The Sydney Roosters and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles will play for the annual Gotcha4Life Cup when the two sides meet in the Round 21 NRL fixture at Allianz Stadium on Saturday 27th July to raise funds and awareness of the importance of building mental fitness.

The Sydney Roosters, along with their sponsor Unibet, and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, sponsored by Shaw and Partners Financial Services, are putting aside their on-field rivalry for the third year running to share an important message around mental fitness: the importance of building emotional muscles, and having the skills to reach out, speak up and connect through meaningful conversations and feel safe and supported to get through life’s ups and downs.

The need for building mental fitness is underlined by alarming statistics such as:

• Nine Australian lives are lost each day to suicide – seven men, two women.
• 3.3 million Australians have had serious thoughts about ending their own life.
• One in two Australians have needed mental health support in the last three months.

"Making sure people are mentally fit to get through life's ups and downs is the conversation we need to be having right now with everything that’s going on around us, and to get those stats to zero," Gotcha4Life Founder Gus Worland explains.

“This year’s Gotcha4Life Cup is going to be the biggest yet!  At the Roosters’ Allianz Stadium, watching friends and Ambassadors in both teams battle it out, a half time celebrity match, the sale of Gotcha4Life Mateship bands, it’s going to be terrific. The energy will be electric, raising vital funds and awareness about the importance of building mental fitness.

“At Gotcha4Life, we teach people the skills to build the emotional muscles they need to open up about how they're feeling, and importantly, to seek help when they need it.

“We want to get our message out to as many people as we can, and to have the invaluable support of the event sponsors Unibet and Shaw and Partners Financial Services, alongside the dedication of the two clubs committed to our cause, is incredible.  Every dollar raised contributes to developing and delivering mental fitness workshops, tools and resources that will help shape a more mentally fit future for us all,” he added.

Roosters captain and Gotcha4Life Ambassador James Tedesco spoke about the importance of having more conversations about mental fitness.

“It’s awesome to see the work Gotcha4Life is doing and it’s so important we keep having conversations about mental health and mental fitness, especially in the team environment where it can be a bit harder to share how you’re feeling," said Tedesco.

“It’s important we look after each other on the field, but it’s even more important we look after each other off the field, and we do that by checking in with each other, having that honest conversation and making sure you’ve got your mates through those tough times,” he added.

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Captain Daly Cherry-Evans said he was proud to support Gotcha4Life as one of their ambassadors.

“I have witnessed first hand the tremendous and important work that the team at Gotcha4Life do in the community,’’ Cherry-Evans said.

“The NRL is arguably one of the most brutal sports in the world and as team-mates, we all play and work hard to achieve success.  Mental Health is one area everyone needs to focus and work hard on too. It’s about looking out for each other, be it your friends, colleagues, or family.

“A phone call, a visit, or just meeting for a coffee to see how they are doing is such an easy thing to do. Take that step and tell them you are there for them. A simple conversation can make a world of difference.”

“After leaving this Gotcha4Life Cup match, I want everyone to think about the people they cherish and love in their lives. Send a text to say ‘I love you, I miss you, let’s have a coffee’.  It’s about looking after those in our village, and connecting with them in both good and bad times.  That’s one way to build mental fitness,” added Worland.  

Unibet and Shaw and Partners Financial Services will both again be donating $100,000 to the Gotcha4Life Foundation, making a grand total of $200,000 to go towards expanding the foundation’s mental fitness programs around Australia, and for keeping the online Mental Fitness Gym free for all.

The Gotcha4Life logo will be proudly displayed on the socks and jerseys of both the Sydney Roosters and the Manly Sea Eagles teams in unity, with jerseys being auctioned off after the game to raise more funds for Gotcha4Life.

About Gotcha4Life

Gotcha4Life is a not-for-profit foundation founded by Gus and Vicky Worland and since 2017, has been on a mission to inspire and enable all Australians to take action to build their mental fitness.  Gotcha4Life develops and delivers preventative campaigns, programs and initiatives which give individuals, families and communities the skills to build emotional muscles, strengthen social connectedness, and encourage help-seeking behaviour so they’re better equipped to get through life’s ups and downs.  Their ultimate vision? A suicide-free world where no one worries alone.