Every Anzac Day around 100,000 people pack into the Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch Collingwood play Essendon.

Outside of the finals, it's the biggest AFL game of the year.

One player who won't be running out in Essendon's famous red and black guernsey is Josh Green, a small forward who retired from professional football at the end of 2018.

The experience of playing on Anzac Day, Green says, can't be put in words. He was lucky enough to play in the fabled match twice, and he'll cherish the memories for the rest of his life.

But there are many things about football he won't miss, like the scrutiny, the constant pressure to perform and the ongoing trolling and abuse he received on social media.

"I don't mean to talk about footy this way, but it feels like I'm out of jail. Honestly, it feels great. I do what I want now, I eat what I want. It's a lot better," he says.

Is this football's 'age of anxiety'?

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It might sound like a strange thing to hear from a footballer. From afar, it can seem that men playing in the AFL live charmed lives.

They get to live out their passion in front of an audience of thousands, not to mention the money, fame and everything that comes with it. (According to the AFL Players' Association, contracted male footballers earn on average $360,000 per year.)

While Josh doesn't have any regrets, and is grateful for the opportunities he had, there were moments in his playing career when he was deeply unhappy.

"The constant pressure to perform and constant social media bullying were the main things I struggled with, and this will be something I have to deal with for the rest of my life," he wrote in an article for the AFL Players' Association last year.

He's not alone. In 2017, Richmond star Dustin Martin had the season a footballer can only dream about. He won the Brownlow Medal for best and fairest player in the league. He won the premiership with Richmond, and he won the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the grand final.

But, in the aftermath of his astonishing success, Martin struggled. He recently revealed he was dealing with depression and anxiety during the 2018 season.

"I woke with a weird empty feeling inside and it was really strange. I had everything I wanted and everything I dreamt of, but I didn't feel fulfilled or happy. I didn't know what was going on," he told Fairfax Media in March.

And it's not just the AFL. Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA — home to some of the highest paid athletes in the world — says many players in the competition are isolated and unhappy.

"I think we live, a bit, in the age of anxiety. I think part of it is a direct product of social media," he told an audience at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

"Those players … when I meet with them, what strikes me is that they are truly unhappy. This is not some show they're putting on for the media."

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When abuse moves from the ground to social media

Josh Green now works with aspiring footballers. ( ABC Life: Matt Garrow )

Josh's difficulties started with articles and commentary which focussed on his weight. He remembers one article, published while he was playing for the Brisbane Lions, that particularly affected him.

"A lot of people were talking about [my weight], and I didn't want to talk about it. I started to have self-confidence issues, and [issues with my] eating. It really rocked me for a bit," he says.

The mud stuck. For the rest of his career, he was tagged in tweets and Facebook comments — and sent direct messages on Instagram — calling him "fat" and "slow".

While at Brisbane, Josh was eventually diagnosed with severe anxiety and received treatment. It wasn't something he told many people about at the time.

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'Why do they need to say these things?'

Needless to say, abuse and trolling is something women footballers deal with too, especially following the rise of the new AFLW competition.

Cecilia McIntosh was selected by Collingwood in the first AFLW draft in 2016. Aged 37, she was already a decorated athlete, having won a Commonwealth silver medal in javelin and competed for Australia in bobsled at the Winter Olympics.

Despite representing her country at the highest level, nothing in her experience prepared her for the scrutiny and bullying she received as a footballer.

One of the worst moments was when the AFLW posted a photo on Facebook announcing McIntosh's retirement. The comment thread turned nasty.

"Well done Cecilia, what a journeywoman, your longevity through the gruelling eight match seasons over three years has taken its toll. Truly inspirational [two hand-clapping emojis]," read one sarcastic comment.

Cecilia McIntosh (left) was criticised on Facebook after a photo was posted showing her being carried off the ground by her teammates. ( Collingwood Football Club: Luke Henry (Supplied) )

That comment — which was written by a former AFL player who had played only six matches at the highest level himself — left McIntosh scratching her head.

"I actually never copped any of this as a track and field athlete or as a bobsledder. I was always treated as an equal … we were respected by the public like the men were," she says.

"I don't understand with the AFLW coming in why it's different. It's just another sport that women have actually been playing longer than the last three years. Why do they have the need to say these things?"

Players sign up for the injuries, but not the online jabs

Towards the end of last season, Josh knew his career was on the line. He had been struggling with injuries, particularly his feet. They were so painful he could hardly run.

Josh Green had bolts put in his feet after repeated stress fractures. ( Supplied: Josh Green )

But Josh was desperate to have another season to prove himself, so in the last few games, he had cortisone injections to get on the field. When the games were over, there were moments where it was a struggle to stand up.

Josh didn't mind the injuries or playing with the pain. That's part of the game, he says. But putting up with bullying and abuse isn't.

"It doesn't say in your contract that you have to accept bullying and personal jabs at you online. It doesn't say that. We don't sign up to it," he says.

"We do sign up to copping scrutiny from the media, and that's fine. They're allowed to have their opinion. But the direct messages, and tweets and Instagrams and Facebook messages have to stop. It's not OK [anywhere else], so why's it OK in the AFL?"