James Frawley (footballer)

James Frawley
Frawley playing for Hawthorn in April 2018
Personal information
Full name	James Frawley
Nickname(s)	Chips [1] [2] [3]
Date of birth	(1988-09-20) 20 September 1988 (age 35)
Original team(s)	North Ballarat Rebels
Draft	No. 12, 2006 national draft
Debut	Round 9, 2007, Melbourne  vs. Kangaroos, at Melbourne Cricket Ground
Height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	94 kg (207 lb)
Position(s)	Defender
Club information
Current club	Gold Coast reserves
Number	60
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2007–2014	Melbourne	139 (18)
2015–2020	Hawthorn	100 0(6)
2021	St Kilda	002 0(0)
Total		241 (24)
International team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2010–2011	Australia	2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2021. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 2011.
Career highlights
AFL premiership player: 2015 All-Australian team: 2010
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

James Frawley (born 20 September 1988) is an Australian rules footballer who currently plays for the Gold Coast Suns in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Palm Beach Currumbin in the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL).

He previously played professionally with the Melbourne Football Club, Hawthorn Football Club and St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

AFL career

While completing his final year at Damascus College Ballarat, ^[4] Frawley was recruited from the North Ballarat Rebels in the TAC Cup following from his junior ranks at the East Ballarat Junior Football Netbal Club in the Ballarat Football Netball League. He was taken by the Melbourne Demons with their first round pick (12th overall) in the 2006 AFL Draft. He is the nephew of a former St Kilda captain, Danny Frawley.

Melbourne (2007–2014)

Frawley with Melbourne in 2007.

Frawley debuted for the Demons in Round 9, 2007 and played all of his games in defence. He played nine senior games in his first year of AFL football.

Not known for his kicking efficiency, Frawley had a tough and uncompromising defensive style of play.

The 2010 season was a breakout year for Frawley who, at still only 21 years of age, became one of the premier defenders in the league. His season was capped off by being named in the back pocket for the 2010 All-Australian squad ^[5] and finishing second to Brad Green in Melbourne's Best and Fairest. ^[6]

Coming off his breakthrough season in 2010, Frawley's 2011 season started with a setback as he was sidelined for up to three months after tearing his pectoral muscle in January. ^[7]

In 2014, under the new coaching structure of Paul Roos, Frawley began to play more of a forward role. His defensive efforts inside Melbourne's forward 50 was a contributing factor towards their on-field improvement.

Hawthorn (2015–2020)

On 6 October 2014, Frawley exercised his rights as a free agent and joined the Hawthorn Football Club. ^[8] He was to play under his eighth coach, three of which were caretaker coaches. ^[9]

Frawley featured in the club's 2015 premiership winning team at the end of the season and played an instrumental role in the victory, keeping Coleman Medallist Josh Kennedy goalless for the entire match. ^[10]

On 8 October 2020, Frawley retired from the AFL. ^[11]

St Kilda (2021)

See also: 2021 St Kilda Football Club season

Frawley backflipped on his retirement and joined St Kilda as a delisted free agent on 26 November 2020. He had announced his retirement from the Hawks at the end of 2020 but was lured out of retirement and was eligible for selection as a delisted free agent following the first list lodgement on 25 November. ^[12]

Frawley played in St Kilda's Community Series win against Carlton, but suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter, resulting in him missing more than two months of football. ^[13]

After two games for St Kilda, Frawley retired for the second time at the conclusion of the 2021 AFL season. ^[14]

Post-AFL career

In 2022, Frawley joined the Gold Coast Suns as a development coach, working with the club's Victorian Football League (VFL) team. ^[15] However, he remained as a fill-in playing option, and made his debut for the Suns against North Melbourne in round 22 of the 2022 VFL season, recording 13 disposals. ^{[16] [17]}

In March 2023, he joined Palm Beach Currumbin in the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL). ^{[18] [19]}

Frawley was named as an emergency against Carlton in round 9 of the 2024 VFL season. ^{[20] [21]} He played his second game for the Suns against Coburg in round 19, 2024, recording nine disposals in a 34-point victory. ^{[22] [23]}

Statistics

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)							Votes
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2007	Melbourne	8	9	0	0	35	32	67	21	15	0.0	0.0	3.9	3.6	7.4	2.3	1.7	0
2008	Melbourne	8	11	0	0	66	38	104	44	21	0.0	0.0	6.0	3.5	9.5	4.0	1.9	0
2009	Melbourne	8	20	1	1	154	124	278	89	38	0.1	0.1	7.7	6.2	13.9	4.5	1.9	0
2010	Melbourne	8	21	1	1	234	157	391	123	49	0.0	0.0	11.1	7.5	18.6	5.9	2.3	3
2011	Melbourne	8	21	1	1	238	154	392	109	32	0.0	0.0	11.3	7.3	18.7	5.2	1.5	2
2012	Melbourne	8	19	0	1	215	80	295	96	45	0.0	0.1	11.3	4.2	15.5	5.1	2.4	0
2013	Melbourne	8	17	0	1	165	86	251	97	34	0.0	0.1	9.7	5.1	14.8	5.7	2.0	0
2014	Melbourne	8	21	15	16	219	101	320	156	46	0.7	0.8	10.4	4.8	15.2	7.4	2.2	3
2015 #	Hawthorn	12	18	6	1	148	84	232	88	32	0.3	0.1	8.2	4.7	12.9	4.9	1.7	0
2016	Hawthorn	12	22	0	0	191	112	303	114	48	0.0	0.0	8.7	5.1	13.8	5.2	2.2	0
2017	Hawthorn	12	8	0	0	77	39	116	52	13	0.0	0.0	9.6	4.9	14.5	6.5	1.2	0
2018	Hawthorn	12	20	0	0	185	86	271	91	30	0.0	0.0	9.3	4.3	13.6	4.6	1.5	0
2019	Hawthorn	12	18	0	0	157	61	218	77	27	0.0	0.0	8.7	3.4	12.1	4.3	1.5	1
2020 [lower-alpha 1]	Hawthorn	12	14	0	0	77	45	122	41	10	0.0	0.0	5.5	3.2	8.7	2.9	0.7	0
2021	St Kilda	24	2	0	0	13	10	23	10	2	0.0	0.0	6.5	5.0	11.5	5.0	1.0	0
Career [24]			241	24	22	2174	1209	3383	1208	442	0.1	0.1	9.0	5.0	14.0	5.0	1.8	9

Notes

1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

Team

• AFL premiership player (Hawthorn): 2015
• Minor premiership (Box Hill): 2015

Individual

• All-Australian team : 2010
• 2× Australian international rules football team : 2010, 2011

References

1. Crawford, Shane. "Shane Crawford: Western Bulldogs must strengthen their spine by chasing James Frawley". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
2. "'Chip' Frawley can cut it, declares fellow Hawthorn defender". AFL. Australian Football League. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
3. "James Frawley". demonwiki.org. Demonwiki. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
4. Archived 20 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Damascus College, The Road, Summer 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2013
5. "All Australian at a glance". AFL BigPond Network. 13 September 2010. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
6. Clark, Jay (3 September 2010). "Brad Green wins Keith "Bluey" Truscott gong". Herald Sun. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
7. Ralph, Jon (22 January 2011). "Melbourne defender James Frawley to miss up to three months with chest injury". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
8. "Finals, success lures Frawley to Hawks".
9. Mastermind season review: Hawthorn, The Roar, 9 October 2014.
10. Windley, Matt (3 October 2015). "AFL Grand Final 2015: James Frawley soaks up first premiership". Herald Sun. News.com.au. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
11. "Frawley calls time".
12. "Frawley name returns to St Kilda: Ex-Hawk has retirement rethink". www.afl.com.au. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
13. "'Hugely disappointing': New Saint set for lengthy stint on the sidelines". www.afl.com.au. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
14. "241 and out: Frawley hangs up the boots". saints.com.au. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
15. "SUNS Announce Coaching Structure Changes". Gold Coast Suns. 28 October 2022. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023.
16. "James Frawley". VFL Stats. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
17. "North Melbourne v Gold Coast SUNS". AFL.com.au. 20 August 2022. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
18. Yeend, Chris (29 March 2023). "QAFL Season Preview – Palm Beach Currumbin". AFL Queensland. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. The Lions have welcomed a number of star players including 200-AFL-gamer James Frawley who comes to the club with experience at Melbourne, St Kilda and Hawthorn while even putting on the boots for the Gold Coast VFL team as a fill-in.
19. "James Frawley". PlayHQ. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
20. Rhodes, Brendan (19 March 2024). "Smithy's VFL List Update - 2024 Season". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024.
21. Rhodes, Brendan (24 May 2024). "TEAMS: Smithy's VFL Round 9". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. EMG: J. Butler (55), C. Elliott (51), L. Snowball (54), J. Frawley (70)
22. Rhodes, Brendan (3 August 2024). "TEAMS: Smithy's VFL Round 19". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024. Former AFL star James Frawley and ex-Brisbane Lion Zac O'Brien add significant experience
23. "Gold Coast SUNS v Coburg Lions". AFL.com.au. 3 August 2024. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
24. "James Frawley". AFL Tables. Retrieved 17 June 2014.

External links

• James Frawley's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• DemonWiki player profile