ST KILDA champions Stewart Loewe and Robert Harvey have led an emotional tribute for Saints great Danny Frawley at the club's Trevor Barker Award on Wednesday night.
Charged with the responsibility of representing Frawley's former teammates at Crown Palladium, the pair recalled the impact of his time at Moorabbin in their respective journeys.
Asked by Saints chief executive Matt Finnis to speak on Tuesday, just 24 hours after Frawley's sudden death in a car crash near Ballarat, Loewe admitted he was initially left "numb" at the request before accepting.
Close friends and former teammates Stewart Loewe and Robert Harvey talk about Danny Frawley at the Saints' B&F night.
"He was the man I just adored, first as a teammate, then as my skipper and then as one of my very best mates," Loewe said of Frawley.
"Harvs and I were both kids when we started our careers at St Kilda and like so many others, he helped shape us into the men we both are today.
"He taught us how to compete, he had enormous empathy, he had an insatiable hunger to drive himself to be the best he could be."
Vale, Danny Frawley ❤️
— St Kilda FC (@stkildafc) September 11, 2019
A special tribute to Spud from the 2019 Trevor Barker Award. pic.twitter.com/swohwI6yHt
Harvey, who played alongside Frawley for the final eight years of his career that spanned from 1984 to 1995, remembered the full-back's final match against Footscray.
"One of the most memorable games I played was his last game at Whitten Oval," Harvey said.
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"I'll just never forget the emotion we had that day. I clearly remember thinking, footy won't be the same without him.
"I was just saddened in the days, the week after thinking 'What are we going to do without Spud again?' The laughs, the banter, the dinners, the presence only Spud could bring, it was never going to be there again.
Tributes at tonight’s Trevor Barker Award led by Stewart Loewe, Robert Harvey, Nathan Burke and Michael Roberts. RIP Spud. pic.twitter.com/AioFx8vB7N
— Mitch Cleary (@cleary_mitch) September 11, 2019
"Unfortunately, we're here again but this is forever.
"When our old crew gets together, and we drink beers and we tell stories about times passed, it's just changed forever now.
"For the guy that told most of the stories, he just won't be there. For the guy who most of the stories were about, he just won't be there. For the guy who made us laugh till we cried, he just won't be there.
"It's a loss that just can't be fathomed. It's a loss that just can't be real."
Danny Frawley doing a media shoot in 1995. Picture: AFL Photos
The room then watched a video package recounting Frawley's career backed by Glenn Miller's song Danny Boy before listening to stories from former teammates Michael Roberts and Nathan Burke.
The tributes will continue in this weekend's AFL semi-finals when all four clubs wear black armbands and come together before the opening bounce at both matches to honour Frawley.
An emotional Frawley is carried from Waverley Park after his final AFL game in 1995.
Saints captain Jarryn Geary, who played under Frawley's guise as specialist defensive coach, was part of a large contingent to come together to celebrate his life on Monday.
"On Monday night we went to the pub with four generations of Saints players and to sit there and tell stories and honour Spud, it says a great deal about a man to have been able to impact so many people," Geary said.
"I know he loved the footy club, he didn't just love the concrete and mortar that was Moorabbin, he loved the fans and I know you fans love him."