Adam Treloar on how he nearly quit footy in 2018 and the devastation of losing a Grand Final

Adam Treloar fought back tears as he detailed the shocking lows that almost forced him to walk away from the game. And his coach says plenty of players don’t want to be AFL footballers.

Adam Treloar was consoled by coach Nathan Buckley after the devastating Grand Final loss to West Coast. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Collingwood star Adam Treloar has fought backed tears as he described the shocking lows he experienced during the Magpies run to last year’s Grand Final.

Treloar, who is part of a new documentary Collingwood: From The Inside Out, revealed he was on the verge of quitting footy altogether, mid-season as he struggled with anxiety over his performance and ruthless trolling from those outside the club.

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He shockingly tore his left hamstring and strained the right in the Round 14 clash with Carlton, but says the injury — which kept him out until the qualifying final against West Coast — was a blessing in disguise.

Adam Treloar hurt both hamstrings during a clash with Carlton last year. Picture: AAP

“I was at a point last year where, it was almost like the hamstring injury I had was a blessing in disguise for me, because I was at the end, I almost wanted to, and that’s the brutal truth, I almost wanted to stop playing,” Treloar said in a raw interview on Fox Footy’s AFL360.

“I think it’s 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.

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“It seems like some people — and this is what was getting to me and by no means am I out of it, sometimes I still have my struggles — people judging you as a person the way you are as a player.

“I remember if it wasn’t for my partner (Australian Diamond) Kimmy (Ravaillion), for (ex-Pies captain) Nick Maxwell, Bucks, (Pies sports psychologist) Jacqui (Louder) and my family I probably wouldn’t be playing footy.”

Adam Treloar was consoled by coach Nathan Buckley after the devastating Grand Final loss to West Coast. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Treloar revealed what coach Nathan Buckley told him during their meeting at the end of the Grand Final, won by the Eagles by just five points.

“He (Buckley) hugged me straight after the granny when we lost I was bawling my eyes out and he came up to me and just told me that he loved me and it just meant so much to me,” Treloar said.

“He could have (said) ‘Why didn’t you do this, why didn’t you do that’ (but) he told me he loved me.

“One of the hardest things for me is still — and I’m honest about it — is the Grand Final

“The fact that we were so close to winning it, the year that we had last year … the fact that we didn’t win, still kills me, still breaks my heart.”

Treloar detailed a personal moment when he was hiding his tears in the spa during recovery after a game, saying he felt like a “fraud” because he wasn’t able to express how he was truly feeling.

Treloar has put together another stunning season for the Pies. Picture: Getty Images

“I was in such a deep period where I was just regarding myself as a terrible human I remember just being in the spa and getting really, really upset,” he said in the doco.

“I was starting to tear up and starting to cry and I just would put my head under the spa, wipe my face and my tears away and then hop up and continue to chat with whoever I was with because all the boys were there,” he said.

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Treloar’s media profile is building and he said he wanted to be part of the documentary to highlight the difficulties AFL players face.

Collingwood: From The Inside Out will debut at the Melbourne International Film Festival later this month.

BUCKLEY: SOME PLAYERS DON’T WANT TO PLAY AFL

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says plenty of AFL footballers would prefer to be doing something else.

Speaking the day after Treloar shone a light on his mental battles last season and the ever-growing pressures on today’s top-level players, Buckley said he believed modern-day players were under greater pressure than ever before — and clubs understood that strain.

“We’re definitely more aware (about the pressures),” Buckley said.

“Just because we’re more aware doesn’t mean it’s more prevalent, but I think it is more prevalent, though. We are more aware of it, so we notice it more and because we notice it more ... you pick the rock up and you realise what’s under the rock.

“We never cared to pick the rock up for a long time there ... the generational shift is ever present.

“I think each generation seems to be more aware of their frailties, potentially, of the fact that they’re more than just what people perceive them to be — especially sportspeople.”

Buckley said a perceived glamour lifestyle of an AFL player wasn’t always what it might seem to those looking from the outside.

“We’ve spoken about Nick Kyrgios (and) Bernard Tomic, (but) I think there are plenty of AFL footballers who really don’t want to play AFL footy, but it’s a good earner and they’ll take it while they can get it,” he told SEN.

“I think the reality is that there are pressures that are brought to bear, and some players become AFL footballers because their dad wants them to be or because they were good juniors and it seemed like a good idea at the time.

“It doesn’t mean that everyone that you see out there absolutely loves and has a passion for what they do — just like the rest of society.”

— Ben Broad

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