Footy is thrown into mourning as star Andrew Krakouer dies aged just 42 after staging inspirational comeback when his career was almost sunk by a stint in jail

The footy world is in mourning over the death of Andrew Krakouer, who died of a suspected heart attack in Perth on Sunday aged just 42.

Born in Melbourne, he racked up 102 games for Richmond from 2001 to 2007 before a jail term interrupted his AFL career.

Krakouer was sentenced to at least 16 months in jail for a serious assault in 2006, with his younger brother also imprisoned over his role in the attack.

However, he fought his way back into the AFL after his release on parole in 2009, going on to rack up 35 games with Collingwood from 2011 to 2013.

Once his first-grade career was over, he moved into construction and became a TV host and public speaker who specialised in sharing the lessons he’d learned during his rollercoaster career.

Footy legend Nathan Buckley, who coached Krakouer at Collingwood, was devastated by the news. 

‘That’s tragic, so young at 42,’ he said on Monday.

‘What a brilliant footballer. A really calm, quiet teammate, who was respectful and went about his business.

‘I really enjoyed the years with him, that’s really sad for his family and his mates.’

News of Krakouer’s death is the fourth tragedy this year to involve big footy names who’ve died young, coming on the heels of the death of Joel Selwood’s brother and Brisbane Lions star Troy, 40, in February.

West Coast grand final hero Adam Hunter died aged 43, also in February, just days after Essendon coach Dale Tapping lost his battle with blood cancer at the age of 59.

Krakouer excelled as a small forward with the Tigers, regularly featuring as one of the club’s top goal kickers after being taken with the 41st pick of the 2000 AFL draft.

His world came tumbling down in 2008 when he was found guilty of assault with intent to cause bodily harm after an attack outside a nightclub in Fremantle in December 2006.

A man who had previously king-hit Krakouer, Justin Martin, was left in a coma after the fight.

Krakouer was sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve a minimum of 16 months. His brother Tyrone was found guilty of a lesser charge and jailed for a minimum of eight months.

The Tigers and Magpies star had two young daughters at the time and struggled when they visited him in jail.

‘My children and my partner, they came out to see me every week. I remember that was hard for me and for my kids. I didn’t want them to come in,’ he told SBS in 2022.

‘I could remember visiting my own dad in prison, and it wasn’t a good thing. It was great to see him, but it was still sad.

‘To just to get out and be a dad again, and a good partner to Barbara, that was my driving force, that was my motivation.’

Entering prison left a mark on Krakouer that changed his life forever.

‘Once I got found guilty after court, it was so scary walking down and getting processed and walking into the cell, it sort of seemed so surreal,’ he said in 2019.

‘I was thinking 12 months ago I was running around playing footy and now I don’t have a future ahead of me and I’m not sure what the future holds.

‘I didn’t really lift my head up until I got to the cell and I heard a couple of keys jingle and the door opens up … I remember putting my hand on the door to see if we could move it. That was reality.’

Krakouer devoted himself to boxing and weight training to stay fit in prison before being allowed out to play footy in an outside competition on Sundays.

He was paroled in 2009 and joined Perth’s Swan Districts WAFL club as he took the first steps to resurrecting his AFL career.

Krakouer was named the player of the year by both his club and the WAFL as he played a huge role in steering the team to a grand final win.

That paved the way for his return to the top flight with Collingwood in 2011, the season he took the AFL’s mark of the year with a spectacular grab against the Adelaide Crows.

‘I was a lot better prepared this time around than I was going into Richmond in 2001. My body was in good shape, I was in good shape mentally, and I had some really good stability off-field as well,’ Krakouer recalled. 

Krakouer loved his footy in that first year back, but the following season he struggled with a serious knee injury – and didn’t like the atmosphere inside the team.

‘There were a fair few off-field incidents within the footy club that has been documented around racism and things like that,’ he said, referring to the scandal that saw the Magpies accused of having a culture of ‘systemic racism’ after bombshell allegations were raised by former star Heritier Lumumba and others. 

After retiring, Krarkouer found work in the construction industry and as a mentor with Indigenous programs.

In 2022 his career took a very different turn as he signed on to host the SBS TV show Yokayi Footy, and last year he released a children’s book aimed at helping kids whose parents have been jailed.

‘My Dad’s Gone Away’ was inspired by Krakouer’s experiences as a prisoner – and by the jailing of his father Jim when he was just 13 years old.

The thoughts of many footy fans were summed up by Krakouer’s teammate at Richmond, AFL great Matthew Richardson.

‘Rest in peace Andrew Krakouer. A beautiful man who was loved by all his teammates,’ Richardson wrote on X after the news broke.

‘Always greeted you with a hug and a smile. Love to Jimmy and Andrew’s daughters and all his family. Very sad day.’