Jarryd Roughead’s teammates show grit on emotional night for Hawthorn at MCG

IT was as difficult an evening many of these Hawthorn players will ever experience, three days after their great mate Jarryd Roughead revealed his new cancer battle.

Jarryd Roughead visits his teammates in the room before the game. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

SOMETIMES it’s not about winning; it’s just a matter of getting through as best as you can.

As incongruous as that sounds for a team seeking to become only the second team in history to win four successive flags, no one would blame Hawthorn for thinking more about a mate than four premiership points.

For Friday night wasn’t just any old night. It was as difficult an evening many of these Hawthorn players will ever experience on a public stage.

Jarryd Roughead was smiling in the rooms before the game. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Roughead with injured captain Luke Hodge in the rooms. Picture: Channel 7

Three days after their great mate Jarryd Roughead announced the melanoma he had fought last year had returned and spread to an internal organ, the Hawks had to take on Sydney — and Roughead’s great mate Lance Franklin — under the bright lights at the MCG.

It wasn’t fair, but what is fair about cancer? Nothing.

Given what happened this week, and what the players know ‘Roughy’ will have to undergo in his fight against the disease, it is a remarkable effort that the Hawks fought so hard for so long on Friday night.

They lost by 14 points, but gained as many admirers for the way they conducted themselves in difficult circumstances.

At no stage did they give up. They didn’t kick a goal in the first 50 minutes of this game, trailed by 36 points during the second term, before predictably cutting the margin back to two points at one stage.

But, in the end, it was all too much for them.

Jarryd Roughead watches the action from the coaches box. Picture: Getty Images

Franklin, who flew to Melbourne early on Thursday to see his mate ‘Roughy’ and will see him again this weekend, turned on a big performance with three goals, including two in the last quarter.

“The news he got this week was devastating. I caught up with him yesterday and I’ll catch up with him again this weekend,” Franklin said.

“I’ll just be there for as much support as I possibly can. He’s one of my best mates and all the boys absolutely love him and so does the footy community. We’ll get around him and help him through this.”

In keeping with Roughead’s wishes, Hawthorn did its utmost to keep things as normal as possible in a most abnormal week.

Roughead with Luke Breust after the match. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Roughead had been one of the first to arrive in the rooms before the game, smiling for the cameras as he went in, and eager to help out as best as he could — before the game and at halftime in the rooms.

Injured skipper Luke Hodge did the radio rounds before the game, speaking about the trauma of the week, as well as how incredible Roughead had been when addressing the group on Tuesday.

“His message to us was we have got a game (to play) ... and he is going to be here to support the boys,” Hodge told Triple M.

The hardest thing, he said, was not knowing what to do ... or say ... or think.

Hodge concluded that the only thing that mattered was being there for Roughead and his wife Sarah. Hodge’s wife Lauren watched the game from home with Sarah.

Sydney shows it support for Jarryd Roughead. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

This football club is collectively putting its arms around each other — and that extends to players and partners.

Jordan Lewis is normally granite-like in his emotions. He’s as hard as nails, and not just on the football field, but Hodge saw the raw human side to the Hawks acting captain this week. That he was even playing was a big thing, as Hodge attested.

The same could be said for Cyril Rioli, who has also dealt with a family member’s illness that saw him miss last week’s game against Fremantle.

Hawthorn has endured so much personal trauma during the past four seasons.

But given what the club has experienced, and Roughead’s presence in the rooms after the game, it will keep “riding the bumps” as it has done many times before.

That’s more than just a line in a club theme song; it’s a state of mind that has defined this remarkable, resilient football club for so long now, and will for some time to come.