Mandurah Makos to honour teammate with mental health awareness round

Sieracki took his own life in 2017, shocking the Makos family.

But the AFL Masters club is determined to combat mental health issues, starting by raising awareness this weekend.

The Makos will bring the struggle into the spotlight as they host round four of the AFL Masters WA season at Rushton Park, in an effort to get people on the front foot and help those suffering.

Mental health support group Outside the Locker Room, which specialises in addressing football clubs on the topic, will be on deck to spread messages of support with every metropolitan masters club playing at the venue.

Makos president Tony Wilkey said the day would be a personal and an important one for those involved in the club.

“Obviously for us, losing Sax, it became import for us as a club to react and really combat mental health issues,” he said.

“Footy clubs run deeper than the blokes out there playing. We all have wives, girlfriends, kids and so on, so it’s a big thing for us to raise awareness because it could help so many people.

“We never want to go through something like that again, so making sure people know there are avenues of support out there for them is massive.”

Club coach Michael Griffiths echoed Wilkey’s sentiments.

“The Makos are a family-based club and we want to help break the stigma around mental health,” he said.

“A lot of it is people just not opening up about what they’re going through, so making sure they know about the support out there is the biggest thing.”

The round will see games played on all three of Rushton Park’s ovals throughout the day, with the Makos first taking to the field for their supers game at 9.30am.

To find out more about the Mandurah Makos, visit their Facebook page.

If you or someone you know needs urgent support please contact the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467, the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.