2026 Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award Finalists
Open menu
Close menu
THE Jim Stynes Foundation, alongside the AFL, is pleased to announce the three finalists for this year’s AFL Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award.
Bailey Banfield (Fremantle), Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs) and Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne) have all been shortlisted for the prestigious honour, which looks to celebrate the AFL player who best embodies the values of the late Jim Stynes.
Entering its 15th year, the award highlights a player’s commitment to community service and leadership beyond the game.
Nominations for the award are submitted from AFL Clubs and the AFL Players' Association before the judging panel selects the finalists.
In partnership with the Jim Stynes Foundation, the winner will receive $10,000 to be donated to the charity or community program of their choice.
The 2026 AFL Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award will presented on Monday 21 September during the ceremony for the Charles Brownlow Medal.
2026 Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award Finalists
Bailey Banfield (Fremantle)
Bailey Banfield has built long-standing partnerships with the Starlight’s Children’s Foundation, Worthy Australia and the Purple Hands Foundation. In 2026, he also established and led a player-driven program, Freo Cares.
Since launching Freo Cares, Banfield has mobilised players, coaches and staff to support five community causes, delivering meals to people experiencing homelessness, helping build safe havens for women and children escaping domestic violence, supporting disengaged youth and spending time with seriously ill children.
An ambassador for Starlight for eight years, Banfield also helped drive fundraising around Fremantle’s annual Purple Haze game, which raised more than $300,000 this year, while his advocacy and volunteer work with Worthy Australia helped grow community support for families rebuilding their lives after domestic violence.
Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
Tom Liberatore has shown exceptional community leadership through his commitment to supporting vulnerable people across his local Footscray community and Melbourne’s West.
After identifying the ongoing impact of homelessness, Libertore approached the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation (WBCF)and played a key role in supporting The Salvation Army’s Lighthouse Café in Footscray, which is a partner of the WBCF.
The Lighthouse Café is a welcoming space that provides meals, connection and support for people experiencing homelessness. Liberatore coordinates ongoing food donations through his hospitality businesses, regularly prepares and serves his own home-cooked meals, and volunteers his time at the café each week.
Liberatore also supports wider youth engagement programs through the WBCF, bringing together teammates, local businesses and community partners to contribute to the foundation’s initiatives.
Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne)
Kysaiah Pickett has become a trusted ambassador for Melbourne Football Club’s partnership with Melbourne University’s Indigenous Eye Health Unit (IEHU), Minum Barreng.
As a proud First Nations man and ambassador for the Clean Faces, Strong Eyes campaign, Pickett has spent years travelling to remote communities, helping drive awareness and behaviour change to eliminate trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.
Through school visits, community engagement and health education initiatives across the Northern Territory, Pickett has helped deliver critical health messages to First Nations children and families. His contribution supported the successful elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in Australia, one of the country’s biggest public health achievements.
Pickett continues to work closely with the club to identify and support health issues impacting First Nations communities.
Previous recipients of the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award
- 2025 – Harris Andrews (Brisbane Lions)
- 2024 – Riley O’Brien (Adelaide Crows)
- 2023 – Sam Docherty (Carlton)
- 2022 – Joel Selwood (Geelong Cats)
- 2021 – Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
- 2020 – Bachar Houli (Richmond)
- 2019 – Stephen Coniglio (Greater Western Sydney)
- 2018 – Neville Jetta (Melbourne Demons)
- 2017 – Jack Hombsch (Port Adelaide)
- 2016 – Jimmy Bartel (Geelong Cats)
- 2015 – Dennis Armfield (Carlton)
- 2014 – Beau Waters (West Coast Eagles)
- 2013 – Zac Smith (Gold Coast SUNS)
- 2012 – Daniel Jackson (Richmond)
