"...some clubs are organised and committed to player welfare, including stress and depression, the delivery at others is fragmented..."
They put their bodies on the line every week and frequently collect physical injuries, but the hard men of rugby league are also vulnerable to mental health problems. Stress and depression among players can be eased when their club has a trained specialist to offer advice and counselling. But the macho culture of the game means that not all Super League clubs are equally committed to supporting player welfare managers, according to research carried out by the University of Huddersfield.
The study - headed by psychology lecturer Dr Alison Rodriguez - was conducted in association with the Rugby Football League, which has now pledged that the findings will bolster its policies to improve the welfare of First Utility Super League players.
Dr Rodriguez said: "This research has highlighted the assets of current welfare provision in the RFL and also the ways in which the RFL can work with its players, welfare managers and wider club staff to further improve player welfare. The RFL are serious about player welfare and is already taking this research forward, building upon their robust welfare policy."
The study was carried out in early 2015 and saw 103 players take part in an online welfare survey, answering questions on topics such as the player welfare provision at their club, mental health and stress.
"Players' mental health is better when their club has a good player welfare manager in place and have received advice on counselling support available from Sporting Chance," said Dr Rodriguez, referring to the clinic set up by soccer star Tony Adams and the Professional Footballers' Association, mainly to deal with issues of addiction.
The University of Huddersfield survey also probed the issue of "athletic identity" and how players would cope with their retirement from the sport.
From a sample of 86 players, 50 answered a question on the advantages of retirement, with 22 per cent stating it enabled them to spend more time to spend with their family and friends and an end to physical pain.
But 55 players out of 86 answered a question on the downsides of retirement. Twenty per cent admitted there would be adjustment issues when retiring from the sport and 18 per cent conceded there would be financial problems when they finish playing.
"These results suggest that the higher the psychological stress, and the more players identify with the athlete role, the worse their mental health, whereas favourable attitudes towards player welfare managers and the player welfare policy are associated with better mental health," said Dr Rodriguez.
Eleven player welfare managers from the 15 full-time clubs volunteered to be interviewed, saying that they felt their role was as an advisor, mediator and facilitator. But 11 of the interviewees believed that while some clubs are organised and committed to player welfare, the delivery at others is fragmented.
"Player welfare managers feel that lack of support from their clubs and lack of acceptance from the coaching staff makes their role difficult and those coming into the environment from the outside need to negotiate the 'Rugby League culture' to create an understanding of the players," said Dr Rodriguez.
RFL Welfare Director Emma Rosewarne said: "I'd like to thank the University of Huddersfield for their help in this research, which has given players an anonymous way to express their views on player welfare - which is incredibly important.
"It's been a great opportunity for the player welfare managers from the different clubs to talk about welfare provision confidentially and voice their opinions on how we can improve this.
"We will be using what we found from the survey. Next year we will be putting those results into practice and we are taking action to continue to improve the roll out of this vital policy. Players' participation in the research for this is absolutely essential and it's great that they are on board with it."