AFL game delayed for touching reason as sides join to honour St Kilda great

The start of Friday night’s AFL match was postponed for two minutes in favour of a conversation about mental health in honour of late St Kilda great Danny Frawley.

Playing against Essendon on Friday night marked the second edition of ‘Spud’s Game’; a match dedicated to raising awareness about mental health and suicide prevention.

At 7:50pm AEST, instead of the opening bounce, players and staff from both sides gathered in the centre-circle, with words from one of Frawley’s former teammates Nathan Burke and Essendon great Tim Watson.

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“Right now, the game should be starting, but we want to pause for a two-minute delay for this really special message,” Watson said in addressing the Marvel Stadium crowd.

“One in two people will suffer or experience mental ill-health throughout their lives.

Whether you’re at home watching this on the TV or you’re here in the stands or one of the players in the circle … beyond tonight, we all have the responsibility to go out there, talk to our families, talk to our friends, talk to out work colleagues about mental health.”

Burke offered heartwarming words about his former teammate and the cause at hand.

“Danny Frawley was my captain for nine years. No leadership groups, just one man out the front leading the way.

“He led with passion, with loyalty, he was tough, yet vulnerable. He wore his heart on his sleeve, he connected us, he cared.

“He wanted to make us not only better footballers, but better men. He carried a large burden on his shoulders, but he did it so well that we thought he didn’t need help.

“Now, he needs help more than ever, he needs help from us to continue the fight that he started.”

Spud’s Game encourages people to take action for the mental health of friends and family, while also raising funds to deliver mental health and suicide prevention programs through the Danny Frawley Centre.

Frawley, a legend of the St Kilda football club, died in a car accident in September 2019.

If you or someone you know needs help, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. RUOK? is a suicide prevention charity that aims to start life-changing conversations