{"id":617946,"date":"2026-04-21T03:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T03:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/617946\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T03:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T03:20:10","slug":"elijah-hollands-dad-ben-hollands-pours-heart-out-for-my-beautiful-boy-amid-mental-health-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/617946\/","title":{"rendered":"Elijah Hollands\u2019 dad Ben Hollands pours heart out for \u2018my beautiful boy\u2019 amid mental health challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elijah Hollands\u2019 father Ben has given a small but telling insight into the challenges the Carlton<\/a> midfielder is facing.<\/a><\/p>\n

Hollands was admitted to hospital<\/a> on Monday, four days after his erratic performance<\/a> that was described as \u201cmental health episode\u201d in Thursday night\u2019s loss to Collingwood.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old has a history of mental health battles and off-field challenges, which threatened to derail his career last year before he fought to win his way back onto Carlton\u2019s list ahead of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

On Tuesday morning, Ben Hollands, who played eight games for Richmond in 1999, made a heartfelt post in support of his son.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my beautiful boy,\u201d the post reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor anyone in the midst of healing\u2026 You are loved. You have a unique and defined purpose. You are seen whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know who my son is \u2014 and I will lift him up until he is restored in full.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those supporting someone who is struggling: encourage them, affirm them, and love them.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo to them, remind them of who they truly are \u2764\ufe0f.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BenBen Hollands has posted a heartfelt message in support of his son. Credit: Instagram<\/p>\n

The Blues continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Hollands\u2019 concerning and erratic performance at the MCG last week, which the AFL are closely monitoring.<\/p>\n

Despite admitted they were aware Hollands was struggling on Thursday night, Carlton are yet to explain how they allowed him to keep playing, including for nine minutes of the last quarter when the game was on the line.<\/p>\n

Hollands had played 75 per cent of game time up until three-quarter time. He recorded one disposal for the game.<\/p>\n

Last year, Hollands twice took personal leave from Carlton, later revealing he had been battling mental ill-health and issues with alcohol.<\/p>\n

\"ElijahElijah Hollands has been admitted to hospital. Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

Carlton CEO Graham Wright on Sunday ruled out alcohol or illicit substances being a factor in affecting Hollands during the match.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re dealing with a mental health issue … right at the moment,\u201d Wright said at Ikon Park on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the process of going through all the circumstances leading up to the game, two or three weeks prior to the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur primary focus remains on caring for Elijah, making sure he continues to receive the medical and wellbeing support he needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cElijah\u2019s mental challenges have been well documented.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur staff have been working alongside Elijah on this journey with him over a long period of time now, both on and off the field, providing every resource possible to ensure his welfare is paramount.<\/p>\n

\u201cThursday night presented unprecedented and complex circumstances. We\u2019re taking this very seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636<\/a> or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Carlton shock as Elijah Hollands admitted to hospital<\/p>\n

3 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Carlton boss shares Elijah Hollands update as next step confirmed<\/p>\n

3 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Play Video<\/p>\n

Carlton’s Elijah Hollands has been sidelined indefinitely following an on-field mental health episode during Thursday night’s game.<\/p>\n

Carlton’s Elijah Hollands has been sidelined indefinitely following an on-field mental health episode during Thursday night’s game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elijah Hollands\u2019 father Ben has given a small but telling insight into the challenges the Carlton midfielder is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[232106,49,48,232107,84,890,393,394,11262,457],"class_list":{"0":"post-617946","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-carlton-blues","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-lifestyle","14":"tag-mental-health","15":"tag-mentalhealth","16":"tag-sponsored-content","17":"tag-sport"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}