"Our primary concern is his mental and physical health and well-being and that of his family, friends, teammates, coaches and staff at the club," Mr Buckley said. Jack Fitzpatrick, and former Hawthorn player and Werribee Football Club coach, said Daw appeared to be happy and looking forward to the future when they visited their high school together for a lunch three weeks ago. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video He said he was devastated to hear the news on Tuesday morning. "When I saw him on the surface, all seemed pretty well, he was talking about the future, his partner... buying a house... he seemed to be finally really settled on and off the field so I was so shocked to hear the news," he said.

Mr Fitzpatrick said he had known the North Melbourne star since 2006 when they were both students and aspiring young footballers at Mackillop College in Werribee. "Majak and I played junior and local football together for years growing up and we were very close at school," he said. "He came in about year nine and he would have been one of the first African kids to come to our school." He said while Daw had always been a talented athlete, he hadn't had the easiest path into elite level football. "I think he had a really hard start to life in the AFL, it took him time to adjust to the rigours of being a professional athlete and he was under this incredible pressure as the first African AFL player," Mr Fitzpatrick said. "He also had the extra role and responsibility to be a role model for his community... that was sort thrust upon him. It's extremely commendable that he took all that on without question... but it's a lot of pressure for anyone."

He said Daw's family and close friends had rallied around him. "Everybody who knows Majak knows he always has a big smile on his face and loves to muck around, but it just goes to show that you never really know what might be going," he said. "There's a lot of people supporting him but it's hit them all pretty hard." In a statement on Tuesday morning, North Melbourne said Daw was in a stable condition. "The North Melbourne Football Club can confirm Majak Daw is recovering in hospital after an incident last night," the statement reads. "At this stage the full extent of his injuries are unknown, however he is in a stable condition.

"The club is providing full support to Majak and his family and will give a further update when it is in a position to do so. "We understand the level of interest, but ask the privacy of the player, his family, teammates and staff at the club be respected at this sensitive time." Former North Melbourne great and mental health advocate Wayne Schwass said he hoped the Daw episode would be a catalyst for the AFL industry to take mental health and the emotional well-being of people in the game more seriously. "I've had concerns about a player taking his life for a decade,'' said Schwass, who stressed that he did not know any of the particulars of Daw's situation, but that it should be a "reminder'' of the urgent need for the game to do more to help players, coaches and staff to deal with emotional health. Schwass, who had his own battles with mental health throughout his playing career and considered ending his life just after winning the 1996 premiership, said he had been concerned that it would take "a tragedy'' for those in the game to take greater action.

He said AFL clubs did not apply the same resources or attention to people's emotional wellbeing as they did to their physical performance and skills. "Are we equipping them with the skills to deal with stress in their private lives?'' Friends of the South Sudanese Community expressed their shock at the incident via Twitter. "We are shocked to hear the news that our brother Majak Daw is in hospital after an incident late last night. We are all with you in thought and prayers. May you have a full and speedy recovery and know the entire Australian community is behind you." Daw moved to Australia with his family in 2003 and became the first Sudanese-born AFL footballer.

Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The incident comes in the wake of the best season of Daw's career, when the 27-year-old cemented a spot in defence, having spent most of his career as a forward/ruck. He was ranked by Champion Data – the AFL's official statistician – as the fourth-best defender in the AFL of 2018. This year he played 18 games to bring up his 50th game in the final round. It had been expected that Daw would return to full training with the team on January 14 following the Christmas break, after surgery at the season's end to repair a fracture in his foot.

North Melbourne officials were in shock on Tuesday morning upon hearing of the incident, having not been aware of any circumstances that may have led to the situation. Daw was born in Khartoum in Sudan into a large family. The third of nine kids the family fled the civil war in Sudan when Majak was nine years old. The family lived in a refugee camp in Egypt for three years before being approved to migrate to Australia. He was recruited by North Melbourne in the rookie draft in 2010. He had been a fringe player until a shift to the backline this year saw him have a career best season. In round 17 this year Daw played on Sudan-born player Aliir Aliir from Sydney in one of the match ups of the season. It is understood North Melbourne officials visited Daw in hospital on Tuesday morning, as current and former AFL players sent messages of support via social media.