Graham Johncock admits the death of his mother earlier this year could easily have brought his AFL career to a premature conclusion.

Always very close to his Port Lincoln-based family, retirement to live in the South Australian coastal town was one of the many thoughts that rushed through a grieving Johncock's head as he spent time away from football in March.

But with the benefit of a few days' reflection, Johncock chose instead to play on as a tribute to his mother, recalling her devotion to the game from which he makes his living.

"The passing of my mum was a bit of a shock, which I found pretty difficult," Johncock said on Wednesday.

"But the club and the people involved in the club and the players were very supportive of that and it's definitely made it a lot easier for me to come back and get into footy.

"It would've been pretty easy for me to say `stuff it' and go home to family and friends (after she died).

"But that's not what she would've wanted and she'd definitely be pretty happy the way things are going at the moment."

The family bereavement, which caused Johncock to miss Adelaide's round one victory over Collingwood at the MCG, came only a matter of months after Johncock's career was also threatened by personal problems.

While Johncock remains reticent to reveal what was behind it all, teammates noticed in the latter half of 2008 that his preparation dropped away dramatically.

Adelaide's match committee responded by dropping Johncock until the players were satisfied he was doing justice to both himself and the team.

A round of counselling was also organised, helping Johncock to find a better appreciation of the life he leads.

"It puts things in perspective, there was a bit of a period there where I was just taking things for granted I guess," he said.

"The program I went through opened up my eyes a bit and made me realise what's important.

"The club's been very supportive, if I was at another club they probably would've shown me the door pretty quickly but the support of the club has been fantastic.

"I've had a few instances (of difficulty) in my time but the toughest has probably been the last 12 months that I've had to go through."

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