TRAGEDY STRIKES WINTERSTEIN FAMILY

[Geo]

TRAGEDY STRIKES WINTERSTEIN FAMILY
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Written by TONY ADAMS, March 12, 2015
RUGBY league is set to be rocked by the sudden death of another promising young player in North Queensland.

Fotu “Francis” Winterstein, brother of Cowboys winger Antonio, died this week aged just 19.

The youngster was a promising player with the Townsville Stingers club and his death has shocked the local community.

Dick Walsh who mentored the young man during his time playing for the Townsville Centrals has expressed his deep sympathies, describing the 19-year-old as talented footballer and a great young man.

“He was such a talented young man,” Walsh told the Townsville Bulletin.

“It’s obviously rocked our club. A few of the boys grew up together with him.

“We need to be strong for each other, and mates need to look after mates.”

It comes just months after two other young players in North Queensland took their own lives.

The Cowboys are offering Antonio Winterstein support.

He has been named to play against the Knights this weekend but is expected to pull out as a result of the tragedy.

For help or information, call Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636)

http://www.beyondblue.org.au/

https://www.facebook.com/LeagueWeek?ref=ts&fref=ts

Another tragedy in our game…..If anyone is struggling just ask for help it's out there...Peoples just check with your loved one's...R.U.OK...

 

[happy_tiger]

I wonder what the NRL is doing to stop these tragedies

All I can say is obviously not enough

My deepest condolences to the Winterstein family

Antonio was one of the players doing the rounds meeting and greeting the kids at the Laurie Spina Cup last year

Lovely bloke , couldn't get the smile off his face

 

[hobbo]

Thoughts and prayers go out to the Winterstein family .

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[Flippedy]

That's terrible news. Condolences to all the family.

 

[TurnStyle]

this is the biggest tragedy. i guess to most, getting to that point in your life is impossible to comprehend and also note to act upon and quite often you will hear friends and relatives say things like "he seemed in great spirits last i saw him", etc. so it really is shocking.
i dont want to comment much on what the NRL does for this issue because i dont personally know, but i have the impression it does offer quite good resources and support. i could be wrong, and maybe there is more they could do.
unfortunately sometimes there is only so much you can do.

such a shame.

 

[innsaneink]

terrible news

 

[tigertye]

So sad. Thoughts go out to his family.

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[tiga4eva]

It's impossible to blame the Clubs, but why on Earth are so many young guys believing that this is their best option. This is an every year occurrence.

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[Demps]

Sucks…

Antonio is a good guy, condolences to he and his family...
Wish there was more info but I guess it's their business.'

R.I.P

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Gives you an idea of the pressures on these kids to perform.

 

[happy_tiger]

It's impossible to blame the Clubs, but why on Earth are so many young guys believing that this is their best option. This is an every year occurrence.

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The Cowboys have had three such situations in 12 months

I was wondering at one stage whether if may have had to with players having to spend so much time away from home The Cowboys former feeder (Mackay ) team was around 5 hours drive from Townsville

But with the new Blackhawks team they have a local feeder team

The clubs and the NRL need to have specialized officers in place that are contactable 7 days 24 hours a day that every player must speak to at least once a week

This has to stop , this is a highly preventable tragedy if managed correctly

Please Mr Smith stand up and protect all our boys 😢

 

[foreveratiger]

Absolute tragic, the Winterstein family are left to ponder what they could of done to save him?
R.I.P

 

[tiga4eva]

It's impossible to blame the Clubs, but why on Earth are so many young guys believing that this is their best option. This is an every year occurrence.

_Posted using RoarFEED 4.2.0_

The Cowboys have had three such situations in 12 months

I was wondering at one stage whether if may have had to with players having to spend so much time away from home The Cowboys former feeder (Mackay ) team was around 5 hours drive from Townsville

But with the new Blackhawks team they have a local feeder team

The clubs and the NRL need to have specialized officers in place that are contactable 7 days 24 hours a day that every player must speak to at least once a week

This has to stop , this is a highly preventable tragedy if managed correctly

Please Mr Smith stand up and protect all our boys 😢

It baffles me Happy. Is it pressure to provide for the family or maybe homesickness or realisation they may never reach the heights they dreamed of. This is more concerning than players being caught in possession of cocaine. Were talking about parents who are burying their children and the common denominator in their deaths is Rugby League

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[Tigermama]

So sad. Another young life lost to us. Condolences to the young man's family and friends 😢