Fremantle veteran Bailey Banfield accepts Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award with moving speech

On a historic Brownlow Medal night that belonged largely to record-breaking winner Nick Daicos , some spotlight was duly afforded to Fremantle utility Bailey Banfield, who won the crowd over with a powerful speech after winning the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award.

Banfield edged fellow nominees Kysaiah Pickett from Melbourne and retiring Western Bulldogs great Tom Liberatore to win the award, which recognises the AFL player who best embodies the values of the late Jim Stynes by going above and beyond with community service and off-field leadership.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Bailey Banfield announces first child on the way

Banfield was the standout winner in 2026, having been a longtime ambassador for the Starlight Children’s Foundation and advocate for Worthy Australia and the Purple Hands Foundation.

This year, the 28-year-old also went a step further and founded Freo Cares, a player-driven initiative that encourages Dockers players, coaches and staff to support disadvantaged youth and seriously ill children, deliver meals to the homeless, and help create safe spaces for families escaping domestic violence.

Across eight years of involvement with Starlight, Banfield has been instrumental in the success of Fremantle’s annual Purple Haze game, which raised more than $300,000 this year alone.

Accepting the award from Optus Stadium on Monday night ahead of the Dockers’ grand final against Brisbane this weekend, Banfield said the credit belongs to the people running the organisations.

“The people that are at these organisations, they’re doing the really hard work day to day, and they give us the opportunity to give back,” he said.

“Footy has given me so much, so to be able to have this platform to be able to give back a little bit, what I’ve gotten out of this sport, is an incredible honour.

“All these programs work so hard to provide for kids and their families who, through no fault of their own, have suffered circumstances that’s dealt them a tough gig.

“And it’s Starlight putting smiles on the faces of sick kids; it’s Worthy who are helping survivors of domestic abuse find their new normal; and it’s Purple Hands who are really providing opportunities to kids in rural and remote communities, which they might not otherwise get.

“Even to be able to stand up here and talk about the work that they do is incredible powerful to shine the light on the hard work that some people — and I’m going to name a few names and miss a few — but Jen at Worthy; Alice, Meg and Sarah at Starlight; Amber at Purple Hands. The work that these guys do is incredible and they’re the real heroes.”

The award completed a heartwarming night for Banfield and his wife Julia, who revealed on the red carpet they are expecting their first child next year.

“We found out recently she’s five months pregnant with our first-born which is incredible exciting news for us,” Banfield said.