Former West Coast star Will Schofield reflects on the tragic passing of his brother Jase Nelson

He was thriving behind the mic in his media commitments, but Will Schofield found the going tough after his brother’s tragic death after a battle with cancer.

Will Schofield with his brother Jase (middle) after West Coast's 2018 grand final win. Picture: Twitter

“It’s been completely ‘f---ed’ to be honest.”

Will Schofield has been thriving off the field in the sports media landscape since his retirement from West Coast, but away from the microphone he has struggled after the tragic death of his brother.

Jase Nelson lost his battle with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), a severe form of cancer, in September this year, aged just 53.

His selflessness and care made him a much-loved figure in the Geelong community, creating a Lifeblood donation team called ‘Long Live Jason Nelson’, which has had more than 1000 donations.

He was also intrinsically linked to the Geelong Amateur junior football club after playing there himself.

Schofield was back in his hometown of Geelong for the first time since Jase’s funeral after being the pioneer behind Western Australia’s first foray into the national fistball championships, which took place at East Belmont Baseball Club on Saturday.

The former Eagles premiership player had drummed up support through his podcast, Back Chat, but his team were unable to get the win.

But the championships came at the perfect time given he was also able to be there for the inaugural Jase Nelson Golf Classic at Portarlington Golf Club last week, organised by Jase’s best mate, Greater Western Sydney chief executive Dave Matthews.

Will Schofield and Robert Dipierdomenico turned out for the Jase Nelson Golf Classic.

Football greats Robert ‘Dipper DiPierdomenico and Jimmy Bartel were among the attendees at the event.

“Dave Matthews, CEO of GWS put a lot of that together which was really great to be able to honour Jase,” Schofield said.

“Doing stuff like this, he’s sorely missed because he absolutely loved it.

“He would be very proud with what we are doing with the ‘Western Fisters’, he’d have a good chuckle up there.

“It’s been hard for me being in WA but it’s harder for his immediate family – his wife, his kids.

“It’s been a really difficult time for the family and it’s not something you’d ever wish on anyone but there’s certainly has been positives out of it. Like bringing people together, the Lifeblood blood donation group and as death usually does it brings people together which is sad but a positive thing.

Schofield said that the way Jase fought AML epitomised him as a person.

“He wasn’t given great hope of surviving that and in the end it did get him but he created a lifeblood group, a blood donation group ‘long live Jase Nelson’ and that’s had over 1000 new donations,” Schofield said.

“It puts it right up there in the country in terms of actual people that are doing that and that’s up against companies that basically pay their employees to do it. This is just a network of people that support Jase doing that.

“All of that sort of stuff speaks to Jason and the person that he was. He was heavily connected to the Geelong community, much loved by friends and family.”

Jase Nelson lost his battle with cancer in September. Picture: Tony Gough

During a difficult year enduring his brother’s battle with cancer, Schofield put on a brave face and continued his promising media career across the other side of the country

The 194-game Eagle has thrown himself in the deep end since announcing his AFL retirement at the end of 2020, working across TV, radio, print and podcasting for Fox Footy, Code Sports, 6PR and Back Chat.

“I’ve approached media as I’ve approached footy – there was a few jokes made at the WA Football Media Awards that I’d managed to get my head onto every single network and platforms known to man but I do enjoy doing it,” Schofield said.

“It’s been great, especially the stuff we do with Back Chat, Back Chat Studios our podcast network.

“Outside of footy the work you put in, the more you get out whereas in footy that doesn’t necessarily translate. There are variables you can’t control – there are people picking you, not picking you.

“Whereas out here in real world if you work hard, in my experience, you get back what you put in.”

Originally published as Former West Coast star Will Schofield reflects on the tragic passing of his brother Jase Nelson