How Penrith legend Mark Geyer took the time to help a man on the brink

Mark Geyer will never forget the day his realised the importance of mental health. It’s why when a farmer from Cowra reached out to MG the Panthers legend had to do all he could.

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Mark Geyer will never forget the day his footy mate committed suicide.

The year was 1996 and Geyer was left shattered when former Wests, Canberra, Newcastle and Gold Coast forward Dave Woods ended his life.

“That was the first time I was really blown away by mental health — it hit me hard,” Geyer said.

“Dave had everything going for him. He was good looking; he had a couple of young kids.

“Then more recently there was Chad Robinson. He was a bloke that I admired from afar on the field. I’ve also had a personal friend who has been in a wing out in Richmond, so mental health is real and it doesn’t discriminate.

“You could be the biggest, toughest, strongest man in the world and you could still be affected by it.”

Geyer’s history with mental health is why he recently went out of his way to help Cowra-based farmer Benny Cole.

Cowra farmer Benny Cole had been doing it tough.

Geyer received a phone call from Cole’s close friend Tim Gorman, who was worried about his mate following a series of personal setbacks.

A stillbirth followed by his cousin committing suicide had left the normally chirpy Cole feeling down and unmotivated to leave the home.

Then when he wasn’t answering his phone, Gorman knew he had to act for his mate.

“I was lucky to get through to Triple M and MG had a chat to me,” Gorman said.

“He was so good and invited Benny and I to play in the Beyond Blue touch footy game during halftime of the Tigers and Souths game in round 15.

“You could tell in MG’s voice that he was legit and he wasn’t just putting it on for the radio.

“He drives mental health all the time.

“Yeah, everyone knows him as the hard-arsed player but he has passion.

“MG mentioned Benny in his pre-game speech and how far he had travelled from Cowra.

“He then pulled him aside after the game and had a good chat to him.

“MG doesn’t have to do that.

“He can go about his business and not worry about it but he has got a massive heart.”

Having experienced mental health issues himself, Geyer is determined to break down the stigma associated with men speaking about their feelings.

Cole was a guest of Triple M at Bankwest Stadium.

“When I met Benny at the game you could see he was jumping out of his skin to be there,” Geyer said.

“It is a privileged position that people like me are in to have an impact on people with simple gestures and I don’t take it for granted.

“It is pretty easy to change people’s lives — you’ve just got to want to do it that is all.

“When we talk about mental health it is something you can’t muck around with and that is why institutions like Beyond Blue are so important.”

Geyer’s care had a significant impact on Cole, who is still buzzing three weeks after meeting one of his rugby league heroes.

“It took two days for it to sink in – it was overwhelming,” Cole said.

“When I calmed down a bit I was pretty excited.

“It made me feel over the moon.

Geyer has been passionate about mental health ever since David Woods took his own life in 1996.

“I had no idea Timmy had organised that opportunity for me. I listened to the Triple M podcast where he spoke to MG about me and it brought a tear to my eye.

“As a person you can’t fault MG - it just goes to show what type of man he is.

“I’m just a bloke from the bush. There are a lot more people he could talk to but he took the time and it just goes to show that people are out there to listen.”

Thanks to Geyer’s support, Cole’s spirits have lifted considerably.

He keeps busy with his plastering business, life on the farm and time spent with his daughter, MacKenna.

Cole now understands the importance of speaking when you’re feeling down.

“I thought I was tough,” he said.

“I used to do rodeo bull riding for years and I thought, ‘I’m all right’.

“Not many people in the bush talk.

Cole is a bull rider in his spare time.

“But the one thing that brought me unstuck was my own head.

“Thankfully something as simple as talking picks your day up straight away.

“I’m still on a high after getting to meet MG, Girds and Wendell Sailor and playing touch footy at Bankwest Stadium — it hasn’t left me.”

Through Geyer’s profile on the Triple M Rush Hour, the Panthers legend has his sights set on helping more people like Cole.

“We have a big audience in Western Sydney, the country and the Central Coast where suicide is really prevalent,” he said.

“Our male listeners in the two years that I’ve been on the show has gone up significantly.

“We’ve got the right blokes listening to us, now we’ve got to get them the right messages to tell them that there is always hope.

“There is always another way besides the worse way.”