ICS Seminar Series

UPCOMING

[Seminar cancelled] Adolescence, Masculinity, and Football Clubs - What could go wrong?

Presenter: Brogan Mulhall and Ben Joseph

Discussant: Lynne Dowd

Chair: Gerard Goggin

Date & Time: 23 April 2026 | 11:30am - 1:00pm [Cancelled]

Room: PS- EA.2.13 Parramatta South Campus

Abstract

Rugby league football clubs are influential developmental environments where adolescent boys and young men negotiate identity, belonging, relationships, and understandings of masculinity. These spaces are also entrenched in hypermasculine histories and culture that impede young men’s opportunities to develop diverse understandings of masculinities as they move towards their emerging adulthood. Building on Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspectives, this presentation examines how rugby league club contexts can begin to move beyond hypermasculine and deficit framings of young men toward intentional cultures of growth, connection, and wellbeing. Drawing on the established dynamic group mentoring and youth development work of Ben Joseph and a recent Master of Research thesis completed by Brogan Mulhall, this presentation highlights how structured dynamic group mentoring, structured mental health and wellbeing programs, and (re)training of coaches and staff within football settings can function as a mechanism for strength-based change for young men. Rather than viewing clubs solely as sites of risk, football environments can be reframed as relational spaces capable of fostering competence, confidence, character, connection, and care. The session explores how coaches, mentors, and club leaders can embed mentoring practices that challenge restrictive masculine norms while supporting emotional literacy, accountability, and positive identity formation. It argues that, when guided by PYD-informed group mentoring approaches, rugby league clubs can become powerful developmental settings that support healthy transitions into adulthood for young men.

Biography

Dr Ben Joseph is a social work academic and researcher in the School of Social Sciences at Western Sydney University whose research focuses on positive youth development, group mentoring, and strengths-based approaches to working with young men. His work explores how sport, education, and community programs foster healthy masculinities, wellbeing, and positive developmental outcomes for adolescents. He is also the creator and producer of several award-winning social work podcasts (www.socialwork.media) that focus on practice, research and pedagogy. Brogan Mulhall is a Master of Research student (and soon to be Ph.D. candidate) at Western Sydney University and a mental health and wellbeing practitioner with the Penrith Panthers Rugby League Club. His work focuses on athlete wellbeing, youth development, and supporting positive mental health within elite and community sporting environments. His recently completed MRes thesis explored wellbeing outcomes for Elite Male Youth Athlete’s (EMYA’s) participating in Penrith Panthers rugby league pathways programs.

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