SA Footy

A media release from the club earlier today.

With the greatest of sensitivity I want to inform you all that Shane Birss will be taking indefinite time off football due to the onset of depression.

Shane has been dealing with this illness since January and as a consequence has been prescribed medication and attending regular therapy sessions.

Shane is very confident that in time he can get back to playing great footy for the West Adelaide Football Club.

The West Adelaide Football Club in conjunction with the AFLPA are working with Shane, Amy, their families and his Doctors to get Shane back to full health.

The West Adelaide Football Club is supportive of Shane’s move to withdraw from football at this stage to focus on his health.

Please respect that Shane or his team-mates will not be making any comment at this time.


First and foremost lets hope he makes a full recovery for his healths sake and for his family. I also hope that he recovers and can continue his football career with the WAFC.

Good luck to Shane on his recovery, its a shocking thing and well done to the club and Shane (and others in the past) for bringing it out into the open so that others that suffer from it know they're not alone and have help if needed.

Stand up and Kick Arse.....

Who cares what people think of you....

We are not here long enough to give a S-H-I-T...!

Thats a fairly simplistic way of looking at things Dog_ger.

The problem is, Dog_ger, it's very likely that the depression has got nothing to do with what others say - it just happens.

I applaud his courage to allow a public release, well done and all the best in recovery. A long, dark road that does indeed have light at the end of the tunnel. All who support him will play a big part in making sure he can always see that light.

smac wrote:I applaud his courage to allow a public release, well done and all the best in recovery. A long, dark road that does indeed have light at the end of the tunnel. All who support him will play a big part in making sure he can always see that light.

Very well put smac. There are some people that will help shape how well Shane comes out of this.

Best of luck to Shane Birss.

Anyone else concerned about friends or feeling this way themselves...Beyond Blue is a good place to start.

I HEARD THIS ON THE ABC NEWS ON THE WAY TO NORWOOD, GOOD LUCK TO THE YOUNG FELLA, LETS HOPE HE'S BACK SOONER RATHER THAN LATER

That is sad to hear and of course we wish Shane, his family and friends all the best getting through this difficut time...

I wonder if it is something that has been an issue for him for a long period of time or is something that has come about just recently. Further from that, I wonder whether being delisted from the AFL and the money / lifestyle it offers has had something to do with it ?

By no means am I suggesting it is the case because of course no one on here knows the minor details but it is something that I think about...

Good on him and the club for taking the action of bringing it out into the public forum, its a dehabilitating thing that many people suffer and the more that people open up and talk about it the better for everyone IMO.

Lifeline are a really good group of people to talk to if you are suffering from depression.

Impressed with the professional and brave manner the WAFC have displayed in handling this matter. I'm sure all SANFL fans will be hoping for a speedy recovery.

spell_check wrote:The problem is, Dog_ger, it's very likely that the depression has got nothing to do with what others say - it just happens.

8% of the human race carry a gene on the short arm of chromosome 6 which predisposes them to depressive illness. [There are other less common genetic factors too.]
This group account for about half the overall incidence of "depression" in the community, and in their case it is a biochemical disorder, not primarily caused by life experiences.
[I put "depression" in quotes because it is a loose term including a variety of types that should really be identified and treated according to type.]

Well done to all involved for handling this so professionally. My thoughts are with Shane as he fights "The Black Dog", as Winston Churchill called it, and wishing him a positive and healthy frame of mind for the future, football or not.

A number of footballers have admitted publicly that they suffer from depression - just wondering if the AFL, AFLPA or clubs offer some form of counselling or advice programme for those players who are cut from lists, which must surely be a traumatic experience, afterall it is there livelihood and some don't have a career/trade to fall back on. Something to think about.

Head up, Shane, and take time to enjoy life, I'm sure all true footy supporters' thoughts are with you.

Scoop wrote:Well done to all involved for handling this so professionally. My thoughts are with Shane as he fights "The Black Dog", as Winston Churchill called it, and wishing him a positive and healthy frame of mind for the future, football or not.

A number of footballers have admitted publicly that they suffer from depression - just wondering if the AFL, AFLPA or clubs offer some form of counselling or advice programme for those players who are cut from lists, which must surely be a traumatic experience, afterall it is there livelihood and some don't have a career/trade to fall back on. Something to think about.

Head up, Shane, and take time to enjoy life, I'm sure all true footy supporters' thoughts are with you.

My understanding from hearing Brendan Gale talk on this subject is that, it is now a part of a footballer's post-AFL "debriefing" that he is given access to counselling etc after being cut. The AFLPA has been very proactive in this particular situation and should be commended for it. The thoughts of the football world are with Shane and his family in this time, and many of us will look forward to seeing him back at West - on either side of the fence.

Echoing the thoughts of others here, very well handled by Shane, WAFC and the AFLPA ... Best of luck to the lad in his recovery process

All the best to Shane - I hope that he can be inspired by people such as Shaun Tait and Nathan Thompson to get himself back to positivity and having a routine that professional and semi-professional sport brings - plus the camaraderie - can be an important part of the recovery process.

Everything being equal, this bloke should be playing AFL. Unfortunately he's not and let's hope the delisting from AFL hasn't hastened the onset of his condition. All the best to the lad. I wished I could've played footy half as good as he still can.

all the best to shane and his family not a nice thing to have depression try hard and stay strong as difficult as it can be all the best shane

being someone who has stood by a family member who has suffered depression for 20+ years i can honestly attest to the value of cognitive therapy treatment (complimenting any other meds of course) its a great way to learn coping skills and helps us understand this often dibilitating illness. I truly believe if more people learnt about cbt society would be much better off. It is my opinion also that with the right treatment people who suffer from depression, with the assistance of cbt and medication can live rich, fulfilling lives, there are always options.. Good luck Shane, only you can do this