A pair of Kyabram and Melbourne Football Club legends headlined the Kyabram Men’s Longest Lunch last week, helping raise crucial funds and awareness for men’s health.
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Garry Lyon and Noel ‘Kelly’ O’Donnell spoke to the over 170 people at the event at the Kyabram Club, with funds raised going to the Kyabram District Health Service.
It was the seventh edition of the Longest Lunch in Kyabram.
Over its previous six editions the event had raised more than $73,000 for the hospital, with this year’s fundraising figure to be finalised next week.
Lyon and O’Donnell were the perfect duo to speak at the event, having both grown up in Kyabram. The pair played for the Bombers, before playing for the Demons in the AFL.
Lyon said men’s health was an incredibly important topic for him.
“Men’s health is a subject that is very close to my heart,” Lyon said.
“Two of my great mates who I’ve lost for health reasons both physical and mental, so anything that can push this cause is something I’m really keen to support,” he said.
He shared stories about former footballers Jim Stynes and Danny Frawley, two close mates of his who had passed away.
Stynes died in 2012 after a long battle with cancer. Frawley had suffered from depression and was a strong advocate for mental health issues. He died tragically in a car accident in 2019.
“We’ve been very slack as men over the journey and that’s a truism,” Lyon said.
“We all have this image of country blokes: we’re tough, nothing really worries us – it’s crap. The sooner we get our head around that, the better.
“The bravest thing to do is to do something. Talk to your mates, talk to your doctor – I cannot stress it enough.”
He said he has a strong connection with Kyabram, which made it easy to come up for the event.
“You always do what you can for your local town,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here.”
“Anytime I can get to Kyabram is a good thing. I’ve seen some people I haven’t seen for a long time, which is a good thing.
Lyon donated his appearance fee back to the Kyabram Club.
“I would not take a fee to come and talk at my local town,” he said. “If there was a fee, then it should go back to Kyabram District Health Service.”
O’Donnell also shares a strong relationship with the town and said he was more than willing to speak at the event.
“I’ve been to two of these before and whenever they ask me to come back, I always make the effort,” O’Donnell said.
While part of the event was to have a good time, O’Donnell said the messaging was the most important part of the day.
“It’s about how important men’s health is and just getting checked,” he said.
“It’s important to get the message across.”
“Take all the guidance, don’t avoid it. Whenever the date is there to be checked, go and get checked.
“It’s great to see a full house. The connection for us as Kyabram people, it’s always our home, it’s in our DNA.”
O’Donnell said he still remembered his first Goulburn Valley League game for Kyabram. He was 16 or 17 when he took the field for the Bombers against Mooroopna.
“I was ducking for cover a few times,” he joked.
“Local players were your heroes in those days, so you’re playing alongside your heroes,” he said, mentioning Greg Kirkman and Chris Salter as just some of the idols he had growing up.
He said local footy clubs were still essential to the community.
“It is so important that we get behind our community clubs and we keep supporting them,” he said.
“They’re vital parts of each country town.”
The pair shared great stories from their careers, at both the local and professional level.
Lyon said he still remembered watching O’Donnell’s flowing hair out on the footy field as a youngster.
“Kelly O’Donnell is a hero of mine, he played footy in Kyabram when I was a young kid, and he was the best thing that ever came out of Kyabram,” he said.
Lyon played 226 games for the Dees, captaining the club for seven seasons. Following his career, he was elected to the Melbourne Hall of Fame and was named on the half-forward flank in the Melbourne Team of the Century.
O’Donnell played 80 games for Melbourne between 1979 and 1984, and now works for the club as a recruiter.
Neither man won a premiership as a player with Melbourne, but they each shared stories of their joy to finally see the Dees snap their premiership drought last year.
Lyon almost said it was the happiest day of his life, before clarifying that it was actually the fourth-happiest moment, after the birth of his three sons.
Looking ahead to this season, Lyon said he thought the Dees had a good chance of winning consecutive flags, but said it was going to be tough.
“Winning back-to-back premierships doesn’t happen too often, no matter how good your footy team is,” he said.
“It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s nice to go in with the expectation that you’re going to be a chance.”