WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge believes 'enormous courage' will see Jarryd Roughead through his latest melanoma battle.
Beveridge was an assistant coach at Hawthorn for three seasons from 2012 and he was clearly emotional when asked at his weekly press conference about the reoccurrence of Roughead's melanoma that was first detected in mid-2015.
"'Roughy' is a close friend of mine and it's a bit distressing," he said.
"I don't know the detail about it but I did see the headline.
"He's got enormous courage and support around him, (so) I hope he'll be fine.
"I'm sure he will (get through this OK)."
'It's extremely serious': Lewis' shock at Roughead news
Richmond midfielder Brett Deledio was another rocked on Tuesday by the news of his good friend's Roughead's misfortune.
The Tigers' star, who was selected with pick No.1 in 2004 NAB AFL Draft ahead of Roughead at pick No.2, said he would be reaching out to support his friend.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the big fella, and it's disappointing … it puts footy into a fair bit of perspective," Deledio said.
"We played a lot of footy through the under-16 and under-18 carnivals, so we became pretty close mates and still keep in regular contact.
"I'll be reaching to him to see if I can support him in any way."
AFL football operations chief Mark Evans, who was Hawthorn's football manager between 2004 and 2013, said Roughead's optimistic nature would be a great asset during his recovery.
"One thing I know about 'Rough' is he's got such a great, positive outlook on things and he'll attack this," Evans told 3AW.
"He's got very good people around him and a great club.
"The whole of the footy community just hopes he goes well with his treatment and we'll see him back soon.
"I remember one time after he'd been in hospital for a post-season operation, I went and saw him the next day and he was that bubbly and positive and optimistic, so I'm sure all those things will help him out."
