sport news Eric Bana reveals touching stories about being mates with AFL St Kilda legend ... trends now
Movie star and lifelong St Kilda fan Eric Bana has opened up on his special friendship with the late Danny Frawley who 'always made him laugh' ahead of the annual Spud's Game on Friday night.
Bana was a huge fan of 'Spud' Frawley, a 240-gamer, All-Australian and member of St Kilda's Hall of Fame in his playing days, and struck up a close bond with him later in life when the pair used to go on regular cycling rides together.
The Aussie actor sat down with current Saints captain Jack Steele to discuss the importance of Spud's Game, which aims to destigmatise mental health and encourage those struggling with mental health to speak up.
Aussie actor Eric Bana is a lifetime Saints fan, and is seen here in the dressing room in 2019
The Saints will be taking on Essendon for the second annual Spud's game, and Bana said his mate's most important legacy he left the world, after his tragic suicide, was the importance of speaking up.
'I think one of the amazing legacies Danny's left, it was the the stigmatization of mental illness and depression and just the way that he helped make it just part of normal discussion, especially in the sporting arena where there's a lot of ... hard men that wouldn't show their emotions in the past,' Bana said to Steele on St Kilda's website.
Danny Frawley played 240 games for St Kilda in a glittering career
It shocked and saddened the entire footy world, the nation even, when Frawley died after his car slammed into a tree near Ballarat.
The Coroners Court of Victoria concluded the weight of evidence supported the conclusion Frawley took his own life.
He left behind wife Anita and three daughters, Chelsea, Keeley and Danielle.
Frawley's family: Chelsea, Keeley, Anita (wife) and Danielle at the inaugural Spud's Game
Eric Bana arrives at Danny Frawley's funeral in Moorabbin on September 17, 2019
Frawley's casket was adorned in the Saints colours and featured a photo of him and a jersey
