Jim Stynes

James Peter Stynes (23 April 1966 – 20 March 2012) was an Irish-born Australian rules footballer, youth worker and sports administrator. Stynes played the entirety of his Australian rules football career with the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Australian Football League (AFL) between 1987 and 1998. He was recruited from Dublin through Melbourne's "Irish experiment", Stynes went on to become the first, and only, non-Australian-born player to win the Brownlow Medal in 1991. Stynes played as a ruckman. He played a then-record 244 consecutive games, a streak that was a record lasting over two decades. He also won the Leigh Matthews Trophy in 1991, two All-Australian team selections, four Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medals, as Melbourne's best and fairest player and was selected in Melbourne's Team of the Century. He additionally represented Victoria in State of Origin football, as well as playing for both Australia and Ireland in the International Rules series. Outside of football, Stynes was known for his work with young people. In 1994, Stynes co-founded the Reach Foundation, a youth development organisation. His contributions earned him multiple Victorian of the Year honours and the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2007. After his playing career, he served as the president of the Melbourne Football Club from 2008 until 2012. He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2009, Stynes was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. He continued his commitments throughout treatment before dying in 2012 at the age of 45. A state funeral was held and a statue was erected at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The AFL's annual Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award was created and named in his honour.