Junior Tatola has urged South Sydney teammate Tyrone Munro not to commit the same mistakes he made by isolating himself and falling into a negative headspace during his latest injury lay-off.
Munro is expected to miss up to eight weeks after fracturing his collarbone for the third time in a little more than a year in Friday's defeat of the Dolphins.
It's a bitter blow for the newly re-signed 20-year-old, who finally looked set for an extended run of games on the wing at the Rabbitohs.
Souths' round-one win was Tatola's first game since last April, when the prop suffered a serious foot injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
Tatola spent six months on crutches with his metatarsal fracture, powerless to help Souths salvage a dismal season that ended in 16th place on the ladder.
The lessons Tatola learned in that time have inspired him to approach Munro with advice.
"I told him to try and come in (to training) as much as he can and not be alone and stick around by yourself because it just plays on your mind," Tatola said.
"Not good thoughts go through your head when you're by yourself."
Tatola admits he withdrew into his shell at times during his own injury but was grateful teammates, chiefly Latrell Mitchell and Siliva Havili, were there for him.
"I definitely got a bit isolated," said Tatola.
"I didn't really want to see anyone or talk to anyone during that time. It was a bit tough but I had a few boys here that I leaned on to talk to.
"They told me to get out and talk to someone about it because the more you keep it inside, the more you're in your own head, bad thoughts and bad things happen. I told Ty, 'Just stay positive'."
Munro recently moved up the road from Tatola's place, and the prop says he'll always be up for a coffee or a feed if his younger teammate needs a friend.
"On the field, we're probably all tough and that, but outside of footy there's stuff we can't control. We all have emotions and we all have stuff that's going on," Tatola said.
"I'm always there for him."
Munro knows all about bouncing back from tough times.
The winger chose to play for Souths against Penrith last August in the same week his mother and uncle died, scoring two tries in an inspirational performance.
"I don't think a collarbone injury will do too much to him, with how much resilience he has," said Souths forward Keaon Koloamatangi.
"He's still the biggest voice in our locker room; there's so much laughter, so much joy when he's around.
"It's not a major injury, he's had it before, so I'm pretty sure he'll come back better than ever."
