Gaelic Players Association

Aussie Rules legend and former Dublin minor All-Ireland winner Jim Stynes has been handed the task of rescuing Melbourne football club as the new President, not bad for a school ‘misfit’. Here he tells Catherine Murphy about his difficult childhood days and how his love of sport and Irish culture have helped him realise his ambitions in life

WHEN an 18-year-old Jim Stynes first arrived in Melbourne to pursue a career in Australian Rules, one of the first places he visited was the MCG.

Standing at the top of the stadium steps he gazed down at the field he hoped to conquer as a player. Later on he became even more familiar with the steps. The unsuspecting rookie was forced to run up and down them numerous times in one of the club’s less enjoyable training drills.

Today when Jim Stynes stands at the top of those same steps, he does so as the President of the oldest football club in Melbourne.

The club where he racked up 264 games and won the biggest individual prize in Australian Rules football, the Brownlow medal, is celebrating its 150th year in existence.

Stynes began his tenure in June of this year and now during a game he can’t even wander up the steps without countless football supporters approaching him for photos or autographs or just to shake his hand and wish him luck in his new job.

And being head of a club languishing at the bottom of the ladder, and in major financial difficulty, means it’s not only one of the biggest jobs in football, it’s also one of the most challenging – not bad for someone who describes himself as a “misfit” in his school days.

In fact, Stynes says he couldn’t even read or write well in primary school. Failing almost every subject, he believes his sporting ability saved him from expulsion.

“I was a bit out of control and struggling at school. I was classified as ADHD at the time,” Stynes admits.