FORMER Western Bulldogs and St Kilda captains Bob Murphy and Nick Riewoldt have praised Dayne and Claye Beams’ “raw” and “powerful” interview with Fox Footy’s On the Mark.

In the interview, Dayne Beams opened up on experiencing suicidal thoughts after his father passed away in March this year.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW IN OUR PLAYER BELOW

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“Once he (Beams’ father) got sick and then obviously him passing, it sort of spiralled out of control for me a little bit,” Beams said on Fox Footy’s On the Mark.

“And I want to get myself in a better headspace than I am, like every day I get better and I’m a different person to what I was a month ago, two months ago.

“It scares me a little bit to actually think about but there were times when I had suicidal thoughts — not that I’d ever act on them though.”

“Claye came over one night when I was having a bit of a meltdown and I guess I told him that I was having these thoughts … I’ve got a wife and two kids that I’d leave behind and I’d never act on them (the thoughts), but it was really scary to actually experience those thoughts and feelings and for me that was the point where I guess I needed to go and seek some more professional help.”

Dayne Beams has opened up. (AAP Image/Julian Smith) Source: AAP

Murphy said the interview was as “raw” as he’d seen, and Beams’ open honesty showed football’s culture was changing for the better.

“The word you reach for there, raw, it doesn’t get much more raw than that,” Murphy said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.

“Really powerful — I mean just him sharing that, the changing culture of football and the masculinity in the game I think has really changed, and for the better.

“For a captain of a footy club and for a player to share those kind of emotions and then do what they do on the weekend.

“But yeah, hard to imagine — I mean all footy clubs are dealing with varying degrees of players going through stuff, heavy emotional stuff, that we all go through in life and sometimes you can’t fix all those things but footy clubs and playing groups have an incredible ability to look after one another and put their arms around each other.”

Riewoldt praised On the Mark for offering a platform for players to tell their more difficult stories.

He said Beams’ struggles highlighted that footballers weren’t “immune” to the struggles everyday people faced — especially in regards to struggling with grief.

“It’s been a great platform, On the Mark, I think to be able to provide a safe environment for players to be able to share those stories and it does provide I guess an insight into what people are experiencing in everyday life away from footy,” he said on AFL 360.

“Footballers aren’t immune to the same issues and the same problems and ‘Beamsy’ was going out and playing AFL football amidst all of that turmoil and all of those thoughts and just because you’re a footballer and you’re playing at the highest level, nothing can prepare you for grief.

“And everyone handles grief differently and you never know how you’re going to respond until you’re actually in it.

“So it’s amazing that he’s been able to maintain such a high level of performance while he’s been experiencing those emotions.

“And I’m not sure his teammates would have understood the depths of that, because footy players are generally pretty good at being able to compartmentalise and to clock in and clock out and lead and do what they need to do while they’re at the footy club.”

If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or MensLine Australiaon 1300 78 99 78.

For further information about depression, contact beyondblue on 1300 22 4636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.