Like most that knew him, Kelly Amoore can't help but laugh at the great memories she has of the late Danny Frawley.
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But she also knew of the former AFL player's personal battles that plagued him during life's journey.
Today marks one year since Frawley was killed in a single vehicle crash near Gordon, leaving behind his wife Anita - Amoore's sister - and their daughters Danielle, Chelsea and Keeley.
Amoore worked closely with Frawley during his final years after he and Anita purchased and developed Sylvan Lodge Equine Centre in Miners Rest. It was formerly the base used by now-retired trainer Barry James, who is Kelly and Anita's father.
"We all knew about his mental health and Danny would talk about it too, but to an extent he would ask you how you were. He would struggle, but he was quick to turn it back to see how you were really going," Amoore said.
"We all thought that having the farm and getting back to his roots and what he loved was a way to heal the process and something else he could enjoy and look forward to."
Amoore said while she was aware of Frawley's battles, she never realised how serious they actually were. And she says the recent developments regarding Frawley's diagnosis of stage two chronic traumatic encephalopathy "makes sense".
CTE can occur from repeated blows to the head over a long period and symptoms can include memory loss and personality changes.
Frawley's is the second confirmed case of CTE in a former AFL player.
"Looking back he probably did make some irrational decisions and probably wasn't the same old Danny," she said.
"It puts a few pieces to the puzzle, doesn't it?"
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Amoore said the diagnosis might help Anita and the children in some small way.
She said while Frawley's passing had been "tough and hard for everyone", working in the horse industry meant she had to just keep soldiering on. And she expressed her gratitude to the Miners Rest community and racing fraternity for lending a helping hand during the family's tough time.
"He was fun-loving, you'd have a laugh and he would brighten up a room," she said.
"We had some funny days out there and there was a lot of laughs.
"Some of the things he did and you just look back and have a really good laugh about it because he was entertaining, that's for sure.
"Either with what he was wearing or he'd jump in the tractor and off he'd go. He'd go around, around and around and you wouldn't see him for hours. He had a big smile on his face so you knew he loved it."
Frawley, from Bungaree, played 240 games for St Kilda and coached 113 at Richmond before embarking on a long and successful career in the football media. He became open about his mental health struggles in later life and had withdrawn from his medication shortly before his death.