Greg Inglis has experienced the highs and lows of professional sport, from premiership glory and international honours to personal battles that weren’t visible to the outside world.
Now, the NRL great is using his platform to help others facing their own unseen struggles.
Inglis officially launched the ‘Stick With It’ campaign through his mental health foundation, the Goanna Academy, as part of NRL Round 22.
The initiative will see players and coaches across the league wear specially designed strapping tape to spark conversation and awareness around mental health challenges.
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“You go to a doctor and get a bandaid. People see that and ask ‘what’s the matter’... hopefully sports tape can help get a conversation started about mental health,” Inglis told foxsports.com.au.
The former Kangaroos and Maroons star may have conquered rugby league’s biggest stages, but nothing prepared him for the mental toll that came after retirement.
After stepping away from the game in 2019, Inglis found himself struggling to adjust to life without the daily structure of training, team schedules, and purpose.
“That’s where it all came down for me,” Inglis admitted.
“I thought I could just get up and walk away from it, but Wayne Bennett told me that when you’re retired you’re a long time retired. I didn’t quite get that at first.”
Two months later, Inglis realised the full weight of those words.
The pressure became so overwhelming that he was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic for a second time. Instead of viewing that as an ending, Inglis turned it into a new beginning.
He was soon diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and bipolar II disorder, a moment that, in his words, gave him long-awaited clarity.
“Going back and thinking about it, having the proper diagnosis was an aha moment. That’s why I encourage people, if you don’t know how or what you’re feeling, go seek professional help.
“There’s nothing wrong with you — we’re just all wired differently.”
That diagnosis became the catalyst for something bigger.
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In 2020, Inglis launched the Goanna Academy, a first-of-its-kind organisation focused on breaking mental health stigma, particularly among Indigenous men, before expanding its reach to all Australians.
The transition from elite athlete to everyday life was more jarring than he expected. He went without a mobile phone for three months during his recovery and, six years on, still doesn’t use social media, with his Instagram account managed entirely by his team.
“My biggest thing to help me get back is to stick to a daily routine,” he said.
“I had played for 16-odd years and all of a sudden you stop – it just can’t happen. It doesn’t matter what business you’re in or what you’re doing in life, if you’ve done it for so long, try and have some form of normality in your life afterwards.”
Even during his career, Inglis said he often masked how he was really feeling.
“My outlet and the way I got through it was football,” he said.
“I could be at home and just have a crap day, not really knowing my emotions but I’d turn up to training and be totally different — up and bubbly doing what I love. Then some days I wouldn’t feel up and I’d just put it down to being tired from training.
“I found out it was always there, even in my earlier years, but I just learnt how to mask it.”
Back then, mental health in rugby league was rarely spoken about.
“It just wasn’t spoken about,” he said.
“Men’s environment, testosterone, wanting the biggest flex — ‘nothing’s wrong with me’ — or thinking nobody wants to listen to it.”
Now 38, Inglis is helping drive change at the grassroots level. Through the Goanna Academy, he runs programs in schools, communities, and mentoring circles, including working with rising Wests Tigers star Jahream Bula.
That connection even led him to join the Wests Tigers NRLW team as an assistant coach.
“I’m loving it,” Inglis said. “It breaks up the work that I’m doing... from having those tough conversations about mental health to helping grow our women’s game.”
Inglis hopes that the ‘Stick With It’ campaign becomes a lasting symbol — not just of awareness, but of action.