Danny Frawley's wife calls for change as Andrew Johns detail comes to light

The widow of AFL champion Danny Frawley has shared her devastation at losing her husband to concussion-related mental illness, while a top doctor has revealed that NRL legend Andrew Johns has suffered seizures in his post-retirement career due to head knocks. Speaking at a senate inquiry into concussions in sport on Wednesday, Anita Frawley fought back tears as she recalled losing her husband of more than 30 years in a single-vehicle car crash four years ago.

Frawley had just turned 56 when the accident occurred. The 240-gamer for St Kilda suffered from severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and widow Anita said she hopes speaking out will help other players get the support they need.

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"Our lives will forever be touched by sadness even in our happiest times," she told the inquiry. "I can't change the past but I can have a hand at changing the future ... We must act to stop athletes from taking the field when they're concussed."

Anita broke down in tears while speaking about how her husband’s death has affected her and their three daughters. “My two eldest daughters both just got engaged, during the happiest moments of their life so far, the incredible sadness that their dad is not here to celebrate with them and to walk them down the aisle is always present,” she said.

Anita said the AFL needs to introduce a comprehensive health support scheme in order to improve concussion rates. Her testimony followed experts' calls for the AFL to introduce a policy around CTE and change its culture around concussions to better protect players.

She said Australia's sporting bodies “need to act now”, adding: “What could be of a higher priority for the competition than looking after the individuals on his shoulders the success of the game now stands."

Doctor reveals Andrew Johns had seizures

Speaking at the same inquiry, Dr James Stewart said he had treated over 3000 patients, including high-profile NRL and AFL players. The doctor opened up about how Johns had told him he'd suffered seizures in the past.

“I’ve got Joey Johns on my books, who’s an NRL Immortal – he’s happy for me to talk about it,” Dr Stewart said. “He was having seizures because of repetitive concussion. I started treating him three years ago.”

About 80 players are diagnosed with concussion each season in the AFL and AFLW. The league's legal chief noted that concussion guidelines were in place and that there is a link between repetitive head trauma and CTE. "We don't need to have a policy to show how seriously we take CTE in our sport," Stephen Meade told the inquiry.

AFL medical chief Michael Makdissi said the the league needed to work more closely with the players association to address concussions. "I've seen quite a shift in culture, I don't think we're there yet," he said. "We need some continued education."

In a written submission, former Victorian Football League corporate planner John Hennessy said he felt ashamed and distressed watching sporting bodies fail to protect players. Hennessey, who helped steer the development of the national AFL competition in the 1980s, labelled the concussion crisis a "national disgrace" in his submission to the committee probe.

"The most important possession anyone has is their brain," he wrote. "At the moment we are not adequately protecting it when playing sport. Children, in particular, are at high risk. We are gambling with people's lives."

with AAP

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