CO-CAPTAIN Nathan Jones says he wasn’t surprised with Mitch Clark’s decision to retire from the game.

Jones said that fact that Clark, who has been diagnosed with clinical depression, opted to focus on a full recovery and step away from the game was not unexpected.  

“The entire playing group was probably surprised, but I’m really good mates with Mitch and reading the play a little bit I saw that as a possibility, so I probably prepared myself a bit more than maybe some of the boys that weren’t as close to him off-field,” he said.

“I think everyone understands that and the club’s taken steps – not just for Mitch – but for the entire group about raising awareness. We had Beyond Blue come down and guys have got a better understanding of Mitch’s situation from that.”

“We can totally understand and empathise with it and just wish Mitch the best.”

Jones said he had communicated with Clark via text since the former key forward retired on Tuesday.

He said all of the players were disappointed by his decision, but totally understood why.

“I think it was a courageous and brave decision by Mitch to make that call. His health comes first and I know he’s a really proud bloke and it would’ve been a pretty tough decision for him,” he said.

“He loves the game and loves being around his teammates, and he was one of those boys that the players loved. He made the team walk taller, but unfortunately he couldn’t keep going on. For Mitch to take that stand, it’s a real positive step.

“We’re fully behind Mitch to get better and he’s got a lot to look forward to – he’s getting married in October and he’s got a beautiful daughter, so whatever his next chapter is, I think all of the players are behind him.”

Meanwhile, Jones said the speculation surrounding key defender James Frawley, who played up forward last round, was “just part of footy now”.

“It’s a new-age game with free agency and with the media coverage. He’s probably embarrassed by the fact that it’s so open, but he’s well within his rights to do what he’s doing,” he said.

“It’s a tough one really – the players can understand where he’s coming from, from a personal perspective. You ask him if it’s affecting him off-field and we stir him up a little bit here and there.

“It’s all jovial and a little bit of fun, but he’s controlling it really well at the moment and you can’t get away from the speculation and what’s written about it and he’s just going to go on as best as he can. He’ll assess his option privately and when he’s comfortable.”

Jones said Frawley was “well within his rights to take some time and assess all of his options and assess where the club’s at”.

“Internally, he can see the inroads that we’ve made and the improvement we’ve made, but that’s for his judgement.”

“The playing group and the club are comfortable with that … the more games that we can try and win – or get close to winning and the more improvement we show, particularly on-field is going to help him come to that decision, I would’ve thought.

“The speculation will continue and he’ll handle that in due course.”