Darcy Rudd: Championing Mental Health in Community Footy

Back in August, Fremantle CBC Football Club’s Darcy Rudd was named Western Australia’s 2026 Tackle Your Feelings Community Champion, recognising his commitment to promoting mental health and wellbeing within his club.

With the football season now behind us, we’re taking the opportunity to spotlight Darcy’s efforts to create a club environment where conversations about mental health are encouraged, supported and normalised.

A familiar face at Fremantle CBC, Darcy has been part of the club since graduating high school, following an invitation from a life member to give senior football a go.

Now approaching his 200-game milestone and coming off a Best and Fairest season, Darcy’s contribution to the club extends well beyond his performances on the field.

In 2026, Darcy stepped into a committee role focused on mental health and wellbeing, building on the foundations established by fellow club member Damo Stevens.

A primary school teacher by profession, Darcy brought with him a passion for helping young people develop resilience, build meaningful connections and feel comfortable discussing their emotions.

Throughout the season, Darcy helped coordinate Tackle Your Feelings workshops across the club’s senior men’s, Colts and women’s programs, ensuring mental health education reached members across different ages and teams.

For Darcy, these workshops aren’t just about recognising when you might need support yourself, but also developing the confidence and skills to support those around you.

“One of the biggest barriers is, you say, ‘Hey, how you going?’ to someone, they say, ‘Good,’ and you move on. Whereas when that one person says, ‘I’m not going great,’ how do you handle that?”

Alongside the Tackle Your Feelings program, Fremantle CBC has continued to strengthen its connections with the Kai-Fella Foundation and its local headspace clinic.

Each pre-season, the club joins neighbouring rivals North Fremantle Football Club for the annual Kai-Fella Cup, a charity football event raising awareness and funds for the Kai-Fella Foundation.

The Foundation works to improve mental health outcomes for young Australians, challenging harmful attitudes towards masculinity and encouraging more open conversations about mental health.

Together with the club’s dedicated Mental Health Round, these initiatives provide opportunities for members to connect, learn and access support beyond the football field.

Perth Football League Club Development and Wellbeing Officer Henry Beus praised Darcy’s contribution to the club’s ongoing efforts.

“Darcy has played a leading role in the club’s ongoing commitment to mental health and wellbeing,” Beus said.

“From the annual Kai-Fella Cup to the club’s dedicated Mental Health Round, Darcy has helped create regular opportunities for members to discuss mental health, access education and connect with professional support.”

For Darcy, these initiatives all contribute to a bigger picture: creating a football club where members feel genuinely connected and supported.

“A footy club’s meant to be a place that, you know, life outside of footy might be quite rough, but it needs to be a place that people can come to and be able to talk to people or just feel a bit better.”

With the 2026 season now behind him, Darcy is already looking at how the club can build on its progress in 2027.

One priority is exploring how mental health education can be made more accessible to Fremantle CBC’s All Abilities program, working alongside the team’s manager, Heather Timms.

Darcy is also keen to explore opportunities for senior players to mentor other members and establish more regular wellbeing conversations within teams.

The goal is to ensure mental health remains an ongoing priority rather than something discussed during a single workshop or awareness round.

“It’s not like the, ‘Do this one week,’ and then it sort of trickles away and nothing’s done,” he said.

While the award came as a surprise to Darcy, he was quick to acknowledge the efforts of those who helped establish the club’s wellbeing initiatives before him.

“Damo Stevens before me was one who was really putting in some legwork, and so I just wanted to take that on.”

The Perth Football League congratulates Darcy on his 2026 recognition and thanks him and the wider Fremantle CBC community for their ongoing commitment to mental health and wellbeing!