[3] He switched focus to football and played two games for the North Ballarat Rebels in the TAC Cup in 2011, showing potential as a ruckman but needing time to develop into a stronger AFL player.
[4] Downie was inconsistent in 2012, playing for Greater Western Sydney's reserves side in the North East Australian Football League.
[7] Downie had been suffering from anxiety and taking medication for it, but in 2016 he decided to wean himself off of it, thinking that he had recovered and no longer needed it.
[8] Due to a struggle with anxiety, he was then moved to Greater Western Sydney's long-term injury list[9] before deciding to leave football altogether.
After quitting the AFL, Downie went through a "very dark time", but he recovered and went on to work with trouble children at his local Police Citizens Youth Club and encourage men suffering from poor mental health to speak out.