Sports coaches play an important role in creating an environment of support, trust and open communication. By creating a culture that values hauora and waiora, the sense of winning goes beyond the scoreboard – the ultimate prize is the collective support, strength and spirit to overcome challenges on every front, whether in sport, or in life.

The ‘wellbeing wins’ is what Healthy Families Hutt Valley Practice Lead, George Lajpold saw as the gold from this year’s rugby league season, after having the opportunity to return to Randwick Rugby League Club, his origin club, to coach the Premier team and to mentor a new group of coaches that will look after senior grade teams. One of the key focuses was to adopt a hauora and waiora approach with the players and putting the person first before the athlete. To support the players, the team took part in a Find Your Front wellbeing wānanga with New Zealand Rugby League just prior to the start of the season.

Now that the club season has come to an end, George shares his reflections on the season after embedding NZ Rugby League’s mental wellness approach, Find Your Front, across the senior men’s and women’s teams at Randwick.

This season wasn’t an easy journey. At times we found ourselves having discussions with members of our community because our measurement of success conflicted with the traditional line of ‘wins on the board’, but these discussions were an opportunity to share our approach and raise the awareness and importance of hauora and waiora and Find Your Front.

Our motto was ‘One Team – One Club’.

*George Lajpold (pictured left) with the Randwick Premier Squad Leadership Team.*

What I suspected and was later affirmed was that our people are very busy and operate on limited time because life outside of sports has to take priority. Commitments to other sports, whānau, work, church, injury, illness, tangi, personal issues, holidays and personal wellness were some of the key factors that limited the availability of players.

As the premier squad, from our first week of the competition to the end, we had:

57 training sessions, totalling to 6,840 minutes of training
a total of 41 players playing for the premier team
17 of these players making their premier debut
275 absences
and we did not field the same team twice during the season.

For me, our season this year did not focus on the number of wins but instead, and more importantly, it focused on ensuring our players normalised conversations around wellness and letting them know that they were well supported in this area.

When I reflect on what I observed with the players and what I was a part of in the application of hauroa waiora, our season was a huge success. I saw players conversing in matters around their hauora waiora, players checking with one another on their wellness, players holding each other to account and the bonds of the brotherhood that come from playing sport strengthen across the squad and on the board we were only 2 wins away from playing in the grand final.

More information about Find your Front

New Zealand Rugby League Wellbeing services

Find your Front podcast

As seen on thecoconet.tv

In the NRL, every club has at least one Welfare and Education Manager who looks after the wellbeing of the players in their charge and in New Zealand, the NRL funds not only the One NZ Warriors wellbeing officers at a club level but also the New Zealand Rugby League wellbeing team at a national level (Elite Pathways).

Suicides of young men in the rugby league community have underlined the urgency to normalise conversations around mental health and the NRL have recognised that it can be a challenging experience to leave home at a young age, or simply to face the responsibilities of playing the sport they love at a high level.

After first being led by former NRL star Nigel Vagana who was the GM of Wellbeing and Community for the NZRL, Carmen Taplin took over in 2019.

Carmen Taplin. Photo credit: Cliff Thompson

Carmen who is of Maori heritage had, had extensive and first hand experience caring for Rugby League players from her time as a Team Manager for the NZ Kiwis squad from 2010 – 2014 to being house parents with her husband Spencer for both the Sydney Roosters in 2013 and the NZ Warriors from 2015 until she transitioned to the Warriors wellbeing team in 2018.

During her time in Sydney with the Roosters it heightened her awareness regarding the absolute need for wellbeing especially for Pasifika and Maori athletes in the NRL.

She realised that due to the NRL ony funding the NZRL for the Elite Pathways there was a lack of support provided to clubs and zones at a community level and that there was an immense need for the same care and assistance.

When she moved over from the Warriors to the NZRL as the Wellbeing Manager there, she created the Wellbeing Waka which is a framework that allows the NZRL to engage in the communities in partnership with Le Va as well as deliver messages to their key stakeholders regarding Mental Wealth and ultimately try to reduce the stigma attached to Mental Health in the sport.

“I’m sure it’s in every sport, but with our sport, it’s supposed to be a hard, tough game, and our men aren’t very good at being vulnerable,” Carmen says.

“We wanted to try and start breaking down some barriers there. The biggest thing for us was to get our people comfortable talking about it.”

Carmen brought on former rugby league legend Ali Lauitiiti who had played in both the NRL and Super League with a career spanning 19 years and had a real desire to give back to the Rugby League communities “to look after the person first in sports and in life”

Cliff Thompson who had spent many years in the Department of Corrections and is both the Franklin Bulls & One NZ Warriors chaplain, as well as being the Lead Pastor at The Render Gathering, supported Carmen and Ali from a chaplaincy perspective and became a huge driving force in everything Carmen and Ali did.

Ali Lauitiiti Photo Credit: Cliff Thompson

Eventually Carmen moved over to the Gold Coast where she is currently based and continues her work with the NZRL in a part time capacity looking after the Kiwi Ferns. She is also in the wellbeing space at club level, currently employed by the Gold Coast Titans as the NRLW Wellbeing and Logistics Manager supporting their female programmes and is a member of the NRL Pasifika Wellbeing Advisory Group.

When Carmen and her husband Spencer moved during Covid, Cliff took over the practical delivery of the Wellbeing Waka workshops. Former NRL player Jerry Seuseu moved into Carmen’s NZRL wellbeing role while the Warriors were based overseas, before heading back to the Warriors when the team returned to their home base at Mt Smart.

From this point, Cliff was a perfect fit to take over the reins from Jerry with Ali still onboard and Carmen supporting from afar.

L-R Ali, Shontayne Hape and Jerry Seuseu

Ali, Carmen and Cliff with David Solomona and ladies from Queensland Rugby League. Photo supplied

“We have the same love and passion for our rugby league communities and were rewarded with the most amazing friendships and strong relationships built on trust and aroha.” said Carmen.

Since taking over as the Wellbeing Manager for the NZRL, Cliff and Ali have rolled out the ‘Finding Your Front’ podcast which takes a deep dive into wellbeing conversations with past and present players discussing success, challenges and tools used to combat life and career pressures.

Check out their most recent chat with NZRL and Sydney Roosters Centre Joey Manu below and catch up on the full season on the NZRL youtube page.

And it’s not just in Rugby League that athletes Wellness and Mental Health is of utmost importance – earlier this year, High Performance Sport New Zealand released a recent summary of athletes’ mental health in Aotearoa.

A whopping 21% of New Zealand elite athletes were found to be experiencing depressive symptoms, with more than half of them experiencing a severe level of symptoms rather than a moderate level, an increase since the last study back in 2015.

Furthermore, it is our younger athletes under the age of 25 who have been found to have higher numbers of depressive symptoms overall. The rates of our athletes that are struggling aren’t getting any lower and the athletes suffering the most are getting younger.

Next Gen Basketball. Photo credit: Cliff Thompson

On the 26th of June 2023, Cliff, Ali and Carmen came together again to put on the inaugural NZRL hui after identifying the need for support and connection between not only wellbeing and support staff with athletes and the community but support and training for those in wellbeing roles from volunteers in the community to those working with high performance athletes.

Volunteers, Coaches, sports psychologists, athletes, and administrators flew in from across the motu to attend. The 3 day event saw the Wellbeing team and guest speakers come together to be re-inspired and share their journey thus far as well as ensuring that everyone who attended, received wrap-around support because when you’re dealing with mental health and well-being, it can be quite taxing.

“Wellbeing exists and functions because people care enough about their fellow human being, and that’s a beautiful thing, but the reality is, you can’t give what you don’t have, and if you pour out of an empty vessel, wellbeing is compromised on all levels and for many people.” Cliff explained

Wellbeing officers from around NZ at the inaugural NZRL wellbeing hui. Photo credit: Cliff Thompson

Carmen was one of the first speakers and shared her own journey as well as personal tips on what had worked for her while her and her husband Spencer were house parents to a number of Maori, Pasifika and Indigenous players, some who are current household names in the NRL today like Latrell Mitchell, Joey Manu, Siosiua Taukeiaho, Payne Haas, Jazz Tevaga and more.

She also talked about how her own move to Australia was tough, and that even with her husband and children close, the move from home to a new place was a struggle even for her. So imagine how hard it must be for young athletes moving away from home to a strange place with no friends or family … and then have to perform at an elite level in their sport: the pressure would be unimaginable.

Carmen was inspired to ensure that these players who had made that big move had the right support around them during these tough transitions.

“It all comes down to caring” she stated in her presentation. “And ensuring that when you say you’re going to be there (for a player) that you follow through and build that trust and are there for them”

Carmen presenting at the inaugural NZRL Wellbeing hui. Photo credit: Cliff Thompson

Fellow guest speaker Dr Toni Minniti (Wellbeing and Engagement lead at High Performance Sports NZ) echoed Carmen’s sentiment about consistency and shared that HPSNZ are also committed to supporting athletes across Aotearoa.

Among the star studded list of speakers was International Weightlifter Meghan Signal who had been through a number of struggles and challenges both personally and professionally throughout her professional career. She shared that as a professional athlete it was important to her in her darkest times after she injured herself right before the Tokyo Olympics, that there were people close to her who allowed her the space to feel how she felt in any given moment.

She highlighted the importance of creating a safe space for athletes to just be.

Dr Toni Minniti speaking at the inaugural NZRL Wellbeing hui. Photo Credit: Cliff Thompson

Megan Signal sharing her journey at the inaugural NZRL wellbeing hui. Photo Credit: Cliff Thompson

Over the course of the 3 day hui many shared their stories and their “Why’s”

Wellbeing team member and Rugby League Legend Ali Lauitiiti shared “I was once that kid, so that’s the main reason why I do this because I know what these kids go through.”

The star second rower stated that he’s inspired to give our young athletes support not just when they hit NRL, but well before “So by the time they reach the professional realm, they’re in a better place to navigate through it” he added

Ali Lauitiiti Photo Credit: Cliff Thompson

For this team of unsung heroes who are dedicated to seeing our athletes are treated as humans and not just a money making commodity, this is just the beginning, and the dream of creating a more sustainable ‘well’ industry for our athletes is looking up!

“We’ve had great speakers, guests, sessions to teach, inspire and encourage us forward in our work, but the greatest achievement over the past few days, has been the connection, the support and the depth of relationship nurtured between those who care for their Rugby League communities around our beautiful country.

Just like putting on a playing Jersey, we are only stewards of the role while we are in it, and it’s our duty to honor that, always seeking outcomes over accolades.” Cliff reiterated

Ali, Cliff and Wellbeing champions & ambassadors from the Otara Scorpions Rugby League Club. Photo Supplied

The team offer support all across Aotearoa so if you would like to book a session for your club or school, you can get in touch by emailing wellbeing@nzrl.co.nz

–

Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ on Air

23 MAY – As seen on healthyfamilieshuttvalley.org.nz

In any physical sport like Rugby League, strength and physicality is always a key focus, but there has been a growing realisation that mental health is just as crucial for peak performance and overall wellbeing. Earlier this year, New Zealand Rugby League initiated a wellbeing kaupapa ‘Find your Front’ which aims to support Rugby League players, coaches, managers, volunteers and supporters who often face challenges and expectations when it comes to their wellbeing.

The term ‘find your front’ in Rugby League refers to the intent of landing on your front when making contact with the opposition to get the best advantage when playing the ball. New Zealand Rugby League have re-framed finding your front as a way to build resilience and promote open kōrero and striving to break the silence surrounding mental wellbeing in the Rugby League community.

Wellington Rugby League have been partnering with local health providers over the last few seasons to connect and engage on the importance of health and wellbeing of all players at representative levels, seniors, rangatahi and wider whānau in the community.

Some initiatives that have rolled out this year include:

Hauora rounds – the first round for all grades was a hauora round – several local health providers were in attendance with handy resources help the community with hauora and healthy living.
Find Your Front Workshops – in March, the 9-aside Wellington Orcas 16’s and 18’s youth male and female teams and the Randwick Kingfisher senior players participated in a Find Your Front workshop delivered by the NZRL wellbeing team which included Rugby League legends and former NZ Warriors, Ali Lauiti’iti, Shontayne Hape, Jerry Seuseu and Charlie Gubb along with Cliff Thompson (NZRL Wellbeing Manager) and Wesley Smith (Sport Chaplaincy).
Find Your Front Club Champions – Te Aroha Eels and Randwick Kingfisher senior teams are championing Find Your Front throughout the local rugby league community. Healthy Families Hutt Valley have supported this initiative by working alongside these clubs as they champion Find Your Front.

Randwick Kingfishers and Te Aroha Eels Premier teams wearing the newly launched Find Your Front training tops to raise the awareness of mental wellbeing across the rugby league community.

8 weeks into the premier men’s grade – Andre Whittaker, Wellington Rugby League Chief Executive has already seen a positive impact on players’ wellbeing.

“Lots of players feel a greater sense of support and a lot more confidence to speak up if they’re facing any challenges – big or small. We’re proud to create an environment that acknowledges and addresses mental health and overall wellbeing, and the Find Your Front kaupapa is redefining the Rugby League scene and ensuring that players can thrive both on and off the field” says Andre.

Check out the video below of some amazing rugby league players sharing how the game has made a positive impact on their wellbeing.

Wellington Rugby League’s commitment to ensuring the health and wellbeing of players and the wider rugby league community highlights the opportunity and role that sport can play to support and enable our communities to live healthier and fulfilling lives.

ADDRESSING MENTAL HEALTH AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL WITH THE FIND YOUR FRONT PODCAST

New Zealand Rugby League and One NZ Warriors launched the Find Your Front podcast where former and current players share their whakapapa, journeys to playing at an elite level, achievements and challenging times while touching on mental health.

Their stories aim to inspire and encourage listeners to break the stigma around mental health and encouraging players to find strength and confidence to speak up and seek support.

Listen to the podcast on Spotify

The Importance of The Find Your Front Podcast:

Find Your Front is a Rugby League coaching term to land on your Front whilst in attack, because you’re in a strong position to play the ball quick,

so your team can gain momentum.

Like in life when we go through challenges the hope is, we find our front & be in a better position to be well.

We believe using the Podcast platform to hear the stories of our Athletes pass & present, highlighting the importance of their Well-being.

Whilst performing at the highest level of their chosen sport, but more so as a son/daughter, husband/wife, Father/mother.

Also hearing them tell stories of of their challenges & how they overcame it to Find Their Front.

We have an amazing line up of guests. We kicked off our first Podcast drops with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad & Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

To keep you guessing we sat down with an All Black, an Olympian, a dual international for both League and Union – just to name a few.

So, tune in as they drop. You’ll hear some deep & meaningful questions & answers outside your ordinary sports interview.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NZ Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns (@nzrugbyleague)

For all your Well-being Support checkout our NZRL Well-being page to access tools and tips.

As seen on https://www.nrl.com

With almost half of the NRL playing pool now made up of players who identify as Māori or Pasifika, wellbeing programs across the game are evolving to cater specifically to the intricacies which exist in those cultural groups.

This year the NRL began delivering the Pasifika Culture Competency Training, a module which encapsulates identity and culture, and how they link into the culture of a club, as part of its mandatory program delivery to players and football staff.

Former New Zealand and Samoa international David Solomona, who is now the NRL players wellbeing program manager based in Queensland, sees it as a crucial step forward and says it is evidence of the benefits that come from having diversity in decision-making roles.

“A lot of it comes down to the people that have a say in the creation of programs. I think in the past because it was such a new space, the NRL would create programs based off the ideas of two or three people in the office and then send it out,” Solomona said.

“Having input from people in different communities with different backgrounds, understanding where people sit, even just the difference between New South Wales and Queensland, is important.

“I feel like it’s a bit of a turning point for the game.”

The module was developed alongside Dr David Lakisa, who among his long list of achievements completed a PhD on ‘Pacific Sport and Diversity Management’.

Solomona says the sessions are run with Māori and Pasifika cultural customs in mind, and while tailored to those groups, they have value for everyone in the game.

“We sit in a circle because we understand the importance of having a hui (gathering in Māori), having a talanoa (a term for a gathering commonly used by Tongans, Samoans, and Fijians) and being able to have everyone equal and part of the conversation,” Solomona said.

“That allows everyone to feel part of the group, no matter their culture, and this is good for non-Māori and Pasifika players to hear stories about why teammates might do the things they do.

“When you celebrate one culture it allows the game to kind of celebrate everyone’s culture as well.”

A similar approach is being rolled out across the ditch, with the New Zealand Rugby League wellbeing team leaning on a collection of former star players to help them further tailor their delivery.

A league club with a particularly large Samoan contingent might have the message delivered to them by former Toa Samoa superstar Ali Lauiti’iti, a predominantly Tongan group could get six-time Mate Ma’a Tonga rep Epalahame Lauaki, while Māori women’s great Krystal Rota is on the crew too.

The NZRL work alongside Pasifika support organisation Le Va and suicide prevention training program LifeKeepers to deliver their Wellbeing Waka and Find your Front programs.

NZRL wellbeing manager Cliff Thompson said the overall goal is to educate key people in rugby league communities to enable them to drive the wellbeing message.

“It’s asking them, what do these things mean in your culture or community? What’s the closest concept to wellbeing in your culture?” Thompson says.

“Because that’s all wellbeing is, it’s not what I think you need, a big part of it is listening to the individual about what helps them.”

In the end Solomona hopes the efforts to deliver a wellbeing message through a more multicultural lens will help current and future players avoid some of the issues he faced as a young NRL prospect at the Roosters.

“Man, I made my mum and little brother move to Sydney for three or four months because I got too homesick.

“Those experiences go into what I am trying to do in the game now. Hopefully this will make things a bit easier for the next group of players.”

“When you celebrate one culture it allows the game to kind of celebrate everyone’s culture as well.”

A similar approach is being rolled out across the ditch, with the New Zealand Rugby League wellbeing team leaning on a collection of former star players to help them further tailor their delivery.

The NZRL work alongside Pasifika support organisation Le Va and suicide prevention training program LifeKeepers to deliver their Wellbeing Waka and Find your Front programs.

Kia ora from the well-being team at NZRL!

In this month’s issue, we want to introduce you to our well-being Kaupapa around Aotearoa…Finding your Front.

The power of this statement is that it is rugby league language, technique and, most important of all, a way in which we can frame building resilience and looking after ourselves. We have been on a campaign to grow well-being across the motu by raising well-being champions and ambassadors, connecting them with sports chaplains and having our zones learn to provide well-being as often as required. We are excited about our progress but are also up for the challenge to grow and improve in this space.

You can see one of our ambassadors here https://www.instagram.com and hear what well-being is to him.

If you want to see what is available to you, check out our resources and partners here.

Ali’s tips for well-being as you prep for the start of the season

Make Sure you are fit to play by looking after your niggly injuries
Prepare yourself physically & mentally through good sleep, getting a few runs in at your training sessions before the season kicks off
Stay Hydrated: Invest in a water bottle if you ca
Check your gear, boots, mouthguard
Have fun & enjoy because your best is enough; enjoy being a team player & a good sport.

27 May 2022

as seen on nzherald.co.nz

Rugby league legends Jerry Seuseu and Ali Lauiti’iti are tackling mental health in young Māori and Pacific Islanders head-on.

The two ex-NRL stars are ambassadors for the New Zealand Rugby League Wellbeing Programme.

They travel the country talking at grassroots rugby league clubs to players, friends, coaches and anyone who wants to participate in the It Ain’t Weak To Speak campaign.

Seuseu told the Herald when he was playing professional rugby league for the Warriors, Kiwis and in the UK for Wigan, asking for help to deal with mental health issues was frowned upon.

“We were basically told to harden up and do your best,” Seuseu recalls.

“It wasn’t very fashionable to talk about mental health and people had to deal with it quietly. Fortunately for Ali and myself, we had a good Christian upbringing and that certainly helped us in our careers.

“That’s what it was like back then, but we have moved on and we encourage our young people to use their voices and be heard.

“Our statistics tell us mental health [challenges are] everywhere and our youth are suffering the most. It’s no weakness to reach out if you are struggling and not in a good space.”

Having hung up their playing boots a few years ago, Seuseu and Lauiti’iti want to give back to the community that supported them throughout their long and illustrious careers. They both still live in and around South Auckland.

Seuseu played 209 matches – 37 for Counties-Manukau (1995-1996), 132 for the Warriors (1997-2004) and 40 in the UK Super League for the Wigan Warriors (2005-2006). He also represented Samoa four times in 2000 and the Kiwis 11 times, from 2001-2004.

Lauiti’iti was one of the most gifted players to ever pull on a Warriors or New Zealand rugby league jersey, because of his athleticism and skills.

He was a 115-game Warrior from 1998-2003, played 200 games for UK Super League club Leeds from 2004-2011 and also for Wakefield Trinity in 94 matches from 2012-2015.

Seuseu said communities face their own unique dilemmas but youth issues are not dissimilar around the motu (nation).

“We are finding that wherever we go to speak with youth, each area has its own unique issues.

“Our team spoke in Invercargill and the group wanted to talk about alcohol and driving, because they had a tragedy a few weeks prior involving teenagers,” Seuseu said.

“There was a group of 60 and all of them knew those involved and were trying to come to terms with the accident and make sense of their loss.

“We also spoke with a group from Manurewa and people told us they might be a difficult group. But we gave them the opportunity and they were real conversant on how they felt.”

Seuseu said giving teenagers coping strategies and mechanisms was a big part of the programme, and it was rewarding work.

“We get a lot out of doing this as well,” Seuseu said.

The NZRL and the Warriors are working alongside Le Va, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose vision is to support whānau and communities for better health and wellbeing outcomes.

“In Auckland, the youth we speak to are more worried about their identity, social media and what is affecting them,” Seuseu said.

“Sometimes the conversations with youth are awkward but they have to be had.

“Ali and I try to talk with youth in a safe and engaging way, sometimes we use our PI humour, and that always brings a laugh,” Seuseu said.

Lauiti’iti said talking with youth about suicide was confronting but had to be discussed for the sake of our young people.

“We try to equip our youth with tools to deal with suicide, and although it is hard and confronting we have to speak about it,” Lauiti’iti said.

“But it’s also having the courage to step out and help out if you see one of your mates, or you, are not in the right space.”

In Auckland, 80 per cent of league players are Māori or Pasifika. Outside of Tāmaki Makaurau, 80 per cent of rugby league players are Māori.

WHERE TO GET HELP

If it is an emergency and you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

For counselling and support:

Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP)

Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)

Need to talk? Call or text 1737

Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202

For children and young people:

Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234

What’s Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)

The Lowdown: Text 5626 or webchat

For help with specific issues:

Alcohol and Drug Helpline: Call 0800 787 797

Anxiety Helpline: Call 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY)

OutLine: Call 0800 688 5463 (0800 OUTLINE) (6pm-9pm)

Safe to talk (sexual harm): Call 0800 044 334 or text 4334

All services are free and available 24/7 unless otherwise specified.

For more information and support, talk to your local doctor, hauora, community mental health team, or counselling service. The Mental Health Foundation has more helplines and service contacts on its website.

02 March 2022

as seen on stuff.co.nz

Jerry Seuseu and Ben Henry experienced violence as kids, and want to help make things different for future generations.

Domestic violence was just part of the reality of growing up for former Warriors star Jerry Seuseu.

“Whether it was my neighbours or relatives or siblings, we were very familiar with what is called a hiding,” he recalls.

Now, he’s on a mission to change things for future generations.

Seuseu, along with fellow former Warrior Ben Henry, is a new ambassador for Le Va, an Auckland charity that helps support Pasifika families.

Workshops at Le Va are now co-facilitated by the New Zealand Warriors and the New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL), and funded through ACC.

“These days, we are looking at different ways of parenting,” Seuseu says.

Seuseu said growing up, domestic violence was his reality – something he wants to change for future generations.

Henry, who now works as the wellbeing and education manager for the New Zealand Warriors, says it’s important to connect with Pasifika dads.

“Fathers Fono for example, is a two-hour workshop where we just sit down with fathers that come from all walks of life, mostly Pacific islander and Māori men, and the challenges they sort of face as fathers,” he says.

Henry says the challenges the dads face range from lacking connections to their children, balancing work and family time, to how discipline a child without using violence.

“They come up with the solutions, and we just help them along the way in the workshop to discover, or to articulate what those solutions are.”

He says the Fathers Fono programme centres around themes such as building pride around being a Pasifika dad, enhancing the mana of Pasifika men, and reminding them of the importance of their role in their homes and in their communities.

Seuseu, now the NZRL’s wellbeing manager, says the league decided to partner with Le Va because of the work it was doing in the community.

“Our NZRL demographics are 80 per cent Māori and Pasifika, so it’s good to have a programme that caters to them and outlines some things we should think about as fathers,” he says.

“Especially as it relates to violence and addressing some of the violence we do have in our families, and our relationships with our partners.”

An Auckland University study in 2016 looking at the health and wellbeing of secondary school students found young Pasifika people were twice as likely to be physically punished compared to Pākehā children.

“We first address these issues by calling out the elephant in the room, using facts and the current rates,” Seuseu says.

“Then we look at tools and strategies we can use to become better fathers and part of that is just to switch back to the values we have as Pasifika people.”

Seuseu says those values incude love, kindness, and reciprocity.

“We’re reminding people that hey, these are the values that helped build up our community in the past, and we should uphold and practise these values on a daily basis.”

He says his past as a Warriors’ player helps him gather men in the community to have that conversation.

“When they see someone like myself talking about it, it makes it alright for them to share their story and for us to come together and bond as men and discuss ways we can improve.

“It is still difficult because some people don’t want to talk about it, but I think the more we do these things and promote it, the easier for us to come together and talk about our shortcomings and where we can improve, mainly as fathers but also as husbands.”

Henry says the New Zealand Warriors partnered with Le Va to address stigma around mental health.

“One in every four Pacific Islander or Māori has got some sort of mental health challenge that they’re facing,” Henry says.

“In a rugby league team, there’s maybe three or four of your teammates that are maybe going through some mental health challenges.

“This is why an organisation like this is so crucial. It’s getting rid of that stigma and talking about mental health and coming up with solutions.”

Justine Solomon, manager of strategic Investment at ACC says the agency, along with 10 others has been funding Le Va for about four years as part of a national strategy, Te Aorerekura, aimed at eliminating family and sexual violence.

“We know If we want to address these problems, we need to invest in the multiple reinforcing factors of prevention. We need to do not just behaviour change campaigns, but community mobilisation much like what Le va are leading here.”

Solomon says inspiring role models like Henry and Seuseu play an important role in connecting with communities to promote positive roles for men.

03 February 2022

as seen on warriors.kiwi

Former Kiwis Jerry Seuseu and Ben Henry will again be familiar faces when the Vodafone Warriors combine with wellbeing provider Le Va and the New Zealand Rugby League to deliver another series of workshops for clubs from the Auckland Rugby League region in the coming months.

After being with the Vodafone Warriors in a wellbeing role for many years, 132-game club favourite Seuseu is now the NZRL’s wellbeing manager but he remains involved with the Vodafone Warriors’ wellbeing support team.

Now leading the Vodafone Warriors as player wellbeing and education manager is Ben Henry, who graduated to the welfare and education space after his immensely promising NRL career was cruelly cut short at 52 games only one match into the 2016 season.

Together with Le Va, Henry and Seuseu are well-versed in bringing mental wealth workshops to clubs from the NZRL’s Akarana and Counties Manukau zones.

They began a programme again last year but their plans were undone by Auckland’s Covid lockdown.

Now they’re ready to roll again with an initiative that sees Auckland clubs being transported on the Vodafone Warriors’ bus to be hosted at workshops at the club’s Mount Smart Stadium base.

As well as players from clubs throughout Auckland, squad members from the Sky Sport Future Warriors programme will be involved in the workshops which combine mental and physical drills targeted at the younger age bracket.

“The main drive of the workshops is to help young people manage their mental health through developing strong mental health tools and strategies,” said Henry.

“These are aimed at building the protective factors required to live a robust life in Aotearoa and meet the challenges of modern day living.”

Seuseu added this year’s mental wealth programme runs off the back of the model used in 2019 and 2020.

“We will be delivering the latest offering from Le Va, the Atu Mai programme,” he said.

“It is an anti-violence programme aimed at building mental health strength through understanding and developing players’ cultural identities. Individuals are more resilient if they have a strong sense of whakapapa and identity.”

The workshops will kick off with a visit from the New Lynn Stags on February 11.

For more information about the Le Va programmes:

CLICK HERE for Atu Mai workshops.

CLICK HERE for resources and research.

Wellbeing colleagues collaborate

Wellbeing colleagues Seuseu and Henry are both accredited through the NRL and are NRL endorsed and funded to deliver wellbeing services to Vodafone Warriors players.

Seuseu left the Vodafone Warriors in May last year to head up the national programme at the NZRL after 11 years as the Vodafone Warriors’ wellbeing manager.” he said.

“We are lucky to partner with the Vodafone Warriors to facilitate discussions about the state of wellbeing and offer tools and strategies that are used in high performance sport to grow resilience at the grassroots level starting with the ARL clubs.

“I am enjoying the switch from high-performance athletes to the grassroots communities.” NZRL Wellbeing Manager, Jerry Seuseu commented.

“We are more than just a game and it is important to have programmes and strategies to look after our rugby league community. One in five people go through serious mental distress at some point in their lives.”

Henry has stepped in to lead the Vodafone Warriors’ programme and has five years’ experience as a wellbeing officer.

While his playing career was shortened by serious injury, he is a perfect example of what could be accomplished as a professional athlete. He completed several qualifications while playing – a certificate in computer programming, a certificate (level four) in business and a certificate in applied engineering. He is the ideal fit to help young players plan for a footy career and to also look ahead to transition away from the game.

Henry has quickly built a team around him with Jason Fiddes running point in Australia with the NRL players; Fiddes previously worked as a wellbeing officer at the Brisbane Broncos.

Also back on board is Enroy Talamahina, who continues his four-year relationship with the club. Talamahina is from the Sports Chaplaincy New Zealand service and assists Henry in his role for the players back in New Zealand.

Anyone interested in the programme, please contact Jerry Seuseu at jerry.seuseu@nzrl.co.nz or Ben through ben@warriors.kiwi

3rd February, 2021.

In partnership with Le Va, NZRL has produced a ‘Wellbeing Waka’ that will work to better the mental health and wellbeing outcomes of rugby league communities across New Zealand.

The Wellbeing Waka is a mental health roadshow that is set to sail to 10 of its 17 Districts from now until April. The roadshow not only aims to deliver interactive and educational workshops for Rangatahi and parents, but the Waka will go a step further to develop ‘Wellbeing Champions’ for each of the District areas.

These Champions will be on the ground contacts who provide wellbeing support networks for their communities once the Waka leaves. These Champions will be subject to training opportunities to strengthen their personal tool kits when dealing with potential crises or matters of need regarding mental health, suicide prevention and overall wellbeing.

The Wellbeing Waka will work to provide a safe space to encourage youth and parent forum discussions around mental health and suicide prevention. The Waka aims to empower youth to establish support networks among peers to ensure the voice of the young person is spoken, heard and has a seat at the table in each of the rugby league Districts.

NZRL Wellbeing Manager, Carmen Taplin says: “Our mental health and suicide rates for Maori and Pasifika from within our rugby league communities is high compared to other ethnicities.

“We believe that with education and creating sustainable support networks in our Districts, we are able to have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of our people and their families.

“We don’t just want to come, deliver a workshop and go. We are here to create a sustainable support model that works to break down the stigma associated with mental health through empowering Rangatahi and those most effected to take the lead within their communities.

“Through these initial workshops and upskilling of staff and Wellbeing Champions as well the power of past and present players, we are hoping to create a safe and supported mental health network through rugby league.”

The next Wellbeing Waka will take place on the 11th of February, 2021 at Waikato Sport, Wintec Rotokauri Campus at 6:30pm, join us and Le Va for an important korero.

NZRL’s Wellbeing Waka is for boys and girls (12 – 18+) as well as parents.

The Waka is free of charge, kai will be provided.

Keep an eye out on NZRL’s channels for the Wellbeing Waka’s next destinations.

Thanks to Innoway, NZRL are providing 1200 free hygiene packs to clubs nationwide as our rugby league communities prepare for a safe return to play come June 20^th.

NZRL CEO, Greg Peters says, “We recognise the pressure our communities have been under to ensure their facilities adhere to all strict COVID-19 health and safety requirements.

“We thank our Zones, Districts and Clubs for the hard work that has already been undertaken and these packs hopefully provide a small bit of relief as well as a tick off the requirement list to ensure a safe return to the field as soon as possible.

“I’d like to thank Innoway for their generosity as well as all those in our rugby league community for their resilience and patience during this time and we look forward to the much-anticipated return of rugby league come the end of June.”

Alistar Kata talked to Clinical Psychologist Dr Elizabeth Mati about how our Pacific people can stay mentally well during lockdown.

-For more information on Le Va’s #CatchYourself initiative: https://www.leva.co.nz/our-work/catchyourself

-Make sure you’re staying up to date with the Government’s Covid-19 information here: https://covid19.govt.nz/

-For more information on looking after your mental wellbeing: https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/

All Kiwi families must stay at home during this lockdown period in order to protect themselves from exposure to COVID-19.

Ordinarily, when children are home for long periods – such as the school holidays – there are programs and activities available outside the home to keep them busy. In the case of a pandemic, however, it is time for parents to start thinking of ways to keep the kids entertained while on lock-down.

It can be hard to keep kids entertained indefinitely.

Fortunately, we have rounded up some top tips and tricks to help parents keep their kids exploring and entertained. Here are some activities to keep children busy during self-isolation:

1. Spring clean
Keep the kids occupied and organise a day to declutter and re-decorate their bedrooms. Doing a spring clean as a family will keep everyone busy and provides parents with the opportunity to make some extra cash by selling unwanted items online. Gumtree’s ‘Second Hand Economy’ report revealed that Australian households have an average of 23 unwanted or unused items lying around the house, so it’s a great time to get rid of some of that clutter.

2. Plant an indoor herb garden
Herb gardens are a great way to keep children occupied: They are easy and quick to grow, are hardy and their multi-sensory nature make them very appealing to children. Many herbs grow well indoors on a warm window sill and the gardening supplies can be sourced easily.

3. Create an indoor camping experience
Create a personalised camping ground in your own living room. Unplug from all technology for a night, and spend the night in a tent to make a memory that will stick with you and your children for years to come in the comfort of your own home. Gumtree offers plenty of tents, blow up mattresses and camping chairs to kit out the campsite.

4. ‘Go’ to the movies
Host a family movie night with a cinema that’s set up in your home. All you need are lots of pillows and snacks, and your children’s favorite movies! Or take it one step further and create a backyard movie theatre for your kids to enjoy a cinema experience under the stars.

5. Cubby House
Gift your children a cubby house or have them build one out of the materials they can find in your home. Cubbies provide hours of entertainment for kids – whether it be decorating the space or playing games under their own roof. Renovating a second-hand cubby house could even become a great project that involves the entire family.

This has been adapted by KidSpot

New Zealand Rugby League is spearheading a new career pathways and wellbeing programme alongside Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Led by NZRL General Manager of Football and Wellbeing Nigel Vagana, the programme launched this week.

Vagana says finding shared pathways within New Zealand is a key part of the NZRL’s new approach to supporting league players here.

“Between the NZRL, the Vodafone Warriors and Fire and Emergency NZ we identified an opportunity that really showcased the benefits of all of our organisations.”

“We want to provide a pathway for our players, we obviously share some common attributes in regards to fitness but also in the community.

“This is the first of it’s kind in New Zealand and we are very excited to ensure it continues.”

Vodafone Warriors Welfare and Education manager Jerry Seuseu highlighted the importance of ensuring players from all grades were able to find careers outside football.

“This is a vital part of maintaining balance for players and to be able to provide yet another pathway is incredible,” he says.

“It’s great to see how quickly the programme has been able to be set up and we’re already getting players, both men and women, through.”

Vagana credited former Warrior Talite Liavaa for playing a key part in getting the programme set up.
Liavaa, Warrior #71, played 11 games between 1999 and 2000 and is now an accomplished firefighter and station officer.

Georgia Hale, Lorina Papali’i, Luisa Avaiki and Donald Tony attended the first session of the programme alongside Vagana and Seuseu.

Liavaa says it’s great to see the link between football and Fire and Emergency created. Former New Zealand Rugby Black Fern Rochelle Martin MNZM has echoed those sentiments.

“This is something that hopefully has great appeal for more codes and sports, there are obvious links between the sporting and emergency services communities and it would be great to see this expand.”

The programme itself is an introduction to fire-fighting and the services that Fire and Emergency provides. Ultimately players are able to work with a mentor to go through the recruitment process and, if successful, join the ranks of Fire and Emergency NZ.

NZRL CEO Greg Peters says the vision of the programme is to help find careers for players but also to encourage younger players to see there is a life outside football.

“We want to ensure that our players, through all grades, can see that there are opportunities for them to play football and have a career at the same time,” Peters says.

“Partnering with Fire and Emergency NZ is one initiative we are very proud to have kicked off.

“This is just the beginning, we are constantly working to bring these opportunities to fruition for the betterment of the game and our players across the country.”