The issue of depression among footballers has been thrown into the spotlight in the past week, following the revelation that Collingwood's Alex Fasolo suffered from the condition and needed to take a break from the game.
The episode prompted Nathan Thompson, the first AFL player to reveal his struggles with depression, to open up about his continued difficulties in dealing with the disorder.
In a revealing interview with SEN, due to be aired on Sunday, Thompson - whose 179-game career with Hawthorn and North Melbourne ended in 2008 - said the many years of concealing his illness from family and friends made him a broken man.
"I was just trying to survive. I was so laid bare, I was so tired, I was emotionally spent. I was on the bones of my butt as far as my life goes - I was bankrupt as a person. I had nothing left," Thompson said in the interview, which has been played to ESPN.
"It's something that's always going to be there. It's not something where you can click you fingers and go, 'hey I've had the medication and it's now gone forever'.
"If you don't manage it, if you're not aware of it and you don't continually try to keep yourself healthy, I can see some of those triggers starting to pop up again."
Thompson said by returning to training this week, just days after revealing his fight with depression, Fasolo could have found that football is the perfect natural medication to get his life back on track.
"I remember Wayne Schwass talking about [depression]. Wayne felt that the football club was his sanctuary and the only time he felt normal and OK was when he was on that ground training and playing," Thompson said.
"So for Alex - I don't know Alex at all - but that might be the same for him. Whereas for me, it was the opposite. I was at the point where I needed a break from the club.
"Go to the footy club, get out and have a kick, have your friends around you, don't just sit at home and be left there tormenting yourself with your own thoughts."
For the full interview, listen to 'This Is Your Sporting Life' on SEN1116 Sunday at 7am.
Jam-packed schedule for MCG
The MCG calls itself the People's Ground and that slogan will never be more appropriate than over the coming nine days when at least 270,000 people are expected to file into the stadium for five different sporting fixtures.
Brazil play Argentina in an international soccer friendly on Friday night, Hawthorn host Gold Coast the following afternoon, Melbourne and Collingwood play the Queen's Birthday clash on Monday, Brazil come back to play the Socceroos on Tuesday night then Richmond take on Sydney less than four days later, on the Saturday afternoon.
The logjam of events has proved a logistical nightmare for the Melbourne Cricket Club which has to set itself up as a soccer stadium on Friday, then AFL, then soccer, then back to AFL again.
Shane Brown, the MCC's Communications Manager, told ESPN that the club had "embraced similar challenges" in the last two years with the International Champions Cup soccer matches in July, as well as having to transform the stadium in just 72 hours after the 2015 Cricket World Cup final.
"We have spent many months planning for this very busy weekend of events, in particular the conversion of the arena between AFL and soccer modes. Line markings, goal post/net installation, sponsor logos and interchange benches are just some of the areas that need to be adjusted during this period, but we are very confident of a seamless transition from event to event this weekend," Brown told ESPN.
The expected MCG crowds over the next nine days are:
- Friday - Brazil v Argentina - 95,000
- Saturday - Hawthorn v Gold Coast SUNS - 26,000
- Monday - Melbourne v Collingwood - 75,000
- Tuesday - Brazil v Socceroos - 35,000
- Saturday (June 17) - Richmond v Sydney - 40,000
Martin, Selwood earn coaches' praise
A recent initiative of the AFL Coaches Association has been to ask the two opposing coaches in each match to give votes to the five players they regarded as best afield.
This has occasionally led to some wild discrepancies between the votes and not a little favouritism.
One thing all the coaches seem to agree on, though, is the brilliance of Geelong skipper Joel Selwood and Richmond's in-demand champion, Dustin Martin.
On the back of his scintillating display against North Melbourne on Saturday night, Martin was awarded the perfect 10 votes (five each from Damien Hardwick and Brad Scott). This marked the 10th time in the last three years that the tattooed Tiger had been awarded 10 votes, three more times than any other player.
Selwood has a similarly stellar record.
Following Geelong's dismantling of top-of-the-table Adelaide last week at Simonds Stadium, the two participating coaches (Chris Scott and Don Pyke) had no hesitation in awarding the Cats' skipper the maximum tally.
It is the fourth time in the past decade that Selwood has scored 10 votes when Geelong has faced a team sitting on top of ladder - clearly the best record of any player.
For the record, the players who have been given the 10 AFLCA votes (from 2008-17) when their team has faced the ladder leaders are as follows:
4 - Joel Selwood
3 - None
2 - Buddy Franklin, Ryan Griffen, Dayne Beams
1 - 29 players
Melbourne prevails in Brownlow tussle
The Brownlow Medal is set to remain a Melbourne event with the AFL and Crown Casino set to renew a deal that will secure its long-term future in Victoria.
The renewed contract has thwarted bold attempts from Sydney and Adelaide to snatch the event, which honours the AFL's fairest and best player, from its traditional heartland.
The New South Wales Government has long-held ambitions to lure one of the principal AFL calendar events from Melbourne.
Fans warned about purchasing tickets
The AFL has warned fans to steer clear from unauthorised ticket dealers, following the questionable behaviour of a global vendor.
Punters buying tickets through Viagogo are being hit with exorbitant hidden service fees, which are only realised at the completion of the transaction.
Some tickets are even sold multiple times, meaning fans can be disallowed entry into stadiums.
"Viagogo isn't an authorised AFL ticket-seller," the AFL's Patrick Keane told ESPN.
"The AFL's advice to fans would always be to buy match tickets through the venue where a game will be played or through Afl.com.au, which will take you to authorised sellers, otherwise fans run the risk that tickets may not be legitimate and they may not be guaranteed entry."
The site acts as a middle man to resell tickets at inflated prices, some by as much as 250 per cent. It's even fleeced media identity Steve Price, who was slugged hundreds of dollars in transaction fees.