Raiders star Elliott Whitehead knows all too well how hard it can be to focus on football when the club you represent is on the brink of implosion.
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But on this occasion Whitehead is mercifully watching from afar as the walls seem to cave in on Brisbane ahead of their clash with the Raiders in Canberra this weekend.
The NRL crisis club is in a world of misery with just one win in 11 matches since the season restart.
Star forward Tevita Pangai Junior is on the brink of leaving the club after being stood down indefinitely by the NRL. Up to 10 players being investigated for a possible COVID-19 breach earlier this month following a pub lunch, while Queensland police investigating a scurrilous social media post about embattled coach Anthony Seibold.
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As a fresh-faced 22-year-old long before becoming an NRL superstar, Whitehead's home-town Bradford Bulls experienced their own self-destruction.
It was 2012 and financial difficulties had reduced the once mighty Bulls to their knees. The club almost folded, the majority of staff were stood down and players were left in limbo as to what their future looked like.
"A lot of stress goes through, it's hard to focus on what's happening on the field when you don't know what's going on in your personal life," Whitehead said.
"They were a bit different to what Brisbane are going through at the moment. We we were at Bradford you didn't know if you were getting paid or if the club were going to survive and [whether] you were going to see the season out.
"People have families and mortgages to pay at the end of the day and when you're not sure if you're going to pay them in the following months."
Whitehead left Bradford for Catalan Dragons, a season before the Bulls were relegated from the English Super League for the first time in 40 years. Bradford ultimately fell into liquidation before being reborn in the lower leagues, and are still chasing a return to England's top flight.
Meanwhile, Whitehead joined the Raiders at the start of 2016, following in the footsteps of fellow English international Josh Hodgson and the 30-year-old hasn't looked back, establishing himself as one of the NRL's most versatile back rowers.
He's been a constant in an injury-ravaged Raiders side this season, although Canberra's problems pale into insignificance when compared with the multiple crises engulfing the Broncos this season.
But despite Brisbane's horror form, Whitehead said his team could not afford to relax.
"They've started again pretty well and just dropped off at the back end so the main focus will be starting well against them this weekend," Whitehead said.
"The number seven [Dearden]...I thought he played a good game last week and his combinations are going to get better. It's been pleasing to keep the same 17 for a change."
The Raiders will auction off their custom-made jerseys after the match to raise money for the Black Dog Institute, and Whitehead expected departing countryman John Bateman to raise the most money.
"He's very popular in the group. With him leaving at the end of the year I'm sure people will be wanting to get his jersey."
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
