Raiders and Queensland star Josh Papalii. Source: Adam Head / CourierMail
CANBERRA are worried about Josh Papalii's mental well-being after his boozy night out in Auckland.
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The Courier-Mail can reveal Canberra players are scheduled to receive six weeks of mental health training after a slew of alcohol-related incidents at the club this season.
Interim Canberra coach Andrew Dunemann, who has a background in welfare, believes it is a necessary step for a youthful squad largely coming to terms with the demands of life in the NRL.
Papalii and Milford are of particular concern after confessing to drinking alcohol 48 hours before Canberra's 50-16 loss to the Warriors last Saturday night.
While conceding the pair were out of line, Dunemann said there were "underlying issues'' for the two Samoans. He was mindful of the pressures on Polynesian players after the deaths of Mosese Fotuaika and Alex Elisala this year.
It is understood Papalii has been battling off-field stresses for months. The 21-year-old has come under increasing pressure since his Origin breakthrough in June and has relayed his issues to Canberra management.
Milford has been homesick for more than a year, prompting the 19-year-old to ask for a release last month to return to his sick father Halo in Brisbane.
"The thing I want to get across is the welfare aspect,'' Dunemann said. "If you look at what has happened in the game this year, two Islander boys have taken their lives and it's imperative we deal with them the right way.
"There are different pressures within the Polynesian culture. They are very family-oriented and have close bonds.
"I sat down with Josh Papalii and we had a talk about what is going on in his life. We got to the bottom of it. The best thing is we've identified the issues and we can fix it.
"I won't go into it publicly, but we need to look at why they were drinking. I believe it was an escape from their problems and they have not developed over the past three weeks.
"Josh and Anthony aren't repeat offenders. What they did was wrong, no doubt, but there is a welfare issue and we need to get to the bottom of it, why they were in that situation and what they are trying to get away from.''
The Raiders have sacked Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson over alcohol-induced misbehaviour this season. Dunemann has asked for approval to enlist the help of Sportslife IQ to work on the mental health of Canberra's squad.
"We've already planned our pre-season to include three days of mental training for the first six weeks,'' Dunemann said.
"It's a massive area this club needs because we have a young squad.
"For us to go forward we need to get the boys' heads right. We want to bring in some mental health experts and teach the boys about things like resilience and upskill them so they can handle the everyday pressures of football and life.''
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