Greg Inglis, the rugby league legend and Indigenous icon, has revealed that a five-day blackout caused by alcohol and prescription drugs was the wake-up call that saved his life. Now, he is dedicating his life to preventing suicide, which is the leading cause of death among Australians aged 15 to 44.
Stick With It Campaign Launch
Inglis launched the second year of his Goanna Academy's Stick With It campaign this week, aiming to highlight mental health struggles during the NRL's round 22 and round five of the NRLW. The campaign encourages players to wear tape on their wrists with visible messages of strength and resilience.
“It was pretty bad, where there’s five days in my life I don’t remember - alcohol, prescription drugs,” Inglis told AAP. He spent two stints in rehab after being diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, depression and anxiety, two years after retiring in 2019. “(Rehab was) pretty intense, hardcore. But, at the end of the day, it’s worth it. I’m living, breathing.”
From Rugby Glory to Mental Health Advocacy
Inglis achieved everything in rugby league: 39 Tests for Australia, a World Cup win, 10 State of Origin series victories for Queensland, a premiership with South Sydney, and two grand final wins with Melbourne. Yet, he felt “lost” in retirement. He recalled advice from coach Wayne Bennett: “It’s like you’ve got to stick to some kind of normality and routine.”
“I didn’t understand that because rugby league is your everyday life. You live it, you do it every day, and I didn’t really understand what he said until I was waking up unmotivated, not sure, never had a plan,” Inglis said.
Goanna Academy: Preventing Mental Health Crises
After the penny dropped, Inglis founded the Goanna Academy, Australia’s first Indigenous-owned preventative mental health organisation. The 39-year-old and his team visit schools and communities, especially regional and Indigenous ones, to share his story and teach coping skills. “We go around and talk about time management, your routine, try to stick to a daily routine as much as you can and create good habits,” he said.
“We’re not a crisis organisation. We’re not psychiatrists. We’re not doctors. But we provide tools. We have people on board that have lived experiences so they can talk about their own personal challenges. And it’s just about breaking the barriers down and the stigma surrounding mental health and having a normal conversation about it.”
Support from NRL Stars
The Stick With It campaign is supported by former Dally M Medallist Nicho Hynes and Inglis’s ex-Rabbitohs premiership-winning teammate Cody Walker. Inglis, Origin’s greatest-ever try-scorer, said, “When it’s your own and you want to make it great, you’re not too sure how well it’s going to be received, but since last year it’s been great.”
“We’re not calling it a theme round or anything like that. It’s just a campaign and about making an awareness, a national awareness, in a different way to break the stigma around mental health and starting normal conversations about mental illness. We want to reduce the suicide rate in our youth and suicide rates in Australia itself, but particularly in our youth.”
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 131114. For further information about depression, contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.
