Former AFL teammates have paid emotional tributes to Danny Frawley at the St Kilda best and fairest awards night.
Two days after one of the Saints' most loved figures died tragically in a car crash, their awards evening opened with speeches and a video package honouring Frawley.
Fellow St Kilda stars Stewart Loewe and Robert Harvey choked on emotion as they remembered Frawley, who died the day after his 56th birthday.
After their speeches and the video tribute, fellow former Saints Nathan Burke and Michael Roberts had the audience roaring with laughter as they told stories about the Bungaree potato farmer and former St Kilda captain universally known as "Spud".
Loewe said when he was asked on Tuesday to pay tribute to Frawley, he was still in shock.
"What would Spud want? The answer was pretty obvious - put your suit on, roll up your sleeves and get the bloody job done. That's just who he was," Loewe said.
"(Former coach) Kenny Sheldon mentioned something yesterday that resonated .... he described 'Spud' as the glue that held everything together at St Kilda.
"He was one of my best mates and he will always be my hero,."
Harvey remembered that Chelsea, one of Frawley's three daughters, was a flower girl at his and Danielle's wedding more than two decades ago when she was three.
"Outside of his much-beloved family, his clear next love was here, at this club," said Harvey, now an assistant coach at Collingwood.
Harvey remembered playing in Frawley's last AFL game and sadly thinking that football would not be the same without him as a teammate.
"Well unfortunately we're here again, but this is forever," Harvey said.
"When the old crew get together ... and we drink beers and tell stories about times past, it's just changed forever now.
"It's a loss that just can't be fathomed, it's a loss that just can't be real."
But Burke also urged Saints fans to tell their stories about Frawley.
He remembered before the 1992 final against Collingwood, Frawley told the team to ignore Collingwood captain Tony Shaw and his relentless sledging.
At the coin toss, Frawley famous punched Shaw in the chest.
"As usual, the gums were flapping and Danny lost it, it took about a second and a half," Burke said.
"He came back and said 'you know what I said before, forget about that, I want you to smash the shit out of this mob'.
"We did and we won."
Australian Associated Press
