AFL hard man Tom Papley is 80 minutes away from grand final glory with the Sydney Swans – but he almost gave it all away over his dad’s mental health battle

Tom Papley is just one game away from a grand final with the Swans, having been on the verge of quitting the sport in 2019 after receiving devastating news about his father’s mental health.

The forward, known for his aggressive approach to opponents in the AFL, wanted to leave the Bloods in 2019 to be closer to his family, but the club stood firm.

He had just discovered that his father David had bipolar disorder after the two had a confrontation. The star was planning to move back to where it all began: the town of Bunyip in Gippsland, about 90km east of Melbourne.

Papley wanted to be closer to his loved ones and therefore wanted to swap with Carlton, but he did not want to reveal the reason.

“He (Tom) just felt useless. And he wanted to be there for his mother. He said, ‘If they don’t release me, I’ll come play twos’ [reserves] at Bunyip’. He was adamant. He got it into his head that he wanted to come home, and that was it,’ David Papley said News Corp.

‘He ended up staying and that was clearly the best thing he did. He went through a period and we were proud of the reason why [he wanted to come home].

Nowadays, Papley and his father are very close, but Dave still shakes his head at the persistent annoyance in his son’s playing.

Tom Papley is just one game away from the grand final with the Swans – but he nearly quit the sport in 2019 due to his father David’s health problems (pictured together)

Papley is known for getting on top of his opponents in the AFL (pictured battling Port Adelaide’s Willie Rioli in last Friday’s preliminary round)

With his father David struggling with bipolar disorder, football was the last thing on Papley’s mind. He was prepared to move back to Victoria (pictured as a young boy playing for the Bunyips)

“The way he carries on, sometimes it’s just f**king cringe-worthy. He’s a bloody idiot,” he said.

“But it gets under their skin. It gets them excited and takes them off their game. Like ‘Horse’ [coach John Longmire] said to him, “It works.”

Papley has already played in a deciding match at the MCG for Sydney, but that was a disaster.

Geelong won the 2022 Grand Final by 81 points and fans in red and white will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself against the Brisbane Lions next Saturday.

This weekend, for the first time since 2006, when West Coast beat Sydney by a single point, two teams from states other than Victoria will compete.

It will be Longmire’s fifth Grand Final with the Swans, with the 2012 Premier League champion manager looking to improve on his current 1-3 record in the Grand Final.

Chris Fagan’s Lions are looking to bury the demons of last year after being beaten by Collingwood and also want to capture their first flag in 21 years.