The father of a teenage boy who collapsed and died during a soccer match in the country of Victoria said his son wishes his teammates could keep playing.
Castlemaine Soccer player Dallas Keogh-Frankling, 17, collapsed in the dressing rooms after an away game against the Kyneton Tigers in the Bendigo League under-18s.
His heartbroken father, Mark Frankling, said he only wanted “good things” out of the tragedy.
Up-and-coming footballer Dallas Keogh-Frankling, 17, is remembered as a ‘great kid’ after he collapsed and died in the changing rooms following an under-18 game
His heartbroken father, Mark Frankling, has described how his son’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and his face turned “gray” after the game. He was rushed to hospital, but paramedics were unable to resuscitate him
“Dallas still wish they (his teammates) would play footy instead of not playing footy,” he said.
“That’s life, things can happen, accidents can happen, I just don’t want this to affect the football club.”
Mr Franklin called on the coroner to provide answers as to why his son died because he was perfectly healthy and had no pre-existing medical conditions.
“I told them I want to know what happened because I don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” the father told the police. Announce sun.
“I don’t want this to happen to another kid. I don’t think Dallas would want this either.”
Mr Franklin said his son was tackled by two people on the border line towards the end of the last quarter.
The youngster, remembered online by friends as ‘such a nice lad’, was playing for Castlemaine against Kyneton in Kyneton (pictured) in the Bendigo League when the tragedy happened
The Castlemaine club held a community meeting to remember Dallas on Sunday afternoon
His son immediately jumped to his feet, but grabbed his belly before taking the time to sit on the couch.
But in the dressing rooms after the match, his eyes “rolled in the back of his head” and his face turned “gray.”
He was rushed to Kyneton Hospital in an ambulance where paramedics attempted to resuscitate him.
“They worked again to get him back. I held his hand and it felt cold. After an hour and a half they couldn’t bring him back,” said Mr. Frankling.
Mr. Frankling said he was “such a proud father” and that his son “loved his footy”, getting up before dawn to play some mornings.
“It’s still hard to believe that I’m not going to drive him to footy and have him tell me what he’s going to do today.
“He was just a great kid. There was never a bad word about him. He had great people around him, calm and polite.’
Victorian Prime Minister Dan Andrews said: ‘On behalf of all Victorians I would like to express my deepest condolences.
“And people need to be assured that there will be a full investigation so we can try to understand what happened here.”
Tributes were paid by the Castelemaine community and footy fans further afield.
“Incredibly saddening and devastating,” said Matthew Evans, Greater Bendigo Councilor.
My sincere condolences and prayers to the family and the entire Castlemaine FNC. Also thought of the Kyneton FNC.’
The North Geelong Victorian Club said: ‘From one community club to another, our thoughts are with your club and the wider community at this tragic time.’
One woman wrote: ‘Hard to believe something like this could happen in youth football. My heart goes out to everyone. My son also plays for U18 and I can’t even imagine how difficult this would be.’
A spokesman for Victoria Police said: ‘Emergency services were called to reports of an unconscious boy on a football pitch in Mollison Street, Kyneton, at around 12.20pm.’
“A 17-year-old boy from Castlemaine was taken to hospital where he later died.”
They are not treating the death as suspicious.
The Castlemaine club held a community meeting to memorialize Dallas on Sunday afternoon in Camp Reserve’s social rooms.