{"id":623113,"date":"2026-04-22T08:01:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/623113\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T08:01:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:01:13","slug":"st-kilda-to-build-on-existing-afl-mental-health-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/623113\/","title":{"rendered":"St Kilda to build on existing AFL mental health game"},"content":{"rendered":"

St Kilda will again stage a game in honour of club legend Danny Frawley as Victorian rivals also consider putting on a match in support of mental health.<\/p>\n

The Saints will hold ‘Spud’s Game’ for a sixth-straight year, likely to be at Marvel Stadium against another Victorian team after the AFL confirms the currently floating fixture from round 16 to 24.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Picks<\/a><\/p>\n

St Kilda’s round-22 match against Carlton looms as an option, with the teams also facing off in last year’s Spud’s Game.<\/p>\n

The marquee fixture started in 2021, two years after Frawley tragically died following his battle with mental health.<\/p>\n

players, coaches and umpires take a moment’s silence for Spud’s Game during the round nine in 2025.\u00a0Photo by Josh Chadwick\/AFL Photos\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

It comes in a week during which Carlton’s Elijah Hollands suffered a mental health episode during the Blues’ match against Collingwood last Thursday night and was subsequently hospitalised.<\/p>\n

Star players, such as Geelong’s Bailey Smith and Western Bulldogs’ Rory Lobb, have this week called for a league-wide mental-health round to be introduced.<\/p>\n

Responding to a report suggesting the AFL would not bring in a mental-health round, Smith on Wednesday wrote on Instagram: “We can reward mediocrity and introduce wildcard round though (two thumbs up and clown emoji)”.<\/p>\n

Melbourne chief executive Paul Guerra on Tuesday confirmed the Demons were keen to be involved in a mental-themed game next season.<\/p>\n

Essendon legend Kevin Sheedy, who has famously been behind pushes for other marquee games, has raised Carlton or the Bombers as potential opponents for Melbourne in a match.<\/p>\n

But St Kilda only have plans to further grow Spud’s Game and are hoping to make it a permanent MCG blockbuster and ensure it’s the AFL’s premier marquee match in support of mental health.<\/p>\n

Their clash with the Blues last year took place in front of 65,680 – the biggest crowd yet for a Spud’s Game.<\/p>\n

But St Kilda’s one MCG home game for this year was back in Opening Round when they lost to Collingwood, meaning the 2026 match will be at Marvel Stadium.<\/p>\n

The Black Dog Institute, one of Australia’s most respected mental health organisations, has partnered with the Danny Frawley Centre and only strengthened the cause.<\/p>\n

The centre opened in 2022 at St Kilda’s Moorabbin base, aiming to create a place of belonging that supports the mental health of the community.<\/p>\n

Frawley, who played 240 games for St Kilda between 1984 and 1995, championed mental health causes even as he struggled with his own issues in the years before his death.<\/p>\n

Former teammates and media colleagues of Frawley have often been heavily involved in Spud’s Game.<\/p>\n

Lifeline 13 11 14<\/p>\n

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