Danny Frawley

Daniel Patrick 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.

He captained the St Kilda Football Club for nine seasons over his 240-game playing career from 1984 to 1995.

He was the club's best and fairest winner in 1988 and was named in the All-Australian team the same year.

He was the longest-serving captain of the St Kilda Football Club.

Under Frawley, the club moved to fourth on the ladder and their first preliminary final since 1995.

After his retirement from playing, Frawley spent four years as an assistant coach at Collingwood Football Club from 1996 until 1999 under senior coach Tony Shaw.

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.

Frawley became the senior coach of the Richmond Football Club in 2000 when he replaced Jeff Gieschen.

In his first year in the 2000 season, Richmond under Frawley just missed out of the finals by finishing ninth.

In the 2001 season, he took the Tigers into the finals, where, in the preliminary finals, they were eliminated by the Brisbane Lions, who were the eventual premiers.

In the 2002 season, however, Richmond under Frawley struggled and finished 14th.

At the start of the 2003 season, the initial signs were positive, with Richmond under Frawley starting with six wins and two losses to start the season; however, the club's on-field performance dropped when they lost 13 of their next 14 matches and finished 13th.

In the 2004 season, Richmond under Frawley kept struggling and finished 16th for the "wooden spoon", which was the last position on the ladder at the time.

Midway through the season, Frawley announced that he would resign at the end of the 2004 season.

Richmond under Frawley lost their last 14 matches of the 2004 season.

Frawley was then replaced by Terry Wallace as Richmond Football Club senior coach.

His brother Tony was the chief executive officer of AFL Northern Territory from 2005 to 2015.

As of 2023, Frawley is one of only 16 players to play their first 90 games consecutively.

Frawley initially played as a forward but soon became a renowned full-back.

In June 2006, he coached a winning Victorian state of origin side in the E. J. Whitten Legends Match and became the chief executive of the AFL Coaches Association.

During his playing career, Frawley was a regular cast member on AFL Squadron alongside Garry Lyon.

When he transitioned to being a commentator primarily, Frawley was a commentator for Fox Footy and was a co-host of Bounce with Jason Dunstall and Cameron Mooney, as well as a part of the 1116 SEN Footy team on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.

Earlier in his career, he was also involved with the Nine Network and Triple M as a commentator and a regular co-host on The Saturday Rub.

He also hosted a Monday night show on SEN called No Man Should Ever Walk Alone on men's health topics including mental health, addiction, and lifestyle.

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.

He was inducted into the Saints' hall of fame in 2007.

Individual

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.

From 2008 until 2014, Frawley worked at Hawthorn as a part-time assistant coach.

He rejoined as a backline and key-position assistant coach in November 2014.

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.

Later, and until 2018, Frawley was a part-time specialist defence coach at the St Kilda Football Club.

After leaving senior coaching, Frawley was a special commentator for Triple M.

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.

Frawley was educated at St Patrick's College, Ballarat, and played country football for East Ballarat in the Ballarat Football League (BFL) and Bungaree in the Central Highlands Football League (CHFL).

He grew up and worked on a potato farm in Bungaree, which led to his nickname of "Spud".

Frawley was the nephew of former player Des Tuddenham and the uncle of, and player James Frawley.