When Robyn Dodd watched her beloved Mitchell Magpies rugby league team emerge through a long tunnel of supporters on grand final day, she had conflicting emotions.
In-between pride for her 31-year-old son Sheldon playing in his first grand final was lingering grief for her eldest son Daniel who should have been there too.
"I find it quite hard, even just at a regular [round] game to go and not actually see him out there," Ms Dodd said.
Daniel Dodd was 23 when he took his own life in 2011 in the small Maranoa-region town in inland Queensland.
Daniel is among four young members of Mitchell's rugby league club who have died from suicide in a little over a decade.
The sudden death of former Magpie and Queensland Cup player Michael Purcell in Brisbane last month was the latest to rock the tight-knit town of fewer than 1,000 people.
The 28-year-old's funeral was held in Charleville last Friday, just two days before the team played its first grand final in 15 years.
To Ms Dodd and others grieving the loss of their loved ones and mates, the club is about much more than sport.
"The Maggies had been a really, really big part in the healing and grieving process," Ms Dodd said.
"To go out to Mitchell just last weekend for the grand final and see my boys as happy as what they are [meant a lot].
"I think the footy club should take a lot of credit because it's allowed my boys to actually have their lives back."
Alarming statistics
The data tells a grim picture.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for young Australians between the ages of 15 and 44, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Men are also more likely to take their own lives.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows 75 per cent of those who died by suicide in Australia in 2020 were male.
The risk also becomes higher for people the further away they live from a capital city.
In very remote areas, like Mitchell, the suicide risk is 2.2 times higher than in major cities.
Associate Dean of Research at the University of Southern Queensland, Professor Andrea Lamont-Mills, says developing a relationship with a psychologist is challenging in rural towns.
"Without having regular provision of services, small rural towns are somewhat disadvantaged," Professor Lamont-Mills said.
"The upside is there's been a great move into telehealth services and particularly mental health services."
She said sporting clubs were well-placed to be proactive on mental health.
"Sporting clubs have the opportunity to go beyond just raising awareness, but doing something," she said.
"Clubs can really do a lot of work in that space, making sure that people in the community are skilled in recognising those in distress and then skilled in knowing what they need to do next."
The National Rugby League (NRL) has its own State of Mind Grassroots program, which aims to reduce the stigma and increase the understanding of mental health in regional communities across Australia.
Help from above
When the siren sounded in last week's grand final, Magpies club president John Birkett said he wasn't only thinking of the players on the field when the team lost to Roma Cities 38-10.
As a club stalwart for decades, Mr Birkett has felt the heartbreak of every player lost.
Daniel was his assistant coach at the time of his death.
"We definitely know they're looking down on us and it's just a shame that we've got all these bloody legends sitting up above us and not down on the paddock with us," Mr Birkett said.
"It is close to our heart, and you know a lot of times we hope these fellas looked up and tried to get a bit from them [that day]."
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