'Wish I had have rung': Garry Lyon's devastation over Danny Frawley tragedy
Garry Lyon and Jason Dunstall have opened up about the tragic death of colleague and great mate Danny Frawley.
The much-loved AFL figure, who bravely spoke out in recent years about his mental health issues, died on Monday when the ute he was driving hit a tree near Ballarat.
No one else was in the car at the time.
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The pain was too raw for Lyon and Dunstall to make their regular appearances on AFL 360 and On The Couch this week, but they sat down with Gerard Whateley on Thursday night on Fox Footy.
“I’m not going great but compared to [Frawley’s wife] Anita and the girls, they’re the priority here, and the rest of us fall into line. It’s bloody horrible,” Lyon said, clearly struggling with grief.
After an outpouring of love and adoration from the AFL community in recent days, Lyon said he wished Frawley could have heard it before he died.
He also revealed his heartbreak that he didn’t pick up the phone and see how Frawley was travelling.
“I’ve found myself with similar issues and he was the one who reached out first and every time I saw him for the rest of that time he would say, ‘How are you going?’ and ring me,” Lyon said.
“And I wish I had have rung if that was what he was going through. You can’t know, that’s the hard thing.”
Dunstall said he’d never understand what Frawley was going through.
“It’s hard to get your head around,” he said. “It’s an illness I’ll never every understand.
“I hate its guts but I can’t get a handle on it. It just seems so senseless and you’re just left with this giant void.
“It’s funny, he had some time off I don’t know how many years ago now, and that blindsided me, because I worked with the guy every week and we had so much fun together and I wasn’t aware of anything, I didn’t see any of the signs.
“I’d make a point of asking him every now and then ‘how’re you going’ until you get to the stage of feeling like you’re bugging him so you stop asking.
“Then you think, ‘should I have been more attentive, should I have seen something, should I have noticed something, should I have said more’ — what can you do?”
'Not worthy enough': Frawley's heartbreaking admission
Months before his death, Frawley gave a heartbreaking insight into the extent of his personal struggle.
Well known for his exploits on the field, then as a coach and media personality, the larger-than-life character became a strong advocate for mental health issues when he revealed his own battle with depression.
He hosted a radio show on SEN about men’s health and it was there that he made a heartbreaking revelation about the depths of his struggle.
Speaking to organisational psychologist Peter Zarris earlier this year, Frawley opened up about not feeling worthy enough.
“Dramatic changes in mood and behaviour, that was me. Isolation, I craved it,” Frawley said.
“Guys would text me, say they’d come around, because they knew I was battling a bit. I’d text them ‘come around’ and I’d actually pull the shutters down on the blinds.
“For some reason I didn’t feel I was worthy enough.”
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.