WITH Melbourne's pre-season fixture coming to an end, the club is now counting down to its Round 1 clash where it will celebrate Jim’s Game, an Irish event in which it will recognise the life and legacy of club great Jim Stynes.
The special match day will see the Dees paint the town green, with Irish games, traditions and entertainment to take over the MCG on Sunday 16 March.
The Irish celebration will be raising funds for the Jim Stynes Foundation, which was first created in 2015 to continue Stynes' legacy, developing programs and initiatives that focus on inspiring young people to believe in themselves and thrive.
Donning the No.11 during his time at Melbourne, we've gathered 11 facts about the club legend honoured in this upcoming celebration.
11 FACTS ABOUT JIM STYNES:
- Jim Stynes was born in Dublin, one of six children.
- His introduction to Aussie Rules came as a teenager, when he answered an ad in the newspaper from Melbourne Football Club. At this time, the club was seeking Gaelic footballers taller than 183cm. He was recruited by what later became known as the ‘Irish Experiment’.
- The ruck found a permanent place in the senior team from Round 18, 1987. This began his remarkable streak of 244 consecutive games that ended in 1998.
- He wore the No.37 in his debut year, before donning the No.11 for the remainder of his career.
- Stynes is the first and only non-Australian-born player to win the Brownlow Medal (1991) in its 101-year history.
- He remains one of only three players in Melbourne’s history to win the Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy (the club’s Best and Fairest award) four times. The other winners are Allan La Fontaine and Clayton Oliver.
- Stynes’ younger brother Brian made his club debut in Round 10, 1992. Brian and Jim only ever played two games together at senior level.
- Stynes represented his adopted state of Victoria 10 times, wearing the Big V in the State of Origin games. He also played in eight International Rules matches, where he represented Australia on five occasions, and Ireland three times.
- Stynes founded REACH in 1994, alongside Paul Currie, with a goal to empower and inspire young people across Australia. To date, REACH run programs with over 40,000 young Australians each year.
- In retirement, Stynes remained closely aligned with the club, first serving as an Assistant Coach and later as President. His impact includes the legendary ‘Debt Demolition’ campaign, which helped to erase around $5 million of club debt.
- Following his untimely passing in 2012, the Jim Stynes Foundation was formed to support the charities and organisations that he loved best. The Jim Stynes Foundation is now the charity arm of the Melbourne Football Club and powers its community efforts.
