Jarryd Roughead trains with Hawthorn teammates after public statement on cancer fight

NO SOONER had Jarryd Roughead finished the most difficult press conference of his life and the determined Hawk ripped off his jumper and ran out for a kick of the footy.

Jarryd Roughead hits the training track minutes after his press conference. Picture: David Caird

NO SOONER had Jarryd Roughead finished the most difficult press conference of his life and the determined Hawk ripped off his jumper and ran out for a kick of the footy.

Flanked by all 50 of his team mates, Sherrin firmly in hand, it was business as usual.

Nothing was about to get in the way of the tall forward and the green grass at Waverley Park. No packed press conference. No nagging questions from journalists.

No daunting black spots now embedded in his lungs.

The 29-year-old premiership champion seemed almost nonchalant as he explained his diagnosis to a room full of strangers eager to spread the word.

Yeah, he had cancer. But it was not to rule him.

‘’I’m going to be the same old me,’’ he told them.

Jarryd Roughead doing what he does best. Picture: Michael Klein

Jarryd Roughead, with Paul Puopolo, said he was bouyed by the support from his teammates. Picture: Michael Klein

So if there was a market for it, the odds that Roughead could win this battle would almost certainly be short.

At least for now, his determination to overcome the disease is marked by fighting words.

He knew what he had to do, Roughy told the room.

He wasn’t going anywhere.

He admitted to being emotional on learning the results of scans but said he was feeling positive about the start of a immunotherapy treatment.

He won’t lose his hair - at least any more of it. And he had the unanimous backing of footy fans everywhere.

“It’s not like a weekend where you have to choose one side or the other - you know everyone’s in your corner for this one,” he said.

“When you’ve got 100 per cent backing, it means a fair bit.”

Jarryd Roughead said he’s going nowhere. Picture: David Caird

Club doctor Michael Makdissi and a footy manager Chris Fagan relayed the same positive message for a star who’s biggest worry should have been a nagging knee.

Roughy was young and fit, they said. That would work in his favour.

And when the conference was over, all the usual comforting phrases were turned over. It was not about footy. There is far more to life.

Roughead’s fight will be nothing new. There have been similar press conferences, the same hard-pressed faces. But each new story proved an opportunity, a chance to issue a charge to those facing the same fight, far less publicly.

Sitting out in the stands as the boys ran out for training, fan Andrew Parker, of Berwick, summed it all up. Roughead’s versatility would be a loss to the team as he seeks treatment in the year ahead, but just like the any player strategy, a defeatist attitude would get him nowhere. ‘’I lost both my parents to cancer,’’ he said.

“If you don’t go in with a positive mind, it can eat you alive. But that’s life isn’t it? This is

no different. Roughy can play anywhere, up forward, roll around in the

middle or up back.

“He’s the best player we’ve got. I’ve not doubt he’s up for the fight.’’

LATEST: ROUGHEAD HAS FOUR SMALL SPOTS ON LUNG