Dealing with life in retirement a challenge smart footballers prepare for, writes Matthew LLoyd

WITH an all-star cast to hang up the boots in 2017, MATTHEW LLOYD writes on coping with retirement — and the “odd” words from Sam Newman that never rang more true.

Nick Riewoldt has been a key figure at the Saints for a long time. Picture: Getty Images

SEASON 2017 will be forever remembered as the year an honour roll of future hall of famers left the game within the space of a few weeks.

While they all made playing the game look easy, adjusting to life outside the fence can be as challenging as playing the game itself.

Luke Hodge, Nick Riewoldt, Sam Mitchell, Stevie J and Jobe Watson headline names to retire in 2017

Which group of retiring players is more impressive, 2007 or 2017?

Retirement is a scary word for an AFL footballer because you are not turning 65, you are generally in your early 30s (if you are one of the lucky ones).

The shock of it sets in about December when all of your former teammates are getting stuck into pre-season training and all structure in your life has suddenly disappeared.

AFL players live a privileged life for the time that it lasts. I say the time that it lasts because it is a very short period of your life.

Sam Newman once said to me before an episode of The Footy Show, you are doing well if you leave your football career with more than five lifelong friends.

I found that an odd statement because I had 45 teammates at the time whom I thought I was exceptionally close with.

Only two months into retirement, Sam’s words rung true. He was spot on.

Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd walks off the ground after what turned out to be his 270th and final game - in Round 22, 2009.

While we don’t live in each others’ pockets, the bond you have with premiership teammates is different. When you achieve the ultimate accolade in football together, it unites you in a way that is hard to describe other than to say that no other achievement in the game comes close to the satisfaction a premiership gives you.

AFL clubs are a massive business and when you are a key player within the side and captain as Luke Hodge, Nick Riewoldt, Jobe Watson and Bob Murphy have been, you feel a sense of empowerment.

You are a key figure in the club’s fortunes from one week to the next as well as influencing the direction of the club off the field.

As the saying goes, though, time stops for no one and football clubs move on very quickly from you. Their planning for the following season and beyond can be tough for some players to stomach.

It’ll likely be farewell to Luke Hodge after Round 22. Pic: Michael Klein

Bob Murphy could also play his final AFL match in Round 23. Picture: George Salpigtidis

It is the reality of the business and the sooner you find a new interest the better. If you have no clear direction and too much time on your hands, you are asking for trouble.

Gambling, depression, alcohol and drugs, it has been all too common for so many high achievers on the football field. I understand it can happen to anyone, but a footballer coming to the end of his career with no plan or life balance is hit with a big shock when re-entering the real world.

You live in a bubble as an AFL footballer. While you are a required player, everything is taken care of as clubs look after their players extremely well.

Those who cut the umbilical cord during their playing career to do things for themselves and create a network of friends away from the club are often the successful ones.

Jobe Watson has been one of those players.

Jobe Watson is among the all-star retiring class of 2017. Picture: Colleen Petch

Playing in the AFL is the dream of so many kids and why wouldn’t it be? It keeps you fit, it gives you a profile, it allows you to network and create commercial opportunities, your job is playing a game you love and you get paid an incredible amount of money to do it.

I look back now with fond memories, but while playing I didn’t enjoy the game at all because of the pressure to perform and the toll it took on mind and body.

While the job comes with intense scrutiny, the adrenaline rush of competing in front of 90,000 fans at the MCG can never really be replaced ... by anything.

It’s another aspect of football I wish I had soaked up more at the time.

I also wish I never took the media critiques as personally as I did back then. Now I am on the other side of the fence I have a clearer perspective.

While criticism hurts everybody, opinions change on a weekly basis and the media, just like footballers, has a job to do.

That’s easier said than done — to not hold a grudge — as the criticism does add to the pressure a player already has to deal with. But looking back, I would now say to myself: “Why sweat the small stuff?”

Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas (and kids) take part in the 2009 grand final motorcade.

Adjusting the way you live financially has to happen. Very few can continue to live the lifestyle they did as an AFL player.

Although it was difficult, I was very fortunate to be able to call time on my career when I wanted to. I was 31 but mentally fatigued to the point where I couldn’t wait to hang up the boots from midway through 2009.

Three years earlier, I ripped my hamstring off the bone in Round 3 of 2006 as a 28-year-old coming out of contract.

I had 12 months of rehabilitation to do, but also a whole year to think about life after football and how I could use that time to prepare myself for a possible role in the media, as Luke Darcy had done before me.

While being the most frustrating year of my life, it helped me to find my new passion, which was football in the media. The desire I had to spend time with my young family and work in the media started outweighing my hunger to play, which made retirement an easy decision in the end.

Finding that outside interest while playing football is the key as a retired footballer. With no direction one is at risk of their life taking a downward spiral.

Thanks for the memories and good luck to all of the retired and delisted players of 2017 as they enter the next phase of their lives.