Throughout the 2026 season, Adelaide Captain Jordan Dawson experienced first-hand the care of the wider football community.
As he grieved the sudden loss of his brother Jaryd, the 29-year-old received an outpouring of love and support from across the game.
Dawson sat down for a chat with podcaster Dylan Buckley, and opened up on the people who helped him navigate his return to football.
He highlighted three people in particular, Sam Jacobs, Joel Selwood and Hamish McLachlan, who each reached out in their own way.
Among them was Jacobs, who experienced a similar tragedy in 2017, and shared a piece of advice that has stayed with Dawson ever since.
“Sam Jacobs was one that was massive for me when it first happened, he lost his brother in 2017,” Dawson said.
“He lives just near me, and we just went for a big walk for probably an hour and a half, two hours, and just spoke about life and our journeys, they're very similar in a way.
“I remember him just saying, ‘You never know how strong you are until strong is the only option,’ and that was one thing that really stuck with me.
“I felt like I was in a freefall in a way and the only option that I had was being strong about it and like I said, I had so many great people around me, which helped me help me be strong.
“But just having someone in that similar position, and it's a terrible club to be in, but it kind of helped me a little bit.”
Veteran Channel 7 commentator Hamish McLachlan also reached out to Dawson during the season.
Prior to Dawson’s first game since Jaryd’s passing, against Brisbane at The Gabba, McLachlan delivered a hand written note to a Club staff member to give to the Crows Captain, which formed the beginning of a close friendship between the pair.
“I think everyone who knows Hamish says that he just does everything on the quiet, on the down-low, like off to the side, but he's just so loving and caring,” Dawson said.
“I'm sure he wouldn't mind me saying, but he wrote me a handwritten letter when I first came back against Brisbane up there, and he just quietly delivered it to one of the staff members.
“I read it when I got home the next day, and I was in tears for a while there, and we text all the time now. Every time I'd see him before a game, we'd just embrace in a big hug, and just chat around how you're going, and I'd ask how he's going.
“He didn't have to do that, he didn't have to show so much empathy and love, but he did, and he’s someone that I'm very grateful for. He's already become a pretty big mentor for me.”
Dawson also leant on the experience of former Geelong Captain Joel Selwood, who had lost two of his brothers, Troy and Adam.
He said hearing Selwood’s story and speaking with him about the power of being vulnerable helped him navigate his own experience.
“Touching base with Joel Selwood a lot throughout the year, and as we know, he's been on a on a journey himself, and with two brothers committing suicide, it's bloody heavy,” Dawson said.
“It's obviously very public for him as well, so having him to lean on has been pretty cool for me.
“That he's been willing to be very vulnerable about his own story, his own journey, and show care and help for me has been pretty special.”
