Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson and wife Milly announce pregnancy, reveal earlier miscarriage

Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson and his wife Milly have announced they are expecting their first child. In a touching post on Instagram, the couple also revealed they had suffered a miscarriage earlier this year. “Our baby Daws. We can’t wait to meet you x,” Milly wrote. “Sending a mountain of love and strength to everyone on their journeys.

“It’s important for us to acknowledge that this is our second pregnancy this year. It’s a conversation we never wanted to ignore. Our angel baby expanded our hearts and taught us more than we ever thought possible.🪽

“This little baby will have some very special stars up there.” It’s been an emotional year for the Dawson family, who lost Jordan’s brother Jaryd in April. He went missing and was later found dead in the coastal town of Robe in South Australia’s south east. Despite being rocked by the tragedy and taking some time away from footy, Jordan was able to turn in another brilliant season on the field, paying tribute to his brother in each and every game.

Speaking last month, Jordan said he was still struggling to come to terms with his brother’s passing. Dawson told 7NEWS that the pain’s still very raw, but thanked fans and the footy community for the overwhelming support. “It’s been a struggle to be honest, it’s still something I’m not ready to talk about fully,” the 29-year-old said in August.

“It’s still very raw and it’s still something I’m battling with, but I also want to make my brother proud and play the best footy I can play because I know that’s what he’d want me to do as well. “I’m always thinking about him, and sometimes when I’m not, it’ll be a random time when a fan or someone is just trying to show their respects, and they’ll just come up to me and say, ‘I’m so sorry about your loss,’ or whatever, and that obviously brings back memories.

“I’m so grateful for the fans that have been a big supporter of mine over the journey so far, and they’ve obviously gone above and beyond this year for me. “So yeah, always almost thinking about him.” Earlier this month, an online troll apologised after being confronted for sending a vile suicide taunt to the Crows skipper.

7NEWS confronted Stuart Rocke, the man who was outed by Dawson on social media after sending the despicable message following Adelaide’s semi-final loss to Brisbane. The message made a reference to self-harm. Rocke was tracked down at his home in Perth’s northern suburbs, and 7NEWS questioned him about the disgusting message. “Can I ask you why you sent that?” Rocke was asked. “Not really,” he replied. He was then asked: “Why did you feel the need to do that?” “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s disgusting.”

Mental health advocates have applauded Dawson for naming and shaming the culprit, insisting the only way to stamp out online trolls is to call them out. “He’s received a horrible message there, and at a period of time when he’s just finished the football season, and as a whole family unit, they’ve gone through an enormous challenge and trauma and grief and loss,” Breakthrough CEO John Mannion said. “I love the fact of the way in which he’s managed it.

He’s called it out. He said, this is not acceptable. He said, we need to be better than this. And I think the way in which he’s using his platform to drive the positive mental health messaging and the language that we use is really, really proactive.”