FIND out what’s being said about the club in the major daily newspapers on Thursday, July 28, 2011

Herald Sun

Liam Jurrah’s great leap
By Jon Anderson

A HEALTHY-looking Jim Stynes yesterday declared his Irish AFL journey had been dwarfed by the story of Liam Jungarrayi Jurrah from Yuendumu in the Tanami Desert. Stynes was one of six speakers at the MCG, including AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, to help launch The Liam Jurrah Story, a book by Bruce Hearn Mackinnon detailing Jurrah's rise from playing barefoot on a red soil oval to taking AFL mark of the year. Stynes, 45, has twice visited the Yuendumu community 300km northwest of Alice Springs, an experience he regards as one of the most inspiring in his life. "Definitely his story is better than mine. I used to claim my story as a point of difference but it can't compare with where Liam Jurrah has come from," said Stynes, who proudly wore his Melbourne scarf as always. "At least when I came here there was a similar culture and the spirit of our games was similar. For Liam it was so different, he'd only just put on a pair of boots. "I have been there a couple of times and to meet the whole community was so eye-opening for me. I was so privileged to be given that chance and to be given their warmth of welcome. "They have some great resources such as the footy club but there is also great sadness, with debris everywhere and a large outdoor swimming pool with no water because they can't afford to fill it."And that pool is so important in their community because kids need things to do and when they get bored they get up to mischief."

Dees may rush back Davey
By AAP

MELBOURNE vice-captain Aaron Davey is finally ready to return to action after a 10-week layoff with a knee injury. If he gets through a final fitness test, Davey will either come back with a rare game for the Demons' VFL affiliate Casey on Saturday or be pitched straight into senior action against the might of Geelong at Skilled Stadium. "I'm happy with whatever decision the coaches make," the 28-year-old Davey said today. "If it's at Casey then I'd love to play with Casey. "The only downside is that I've got to get there at 8.40 in the morning and I haven't done that since the under-16s. "But wherever I play, I'm just rapt to be back."

The Australian

Jurrah’s journey to AFL stardom
By The Australian

MELBOURNE president Jim Stynes knows a thing or two about travelling a long way to make your mark in Australia's indigenous football code. In Stynes' case, the trek was halfway around the world, all the way from from Dublin to Melbourne. Yet he's the first to admit that, in many ways, Liam Jurrah's journey was further and tougher than his own. When Jurrah made his debut for the Demons two years ago, he became the first man from a remote central Australian desert community to play in the AFL. A fully-initiated Warlpiri man, Jurrah hails from Yuendumu, 300km north-west of Alice Springs. He grew up speaking several different indigenous dialects as well as English and remains a deeply shy public speaker. That much was obvious at the launch of The Liam Jurrah Story today, when five people took their turn at the lectern including AFL boss Andrew Demetriou, author Bruce Hearn Mackinnon and Jurrah's grandmother Cecily Granites - but not the man himself. It might seem presumptuous for a 22-year-old with just 32 AFL games under his belt to be the subject of a biography. But Jurrah is no ordinary footballer in a story filled with interesting characters.