James Frawley Biography

James Frawley announces his second retirement from AFL football after managing just two games during an injury-riddled 2021 campaign with St Kilda.

"I've loved my time at St Kilda, albeit I spent more time on the sidelines than I would have liked," Frawley said.

James Frawley's future remains uncertain after the Saints opted to send him for shoulder surgery that has effectively ended his 2021 season.

James Frawley will miss two months after scans confirmed he has a significant hamstring tendon injury.

James Frawley said he was convinced to renew his career with St Kilda after meeting up with his former Hawks teammate Jarryd Roughead in Noosa.

"I planned to play at a VAFA (amateur level) side and start trying to work out what I wanted to do after footy; the next 20-25 years of my life," Frawley said.

"Then I had a few beers with 'Roughy' up in Noosa and just got chatting and he said St Kilda might be keen - that was the first I heard of it and I was a bit surprised.

"A bit weird coming to a third club but really excited to get out here and try to help this group strive to get better and hopefully to the ultimate success of a premiership."

James Frawley will come out of retirement to play for the Saints in 2021 as a delisted free agent.

Danny Frawley's legacy will live on at Moorabbin with St Kilda joining the Federal and Victorian Governments in announcing the construction of the Danny Frawley Centre for Health & Wellbeing.

The combination of Federal and State Government grants totalling nearly $16m, in addition to philanthropic support, means the Danny Frawley Centre will combine a host of facilities, services and programs which will support the physical and mental health of St Kilda people and the community alike.

"Before his passing, Danny and the club had been working towards this project to give the local community somewhere their physical and mental health could be front and centre," Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.

"The Morrison Government's investment, along with support from the Victorian Government and philanthropic donations, is turning Danny's vision into a reality."

St Kilda reportedly asks James Frawley about the prospect of coming out of retirement and being a Saint in 2021.

James Frawley suffers a groin injury in the club's intraclub match.

The former Demon left the ground gingerly early in the third quarter, but without help, and did not return.

He went straight to the Hawks' medical staff, including elite performance manager Andrew Russell, and soon after went under the race to the rooms.

James Frawley will miss at least 8 weeks due to a turf toe.

With the Hawks through to another Grand Final following their 27-point preliminary final defeat of Fremantle, James Frawley says his decision to leave Melbourne has been vindicated.

"It was a pretty hard decision leaving Melbourne, but this is why I did it," Frawley said.

"I can't be happier at the moment, I'm not really sure what to do to be honest.

"I think the Melbourne boys are in Bali at the moment on a footy trip, so it's probably a bit better being here in the prelim."

Hawthorn hopes to regain James Frawley within a month after deciding not to send the key defender for potentially season-ending shoulder surgery.

Frawley damaged ligaments when he dislocated his left shoulder in the second quarter against Essendon on Saturday, with initial fears he could have to go under the knife and miss the rest of the Hawks' push for a three-peat.

"He's had a series of scans over the last few days and discussions with our medical people, and it looks at this point in time that James will probably miss three to four weeks," Hawks football manager Chris Fagan said.

"He'll go through a rehabilitation process. I noticed he was out there running this morning at training, which was a good sign.

"No surgery at this point in time."

James Frawley is set for another stint on the sidelines after being subbed out of the Hawks' clash against Essendon with suspected dislocated shoulder.

"Whether that's AC (joint) or dislocation, I'm uncertain. He'll need to be scanned and assessed and we'll be able to indicate what his time out of the game will be," Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said.

"If you can't come out on the ground that's usually a pretty good indication they're going to be unavailable for the next game. Just how serious it is I'm none too sure at the moment."

James Frawley will be sidelined for at least a month after he suffered a low-grade right pectoral tear against Essendon.

The Hawks have confirmed the 193cm big man will be missing for about 4-6 weeks, but he has avoided surgery.

"James has been to see the specialist following on from scans yesterday and the good news is he doesn't require any surgery whatsoever," Hawthorn general manager of football operations Chris Fagan said.

"He has a low-grade tear of his pectoral muscle and that will probably take somewhere in the vicinity of four-to-six weeks to heal up, we'll just have to wait and see on that."

James Frawley sustains a right pectoral injury during the Hawks' gripping two-point loss to Essendon on Sunday.

"All we know is he's got a pec injury and we just need to establish the seriousness by scan tomorrow," coach Alastair Clarkson said post-match.

"It was obviously serious enough for him to be subbed out of the game. He'll miss some time but we're just not certain, until we get it investigated tomorrow, just how serious it is."

Josh Gibson says it may take some time for James Frawley to adjust to being a Hawk after the ex-Demon had his hands full trying to contain influential Pies forward Jesse White in Hawthorn's NAB Challenge match against Collingwood.

"It took me plenty of time to learn a new style. You play one way for your career and then you play a different system," Gibson said.

"So he's still finding his feet but it's like our younger guys coming up taking some time at AFL level.

"We've been really happy with his (Frawley's) progress thus far and when we all play together he'll continue to strengthen the group."

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson says Hawthorn chased free agent James Frawley with an eye to unshackling veteran defenders Brian Lake and Josh Gibson and swinging them into attack next season.

"We've been unable to play Brian Lake, in his two years at our club, forward at any stage – unless it's been a real pinch-hit," Clarkson said.

"The same with Gibson … and Stratton hasn't played another position other than in the back end.

"That's why we chased after James - to give us that flexibility."

Matt Spangher says James Frawley's arrival at Waverley has made him more determined to fight for his spot next season.

"That's been the nature of my whole career really – I've had to fight for it," Spangher said.

"It's strange, I kind of feel comfortable in that position now. I like it. But more than that 'Chips' is a great guy.

"He's fitted really well into the system, which is what we knew about him - and clubs do their research."

James Frawley's long exit from Melbourne is complete after the key defender joined Hawthorn as a free agent.

"I'm sad to leave (Melbourne) but you have to do what's best for you," Frawley said.

"I found it really hard, especially when it came down to the crunch of actually making the decision."

Melbourne has been given the third pick in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft as compensation for losing defender James Frawley to Hawthorn.

Fresh from guiding the Hawks to the 2014 AFL premiership, Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has confirmed the club's interest in Melbourne free agent James Frawley.

"We are interested in James's services," Clarkson said.

"We're probably a little bit behind the eight-ball given we've had a campaign to concentrate on in terms of trying to win a Grand Final.

"We'll see how that materialises over the next week."

James Frawley officially quits the Demons after 139 games.

"Free agency presents challenges for all clubs. We have been planning for 2015 and beyond – with or without James – and this decision now allows us to further progress these plans with clarity," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said.

Brisbane Lions chief executive Greg Swann says Melbourne does not deserve pick No.3 as compensation for losing free agent James Frawley.

"Melbourne have done a really good job in trying to sell the world that they will get pick No.3 for James Frawley and that pushes us back to No. 5 and that has a little bit of an effect on our ability to trade as well," Swann said.

"I know (Paul Roos) said that everyone he speaks to thinks that pick No.3 is a fair pick but we certainly don't. We would have thought an end of first round would be best for James."

Fresh from winning the 2014 premiership, Hawthorn is now reportedly the front-runner for free agent James Frawley's services.

However, Hawthorn football boss Chris Fagan downplayed talk that the Hawks were in the box seat to land Frawley.

"We haven't chatted to James for ages so I don't really know where he's at with his decision-making," Fagan said.

"There's been lots of talk about it, but he's probably the only bloke that knows. So we'll probably have to wait and see over the next week or two what happens."

Dockers coach Ross Lyon confirms that Fremantle have met with Demon James Frawley and is considering trying to poach the out-of-contract defender.

"We've got a responsibility to explore free agency and there was certainly a meeting [with Frawley]," Lyon said.

"We're exploring all options. But it's got a long way to play out I'd suggest."

Geelong coach Chris Scott confirms that the club is targeting James Frawley in the upcoming trade and free agency period.

"We've got an obligation to pursue all avenues available to improve our list," Scott said.

"If James Frawley doesn't eventuate, then I guess we'd be open to looking at things in the future.

"Having said that, we don't have anything in the pipeline other than James for this season."

Melbourne coach Paul Roos wants pick No.3 in the NAB AFL Draft as compensation if unrestricted free agent James Frawley walks out on the club.

"It depends on length of contract but hopefully, if he does leave, we get pick three," Roos said.

"That's probably what everyone is saying in the media and everyone from other clubs even see that as a fair compensation.

"If that does happen and we do get pick two and three, hopefully we can continue to make the club better."

James Frawley attends Melbourne's best and fairest night, despite intense speculation over his future.

Melbourne has all but conceded All Australian defender James Frawley will leave the club through free agency.

"He's had an offer on the table for some time, quite a few weeks," Melbourne CEO Peter Jackson said.

"So if that was acceptable to him I assume he would have accepted it by now.

"You can draw your own conclusions I guess. He says he hasn't made up his mind and that might be genuine.

"I hope it is genuine, I hope he stays, but you would have thought he might have made up his mind by now."

James Frawley says he is annoyed at having the free agency spotlight shone on him.

"It gets pretty frustrating, being in the media all of the time," Frawley said.

"Being a country boy, you don't really like that stuff. The free agency stuff, it's going to be in the public eye.

"I'm new to it, so I'm going to cop it for a couple of years and I'm trying to focus on footy and trying to play the best footy I can."

Melbourne coach Paul Roos says he is happy for James Frawley to take his time in making a decision on his future.

"We're respectful that he's going to take his time to make a decision because that's the way free agency works," Roos said.

"James at his best is an All Australian defender and he's certainly been a really consistent player for this footy club.

"We hope to keep him, we hope he stays."

Geelong CEO Brian Cook has confirmed the Cats have spoken to the management of Melbourne's unrestricted free agent James Frawley.

"Our club has spoken to James Frawley's agent as several other clubs will, and I'd be surprised if clubs don't," Cook told 3AW radio.

"I think there is probably a dozen in the mix there. We're one of them."

The media reports that Geelong has entered the race for Melbourne's unrestricted free agent James Frawley.

James Frawley is in no rush to make a decision over his playing future but admits the lure of playing in a premiership will be a factor.

"I'm contracted until the end of the year and I'm not going to make any rash decisions," Frawley said.

"I want to make sure the club is heading in the right direction.

"I've been here [at Melbourne] eight years and haven't played any finals and haven't got close really. It'd be great to play finals.

"At this club we've seen massive improvement over the last few years and if we keep going in the right trend, we'll hopefully be playing finals really soon."

Danny Frawley resigns from his role as AFLCA chief executive.

"I am proud of the many achievements of the AFL Coaches Association under my leadership and in particular the establishment of the many programs designed to assist with the professional development of coaches," Frawley said in a statement.

"Whilst a review of the role of the Association is underway, it is likely that the demands of the CEO role will broaden and that expectations of the role will grow, and I don't feel that I will be in a position to dedicate more time to the role given my other commitments, and in particular my media responsibilities."

James Frawley denies reports he's asking for $800,000 a year for his next contract.

"Last week the media pumped it up that I'd put $800,000 on my head. I don't know where they pulled that from. It's just not true," Frawley said.

"Look, all I want to do it go out there to get a kick, try to win some games for the Melbourne footy club, and hopefully help make this club better. That's all I'm focusing on. We haven't had a win for a while, so it's a nice feeling."

A front-ended contract for James Frawley that sees him outside of Melbourne's top 25 per cent highest paid players means the key defender is free to leave the club as an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

James Frawley says uncertainty over who will take over from Paul Roos as coach of Melbourne is one of the reason he has put off contract talks with the club.

"Hopefully this year or next year they find a nice new coach to take over from Roosy. Hopefully it will happen sooner rather than later," Frawley said.

"[You] don't want to rush it because you if you don't get the right bloke it's not going to be any good anyway. [By] taking their time they have done the right thing."

Melbourne coach Paul Roos says he understands out-of-contract defender James Frawley's decision to wait until the end of the year before making a decision on his playing future.

"We need to create some trust with players," Roos said.

"We understand that. I was at a very similar club to Melbourne [when I was playing at] Fitzroy.

"I heard for a long long time at Fitzroy, 'we're going to do that, we're going to do this, we're going to do that.' At the end of the day, I left Fitzroy just because it just wasn't the footy club they promised it was going to be."

James Frawley delays contract talks with the Demons saying he needs reassurance that the club is heading in the right direction.

"At this stage we are comfortable that James wants to see the direction of the footy club," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney told Fairfax Media.

"We presented to James prior to Christmas and we are in talks with his management and are ready to talk to him, but James has indicated he wants to focus on training and playing at the moment and get a better idea of the direction of the club."

James Frawley will be sidelined for up to a month with a hamstring injury, putting the remainder of his season in doubt.

"Scans (on Tuesday) showed some minor damage in his hamstring and he'll now go into the hamstring program and we expect him to miss three or four weeks," football manager Josh Mahoney said.

James Frawley says he has no intentions of leaving the Demons at the end of the season.

"Right now, I'm pretty happy where I'm at," Frawley told Triple M.

"That's more speculation, maybe in a year-and-a-half when my contract runs out. But I'm just focusing on now and (we'll) see what happens - I'm really happy at the club at the moment."

James Frawley is set to be sidelined for up to four weeks, after scans on Monday revealed the damage to a strained hamstring.

Media reports have linked Demons Jack Watts, James Frawley and Colin Sylvia to other clubs but Melbourne coach Mark Neeld says they are required players at the club.

"They're certainly required players here and we'll do what we can to keep them here, absolutely," Neeld said.

"Those three guys, they're good players, and I can understand why all 18 list management groups would be discussing all players out of contract."

Melbourne Demons players, including Jeremy Howe, James Frawley and Lynden Dunn, involved in an ugly spat with fans at the Boxing Day Test at the MCG get the all clear by the club.

"They weren't evicted from the MCG, there was a discussion taken place with security with the suggestion stay in the spot if you want to guys, or move to another area or go," Demons coaching director Neil Craig said.

"And they decided to leave in the end, so there is a different connotation to leaving versus being evicted."

Melbourne players Jeremy Howe, James Frawley and Lynden Dunn will reportedly have to explain themselves to the club in the new year after a boozy Boxing Day at the MCG.

Howe was asked to leave by the ground's security staff after a confrontation with fans during the opening day of the second Test between Australia and Sri Lanka.

Melbourne players Ricky Petterd, Brad Green, Colin Sylvia, James Frawley, Nathan Jones, and Jack Watts may be questioned by the AFL after using twitter to express their frustrations at teammate Jack Trengove being suspended for three weeks after a reckless tackle on Crow Patrick Dangerfield.

James Frawley could make an early return from injury but the Dees coaching staff will be taking no risks with their star defender.

"He's really keen to start to be more active. When you're active for so long and you get a situation where you're injured, your program has certainly been pushed back," Melbourne coach Dean Bailey said on SEN radio.

"We'd like to think he'll be available in rounds three or four, somewhere like that, and if he gets back a bit earlier, so be it. He's not someone we're going to rush back."

Melbourne defender James Frawley has injured his pectoral muscle at a training session.

Melbourne has kept the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney at bay by signing key defender James Frawley to a new four-year deal.

"For James to have the confidence to commit to the club for four years and for the club to have the confidence to commit to James for four years is a pretty big thing - you don't do too many four-year deals," Melbourne list management general manager Tim Harrington said.

"Given we see him as a mainstay of the backline for a long period of time, it was a pretty easy decision."

Dees defender James Frawley believes Melbourne's performance against powerhouse Geelong shows the club is becoming more competitive.

"They're a great team, but they've got two arms and legs and they bleed like everyone else, so we just went out with that attitude and tried to put the pressure on them, as much as we could," he said.

"It was a good start early in the game, but we probably went away from that a little bit.

"We'll take positives out of the game. They're a great team, but hopefully we've got a bit of respect back."