Western Australia and the AFL community have been shocked by the news that former West Coast Eagles champion Chris Mainwaring is dead.
Mainwaring was pronounced dead a short time after 12.30am this morning at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital after being taken there by ambulance following a collapse at his home.
Mainwaring’s wife, Rani, was at the family’s farm in Toodyay, about 100 kilometres north-east of Perth and the news of her husband’s death was published by many outlets before she knew, but a close friend broke the news to her first.
It has since emerged that one of the last people to spend time with Mainwaring was one of his close friends, Ben Cousins, who is believed to have been with Mainwaring late yesterday.
wwos.com.au understands Chris Mainwaring phoned Ben Cousins and asked him to come over to his home. It's believed Cousins stayed only a short time. According to Brad Hardie, Brownlow medallist and commentator for Perth radio station 6PR, Mainwaring has been in the midst of a "personal crisis".
The death of club legend Mainwaring is another blow in a tumultuos year for West Coast, with the 41 year-old a superstar in Perth throughout a career that included the arrival of Cousins at the Eagles in 1996 as a 17 year old.
Mainwaring wrecked his knee at the start of the 1996 season which kept him out of the game until late in 1998. The pair would have played just a handful of games together before Mainwaring retired in the middle of the 1999 season, but their friendship had been cemented and has endured.
Police and the St John Ambulance were called to Mainwaring's home in the beach suburb of Cottesloe following a complaint he was yelling in the street at 11.45pm (WST) on Sunday.
When they arrived, the 41-year-old was calm and refused help from the ambulance officers who left him in the care of a neighbour, police said.
Chris Mainwaring, champion wingman. Photo: Getty Images
St John Ambulance was again called to Mainwaring's home at 12.30pm where officers found him unconscious. He was taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Police will investigate the death and prepare a report for the coroner.
"Mainy", as he was affectionately known, was a brilliant footballer for the Eagles during their dominant years of the 1990s.
He was a crucial member of the two premiership sides of 1992 and 1994 playing as a wingman who with Dean Kemp and Peter Matera formeed a damaging centreline. He was the type of player who could turn a game off his own boot with a flash of brilliance but equally would put his body on the line when it mattered.
Mainwaring played 201 games, was a regular player for his beloved Western Australia and a two-time All Australian. The CEO of the West Coast Eagles, Trevor Nisbett, has known Mainwaring for more than twenty years.
"Last Friday, Chris was in the office, he came in for a workout as he often did and was telling me about plans for different things he had going on. We’re all very upset about the whole affair," Mr Nisbett said.
Off the field, Chris Mainwaring was known as a loveable larrikin, and there was no bigger name in Perth.
Chris Mainwaring kisses the cup with Glen Jakovich. Photo: Getty Images
A few scrapes with the law were forgiven by his adoring public because "Mainy" was the man all blokes wanted to be their mate and most girls wanted to marry.
During his playing days he was an accomplished media performer on radio station Mix 94.5 and has been a presenter with Channel Seven for more than a decade.
Managing Director of Channel Seven in Perth, Mr Chris Wharton, remembers Mainwaring as someone who had time for everyone.
"He was a generous man, a heart of gold, he did a lot of community work with his coaching clinics and with us at Channel 7, he always had a smile on his face and was a genuinely decent bloke", Mr Wharton said.
His reputation as a party boy had been replaced as that of a loving husband and family man in recent years. He is survived by his wife Rani and two children, Maddy, 8 and Zac, 6.
