How Danny Frawley’s death changed Bounce co-stars’ mental health conversation
Months after Danny Frawley’s tragic death rocked the AFL community to its core, his Bounce co-host Jason Dunstall has vowed how — and why — the popular show must go on in memory of his mate.
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Bounce host Jason Dunstall has vowed to push on with the popular Foxtel football show in honour of Danny Frawley.
Dunstall says that, in the wake of Frawley’s death in a car crash in September last year, it was hard to see how the show could go on without his great mate.
“You never know how to recover or rebound from those sorts of things,” he told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“When (you lose) someone who is such a big part of the show, you wonder is there a point in going on, but Bounce has been synonymous with Fox Footy for 13 years and Spud was there from day one and we just want to, in his memory, push on as best we can.
“Spud is simply irreplaceable. He was that uniquely loveable character and it’s not even worth trying to replace him. And so we are not even going to attempt to.
“The great thing about it was because Spud was such a big part of the show, his legacy will live on through the show.
“What we want to do is pay homage to him for all the contributions he has made to the show and we will battle on without him.”
Dunstall will be joined by the Bounce team — basketball legend Andrew Gaze, Collingwood AFLW player Sharni Layton, ex-Demon Bernie Vince and Cats premiership star Cam Mooney.
Dunstall promised the cast would continue to pay tribute to Frawley when the show resumed in Round 1. It comes ahead of a Round 2 tribute game where St Kilda will host West Coast and pay homage to former club captain Frawley.
Frawley’s Golden Fist award, given to the weekend’s best defender, will be renamed Spud’s Golden Fist.
Dunstall said yesterday that Frawley’s openness with his mental health struggle and subsequent death had been a watershed moment for many men suffering in silence.
More men were now prepared to ask for help.
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“We are getting more and more comfortable with broaching all these (mental health) issues. The days of keeping everything hidden seem to be a thing of the past and we are getting players coming out and saying, ‘I have problems and need to come out and address them’, and hopefully that gives the man on the street comfort to say, ‘I don’t have to hide this’.”
— Bounce begins in Round 1 after the Sunday afternoon GAME on Fox Footy (Channel 506 on Foxtel).