my daughter Georgie was born earlier this year, I held her in my arms and made a pact.

I committed to always be there for her, to love her unconditionally and support her.

I didn’t know my dad growing up, although I was fortunate enough to have a stepfather, Ken, who has been with my mum almost my whole life.

But to still not have my biological father in my life has definitely shaped the kind of dad I want to be; someone who will always be there no matter what.

Georgie is an absolute blessing and the love of my life, her and my fiancee Kimmy.

Fatherhood has been very different so far, as I got to spend the first three months with her every day during the AFL shutdown.

It’s gone from that to being away from her and Kimmy, which has been extremely hard.

FaceTime is just not the same, but thank God they’re going to soon be joining me in the Queensland hub.

Georgie has brought a lot of perspective into my life and given me a whole new motivation.

At times, and especially at the moment, you sometimes ask yourself: “Why the heck am I actually playing?”

I’ve realised why, for the love of Kimmy and Georgie, my teammates and the footy club and the collective goal that we have.

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Adam Treloar with fiancee Kim and daughter Georgie. Source: Instagram

EARLY DAYS IN DANDENONG

IT was my first game for the Noble Park Football Club and we couldn’t find the opposition’s ground.

I was seven years old playing a few years up in the under-10s and we ended up running a bit late.

We just made it in time and I was soon in the thick of it against Narre Warren.

At the time I wasn’t really sure if footy was something I wanted to do as a kid, as I always wanted to play soccer.

Then came the moment that made me fall in love with footy.

I was running back inside the defensive 50 and there were two Narre Warren players standing in the goalsquare and the ball bounced all the way to them.

Somehow I ended up getting back and stopping both of them and clearing the ball.

‘Man, I really hope mum saw that,’ I thought.

That was the start of my footy love affair.

EARLY STRUGGLES

ALL I knew was I didn’t want to go down the same path as so many others around me growing up.

A lot of them appeared to not want to achieve anything in life, whereas I saw footy as an escape out of my situation.

We struggled financially growing up, which meant we lacked the finer things in life.

School sport was always my go to from as far back as I can remember, although I wouldn’t be able to come to school with all the cool runners.

I used to just wear hand-me-downs from my older brother and we used to shop at the Red Cross and Salvation Army shops.

At the time, and it probably wasn’t true, I thought the only reason I was liked at school was because I was good at sport.

I never really had anything else.

With footy, I was about 11 or 12 when I started to stand out a bit.

I thought ‘look, if this is something that will help me and my family, then let’s do it’

A young Adam Treloar playing for Noble Park.

Adam Treloar Dandenong Stingrays v Calder Cannons. Dandenong's Adam Treloar in action.

BECOMING A GIANT

I NEVER had a bedroom growing up.

Even when I was 17 and about to head north to Sydney to live, I still had a single bed in the hallway with nowhere really to hang up my clothes.

So when the Giants took me, I saw that as one positive in leaving my family.

Having my own bedroom in my own place was something I was excited about, but it was still tough because I was so close to my family.

I knew from pretty early on in my draft year I’d be heading to Greater Western Sydney,

I was fortunate enough to be in the AFL/AIS Academy on a scholarship, which included a trip to South Africa.

Graeme “Gubby” Allan — the then Giants list manager — was on the trip.

He pretty much told me they were going to draft me at the year’s end, so I had a bit of time to get my head around the move.

LIVING WITH IZZY

When I first moved up, I moved in with Israel Folau for my whole first year.

He was actually one of my closest mates at the Giants and I still talk to him to this day.

I send him a message here and there and he’ll do the same to me.

I know he’s obviously been in the media a lot the past few years, but in my time with him I found him to be a really genuine person.

There are nothing but fond memories from living with him.

Being at an expansion club in its first year with a bunch of kids was very unique.

It wasn’t easy for me there because as someone who lacked a lot of confidence, and I still do to be honest, it was all quite daunting.

The young kids became very tight knit, which is why their success over the past few years has come as no surprise to me.

Israel Folau and Adam Treloar at Blacktown Olympic Park.

MEETING ‘THE GREAT ONE’,

GROWING up, I had a few sporting heroes.

There was Michael Jordan, and I loved ‘The Last Dance’ documentary even though I already knew most of the stories.

There was also Kevin Durant and “The Rock”’, or Dwayne Johnson as he’s known to some.

I’ve just always loved him so much, and so does my former teammate Adam Kennedy.

You might have seen the footage on YouTube of the Giants surprising the two of us by arranging a red carpet interview with him when he was here promoting ‘Hercules.’

When the club told us, we just couldn’t believe it.

I’ve got screenshotted photos of the video they put up when he came up and hugged me.

It’s something I still pinch myself about, and I’ll never forget it.

COMING HOME TO VIC

WHEN the time came to decide my future, it was both an easy decision and an extremely tough one.

I was missing my family in Melbourne, but when the time came it was so hard to leave the Giants because I knew they were going to be something special.

Family won out though, as did Collingwood.

At the time when I said why I chose Collingwood over Richmond, some of my wording was very wrong and I never meant any disrespect towards the Tigers.

They’re an awesome football club and I love watching them play.

I also know the Richmond people are very passionate and at the time I was an immature 21-year-old.

There are no hard feelings on my behalf, and we all know they’re the benchmark.

I landed at the Magpies largely because I had a couple of relationships with some of the people there.

Nathan Buckley had coached me as a 16-year-old at the AIS, and I knew Taylor Adams and a few others as well.

I wanted to go there, which was ironic given I grew up a big Carlton fan.

It was an easy decision once I’d been to the club and met everyone, and I felt like the club was in a really good position to contend for the years to come.

We’re in that position now, so there are absolutely no regrets and nothing I’d change about my footy journey.

I wouldn’t be the player and the man I am today if I didn’t come to this club.

Adam Treloar in one of his early games for the Giants.

BUCKS AND I

WHEN I think about my relationship with “Bucks”, I feel it’s been one of continual growth.

It started when I was 16, back when he’d just started out as a coach, and you got a glimpse of what he was like as a footballer because he was so professional and intense.

We rekindled it once I walked into Collingwood in 2015, and it has gone from strength to strength.

Bucks is one of those people I know I can reach out to when I need to.

My family, my psychologist and close friend Jacqui Louder, Nick Maxwell, Jeremy Howe and Bucks were the ones that really helped me when I was struggling with a lot of my anxieties and confidence.

I could make a quick phone call to any of them and they’d be there straight away, and Bucks is well and truly in that group.

We’re open and honest with everything and we check in with each other a lot, whilst sharing a bond that is very special to me.

SO CLOSE IN 2018

I REMEMBER 2018 as a year of adversity, both personally and as a team.

The year is almost a bit of blur, punctuated by my double hammy injury deep into the season.

There was a big chance I wasn’t going to be able to get back, but I managed to and I was a part of something special.

As a team, there was a lot spurring us on.

We had so many injuries and Tyson Goldsack returned from an ACL injury in almost record time.

Travis Varcoe’s sister, Maggie, tragically passed away as well, so there were a lot of things that were motivating us.

It’s hard to look back on the 2018 finals series because we came so close and ultimately fell short.

The Grand Final is a blur and I’ve never watched it back, but I remember very late in the game getting the ball on the wing near the boundary line and kicking it on my non-preferred left foot into the forward 50.

Jeremy McGovern marked it and it led to Dom Sheed’s match-winning goal.

We like getting the ball inside 50 to our one on ones like Jordan De Goey, Brody Mihocek and Will Hoskin-Elliott, so my thought process was just to get it in there.

I think Jordy might have thought the kick had a bit more legs on it, but I was off the back of a double hammy and I still didn’t have the power in me at the time.

I’d love to say we won that game and the result still hurts a lot, although the whole build up and to be able to say I’ve played in a Grand Final is something I’ll cherish.

I’m hoping I’ll be back though.

Adam Treloar with Nathan Buckley after the Grand Final. Picture: Phil Hillyard

LIVING WITH ANXIETY

WHEN you’re a person living with anxiety, it just doesn’t go away.

It’s always there and it’s something you have to keep working on.

My childhood was the root of my anxieties, and feeling different to the other kids at school.

A lot of it had to do with not being well off, not having the things other kids had and being laughed at for being the “poor kid.”

And also for feeling like I was not really good at anything other than sport.

Then when I got older and started getting into rep teams, I would think: ‘wait, do I actually deserve to be a part of these things?’

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You start to worry and stress over things, and I was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder when I was 16.

I had that for a good three years and I still struggle with it, but I’ve been able to manage it for a long time.

So, what’s the key?

When things get hard, you’ve just got to be able to find that thing that helps you and brings you back to earth and puts a bit of perspective back into your life.

For me, I’ve been able to do that by surrounding myself with some awesome people.

I still have my moments where sometimes things feel harder than they should be, but surrounding myself with a good tribe has made all the difference.

Originally published as Collingwood star Adam Treloar on why he’ll always be there for his daughter, growing up as the ‘poor kid’ and living with anxiety