All systems go at Kyabram for WorkSafe Country Club Series match against Shepparton

In a region where the football and netball club is often the heartbeat of the community, WorkSafe’s initiative has become a fixture on the local sporting calendar.

These matches are designed to highlight an increasingly urgent message: workplace safety and mental health are not individual battles — they’re team sports.

Few understand that better than Tom Boyd.

The former Western Bulldogs premiership player has become a prominent advocate for mental health support since his early retirement in 2019, following well-documented struggles of his own.

Boyd will be on the ground at Kyabram this weekend, working closely with the community to champion the values he believes grassroots sport is uniquely placed to deliver.

“These country club weeks are fantastic — not only for the clubs where WorkSafe provides a lot of financial support and brings everyone together,” he said.

“They’re always the biggest rounds of the year in terms of headcount. Barring a few over the years, they’re usually good games (and) we get to recognise great volunteers and the like of that as well.

“Across the board between the netball and the footy, it’s really fantastic to bring the community together around a really important message.”

Driving the message

In the lead-up to Saturday’s clash, a full calendar of events is taking shape at Bomberland.

A wellbeing and mental health seminar on Tuesday has been followed by a visit from Boyd and Melbourne Vixens player Emily Mannix.

On Saturday, the celebrations continue with giveaways, barbecues and presentations with more than $15,000 of donations made by WorkSafe through the week.

It’s a celebration of regional resilience, but also an invitation: to speak up, to reach out, to listen.

WorkSafe chief executive Ashley West, who hails from Kyabram, said the community spirit of Goulburn Valley sporting clubs had set a winning example for the region’s workplaces to follow.

“Some of my most cherished teenage memories are of representing the Kyabram Football Club and the lessons of teamwork that helped us get the most out of each other,” West said.

“The best players know they need to look out for their teammates and, at WorkSafe, we want to see people bring that same approach to safety at work.

“Safety should never be a solo effort – and we want farmers, even those who work alone, to partner with WorkSafe to help avoid unnecessary time on the sidelines with a workplace injury.”

Speaking out

Boyd has championed WorkSafe’s cause for many years now and often hears two things when he walks into a football-netball club’s inner sanctum.

Number one: how strong its desire is to support the community.

Number two: that it doesn’t know what the first step is to getting there.

Boyd’s philosophy is grounded in practicality.

For him, the footy and netball club is a ready-made support network, already embedded in the heart of the community.

His call to action is clear: use the relationships and routines already in place to check in with those around you.

Start simple — extend an invitation for a conversation, one that leaves the door open.

Not just when things are tough, but while they’re still going well.

It’s about letting people know you’re there when confusion, stress or uncertainty strikes.

You don’t need to have the answers, but you can offer your presence and the promise to help find the right kind of support.

Boyd is under no illusions about the scale of the challenge.

He knows the cracks can run deep, that help can be hard to find and that tragedy isn’t abstract.

It’s personal.

“I do think society has taken a significant step forward in confronting that this issue is a massive one, first and foremost,” he said.

“Two, that it’s an incredibly important one and the consequences of getting this wrong, as we’ve seen time and time again, are absolutely heart-wrenching and it’s something that’s hit my family over the last couple of years.

“Unfortunately, the reality is there’s never going to be enough psychologists, psychiatrists or doctors to deal with us all at one time anyway.

“What it falls back to on the preventative side of things is to heavily invest in the places where people choose to be, where first and foremost in regional Victoria, in particular, is their country footy and netball clubs.

“It’s the best path to support Victorian communities through these places and that’s exactly why we’ll be there on the weekend.”

Game on

With last season’s GVL grand finalist Shepparton reeling after three defeats in its past three games, Kyabram co-coach Corey Carver is expecting a torrid clash for his young charges this Saturday when they attempt to keep their unbeaten record intact this season.

The game is the fourth Kyabram has hosted in a row, which will be followed by road trips for three of its next four games.

Carver acknowledged Shepparton would be trying to pull out something special to reignite its season and will throw everything at his talented and unbeaten young side which has answered every challenge this season.

“They have had some players out and will be keen to get back on the winning list, so we have to be ready for them,’’ Carver said.

The Bombers will also be bolstered by the return of key defender Jason Morgan (flu) and Eamonn Ogden (work commitments), who missed the Mooroopna game.

But gun on-baller Mick Mattingly, who had a hamstring twinge in that game, is likely to miss the clash as well as the following week against Euroa.

Tom Burnett, Nic Jephson, Angus Scoble and Coby McCarthy and other Bombers on the wounded list, are not likely to play.

So, with a few outs, could Kyabram enlist the services of a former number one draft pick?

“We are at 100 per cent strike rate for the last four years of every single club asking me to play,” Boyd said.

“I don’t know if Ky will ask me yet ... but what I will say is Rochester was the most proactive club — they actually got the transfer forms ready to go before I even arrived there (two years ago).

“That’s the benchmark and we’re really looking forward to seeing what Ky come up with from that point of view.”

Saturday's One FM GVL broadcast match is between Shepparton Swans and Echuca, live from 1.30pm, while on Sunday, the KDL broadcast match is between Rushworth and Lancaster, live from 1.30pm.