Dealing with the sudden and tragic death of a club leader is never an easy situation to navigate, but Western Australia’s Beverley Football Netball Club have shown that it is possible with the right support services in place.
Beverley FNC’s Wellbeing Coordinator – Cameron Price – said the suicide of Reserves coach, Jarred Stones, in 2024 rocked the club and they weren’t exactly sure who to turn to or who to speak to.
But after reaching out to Country Football WA, a strong partner of Tackle Your Feelings, the club found vital support for those individuals who needed it.
Beverley also completed a TYF workshop in 2024 that again helped bring people together to begin the conversation around the challenges the club was experiencing.
“We’d been working around the club on how to manage that, it was a bit of uncharted territory really, and that was a collective thing,” the 2025 Tackle Your Feelings Community Champion award winner said.
“A handful of people around the club went into the social chats and just said, look, this has happened… there are a lot of services on offer and we obviously did a bit of research ourselves and we just started to put them (the services) out there and (say) there’s help if you need it.
“The door is wide open type policy.”
Country Football WA’s Dan Murphy was able to connect the club with mental health organisations including Regional Men’s Health Initative and StandBy Support After Suicide.
Price said these kinds of services are paramount in country communities like Beverley, which is 2 hours drive away from Perth.
“Particularly for farmers and people working in agriculture, it can get isolating. So to come in (to the club) once a week and have a beer and a sausage on Thursday night and talk to people in the club I don’t think you can emphasise how great it is,” Price said.
Need Support? If you know someone who requires urgent assistance or support, please contact:
Suicide call back service: 1300 659 467
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800
Emergency: 000