Carlton winger Ollie Hollands will not play against Fremantle on Saturday night after an “emotional” week amid his brother’s mental health battle.
Hollands was admitted to hospital on Monday, four days after his erratic performance that was described as “mental health episode” in Thursday night’s loss to Collingwood.
Ollie played alongside his brother last week and showed his support with a touching social media post on Tuesday.
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He was originally named in the Carlton side to take on the Dockers and travelled to Perth with teammates, but has since withdrawn.
Ollie hasn’t spoken publicly about last week’s concerning situation surrounding his brother, but thanked everyone for their support on social media during the week.
Alongside a photo of the two brothers as kids, Ollie thanked Carlton and the public for their overwhelming support.
“There are no words to describe how grateful we are for all the love and support Elijah and our family have received,” he wrote.
“We want to say a huge thank you to the Carlton Football Club, Blues supporters and the greater AFL community for all of your support and love.
“It’s incredibly challenging watching your own brother go through something like this but the amount of support that we have received has been overwhelming and as a family we will be forever grateful.
“Love you Roger.”
Ollie Hollands says he’s grateful for all the support the AFL industry has shown his brother, Elijah. Credit: OllieHolland/Instagram
Carlton formally submitted their report to the AFL about Elijah Hollands’ public mental health episode on Thursday, the same day Blues coach Michael Voss claimed the club was being “bullied”.
Hours after Voss gave a combative press conference at Ikon Park, the club confirmed they had finalised their investigation and had reported their findings to the league.
“The Carlton football club continues to prioritise the welfare of Elijah Hollands, alongside providing ongoing support for his family and our club’s people, through what remains a complex and challenging time,” a statement on Thursday night read.
“The club can confirm it has responded this evening to the AFL’s request and provided an account of the circumstances relating to Hollands and the club’s round 6 match.
“The club understands the significant interest in this matter; however, out of respect for the sensitivities involved, the club will not be providing further comment until the AFL process has been finalised.”
Voss didn’t provide an update on Hollands’ condition, and said he had been communicating with his family rather than the player himself.
Already a confirmed out for the trip to Perth, Carlton listed Hollands’ absence as mental health when the teams were released on Thursday night.
The coach said he couldn’t comment on specifics of the club’s handling of Hollands, with the “process” still unfolding.
As well as the AFL, Victorian workplace safety watchdog WorkSafe is also asking questions about the incident.
“The AFL’s looking into everything at this point in time, so there is a process that clearly is under way,” Voss said on Thursday at the Blues headquarters.
The coach defended his club’s management of the 23-year-old on match-day, which has come under heavy public scrutiny, and hit out at “bullying” behaviour by some quarters.
Widely circulated videos showed Hollands showing signs of unusual behaviour before the game against the Magpies started, and he finished the match with one disposal before being benched in the final quarter.
“Unfortunately rather than make this a private challenge, we’ve made this a public event so the commentary, the conversation, the ball-by-ball play … and in some ways, like I’ll be really honest, it’s felt like bordering on bullying,” Voss said.
“Rather than show compassion and empathy through a really difficult situation, we (people) are being really judgmental with knowing little facts, without understanding history and background, and we’ve drawn our own outcomes.
“I think our people are being bullied, and I think we (people) bully for outcomes, and all I’d just say is that we need to take into consideration the people involved in this – this impacts families.”
Last year, Hollands twice took personal leave from Carlton, later revealing he had been battling mental ill-health and issues with alcohol.
Voss said he and club officials had been working with the young midfielder.
“The last couple of years haven’t been smooth sailing, for him or us, but what our team of people have done has provided amazing mentoring, counselling, guidance, specialists and professionals, both inside and out, all for the opportunity for a young man to be able to have a career,’‘ he said.
“I don’t think you should say that there has not been amazing care, love, support, empathy, accountability throughout this whole process.
“And when we have challenging times like what we did over the weekend and you start to sift through this information, you just cannot possibly come to the conclusion that it is about care.”
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