HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson says it has been a difficult week for the club with the news that Jarryd Roughead has suffered a reoccurrence of his melanoma.
Clarkson said the club had been shattered by the news, but was attempting to return to normal as quickly as possible.
“We’re all pretty shattered with what’s gone on in the last three or four days. The hardest part in a sense is we still have to live our lives and still go about things as normal,” Clarkson said.
“(Continuing on as normal) is going to help ‘Roughy’ and Sarah (Roughead’s wife) the most. They’re allowed their time and space to deal with this battle on their hands and the best way we can help is for things to return to normal.”
Clarkson said despite Roughead’s profile as a decorated AFL footballer, it was important to let the public attention subside and remember this kind of health battle was faced by a number of people every day.
“This type of thing goes on in mainstream life all the time. We’ve all had to deal with it but the sooner (the media attention) can die down and Jarryd and Sarah can get onto what they need to do, the better,” he said.
Roughead is determined for his teammates to go about business as usual tomorrow night, with Clarkson indicating that the four-time premiership player was a chance to attend the match against the Swans.
Midfield battle will be critical, says Clarkson
“He (Roughead) is more than likely to come to the game tomorrow night just to indicate the normality that he wants to return to,” Clarkson said.
“He’s been an important part of how our players have been able to address this issue over the last three or four days and we’re really fortunate he’s taken that approach.”
The players were shocked by Roughead’s diagnosis, as well as the realisation their close friend and teammate wouldn’t be playing with them this season.
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“They’ve been shocked just like the rest of the footy world – particularly because he’s a close mate and teammate, and the reality is he’s not going to be running out with them for the rest of this season which is probably pretty disappointing for them,” Clarkson said.
“The hard part about all this is you half-feel guilty for trying to move on in life - everyone wants to stop and take a breath and feel empathy for Jarryd, but for him and Sarah we need to forge ahead and that means playing a game against Sydney tomorrow night.”
