GWS Giants star Toby Greene set to dedicate grand final day to his late cousin Finley
Jeremy Cameron says Toby Greene’s plan to dedicate the Grand Final to the cousin he lost to suicide earlier this year proves he is the most misunderstood footballer in the game.
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As public contempt for Toby Greene soared to unprecedented levels, so too did the affection of teammates who knew he was struggling to cope with the tragedy of a family suicide.
Greene yesterday opened up on the devastation that rocked his close-knit family back in June, when cousin Finley, just 20 years of age, took his own life, explaining how it’s given his grand final dream a sobering sense of perspective.
For the past month, the GWS superstar has been cast as the AFL’s No.1 villain in the wake of back-to-back tribunal dramas which threatened to end his season and the run of the Giants.
But forward Jeremy Cameron says teammates knew the real story about how he was battling behind the scenes, full of admiration for Greene’s ability to overcome his secret heartache and spearhead the Giants on the biggest stage.
According to Cameron, revelations that Greene will dedicate the biggest moment of his life to Finley underscores the fact he is the most misunderstood footballer in the AFL – with the 25-year-old determined to use the grand final as a vehicle for raising awareness for youth suicide.
“It’s a credit to Toby. He gets a lot of people talk about him from what they see and they don’t know what’s happening behind closed doors,” Cameron told The Saturday Telegraph.
“And it’s not just Toby. It’s everyone. You can’t really judge a book by its cover.
“He’s been battling at certain times throughout the year and we’ve been right behind him for the whole thing. It’s a credit to him the way he can come out and play, especially in big games.
“Internally you value him as one of the guys who you’d do anything for and when something like that happens you really have to rally around them.
“Even not having him there last week was huge. It does make you want to win even more.
“He couldn’t be out there last week but we wanted to do it for him.”
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Greene said his motivation on grand final day was to make Finley “smile”, with his other cousins flying in from all over the country to watch him live his dream at the MCG.
They’re a family bound by something deeper than a game of football.
Greene regarded Finley as a ‘brother’, and fondly recalled their childhood playing football and rugby together in the backyard. He hopes to raise awareness for mental health at the MCG with the world watching.
“It’s something that makes me appreciate what I’ve got and it helps me appreciate this week. Hopefully I can make him smile tomorrow,” said Greene at the grand final parade.
“I was really close to him and my younger brother and Finley were best mates their whole lives. It was a really sad time for him (my brother) and his family and our family.
“It was always either footy or rugby, his was a bit of a rugby family. There was always some good battles in the yard growing up.
“Hopefully we can raise a bit of awareness this week and we’ll reward him tomorrow.
“I’ve got a lot (of family) coming. I bought about 30 tickets.”
Greene’s mother Kate, spoke earlier this week about how her son dropped everything upon hearing of Finley’s passing back in June, to be with his family.
“(It) was, as you can imagine, devastating for our family,” Kate Greene told 3AW.
“I had to ring up Toby in Sydney and tell him what happened and he just drove straight to the airport in his shorts and thongs and jumped on the first plane to come home.
“Since that, we’re just picking up the pieces.
“My three boys and my sister’s two boys have grown up together … now one of them isn’t going to be there on Saturday.
“If they get the win Toby would like to dedicate his game to Finley.
“To my sister and to her other son, and her husband John, it will mean the world.
“I hope for Finley’s sake the Giants get the win.”
