Having departed the NRL in the middle of last season, Matt Dufty has revealed the challenges of the Australian media.
The former NRL fullback left the NRL in the middle of the 2022 season after being granted an early release from the Canterbury Bulldogs.
During his time in Australia, he played 94 games across six seasons with the Dragons and Bulldogs. However, at the end of his stint at both clubs, he was subject to criticism by the media.
It began in 2021 when the Dragons informed Dufty that his services would no longer be required. Dufty's attitude on-field was often pointed at by sections of the media as an issue, and his inconsistent performances in the Red V despite his obvious talent ultimately saw him depart for Canterbury.
Things didn't improve a great deal at the struggling Bulldogs.
Speaking on the Channel 4 broadcast of Steph's Packed Lunch, Matt Dufty revealed the effects of the Australian media.
"In Australia, the NRL is like the Premier League, it's the biggest sport, especially on the east coast and the media is really prominent," he said.
"You have one bad game and you're in the media and for me, I didn't really read it but my mum, my dad, (and) my girlfriend all read that and they're calling me but it would affect them which would affect me.”
In the same interview, Dufty divulged the difficulties of being sidelined with injuries and the effect they had on his mental health.
"Recovering from an injury is probably mentally one of the hardest things you have to do in sport and we're lucky that we have physios and people who care about us."
"I had a facial fracture in a game, I shattered my cheekbone and that was hard because it was a pre-season trial. The season hadn't started yet, we were one week from starting the year and I got set back four weeks and that really hurt me.
"The recovery is pretty hard too because you can run, you can lift weights, there's not much you can't do."
Dufty, who now plays for the Warrington Wolves, scored five tries in his first six games for the English outfit last year and is contracted at the club for at least another two seasons.