Money can’t buy friendship, but a ploy to save it undoubtedly cemented Jonathon Marsh and Nicholas Hind’s. 

“We sort of got forced into a friendship because it was costing us a 100 bucks a week in fuel to drive in from Footscray to Moorabbin,” Marsh laughs.  

“We didn’t really speak for a couple of weeks until we realised that we actually lived about 200 metres from each other.”

Their bid to save a bit of petrol money quickly evolved into the two self-professed extroverts bouncing off the walls as they ferried to and from RSEA Park every day.

“After the first week it wasn’t just ‘getting to know you’. We were cracking jokes in the car, and then we really started looking forward to driving in and out of the club, it was hilarious,” Hind says.

“Getting out of the car sucked at the end of the hour driving home to Footscray, we’d just be laughing for an hour in traffic. Who would’ve thought we’d miss carpooling so much!”

Thanks to a new partnership with Dare Iced Coffee and R U OK?, we’re here to discuss the importance of mates, friendships and leaning on each other for support.

Both Hind and Marsh have made it to the big league the hard way.

Hind was overlooked in seven national drafts after plying his trade in the VFL while juggling his career as a plumber. His chances of playing AFL dwindled with each passing year.

Meanwhile, Marsh was fighting his own battle.

Seeking help after suffering in silence for several seasons, the Collingwood youngster retired at 20 years old to return to Western Australian and focus on his mental health. 

Three years later, after returning to Melbourne to reignite his career, Marsh traded in his factory uniform for red, white and black a week out from the start of last season. 

Hind had followed a few months prior in hanging up the tools, being taken late in the 2018 National Draft as a mature-age recruit.

“I found it tough coming in as a draftee, let alone coming in as guy where everyone else sort of knew each other.  When you’re a ‘mature-age’, you go down so many different paths,’ Hind says.

“For me it was important to find someone that I could chat to quickly,” Marsh adds.

Away from football, the two good mates share far more common ground: a love of basketball, a love of exploring local cafés and an oddball sense of humour.

“We make it a bit easier on each other being able to crack jokes and take the lighter side of a lot of things with football, Marsh says. 

“It’s so high-pressure that if you don’t and you’re just caught up in all that with an AFL lifestyle, it’s pretty tough and challenging and those pressures can definitely get to you. 

“We’ve got a pretty unique sense of humour as well, so we bounce off each other. It was good to find that early on, and carpooling fostered that relationship.”

Even this year, the two added another irregular juncture in their footy pathways, picking up work in an Australia Post warehouse when the League shut down due to COVID-19.

And especially in the extremely challenging times, the importance of having those tight-knit friendships can’t be overstated.

“You don’t want people or your mates to suffer in silence,” Hind says.

“Not everything goes your way and it’s good to have close friends that you can talk to, whether it’s about something serious or something not so serious, it’s just good to have those conversations.”

Marsh’s experiences speak to how significant it is to have mates in your corner and a pillar of support to lean on.

“We talk to each other about how we’re going football wise, but Nick and I have got that relationship where we’ve talked about things that have happened outside of footy as well,” he says.

“But you’ve still got to be able to find that person you can do it with.

“I need to tell Nick what I need to tell him judgement-free and vice versa, which I know we’ve got.

“When you find that person, that’s what’s important. That becomes easier when you find those people or that person who you can easily share that with.

“It’s a two-way street. People have to come out and say how they’re feeling, and that’s where a lot of people lack, but you’ve got to also build those connections where you can see if something’s up as well.”