World champion joins Queensland Maroons State of Origin and NRL legend Greg Inglis in suicide prevention fight
Greg Inglis still cuts a formidable figure as he did at the peak of his career.
But with a revelation, he reveals himself at his most vulnerable, shining a light on the day when he was almost lost forever.
“I wouldn’t be alive if I hadn’t seen my sister at that door,” the Queensland Maroons legend says in this tagline. “It’s that simple.”
Alongside newly crowned IBF world heavyweight champion Liam Paro, Inglis is driven by a cause: to ensure others do not suffer like he did.
While the couple became famous for their physicality, they both battled unseen demons.
For Inglis it was a struggle to grasp retirement as he approached the end of a glittering rugby league career that included 264 NRL matches, 32 State of Origin matches and 39 Tests for Australia.
Former South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett has warned him to have a plan for the transition he will face because he is so used to the rigid routine of life in professional sport.
“You do it from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., then you wake up and do it again. You do it three days straight, you play on the weekends and you spend 10 months of the year together as a team,” Inglis says.
“No matter how long you want to play in the NRL, you should still try to keep that normal routine.”
Speaking of depression and his bipolar II diagnosis, Inglis went into a spiral of alcohol abuse. Shortly after announcing his retirement during the Magic Round in 2019, he disappeared for three days. There are parts of that period that he cannot remember.
He was eventually found by his sister in Brisbane before being admitted to a rehabilitation center for three weeks.
“I thought I was alone, I thought I couldn’t talk to anyone, and that’s how I dealt with it. I dealt with it badly, in a way that no one should,” Inglis says.
“I wasn’t aware of the destruction I was causing myself and I wasn’t aware of the destruction I was creating around those I loved. I had to change or I wouldn’t be here.”
“Six years later, I still try to maintain a normal routine.”
Paro’s experience with mental health issues came when her best friend Regan Grieve, once a promising North Queensland Cowboys prospect, committed suicide.
The pair, who met at under-8 rugby league in Mackay, vowed to “conquer the world”, a phrase etched on Paro’s chest.
Paro, who clinched his title with a unanimous decision win over Lewis Crocker at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane on Wednesday night, also wore Grieve’s initials on his shorts.
“I wish he was here every day and conquered the world with me,” he says.
“This is not my journey, this is our journey and we are still doing it.”
Suicide rates in their home province of Mackay are high, sometimes up to 25 per cent higher than in the rest of Queensland.
But as inseparable as he and Grieve were, the rugby league talent kept his pain a secret.
Paro, who was just 18 and is now 30, was asked to carry his friend’s coffin, which he recalled as “the worst day of my life.”
“Every day I think about him and what could have been,” Paro says.
“You learn to live with pain in a positive way, and I think I’ve learned to channel that into motivation, to motivate myself and us.
“I will never let the world forget his name.”
Inglis and Paro joined forces and Paro came on board as a supporter of Inglis’ Goanna Academy and Stick With It initiative.
The program has traveled to more than 120 schools to encourage children to talk about mental health issues. Inglis is also bringing his work into Indigenous communities and has begun hosting leadership camps.
The elder Rabbitohs and Storm said he was convinced to take the academy further after speaking at a school, where teachers noticed a complete change in a student who sought the support of a counselor after Inglis’ presentation.
Of the 781 suspected suicide deaths in Queensland last year, 73 were in people aged 18 to 24 and 373 occurred outside major cities.
Paro said youth intervention programs are vital and he believes Grieve might still be alive if they had been available when he was younger.
“We would tell each other everything, and obviously there was something he was struggling with, but he wouldn’t even give me information. It just goes to show how dark and lonely and scary these places can be,” she says.
“They’re transitioning into the real world at the busiest time in their lives, and that’s when it gets hard. People feel lost… That’s the gap you have to fill.”
“I lost Regan there. Teach them about it at a young age so it doesn’t surprise them when they face those challenges and demons.”
Inglis and Paro acknowledge that there is still a stigma within the hyper-masculine environment of their sport, which creates barriers to men seeking support.
“This should be a normal conversation and you shouldn’t be ashamed of it,” says Inglis.
“We come from tough sports where your endurance comes out. But me, Greg Inglis, in the toughest of our sports, we struggled with that too,” Paro adds.
“It just goes to show that someone from every walk of life, from every pedigree involved in their work, may be facing something that you’re not aware of.”
If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (and see lifeline.org.au), national domestic, domestic and sexual violence counselling, information and support service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or call the Child Helpline on 1800 551 800.
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