With a combined 217 games of experience, these two had plenty of knowledge and tips to share with the Benalla Junior Football Club players.
The event started off with Downie touching on his journey to the AFL which gave plenty of insight about the sacrifices needed to play this game.
Downie played most of his junior football here in Benalla but changed sports to basketball in his teen years.
The Benalla local had to make the difficult decision to move to Ballarat to be around better coaches and it paid off as he was then selected for the under-17s Basketball World Championships.
After spending time on and off the bench in the championships, he switched to football.
After playing two games in the TAC cup for Ballarat in 2011 he was drafted to the Western Sydney Giants at pick 56.
After playing seven games in his fourth year, Tom started to experience anxiety in his fifth season at the club.
He touched on how important it is to talk about your feelings, whether it is with a mate, a family member or a trusted professional.
After deciding to retire from the game in 2017, Downie said he was proud of his decision and held no regrets to this day.
The juniors then asked insightful questions ranging from training and playing advice to who the best player that you played with.
The message that Downie wanted to share was to enjoy your football but keep track on your mental health and support one another.
After Downie’s talk, the juniors then had Tom Rockliff talk about his experiences in the AFL over a zoom call.
The All Australian grew up and played all his junior football here in Benalla.
He said he enjoyed kicking the footy as a kid with his mates and was never seen without a football in his hands.
After being selected for Victoria Country, Rockliff elaborated on how he broke his leg during a game and how this injury changed everything for him.
He had to find a new way to do everything, but that did not crush his dream.
After an incredible 2008 TAC Cup season which included 59 goals and a Murray Bushranger best and fairest, he was still overlooked in the main AFL draft.
Luckily for Rockliff, he was the fifth pick in the 2009 preseason draft as Brisbane Lions came calling.
It started of slow for Rockliff, but he quickly gained momentum and with hard work and dedication he became the captain of the Brisbane Lions in 2015.
He captained the squad throughout 2016 and was traded to Port Adelaide for the 2017 season.
A horror run of injuries forced Rockliff to retire in 2021 and the ex-player gave some great advice to the juniors and answered questions about what it takes to play and what was running through his head when he became captain.
Rockliff’s message was that there will be rough times, and setbacks but it is all about how you bounce back and keep going.
Commitment and determination were two things the game taught Rockliff that has served him well both on and off the field.
After the ex-player’s speech, there were three videos of encouragement from AFLW superstars Becky Webster, current Hawthorn player Harry Morrison and ex-AFL player and current Benalla Saints senior player Jarrad Waite.
The message from all three was simple: stay the course, work harder in the tough times, enjoy your team and teammates and in time success will come.
Special thanks to the Benalla and District Junior Football Committee for putting the night together as it was a huge success.
— Bryce Cooney
