The Docklands of Melbourne are now home to a new bridge bearing the name of the late, great Jim Stynes. 

If you caught Every Heart Beats True - The Jim Stynes Story, then you will be familiar with the moving and powerful story of one of the greatest players ever to grace an AFL field, Dublin's Jim Stynes. 

The Irishman revolutionised his position as a ruckman and also played a record 244 consecutive games for his club, Melborne, as well as becoming the first non-Australian-born player to win the prestigious Brownlow medal. In 2009, he was diagnosed with cancer, and battled the disease as hard as he possibly could until his passing in 2012.

Stynes did a huge amount of work with youth organisations and charities, and as a mark of his contribution to society, they decided to build a bridge over the river Yarra in memory of him.

 

 

The bridge cost $15 million (€10.3 million) and is designed for pedestrians and cyclists, built to look as though it's hovering over the river. Speaking at the opening, his wife Samantha was joined by his children Matisse and Tiernan, with the latter officially opening the bridge wearing his dad's famous no. 37 shirt.

 

 

Samantha said that Jim would have been hugely honoured and overjoyed to have a bridge named after him, as "a bridge is a literal and visual representation of a journey...a passage to overcome obstacles. If I heard Jim say ’journey’ once, I heard it a million times. He was all about personal journey".

Via TheAge.com.au.