Former NRL players who are part of the NRL Welfare Unit. Source: Jeremy Piper / News Limited
"HELLO," he says. "Who is this?"
The caller sounds nervous. In a faint voice, he says his name.
"Who mate?" Dean Widders says to him. "I can't hear you."
The caller speaks up and reveals his name.
"Oh," Widders says, now knowing he is speaking to an NRL star.
"How are you, mate? What can I do for you?"
Widders smiles for a moment before his joy is swallowed by a deep frown. One of nine full-time welfare staff working at NRL Central, he knows this call isn't going to be good.
"The phone always rings," Widders says. "A lot of people need help. It can be anyone at any time and I am always prepared for the worst."
The Sunday Telegraph's special investigation into NRL welfare can reveal at least one player a day calls for help.
Admitting to gambling, depression, alcoholism or simply asking for advice on how to deal with injury, the players call and the 44 full-time welfare staff, which include the likes of Widders, Nigel Vagana and Andrew Ryan, listen.
Forget the salary cap cops and the integrity unit, the TV rights chasers and the recruitment officers, the NRL Welfare Unit is the emerging force that just could be the most important department in the game.
The Welfare Unit is the cutting edge department confronting and addressing the biggest issues in our game. The Sunday Telegraph can reveal:
* The NRL Welfare Unit is working with at least 12 players with gambling issues;
* They are working with at least 12 players who have admitted to having an alcohol problem;
* At least 16 NRL players have suspected depression, with an average of one at every club;
* Four NRL clubs are monitoring players' sleep to help diagnose depression;
* The Welfare Unit has a goal to make sure every NRL player owns their own home by the time they retire;
* They have a team of 25 that mentors players through apprenticeship with an average of 12 players at every club now completing a trade.
GAMBLING AND ALCOHOL
THE TIGERS charge down the tunnel, chests puffed and fists' clenched. The Broncos are already waiting on the field. The players scream "let's go" and slap each other on the back. Owen Craigie is the only player walking. The former Origin star comes out last and then stops before he reaches the field. He looks to a Tigers officials.
"Is my pay in, mate?" he asks.
"I have to pay some people off after the game."
Owen Craigie lost everything. A staggering $3 million to gambling throughout his career. He has told people at the Welfare Unit he dropped balls because he was thinking about money. He also has no doubt gambling destroyed his career.
The NRL Welfare Unit estimates that there are at least two Owen Craigies playing in the NRL today. They are doing everything they can to help them avoid blowing it all.
Paul Heptonstall was the man in the tunnel that Craigie asked about the cash. The former Tigers employee is now heading the NRL's welfare program. He admits gambling is a problem in the game.
"There would be definitely some Owen Craigies in the NRL today," Heptonstall said. "And a lot of those people have reported themselves to the club. Gambling is a problem because it is silent. They can gamble online at home without anyone knowing and it is a problem that can ruin lives."
The Welfare Unit has taken the extraordinary step of encouraging players to call NRL and tell them if one of their teammates has a problem. Respected former players like Widders, Vagana and Ryan tell players they are letting down their mate if they don't report the problem.
"I have players ring and tell me they are concerned for someone else," Widders said.
"We encourage them to do that and they want to because they keep an eye out for one and another. Teammates now are starting to look out for each other. They know the signs and are willing to report it.
"The whole thing we teach is that if you don't do anything about it you are letting down your mate. We educate them about the damage and how to know if someone is in trouble.
"We teach the guys to look out for little signs.
"Is a guy asking you for money? Has he asked for loans from the club or from others? When he is out does he spend ridiculous amounts of money or disappear? He is probably gambling all his money."
The Welfare Unit this year hired professional actors and sent them to all the NRL clubs to show them how a problem gambler might act.
"A lot of approaches come in to the welfare staff after this sessions," Heptonstall said.
"Stuff like, 'Can you keep an eye on him because I lent him money and I'm seeing some stuff'."
Widders is one of the former players charged with helping suspected gamblers. It isn't an easy job.
"I have to be soft when I approach them," Widders said. "You don't want to go straight up to them and accuse them of having a gambling problem. You don't want to point at a couch and say, 'Sit down, you have a problem.'
"You work towards that by first making contact and just talking to them. If I hear of someone, I just ring them and ask them to catch up for lunch. You talk about footy and just ask them how they are going and they will eventually tell you.
"If they want to do something about they will own up. And that is the only way you can help them. They need to admit they are having a problem.
"I have at least four or five that I am working with now that have admitted to having a gambling problem.
"The good thing about the game is that the culture is not bad. The culture doesn't encourage them to make it worse. They want to help.
"Everyone wants to make them better."
Alcohol is also an issue, but it is not as bad as you think. Many league players have sworn off the grog. The NRL's hard line on behaviour has filtered through.
"I don't know if alcohol is the problem, but they use it as an outlet," Widders said.
"I have been dealing with four or five that have needed to deal with issues that have led them to alcohol. We need to start talking to them young. We need to fix it there. The thing is the game doesn't put up with it anymore. We have set high standards.
"They will ruin their careers now and we tell them that. Their issues come out when they are drunk and that is when they get into problems. They will lose it all because clubs don't muck around and I tell them that."
THE UNIT
SEVEN MEN and two women sit behind their desks at NRL Central. They tap on their keyboards, shuffle through papers and they banter about everything from cricket to Kevin Rudd.
Ryan, Widders and Vagana are among the nine that joke and laugh while confronting the biggest issues in the game.
There are another 35 fulltime staff working on the ground, with the unit growing to 44 from just one in 14 years. They are charged with implementing programs that equip players to deal with any issues they have.
From money to depression. Alcohol and gambling. And life after football.
"It is wide ranging," said Widders, who is charged with looking after the Indigenous players.
"My role is to assist players in all areas of the game, everything to apprenticeship programs to welfare and education."
Heptonstall heads the unit. He is looking to root out problems before they become serious.
"We don't want to be reactive, just picking them up when they are on the back page," Heptonstall said.
"We don't want them to get there. I can tell you there are plenty more issues out there that don't hit the media.
"We want to work out this issues and get them before they get there. At the NRL we have a responsibility. The core responsibility of a club is to have footy players that win footy games, they aren't there to make sure they are successful after football. But at the NRL, we feel it is our responsibility. We want to produce good men that are prepare for life."
Vagana, Widders and Ryan are among the men that talk directly to the players. The former stars have their trust and know exactly what each and every one of them might be going through.
"I take at least five phone calls a day," Vagana said.
"Basically what we do is work with their lives off the field. Off the field covers about 20 or 30 areas. Everything from family, literacy, culture challenges, relocations. Players can call with serious issues or just to ask about their form. We want these kids to be the best they can and be prepared for whatever comes there way."
TRADING UP
AN NRL career can end at any time. In fact, 60 players will play their last NRL game this year and the average career span is just 52 games. The NRL want every player to be able to walk into a job.
Former NRL journeyman Adam Peek thinks every player should work one day a week. The prop, who played for seven clubs, not only thinks it will help them with their football, but also prepare them for life.
Peek estimates about 50 per cent of NRL players he knows have had no job skills and limited employment prospects when they retire. He and a team of 25 club apprentice mentors are attempting to change that. An average of 12 players at every NRL club are now involved in a trade.
"There are plenty of blokes I know who have retired and had nothing," Peek said. "Some don't own their own houses and struggle to find a job. They really struggle with it, and have a tough time. We need to prepare players for life after football.
"We can get a bloke to finish an apprenticeship by the time he is 20. We can begin working with them when they are young and get them a trade while they are still playing."
Peek thinks every player should work, even at the height of their careers.
"I found I played my best football when I kept busy," Peek said. "I was one of the few that worked during my career and it helped with the way I played. Working one day a week, and through the off-season is a good thing. I tell all the NRL players they should work.
"I am pushing NRL clubs to get their players working and I would like to see every player at least working in the off-season. The game has a responsibility to ensure these guys have something to fall back on if it all comes crashing down."
Former Bulldogs and Shark Corey Hughes is one of a number of ex-players putting back into the game. He and fellow former Shark Luke Covell are helping put 16 young players through apprenticeships.
"I was lucky enough to learn a trade before football," Hughes, a carpenter, said.
"But these guys go straight from school into full-time football. They are straight into money and careers and that is fine until it ends and if you don't have anything to fall back on, you are in a bad place. Everyone who comes into the '20s thinks they are going to make it and they don't need anything else. We are trying to change that. "
Hughes works about 12 hours a week. He speaks constantly to his young brigade, making sure they are turning up to work and enjoying what they do."
The NRL's work has 500 NRL & NYC players who have completed or are currently enrolled in a Vocational Education Program.
Several other former and current NRL players are involved. Dene Halatau, Michael Weyman, Jason Clark and Matt Ballin are all mentor players while still playing themselves. Former Bulldog Brad Morrin is at the forefront of the fight. The company he works for the, Australian Training Company, provides young players with pre-apprenticeships.
DEPRESSION
PEEK STOOD in a corporate suite at ANZ stadium during Origin III. Handing out cards. He stuffed them into hands, slipped them into pockets and left them on the bar. The cards had numbers for organisations that deal with depression. He knows it is not only a problem in society but also the game.
"Depression is an issue," Peek said. "I had some problems when I finished my career and it had an impact on both me and my wife. Other players I know have had it. We are on the front foot at the NRL. We have programs and we are addressing it.
"It is hard to deal with and we are trying to make people are aware of it. Looking back, and knowing what I know now, I can say I played with many guys that had depression. I know what the indicators are now, and they had it. We need to teach every player what the indicators are and teach them how to help their mates."
Heptonstall revealed four clubs are monitoring players sleep in a bid to diagnose depression. He and his unit are teaching both clubs and players what to look out for encouraging them to ask for help.
"It can be extremely tough for these young guys with football careers," Widders said.
"They have huge pressure to make it, not only from themselves but also from their community and family. A lot of people put unfair pressure on them."
