An intoxicated Harley Bennell has been hospitalised within hours of announcing his AFL retirement.
Bennell, whose playing career at three AFL clubs was pockmarked by off-field issues, was taken by ambulance to a Gold Coast hospital on Monday night.
The 27-year-old, who had earlier on Monday announced his AFL retirement, was understood to have been heavily intoxicated at an apartment block on the Gold Coast.
Bennell’s mother Kayleen later said she was worried for her son.
“Very disappointing, knowing my son is stuck in Queensland with no family support,” she posted on a Melbourne supporters website.
“I’m his mother and I’m very concerned for his well being and mental state.”
Bennell joined Melbourne for the 2020 season and played five AFL games but was fined $50,000 and suspended for four games for leaving the Demons’ hub on the Sunshine Coast without permission.
Bennell joined Melbourne from Fremantle, where he played just two games in three seasons from 2017 because of recurring calf injuries.
He had earlier played 81 games for Gold Coast between 2011-15 after being the No.2 selection at the 2010 national draft.
His last year at the Suns came amid photos of him with lines of white powder were circulated.
Bennell, who had earlier been stood down by the Suns for breaking team drinking rules, apologised for “poor choices in my life”.
Gold Coast also sanctioned Bennell in 2011 for failing to return to the Gold Coast after a Perth trip.
He was also arrested on News Year’s Eve in 2012 after being involved in a fight at a nightclub in Mandurah on the southwest coast of Western Australia.