Adelaide star Josh Jenkins reveals tough message to wife over mental health

Adelaide forward Josh Jenkins has opened up on why he asked his wife not to watch him play last week out of fear for what she would hear.

Josh Jenkins has been hot and cold in 2019.

Crows power forward Josh Jenkins has revealed the regular sideline abuse of players has forced him to ask his wife Hannah not to attend his games.

The 30-year-old, who has been dropped to play in the SANFL recently, said it was “uncomfortable” for the family and friends of players to hear the criticism and abuse directed at players from the grandstands.

He said the prominence of spectator abuse is even greater playing in the SANFL and other second-tier leagues because every barked comment reaches more ears in the quieter, smaller grounds.

Having endured a hot and cold 2019, where his forward pressure has come under fire, Jenkins said he has finally asked his family to stop attending games to protect their own mental health.

“On the weekend I told Hannah and (daughter) Lottie — I told Hannah, who’s responsible, to stay home,” Jenkins told SEN Adelaide Breakfast.

“Because at SANFL (level), the abuse that gets hurled around — and I’m not condemning people that do it — but it’s uncomfortable for them (family members) to have to sit there.

“They obviously love me and to have to sit there and go through that … if I was at Hannah’s netball I’d be wanting to start a fight if those same things were said and that’s how I’m trying to make people to understand that it affects everyone.

Josh Jenkins is fighting for his return to the seniors.

“Mental health might affect the individual but the whole family gets affected.

Jenkins described the issue of mental health in the AFL and Australian society as a “big black beast in the background which everyone is afraid of”.

“This is by no means limited to professional sport,” Jenkins said. “Mental health is an issue everywhere.

“It’s more of an issue everywhere else than it is in footy but it’s highlighted for obvious reasons because we are public people and we live a life in the public spotlight.”

Mental health remains a battleground the AFL is only beginning to combat.

The issue was front and centre at last week’s meeting among club CEO’s in the wake of Bulldogs star Tom Boyd’s decision to retire at the age of 23.

LEGEND BAKES BLUES STARS

Only a handful of Carlton stars have been spared a heated serve from club legend Mark Maclure on Wednesday night.

The Blues great said coach Brendon Bolton tenure at the club could slip through his fingers unless tactical changes are made — but Maclure saved his biggest bake for the Blues senior players.

Maclure said of the club’s leaders and established stars, only Jacob Weitering, Ed Curnow, Liam Jones, Patrick Cripps, Matthew Kreuzer, Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson can hold their heads high.

He overlooked a number of high profile stars, including Dale Thomas, Charlie Curnow, Mitch McGovern, Levi Casboult and Jack Silvagni.

He said Carlton’s failure to work for each other and protect each other was highlighted by the club’s failure to help Cripps escape the hard tag of Giants pest Matt de Boer.

He also said the club’s failure to return fire on Giants ruckman Shane Mumford for his knee to the ribs of Murphy was another poor look for the club.

“I didn’t see any ramification come from the Carlton players at all and that’s a red light for me. Absolute red light,” Maclure said of his club’s response t Mumford’s hit, during a segment on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Wednesday night.

It’s been a rough week for Daisy.

“When this bloke (Murphy) gets knocked out in the middle of the ground and no one stands up for him, what sort of culture have we got? It worries me greatly.

“There’s some senior players in this side, I wouldn’t even play with. They’ve been gifted games.

“I’ll mention the ones who aren’t — (Jacob) Weitering I really like from 70 games on, Ed Curnow I think is fantastic, (Liam) Jones is good, (Patrick) Cripps is just a star as we all know, (Matthew) Kreuzer is fantastic, Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson have been absolutely magnificent for this football club, but the rest of them? And they’ll all know who they are because I haven’t mentioned them, they can go to the pictures.

“I can tell you now, they’re not improving and they haven’t helped. They’ve been gifted games.”

He also said the Carlton’s concerning stat sheets in recent weeks could also prove impossible for coach Bolton to survive.

“To me, the numbers are going to get too bad for him at some stage” Maclure said.

“It’s going to go down. Let me tell you, these guys are paid well, they train every week and they still do this. (They’re) 170 pressure acts down, that’s just a mindset. Do I want to do it or do I don’t want to do it? That’s the thing.

“I like Brendon and I’ve stated that on many occasions, but he’s going to have to change.

“He’s working on systems and running patterns. Let me tell you, it’s no good running if you haven’t got the ball. They’re 113 possessions in the last three games down on their opposition — 113, that’s not small. (They’re) 170, 18th for pressure and -24 for contested ball — -24 down. That’s not much to work with. Is there any pride among this group? That’s what I ask, is there any pride amongst this group of senior players and kids? Who’s teaching them?”

DANIHER’S WORST FEARS CONFIRMED

Joe Daniher in full flight.

Joe Daniher’s growing pains will not go away.

Star Essendon key forward Joe Daniher will miss the rest of the AFL season after a relapse in groin soreness.

The Bombers have decided to manage Daniher’s osteitis pubis injury, with surgery the likely route.

Daniher’s injury drama comes a day after Essendon confirmed that reigning club best and fairest champion Devon Smith will miss the remainder of the year because of knee surgery.

Essendon football boss Dan Richardson described the setback as “frustrating” — but stressed the club hadn’t made any mistakes in its approach to get Daniher back on the footy field this year.

He confirmed the club has consulted with specialists about surgical options available to Daniher.

“It looks likely that Joey will be ruled out for the rest of the season which is obviously frustrating for Joey no more than it is for all of us and our fans,” he said.

“But to ensure that we have the right care and approach around Joey and him being a long term player at the club, that’s what we need to do.”

GM of Football Dan Richardson spoke moments ago about Joe Daniher's injury. pic.twitter.com/oBnA8Lcfui

— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) May 23, 2019

After making the 2017 All-Australian team, Daniher only played seven games last year before his season was ruined because of a groin injury.

A calf muscle injury after two pre-season games delayed his return. The Bombers were fined $20,000 for making him a late recall to their team for the Good Friday win over North Melbourne.

He has played four of the last five games, kicking seven goals, and was rested a fortnight ago for the narrow loss to Sydney.

Daniher took six marks and sprayed four behinds last Saturday night in the win over Fremantle.

The Bombers are struggling for consistency with four wins from nine games in a season where they had high hopes of a finals return.

Another extended layoff for Daniher would be a severe dent to this year’s campaign.

— AAP

‘HE MADE YOUR LIFE REALLY DIFFICULT’

AFL great Nick Riewoldt has lavished praise on retired Swan opponent Heath Grundy, saying he was never able to dominate the rugged Sydney defender.

Grundy on Wednesday announced the end of his 256-game career due to a lingering back injury, which didn’t allow him to play after round one.

Former St Kilda champion forward Riewoldt, who played more games against Sydney than any other club, frequently matched up on Grundy, who he said embodied the Swans and their famous Bloods culture.

“Every time in my entire career, you came up against him, you knew you were in for a really tough day,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Wednesday.

“He was so good once he had you in his vicinity.

“His ability to control your body, to get your hips off the line and to wrap you up and allow you not to be able to launch, he was just such a strong competitor as a player but he made your life really difficult.

“I don’t know how many times we played on each other, I never got hold of him once, three or four (goals) might have been the best I ever did against him.

“I never dominated a game playing on him because he was just such a hard player to beat.” Riewoldt’s fellow AFL 360 panellist and former Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy said his lasting impression of Grundy was his performance in the 2016 grand final.

“I sat in the (Bulldogs) coaches box and a lot of the coach conversations were around Grundy’s influence,” Murphy recalled.

“He just kept marking the ball, the Dogs couldn’t find a way through ... it was him.

“It was, ‘How do we stop Grundy, how can we stop his influence?’”

— AAP