A dark cloud of mourning swept over the Australian Football League early on this week when they had to say goodbye to one of the AFL’s greatest stars. Merely one day after his 56th birthday, the world had to bid Danny Frawley farewell. The actor died in a single-vehicle accident leaving behind his wife and three daughters.
Frawley had a successful career during which he was captain of the St Kilda’s club from 1987 until 1995. He appeared 240 times for this AFL club. His career at St Kilda’s reserved him space within their Hall of Fame twelve years ago. Frawley has often been described as the stable and constant element in the club during times when things were volatile in St Kilda. Even though he was playing in many more games, which resulted in losses than wins, he remained their stronghold. He was known for his passionate and competitive personality throughout his entire career. One of his former teammates, Nathan Burke, stated that he would remember Frawley as someone who would never say anything wrong about anybody. Frawley is considered to be one of the finest players of all times. After retiring in 1995, he turned to sports commentating.
His Career Later On
During 2000 Frawley went to Richmond in the position as coach. This was a difficult time during his career and he visibly aged during his five years at Richmond, even though people here always found him to be inspirational and they loved spending time with him. It was also during this time when his frailties became visible alongside his strengths. His position took a high toll on his mental health. Added to this was the Essendon doping crisis, which was the reason for many conflicts in his life. The crisis had a tremendous influence on his personal life. Frawley struggled to relax and sleep, and this then circled wider and influenced his career as commentator negatively. Over the past couple of months, it became evident that his mental state is further deteriorating. It seemed that Frawley had a difficult struggle to deal with depression. He continued his career as a commentator at Fox Footy’s, and he was also still involved in the position as an assistant coach for both St Kilda as well as St Bede’s.
The Accident
The accident took place on Monday the 9th of September around 1:30 pm when his four-wheel-drive pickup left the quiet, single-lane road which is just outside of Millbrook in the Western District. His vehicle slammed into a tree. The accident took place only a short distance away from the family farm where Frawley grew up and learned not only to play football but also discovered his love for the game. Frawley’s father, the late Brain Frawley, was the president of the local football club. The Frawley family was potato farmers in Bungaree, which inevitably lead to his nickname of Spud.