MELBOURNE president Jim Stynes is on a trial drug as his two-year battle against cancer now has him fighting three tumours.
Stynes told the Herald Sun he risked blindness if he had any more brain surgery, with previous operations to remove tumours having caused him to lose his peripheral vision.
"But I met this 14-year-old kid who was blind at a 'hero day'," Stynes said.
"I told him I had a feeling I might end up blind. He said: 'You'll be right, it's not that bad.' And he started to tell me there's lots of other things you can still do."
That's Stynes, for you. Forever maintaining a positive outlook - at least publicly.
Stynes admitted he has occasional doubts about how his cancer battle will end and on bad days he and his wife, Sam, sit together and cry.
However, he does not allow himself to dwell on his predicament for too long.
"I just look at what I have control over. Fretting about it doesn't help," he said.
Stynes joined entertainer Olivia Newton-John to speak with the Herald Sun about their fundraising efforts for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre, which is due to open next year. Newton-John, herself a breast-cancer survivor, will perform at the Melbourne-Carlton game at the MCG on May 27 as part of those fundraising efforts.
Stynes said fighting cancer has made him a better husband and father. Where he was once consumed by work and football, and too tough on his children, he now enjoys every moment with them, savouring the little things like hugs goodnight.
On a lighter note, Stynes told Newton-John he had fallen in love with her as a 12- or 13-year-old when watching her hit movie Grease with his younger brother.
Ricciuto's tough love
Just as Melbourne copped it in the media following its insipid round six loss to West Coast, it's now the turn of the Demons' round seven victim, Adelaide, to face the music.
There was always going to be fall-out given the nature of the Crow' loss to Melbourne - they were belted by 96 points in what full-back Ben Rutten described as their worst loss since their 141-point mauling by the Brisbane Lions in 2004.
But, on Tuesday, former Adelaide captain and Advertiser columnist Mark Ricciuto was even more brutal in his assessment of the Crows, questioning their desire to fight for the hard ball. In doing so, he endorsed a common saying of coach Neil Craig: "You don't get beaten by 100 points if you're trying."
Ricciuto pointed out that even before the Melbourne loss the Crows had been ranked last in the AFL for contested possessions, hard-ball gets and clearances, and second-last for tackles.
"This is unbelievable," Ricciuto said. "The Crows obviously have a massive deficiency in this area and it’s the main reason they can't stop the opposition when they get on a roll - simply because they can't get their hands on the ball."
Ricciuto tried to pinpoint the reasons for the Crows' malaise but posed more questions than he found answers.
He questioned whether Craig's message was still getting through to the players. "I'm not saying it's the end for Neil Craig, but things wouldn't want to get a lot worse," he said.
He questioned why the Crows had been so good in patches this season but so bad in others.
He questioned whether the injuries that had, again, struck the Crows, were because their players were injury-prone, being trained too hard or simply unlucky.
Ricciuto was prepared to concede injuries to players such as Phil Davis, Jason Porplyzia, Scott Stevens, David Mackay and Rory Sloane had hurt his former side in 2011, forcing them to stack their team with inexperienced youngsters.
However, while Ricciuto was prepared to concede playing too many inexperienced players led to inconsistent results, he said Crows supporters should not have to put up with "players (not showing) enough ticker to stand up for themselves and have a go".
It will be interesting to see if the Crows can follow Melbourne's lead and respond positively to such stinging criticism. We think Gold Coast should expect a hostile reception at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night.
Tigers rediscovering their fangs
We'd love a gold coin for the number of 'Toothless Tigers' headlines that have greeted Richmond fans over the past 30 seasons.
Not that they have had genuine cause to complain. You've got to wear such derision when your club has made the finals just twice since 1982, in 1995 and 2001.
It's a dismal record for a club that is one of the competition's traditional powerhouses, one that won five premierships from 1967-80.
But Media Watch gets the strong sense things are starting to turn for the Tigers. On field, they've strung together three wins in a row. Better still, it's been a new generation of Tigers that has been driving those wins. Players like Jack Riewoldt, Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin sit comfortably among the best young players in the AFL.
Off the field, the Tigers are rediscovering their bite, too. In recent times, Richmond has been one of the 'big-four' Victorian clubs (along with Essendon, Carlton and Collingwood) on past reputation only.
But The Age reports the Tigers' on-field revival has them on the brink of breaking their club membership record, 46,202 in 2009.
The broadsheet said the Tigers need just over 200 more members to top that figure.
Additionally, it said they have had record attendances against the Brisbane Lions (37,438) and Fremantle (34,090) in the past two rounds, while The Fighting Tiger Fund had raised $2.5 million in just two months as part of the club's plans to wipe out its debt and increase football department spending.
Chief executive Brendon Gale told The Age Richmond supporters' loyalty amazed him given the poor on-field results they've had to endure recently.
"They have stuck fat," Gale said.
"It's a testament to their loyalty and love and affection for the football club.
"It's also an endorsement of the direction we are taking at this footy club."
Unlike other recent rebuilds that have ultimately proved jerry-built, you get the sense the one Gale and coach Damien Hardwick are overseeing will finally give the Tigers back their fangs.
In short
An Australian Football match between a South African team and an Australian indigenous side will be played as part of the Africa Games in Mozambique in September, The Age reports.
The Gold Coast is bidding to host one of the two International Rules Series games between Australia and Ireland this October, The Age reports. Gold Coast CEO Travis Auld told the broadsheet the AFL and Queensland Major Events had held discussions about the game being played at Carrara Stadium.
Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge says the form of youngsters such as Liam Shiels, Matt Suckling and Shane Savage has been the "best part" of the Hawks' "inconsistent" start to the season, The Age reports.
With a couple of wins under its belt, it seems Gold Coast's biggest problem now is fitting all of its precociously talented youngsters into its senior side. The Gold Coast Bulletin reports forward Charlie Dixon may not come straight back into the Suns' team following a calf injury given the impressive debuts of fellow spearheads Tom Lynch and Sam Day last Saturday night against Brisbane.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
