Collingwood star Adam Treloar opens up on battling anxiety

One of the AFL’s biggest young stars has revealed he was ready to walk away from footy due to his own personal mental health battle.

Adam Treloar has had some off field battle too.

Some of the AFL’s brightest stars have stepped away from the game this year to deal with their mental health — both St Kilda’s Jack Steven and North’s Aaron Hall doing so, and one of Collingwood’s best almost joined them.

Gun midfielder Adam Treloar revealed on AFL 360 that he struggled with the weight of expectation of playing for the Pies and at one point in the 2018 season it was almost all too much.

Collingwood had just defeated arch-rivals Carlton by four goals — Treloar had played well but when in the spa during recovery he began to cry and dunked his head to stop anyone else from seeing.

“I remember if it wasn’t for my partner Kimmy, for Nick Maxwell, Bucks, Jacqui (Louder) who is my psych/really, really good friend and my family, I probably wouldn’t be playing footy to be honest with you,” Treloar said.

The thing that amazingly saved him was a hamstring injury in the same game that gave him the time away from the game he needed.

Adam Treloar at Collingwood training.

“I was at a point last year where the hamstring injury was a blessing in disguise for me because I was at the end. That’s the brutal truth. I almost wanted to stop playing,” he said.

“If it wasn’t for them guys, the love and support from my teammates (I would have stopped playing). I love those guys; I love the Collingwood Football Club; I’m always going to be a black and white man. I absolutely love the place — still have my struggles — but from where I am 12 months ago I am that far ahead.”

Treloar, who has played 79 games — the same amount he played for GWS — since crossing from the Giants at the end of 2015, said the greatest contributor to his anxious state of mind is being judged as a person by the two hours he plays every weekend.

“I think it is important that people outside of footy understand that we are human beings. You deal with so much; you deal with anxiety on performance, expectation on performance, people ridiculing you, people judging you as a person the way you are as a player,” he said.

“I think that’s the furthest thing from everything, because a lot of the time when you cross that white line you are generally a different person because you’re ferocious, you’re competitive and when you step off the field you’re a different person.

“I love everyone; I’m a lover not a fighter. I care for everyone. I want everyone to love me, that’s how I am. I know I’m not going to be universally liked.”

Originally published as Collingwood star Adam Treloar opens up on battling anxiety