HONOURING SPUD

Friday night’s game between St Kilda and the Brisbane Lions at Marvel Stadium will also be the third annual Spud’s Game.

The Saints will honour the memory of their beloved former skipper Danny Frawley, who died in 2019 after a long battle with his mental health.

Events in the lead-up and during the evening, including a two-minute delay to the start of the game, will provide support for all those in the community who have and are experiencing mental ill-health.

St Kilda is helping to raise money to support community impact and achieve better mental health outcomes for the community – and it started with the second annual Spud’s Lunch last Friday, which raised $222,000.

Speakers included Emma Murray, Garry Lyon, Jason Dunstall, ‘Spud’s’ wife Anita and daughter Chelsea and Justin Koschitzke.

Statistics show two in five Australians will experience mental health issues at some stage in their lifetime. Suicide is the leading cause of death among Australians aged 15-44, while nine Australians lose their life to suicide every day.

Stage two of the Danny Frawley Centre has opened at St Kilda’s RSEA Moorabbin headquarters and now includes a gym, meditation and Pilates studios as well as consulting suites for DFC

Psychology which will launch in the coming months.

Money raised over the past two years has helped facilitate more than 200 mental health programs and reached more than 8000 people from local and regional schools, sporting clubs and businesses – many of these programs were delivered by Frawley’s daughters Chelsea and Danielle together with Koschitzke, a former Saints player.

Long-term, the DFC staff are looking to further establish and grow their suite of mental fitness programs, which includes training more facilitators.

Their aim is to also increase awareness of the benefits of preventative mental health tools.

A key part of Friday night’s activities will be the first Spud’s

To make a donation, visit shoutforgood.com/fundraisers/spudsgame