Jarryd Roughead reveals what got him through his cancer treatment and pays tribute to his club

Most people would fear for their own mortality when given a serious cancer diagnosis. Not Hawthorn star Jarryd Roughead. The quadruple premiership star says his footy mentality held him in good stead to win his toughest battle.

Roughead in action against the Swans last Friday night. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Hawthorn champion Jarryd Roughead has revealed he never thought about dying amid his shock cancer diagnosis, approaching it like he would any other footy injury.

Appearing on Fox Footy’s Bob, Roughead said he initially broke down to teammates and club members when he learned of the melanoma re-emergence in 2016, before using the footy club to help him get through treatment.

“This may seem weird but, for me, it was like a footy injury and you get told I’ve got 12 months to get right and then I’ll be fine,” Roughead said.

“So then I guess when you get told it’s shrinking, that’s a tick from the surgeon or from a physio that everything’s going right, (like) rehab.

“I think that helps you as well. For me, that’s all I’ve known, so for me, that’s how I coped with it and that’s what held me in good stead getting through it.”

Jarryd Roughead (centre) speaks to media in 2016 after his cancer re-occurence. Picture: David Caird

Roughead said the footy club provided solace during his battle and, while he suspects others feared for his life, he never considered his own mortality.

“No (he didn’t consider death), not at that time,” he said.

“I think everyone else around me was more shocked — Here’s a 29-year-old fit and healthy bloke and then all of a sudden you’ve got what’s going on.

“You’re not treated differently at the footy club.

“Yes you’ve got going on what you’ve got going on, but they’ll still bag the piss out of you and have fun with you and that’s what a footy club’s about.

“You just forget about what you’re going through at times. The boys were great.”

Roughead knows now that breakthrough drugs saved his life.

“If this was three years prior, I’m probably not here, because the drugs weren’t available at the time,” he said.

“It’s something you … don’t wish anyone to have to go through because, in the end, you become a poster boy for something you don’t really want to be a poster boy for.”

Roughead in action against the Swans last Friday night. Picture: Phil Hillyard

STAYING: CLARKO NOT GOING ANYWHERE

RUN HOME: WHO WILL MAKE THE 8?

VFL STINT PUT FUN BACK IN FOOTY FOR ROUGH

Hawthorn champion Jarryd Roughead said his VFL stint had brought “the fun back into footy again”, revealing what he said to young Bulldog Reuben William during their touching moment

Roughead has played five games in the VFL this season, his first since a solitary hitout in 2012.

William was tasked with the challenge of taking on the four-time premiership forward and, after being taken to task, asked Roughead for some advice.

“He asked me how I got out the back and I said ‘you ball-watched and I cheated out the back’,” Roughead laughed during his interview on Fox Footy’s Bob.

“It’s been blown up a little bit. He was a kid asking just for some advice and you help him out.

Jarryd Roughead Leads Reuben William to the footy in the May VFL match. Picture: Getty Images

“Yes I understand there’s still a footy game and you’re going against two teams and its four points and all that kind of thing, but at the same time, VFL isn’t the same as what VFL used to be either.

“The development league’s gone now and you’ve got a lot of — I’ve played the last two games and I’ve had to meet some of my teammates on that day. ‘G’day, I’m Roughy how you going’ and they’re shaking hands saying ‘oh, I’m playing forward line next year’ and it’s just like ‘OK, right (here’s some advice)’.”

Roughead said he had no issue with playing in the VFL with his desire to be a one-club player and his 2016 cancer battle putting things in perspective.

“I had the opportunity to go — Clarko, we sat down at round 15-16 last year and he said ‘what would you like to do?’,” Roughead said.

“I like the fact that one day I’ll be able to say I played for one club.

“It might have cost me a year or two, but in the end, I probably am in father time.

“It doesn’t worry me that I’m not at the peak of my powers anymore and that I’m not playing the best footy I ever can play because, after everything I’ve been through, I don’t think it really matters if I am or I’m not.

“I’ve got back to playing footy, I’m still playing footy and I’m here and I’ve got a beautiful wife and a lovely daughter who mean so much more than two hours of footy or worrying about if I’m playing at the MCG or Vic Park on the weekend.”

Roughead with wife Sarah at last year’s Brownlow Medal count. Picture: Mark Stewart