QUEENSLAND Reds stars Jordan Petaia and Isaac Henry joined development officer Trent Machong at the Beaudesert Warriors clubhouse last night for a barbecue dinner.
In contrast to the state of the paddock the last time the boys were in town in December 2019, the field was a lush green thanks to recent rains.
The Warriors swapped jerseys with the Reds, as did visiting rugby union clubs Yatala Rams and Tamborine Mountain Highlanders.
Local club members and supporters welcomed the visitors and it was standing room only in the clubhouse at Everdell Park as Mr Machong presented a short talk about mental health in the sport of rugby.
Mr Machong outlined programs provided by the Queensland Reds in collaboration with mental health providers Rugby Unite and iNspiretek, encouraging club members to consider taking a mental health first aid course, which is government funded for two members per club.
He also spoke about suicide rates in Australia and how sporting teams were well placed to keep an eye out for their mates' mental health and to keep in touch with team mates.
""Suicide is the leading cause of death in Queensland men aged 15 to 24," he said.
"In the 25 to 44 age range, it's the same thing. One in five people in any one year has a mental health disorder and one in two people in their lifetime will have a mental health disorder."
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Mr Machong said Rugby Queensland was committed to doing their part to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health in sport.
He said initiatives like the mental health first aid course and iNspiretek health and wellbeing platform were two ways of doing that.
"The iNspiretek app is rolling out across Queensland Rugby and what it does is track your sleep, nutrition, mood and training.
"The information then gets filtered back to the team coach who can then monitor how players are doing in terms of both physical and mental health."
After the seminar, fans joined Petaia and Henry on the field, where they had a kickaround with junior players from Yatala and Beaudesert and happily obliged when fans asked for a photo with them.
The players were up with the larks the next morning to swim at Beaudesert Pool and help with farm chores before visiting 4Real Milk dairy farm at Tamrookum and Towri Sheep Cheeses at Allenview.
A visit has been arranged for a workout at Freedom Fitness ahead of their return to Brisbane tomorrow.
