Christopher Douglas Mainwaring (27 December 1965 – 1 October 2007) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL) and for the East Fremantle Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Adored by young fans for his handsome appearance, Mainwaring was one of the most popular footballers of his era. At his peak, he was one of the finest wingmen in the AFL, forming a devastating midfield combination with Peter Matera in the early 1990s, but after a serious knee injury in 1997 he was never able to recapture his best form. After retiring in 1999, Mainwaring worked as a television presenter and sports journalist with the Seven Network and a radio presenter with Mix 94.5 before his death in 2007 from a drug overdose at the age of 41. Football career Mainwaring was born in the coastal Western Australian town of Geraldton, over 400 kilometres north of Perth to Hubert Mainwaring and his wife Leah (née Cripps). He started his football career with the Greenough Demons (Rovers) before being recruited by in 1985. In his first season, he was a member of the Western Australian State of Origin team and played in a Sharks premiership team. He was a member of the West Coast Eagles' inaugural squad in 1987. He made his debut in round three that year, against Sydney at Subiaco and afterwards only missed one game for the season. and was named their best first year player. Mainwaring played for the Eagles on the wing and contributed greatly to their success, playing in both their 1992 and 1994 premierships. The image of him leaping with joy at the conclusion of the game, despite having a broken ankle, is one of the lasting images of the Eagles' first premiership. Mainwaring was an All-Australian in 1991 and 1996 and has been named on the wing in the West Coast Eagles' Team of the Decade in 1996, Team20 in 2006 and East Fremantle's Team of the Century in 1997. Whilst he never won the Club Champion award at the Eagles, he finished in the top 10 eight times, including placing third in both his debut and second years in the VFL and second in 1989, 1992 and 1996. In 1997, he suffered a knee injury, which required a knee reconstruction and this put him out of action for the