Fast forward to the end of the 2012 season and Frawley has not played in any finals - nor has the club.
It’s been a tough period for both club and player, but during the ride, Frawley has become a fine key defender, claiming an All-Australian accolade, two top three best and fairest finishes and 100 games along the way.
But tasting finals and helping the club advance long term into September is all that matters to Frawley now.
“Myself, Colin [Garland] and Ricky Petterd got drafted in ‘06. Melbourne was fourth on the ladder, and they played in a semi-final against Freo, so I was excited to come in thinking ‘we might be playing in finals in the next few years and have a bit of success’,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but it’s been a learning curve, especially for me - I got thrown in pretty much as a young bloke straight in the deep end, just sink or swim, pretty much.
“It was a really good experience for me - [BUT] we’re probably past that stage now. We’ve got a solid team, and we really need to start stepping up. That’s where the pre-season comes in, with everyone doing their right workload, and pushing themselves really hard over the break to get themselves right to really have a crack at pre-season and set themselves up for a good year.”
But Frawley said that climbing back up the ladder would be a massive challenge for the Demons, given the fierce demands of the competition.
“It happens every year, but maybe because of the pace of the game, it’s gone up another level again,” he said.
“It’s pretty physically demanding on players these days, but that’s what you do to get paid - you’ve got to be up with the best teams, and the way the game’s going, it’s going into quicker, faster ball movements, so everyone’s trying to keep up with that.
“It’s been pretty hard and physical on the body, but you get through.”
After outstanding seasons in 2010-11, Frawley said he wasn’t as pleased with his output in 2012.
He managed all but three matches, but some niggling injuries didn’t help his cause, with calf, foot and quadriceps problems sidelining him for rounds five, 10 and 20 respectively.
Frawley also took on greater backline responsibilities, with Colin Garland and Jared Rivers spending greater time in attack in the second half of the season.
“Coming into the backline we had a pretty good set group coming in from last year, and with Clarky (Mitch Clark) going down it probably wrecked our structure a little bit,” he said.
“Riv had to go forward, and Garlo went forward. We had a lot of inexperience come into the group. But as I said, Tommy [McDonald] came in and did a really good job this year. He played really well, and Dunny (Lynden Dunn) came back in the second half of the year, and Wattsy (Jack Watts) - everyone who’s come through has been really good, and we have a backline that really adds something different.
“But we just need to keep that gelling, and play as many games as we can together. That’s when you become a good back six like you see at Hawthorn, and teams like that where they play together all the time and there’s a real core - a good strength of blokes who have played probably 100 games - or 60 to 100 games together - and it starts to really click.”
Frawley was frustrated at why he thought his form dropped slightly in 2012.
Although Frawley remains one of Melbourne’s most integral players, he wasn’t entirely pleased with his season, although he still finished in the club’s best and fairest top 10.
“Coming in, I was pretty confident. It’s a tough one - there’s not really many gaps that you can really pick up straightaway and think ‘Oh well, I didn’t do that’, or ‘I’ve done that’, because every year you pretty much prepare the same way for every game,” he said.
“It’s pretty hard to put the finger on exactly what it is, but maybe just confidence - I’m not really sure. It’s a tough one.
“It was probably average, really, nothing special, nothing really over the top - probably not as good as the last couple of years. I’m not sure why, and I’m definitely working on it with the coaches and different people in the club to try and get back up to the form I was in a couple of years ago. I think it’s pretty easy, really, to get back up there.
“Everyone’s trying to help you out, and I’m just looking forward to doing the running over the break, getting into it, getting fit again, and just having another good year next year, hopefully.”
Reflecting on the team’s overall season, Frawley said it was disappointing for all concerned.
“For the players and the fans out there, we were expecting big things from the pre-season, and we had new coaching staff coming in - everyone had high hopes, and everyone does, every pre-season you come into - you want to win as many games as you can, but unfortunately it didn’t happen this year, and it was definitely disappointing,” he said.
“But there are definitely a lot of things we can build on from this year to next year, and going into pre-season. That’s why I’m looking forward to next pre-season, and getting back into it and hopefully improving.”
The 2012 leadership group member said he would balance his off-season between recovering his body and building up for a strong pre-season.
“I’ll just let the body heal and things like that - I’ve got a few niggles like most boys would, so I’ve just got to let the body recuperate a little bit after getting battered and bruised all year,” he said.
“You just do the programme that Dave Misson sets. He’s been around at different clubs for 15-20 years, so you just do everything and tick the boxes, whatever he says goes. We’ve got a pretty strict schedule, and everyone will be sticking to it.
“I’ll hopefully just run with other blokes around Melbourne when we’re around here, and try and work hard - that’s all you’ve got to do. As I said before, it should lead into a good pre-season, and usually when you have a good pre-season, you have a good year. We’ll just have to work on that and get the fitness levels up a bit more. I’ll just keep working at my game.”
