Danny Frawley

Danny Frawley
Frawley during a pre-season match in 2017
Personal information
Full name Daniel Patrick Frawley
Nickname(s) Spud
Date of birth (1963-09-08)8 September 1963
Place of birth Ballarat, Victoria
Date of death 9 September 2019(2019-09-09) (aged 56)
Place of death Millbrook, Victoria
Original team(s) Bungaree (CHFL)
Debut Round 4, 1984, St Kilda vs. Hawthorn, at Princes Park
Height 191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 95 kg (209 lb)
Position(s) Full back
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1984–1995 St Kilda 240 (13)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1987–1994 Victoria 11 (0)
International team honours
1987–1990 Australia 6 (2)
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
2000–2004 Richmond 113 (45–68–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 1995 season.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 1994.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Daniel Patrick "Spud" Frawley (8 September 1963 – 9 September 2019) was an Australian rules football player, coach, administrator, commentator and media personality. He played 240 games for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL)/Australian Football League (AFL) from 1984 to 1995, captaining the club for nine seasons, and won All-Australian selection and the St Kilda best and fairest award in 1988. Frawley coached the Richmond Football Club from 2000 to 2004, with his most successful season coming in 2001, when he coached Richmond to a preliminary final. He later served as chief executive officer of the AFL Coaches Association from 2008 to 2014, and had part-time roles with the Hawthorn Football Club and St Kilda.

Following his coaching career, Frawley was an AFL commentator for Fox Footy, Triple M and 1116 SEN, and also appeared on The Sunday Footy Show on the Nine Network. On television, he is best remembered for his work on the Fox Footy program Bounce, which he co-hosted alongside contemporary Jason Dunstall for over 350 episodes from 2007 to his death in 2019; on radio, he is best remembered for his work on Triple M, most notably his appearances on The Saturday Rub, from 2005 to 2016. Frawley quietly struggled with mental health problems throughout most of his time in football, but he became more open in his later years, leading him to host his own podcast on SEN dedicated to mental health, No Man Should Ever Walk Alone, from 2017 to 2018.

Frawley died by suicide in a single-vehicle car crash in Millbrook, Victoria, on 9 September 2019. His death devastated the wider football community and led to tributes from footballers, coaches, media and fans alike, including a private but broadcast memorial service on 18 September 2019.