Castleford Tigers half-back Rangi Chase has thrown his weight behind the support and work being done by State of Mind ahead of the annual round this weekend.
Chase, who spoke extensively and openly about his battle with depression during a press conference on Tuesday, said he’s pleased to see work being done to address the taboo subject of mental health amongst Rugby League players.
The half-back says spreading the message that it’s good for players to talk can only be a good thing.
He said: “I think it’s massive, and credit to the RFL for touching on state of mind.
“A lot of the boys do struggle at times and it’s something players don’t want to talk about at times because you feel weak and vulnerable.
“It’s a good topic to tackle and people should be aware of it; players put a bravado on saying things are all good but we go home and we feel just so alone. We try to pick ourselves up but it’s great to get the message out there about it – because it’s real and it’s happening.”
Chase has assured Castleford fans that he’s raring to go in terms of his own state of mind after tumultuous exits from both Salford and Leigh since initially leaving the Tigers.
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He said: “I was down a lot and I tried to pick myself up and get on with it but I always found myself unhappy with things like training. It wasn’t the club or anything, it was just where my state of mind was at.
“Things didn’t work out at Salford then they didn’t work out there, I was playing at a standard which was nowhere near the one I feel I can play at so it was frustrating: I was kidding myself saying things were OK, but this time I genuinely feel really good about myself.
“You feel really vulnerable at times and you have a lot of down days, but right now I feel like I’m on top of the world.
“Money gets thrown at you and it gets appealing to see what you can do with it but the opportunity to come here was purely about playing.
“It was nothing to do with what I could get material-wise, it was about feeling the fire inside me for the game again. I see things a bit differently now: I needed that break from the game to spend time with my family.”
