Krushers host Fathers night

A very big congratulations needs to go out to the Oakleigh Krushers football club for the ‘Fathers Night’ they held at their club last week.

The Fathers Night was a joint initiative with the Oakleigh Dragons Junior Football Club, and was in response to a recent suicide in the area. The Fathers, saw fathers of boys who are involved in the two clubs coming together to talk openly in a panel forum environment about men’s health issues, particularly around depression.

The panel included: David Rhys Jones (AFL Legend), Paul Klisaris (Monash Mayor), Michael Hazell (VAFA President), Jake McCauley (CEO SMJFL), Tony Wynd (Beyond Blue) and Steve Dimopoulos (Victorian ALP Member for Oakleigh).

After hearing from individual members of the panel, the evening very quickly turned into a group discussion with the audience where many aspects of men’s health were discussed. A lot of debate centred around how our local sporting clubs, the local community, the VAFA, and government, can work together to keep on top of this very important issue.

Michael Hazell commented on the night as follows:

“The evening was one of those very rare occasions where men’s guards were down and some really positive discussion took place on what worries us as men and how we might all work together to make the world a better place for those around us who might be troubled.

“It was also great to be able to talk openly in a forum about how to make the world a better place for our kids. One of the difficult questions that constantly confronts the VAFA is whether it has the potential to do more to help with some of the key social issues that are affecting our society.

“The night confirmed in my mind that people do see the VAFA and its clubs as a leader in our community on a host of issues, and that the VAFA, in partnership with its clubs, should not be shy of taking a more proactive leadership role in relation to important social issues”.

Well done to Oakleigh Krushers.