Sometimes things just don't turn out how you plan them. Like our injury list at the moment.

I recently caught up with an old teammate of mine who, despite all his best laid plans and preparation, life post-footy isn't going as smoothly as he had first hoped.

Throughout his playing career he went to university and was pretty keen not to be involved in football when he stepped out of the industry.

He had planned to start his own business with a couple of other people and had put all his efforts and endeavours during his final two years at Fremantle into setting this up.

The reality of that changed significantly once his footy career had finished. The goalposts, pardon the pun, had changed soon afterwards.

What he thought was going to be his life post-football was, in reality, a completely different story.

Having known the guy and seen him step out of the game, it was a bit of a shock to see him not doing what he thought he was going to do.

This example is a prudent reminder to me and to all AFL players that you can do as much preparation within your AFL career to align yourself with future ambitions and goals, but sometimes the reality is completely different when you do step away from the game.

For every player that walks away from the game, it’s a shock to the system and a hard transition no matter how much education they’ve had and how much they’ve been guided through that process.

Football is such a big part of their lives for such a long time, and for it to not be there all of a sudden can be a big change for them to become accustomed to.

There are numerous avenues all footballers have at their disposal to help counter this, however.
I think what the AFL Players’ Association does through training and education grants is fantastic.

At Fremantle, we encourage all of our players to go and do something meaningful outside of the game. We have about a dozen players at uni and we’d have a similar amount doing some other form of study.

It bewilders me that players won’t take up some type of study or course outside of the game when it’s so well funded by the AFLPA and encouraged by the clubs.

I think every player that walks out of the game should do so with some kind of certificate or qualification.

Most other people in society that have stepped out of school would, after five or six years, have some level of qualification, whether that’s a uni degree, TAFE certificate or an apprenticeship.

It baffles me that a player would not have that in their back pocket when it’s so readily available to them.

What my life will look like outside of footy has always been in the back of my mind and I think I’ve maximised the avenues that the AFLPA and the Fremantle Dockers have offered me.

I’ve been fortunate to complete an undergraduate degree at UWA, and now I’m back doing my second MBA unit which I hope will hold me in good stead when my time in the game is up.

The message I’m trying to convey is that, in any walk of life, opportunities shouldn’t be wasted. Take advantage of that which is presented to you because you might not get another crack at it.