Nathan Buckley’s appearance at Rochester Football Netball Club on Tuesday night has helped lift the spirits of the community, according to club president Justin Cleary.
Collingwood champion Buckley was appearing in Rochester as an ambassador for the Tackle Your Feelings program, founded by the AFL Coaches and AFL Players associations, which aim to give coaches, committees and club support staff the tools to understand, recognise and respond to signs of mental ill-health in their players and members.
Cleary said the support shown by prominent figures such as Buckley had been instrumental in boosting the morale of the flood-affected Rochester residents.
“Look it's terrific, and this year we're getting a lot of support and we had North Melbourne visit early, we had (Alastair) Clarkson here, it was fantastic,” he said.
“Nathan Buckley, there's probably no higher profile in AFL football, but as you know, he's reaching out trying to help people's health, mental health, and I think it adds a lot of weight to what's needed in Rochester and just gives us a lot of encouragement.”
A 2003 Brownlow medallist, Buckley was empathetic to the hardships that the community had endured, having been informed of the way the community had rallied around each other by a Bendigo resident while travelling to Rochester.
“From what I gather you guys (Rochester residents) have actually maintained your positivity and checked in with one another and handled these hardships as well as a community could. It's hard enough going through it once, but then to get whacked again real soon after, it's tough,” Buckley said.
“I actually just drove through Elmore and had a guy who lives in Bendigo who has a little bit to do with the community just tell me that this community is so positive, so supportive of each other and it's always trying to be optimistic, and that's a great trait to have.”
Buckley said the traits demonstrated by residents of Rochester had relevance to the Tackle Your Feelings program, which is delivered by a trained psychologist and led by high-profile former or current AFL players and coaches such as Buckley.
“It's something we'll speak about in the program tonight and also sort of having that awareness, you know, reaching out when people might be struggling and to help each other out along the way, so hopefully that reinforces what sounds like is already happening anyway,” he said.
Cleary said the rationale behind the Tigers becoming involved in the program was in order to develop as a club.
“We think it'll be a learning experience and whether it helps individuals or helps us as a group to understand ways and means to help ourselves and help others, we're about learning, and this is just one of those things we can skill ourselves up with,” he said.
“We want to take every opportunity to improve as a club.”
The appearance in Rochester was not a one-off country visit for Buckley, who will be making a concerted effort to give back to struggling regional areas and recognise the efforts that people are making at a grassroots level.
“I moved around a lot as a kid, so I don't have like a childhood oval where I just played my whole childhood like some country boys do, but I know what it feels like to have people help you along the way,” he said.
“So, to come back, or to represent the AFL, to come back into regional areas I think is an important thing that this program's doing, and The Carlton Draft does, and I think it's happening more and more because we understand you always remember where you came from.”
The Carlton Draft will see Buckley and five other ex-AFL players pull on the jumper for a community club somewhere across Victoria, however the seven-time All-Australian was playing down his prospects of a match-winning performance.
“I'm still sort of wondering why I put my hand up, I haven't played a game of footy for nearly 16 years,” he said.
“All I know is that I'm actually, even being here tonight, looking forward to sort of rubbing shoulders with the guys and sort of being somewhat part of a team unit, even for a moment.
“I don't know where I'm going to be going, I don't know what colours I'm going to be wearing, I don't know what position I'm going to play, but I've got to get ready for whatever it throws at me, so hopefully I can contribute as well as I can.”