Plan to honour Demon great

By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE City of Casey plans to officially honour the late Jim Stynes at Melbourne Football Club’s Cranbourne training base.
The Casey Scorpions home ground at Casey Fields could be named after the former Demons president, under a proposal by Casey councillor and former Hawthorn player, Geoff Ablett.
Cr Ablett was the Casey mayor when the Melbourne Football Club announced their 30-year partnership with the area in 2009.
He said he wanted to honour Stynes’ local legacy in some way, but would leave it up to the user groups at Casey Fields to decide what form a tribute would take.
“I’m not a Demons fan, I’m a Hawthorn life member, but I was just overwhelmed with Jim’s passion,” Cr Ablett said.
“He and the Demons brought in a number of community programs, like road safety and kids learning to read.
“It was a holistic approach with Jim – it was never just about the footy.”
At the announcement of Melbourne’s partnership with Casey, Mr Stynes said the Demons were excited to have a ‘home away from home’ and were looking forward to forming a relationship with the community.
“It’s not just a training ground, but an opportunity to engage with the community,” Mr Stynes said.
“We want kids to fall in love with the players and follow their careers.”
Cr Ablett said one of Mr Stynes’ dreams for the Casey shire was to see a chaplain or mentor in every local sports club.
“It’s ok for sports people to feel the fear of failure,” he said.
“They just need someone to speak to about it.”
Cr Ablett said Melbourne was leading the way among AFL clubs for its local community involvement.
“Melbourne has done everything they said they were going to do in their first few years in the area,” Cr Ablett said.
“Community is something Melbourne is all about, not just football.”
Cr Ablett said Mr Stynes was a remarkable man, who inspired him with his vision, passion, honesty and optimism for a greater community.
“He used his club as a vehicle to make positive change,” Cr Ablett said.
Shire representatives will contact groups who use Casey Fields before reporting back to Casey council.