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Colin Sylvia is being mourned after the former AFL player was killed in a two-vehicle accident in Victoria’s northwest.
The AFL world is mourning the loss of Colin Sylvia after the ex-Melbourne and Fremantle player died in a car crash.
The 32-year-old was involved in a two-vehicle collision on Sunday afternoon in Irymple, near Mildura, in Victoria’s northwest.
Former Demons captain Garry Lyon confirmed the news on Monday morning.
“Colin Sylvia has tragically been killed in a car accident near Mildura,” Lyon told SEN.
The driver of the second vehicle was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and detectives are yet to determine the cause of the crash.
Sylvia’s former Melbourne teammate Brent Moloney was shocked at his best mate’s death.
“Words can’t describe how I’m feeling,” Moloney tweeted along with a photograph of the pair walking outside the MCG.
“We were always side by side no matter where we were. I’m gonna miss you brother.”
Sylvia’s girlfriend Mindy Jory also posted a picture of the ex-AFL player on Monday morning and described him as “beautiful inside and out”.
Former Melbourne star David Schwarz, who got to know Sylvia after travelling with the Demons for their 2010 exhibition game in China, said big things were expected of him after winning a seniors premiership with Merbein at age 15.
“He was just a lad,” Schwarz told Macquarie Sports Radio.
“He played 163 games and was good player … but probably he liked life more than he loved his footy.”
Lyon said Sylvia’s “talent and potential was never fulfilled” after being taken with pick No.3 in the 2003 national draft.
Sylvia showed flashes of brilliance but injury, inconsistency and off-field controversies plagued his career.
He was stripped of his place in the 2011 International Rules Series for leaving the scene of a car crash in South Melbourne and later crossed to Fremantle for a fresh start at the end of 2013.
But the move flopped as Sylvia managed just six games for the Dockers in 2014 before being banished to the WAFL in 2015 for failing to live up to the club’s training standards.
He called it quits not long after despite having more than a year left to run on his contract.
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