The NRL is in mourning following the death of former Dragons and Sharks forward Lance Thompson.
A wholehearted second-rower, who made his debut as a teenager for St George in 1995, he played in the grand final the following year, as well as St George Illawarra's dramatic loss to Melbourne in the 1999 decider.
Thompson played 201 games in the red and white before departing for Cronulla, playing three seasons with the Sharks before retiring in 2008.
Police Media said police were called to a Cronulla residence at 9pm on Thursday after receiving calls about a man's welfare.
Police Media said the death is not being treated as suspicious and they have indicated it does not appear to have been an incident involving self-harm.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Matthew Johns spoke on Triple M radio about Thompson's seamless transition from schoolboy football to full-time first grader with the Dragons, describing him as highly respected in the rugby league community.
Helpful links:
Lifeline provides 24-hour crisis counseling, support groups and suicide prevention services. Call 13 11 14.
MensLine Australia is a professional telephone and online support and information service for Australian men. Call 1300 78 99 78, 24 hours / 7 days a week.
Replies
Police say his death isn’t suspicious, looks like he took his own life.
RIP Lance
It was the black dog mate. His daughter found him.
They live just down the road from me
Brett Allen : How terrible. Just a few weeks ago I saw a documentary in which Lance was featured. Well remembered. Too young. Condolences to all his family and friends. RIP Lance.
Very very very sad . Men’s depression is very real and not enough focus is given to it . We seem to be focused on a whole lot of insignificant rubbish like “ they day “ and petty shit in the name of equality and men are knocking themselves daily and shoulders are just shrugged . No wonder we get pissed off .
He was a very decent fellow .
Yep.
The hardest part is convincing men who are suffering to get professional help.
If there are any men on here who have the black dog, reach out to someone, anyone. Go see your GP, call Beyond Blue.
It really is OK to be not OK.
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