Greg Inglis still cuts as formidable a figure as he did during the height of his career. But with one revelation, he exposes himself in the most vulnerable way, shedding light on the day he was almost lost forever.

“If I didn’t see my sister at that door, I wouldn’t be alive,” the Queensland Maroons legend tells this masthead. “It’s as simple as that.”

Alongside newly crowned IBF world welterweight champion Liam Paro, Inglis is fuelled by a purpose – to make sure others don’t suffer the way he has. While the pair rose to fame because of their physicality, both have battled unseen demons.

For Inglis, it was his struggles comprehending retirement as he approached the end of a glittering rugby league career of 264 NRL games, 32 State of Origin caps and 39 Tests for Australia. His former South Sydney coach, Wayne Bennett, warned him to have a plan for the transition he would face, having grown so accustomed to the regimented routine of life in professional sport.

“You do this 7am to 3pm, then you wake up and do it again. You do that three days straight, play on the weekends, and spend 10 months of the year together as a squad,” Inglis says. “It doesn’t matter how long you want to play in the NRL, you still have to try to keep that normality of a routine.”

Inglis – who has spoken of his diagnosis with depression and bipolar II – descended into a spiral of alcohol abuse. During Magic Round in 2019, shortly after announcing his immediate retirement, he went missing for three days. There are parts of that period he cannot remember.

Eventually, he was found by his sister in Brisbane, before he checked into a rehabilitation facility for three weeks. “I thought I was alone, I thought I couldn’t talk to anybody, and that’s the way I dealt with it. I dealt with it in a way no one should, in a bad way,” Inglis says.

“I just didn’t know the destruction I was doing on myself, and didn’t know the destruction I was doing around my loved ones. I had to change, or I wouldn’t be here.”

Paro’s experience with mental health struggles came through the suicide of his best mate Regan Grieve, a once-promising North Queensland Cowboys prospect. The pair, who met playing under-8s rugby league in Mackay, had vowed to “conquer the world” – a phrase inked on Paro’s rib cage.

As he clinched his title by unanimous decision against Lewis Crocker at Brisbane’s Pat Rafter Arena on Wednesday night, Paro also wore Grieve’s initials printed on his shorts. “I wish every day he was still here to be conquering the world with me,” he says.

“It’s not my journey, it’s our journey, and we’re still doing it.” Suicide rates in their hometown of Mackay are high, at times have been up to 25 per cent higher than in the rest of Queensland.

Suicide rates in Mackay have been a concern for years, with the city seeing a higher number of suspected suicides compared to other parts of Queensland.

Inglis and Paro have joined forces, with Paro supporting Inglis’ Goanna Academy and Stick With It initiative. The program has gone into more than 120 schools to encourage kids to speak about their mental health issues. Inglis also takes his work to Indigenous communities, and has begun conducting leadership camps.

The pair concede there is still a stigma in the hypermasculine environments of their sports that present barriers to men seeking support. “It should be a normal conversation to have, and you shouldn’t be ashamed of it,” Inglis says.

Liam Paro and Greg Inglis speak candidly about their experiences with mental health in a bid to raise awareness and reduce stigma in their respective sports.

The Queensland Government has acknowledged the issue, with a spokesperson stating that they take the issue of mental health very seriously and are committed to providing support to those affected.

The initiative aims to encourage kids to speak about their mental health issues, and Inglis has seen positive results from his work so far. At one school, teachers noticed a complete shift in one student – who sought the support of a counsellor after Inglis’ presentation.

Key Facts:

  • 73 of the 781 suspected suicide deaths in Queensland last year were aged 18 to 24
  • 373 suicide deaths in Queensland occurred outside major cities
  • Inglis has spoken about his diagnosis with depression and bipolar II
  • Paro has a tattoo of the phrase “conquer the world” on his rib cage
  • Inglis has conducted leadership camps in Indigenous communities
  • The Goanna Academy and Stick With It initiative has gone into over 120 schools