Greenwood thrives on mum and faith

THE last thing Hugh Greenwood does before every game of football and every time he sleeps at night is to stop and say a prayer of thanks.

The Tasmanian has spoken proudly about his Christian faith and the inspiration he draws from mother Andree’s battle with cancer, and said he was still pinching himself five games into his AFL dream.

“I just do a little prayer before each game and before bed. Obviously I’ve gone through a few tough times before with Mum and being away from home,” he said.

Greenwood, left, said he was not embarrassed by his public show of faith in which he bends down on one knee before the first bounce, and nor does he bother anyone with his beliefs. “I don’t push it on anyone,” he said. “It’s certainly an individual thing and we’ve got a reverend here at the club and it’s something I’m passionate about. It’s something I’ve gotten into, my partner is into it and picked up on more in the States — it’s something I’m proud of.”

Greenwood’s faith and close family ties also underpin some of the tattoos he has, including a cross and his family’s initials on the back of his neck.

“On my ribs I’ve got a saying I live by, which is, ‘I shall fear no man but God’, so that’s the way I like to play,” he said. “I obviously respect everyone but don’t fear [them].

“But probably my favourite one [tattoo] is my breast cancer ribbon. I got that when Mum was given the all clear from her treatments, she was told she was cancer-free, but unfortunately that was only for a year.

“I hadn’t spoken much about her in my story, and unfortunately she got rediagnosed and it was public, so I used it as a stepping stone to start my fundraiser.”

That led to shaving his head and shelling his long, blond locks last year, which raised more than $75,000 to fight cancer.

“It was for two reasons really, I’d promised it as a finale to my fundraiser but I wanted to be taken more seriously as a footballer, I thought it was the last thing in relation to basketball — my long hair,” he said.

Greenwood might only be five games into his AFL career but that combined with captaining Adelaide’s reserves team means his transition from the basketball court to the field is well and truly complete.