Before the State of Mind Round, Mitchell Dodds opened up about coping with changes in his career
Wolves’ forward Mitchell Dodds opened up ahead of this round of fixtures about the changes he’s had to cope with in his career and living in the UK.
Serious injury coupled with moving to the other side of the world are changes that are difficult to deal with, as Warrington Wolves prop Mitchell Dodds has found out this year.
The Australian relocated to Cheshire from Brisbane to join the Wolves, after living his whole life in the Queensland capital. Dodds arrived with a hand injury and then just two games into his First Utility Super League career he suffered a badly broken leg which has kept him sidelined for the rest of the season.
The front-rower admits both changes have been tough. Getting injured and moving to a new place are probably two different circumstances, he says.
“Leaving home and leaving your friends network is quite hard. It’s a new part of your life, it’s a bit of challenge,” said Dodds.
“I think it’s a bit tougher when you do get injured as it’s your career. It’s going to affect your income and your next job opportunity. If you have a good stable support group around you’re usually pretty good. That’s probably the best thing I reckon.”
Dodds says he struggled at first to adapt to different weather and the way of life in the UK. But he has been able to call on the help of his club Warrington and his teammates to get through it.
“I big thing for me was, especially coming through that pre-season, was you’re in the sun every day back in Brisbane getting that vitamin D,” said the 27-year-old forward.
“Not seeing the sun for a couple of weeks made me feel low at times when my partner wasn’t around.
“You turn to your mates to vent or take a little bit of pressure off. That’s a big thing. As we’re males, mostly everyone is a bit stubborn and doesn’t ask for help when they need it. The club are pretty much on the ball asking if you’re alright all the time.
Dodds has experienced serious injuries before in his career that have kept him off the field for long periods. He described recovering from bad injuries as a mind battle, with remaining positive and keeping to a schedule important.
“Injury kind of throws a spanner in the works in your routines and what your goals are in the year,”
“When you do go through that circumstance you need to set yourself more goals, as with myself, I broke up my injury in week blocks to be walking more, have better posture, that kind of thing.
“You’re playing head games with yourself, it is a bit of a mind battle.”
The theme for this year’s State of Mind campaign was change and how to cope with it.