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

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

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.

Bailey Banfield accepts the award from Justin Longmuir. Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images

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.

“All the work that these organisations do is so incredibly powerful.

“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.”

Bailey Banfield made a powerful speech on Monday night. Credit: Getty

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.

“And I think reflecting on a lot of why I do some of this work, it’s around those future generations and providing kids with opportunities that I was lucky enough to get — to run around with my mates, muck around, play sport and fall in love with sport the way that I did.

“But to do that, we need to look after our communities and the places that we live and play, so I want my kids and their kids to have those opportunities, so that’s something that drives me and drives a lot of us at the footy club.

“The club’s done incredible work all year with the way that they’ve been able to tip in. We’ve had players and staff volunteering at all these programs throughout the year, which has been incredibly powerful, and that’s been led by the leaders of our club.

“But it’s also been led by blokes like Vossy (Patrick Voss), Sean (Darcy) and Sharpy (Jeremy Sharp), who have tipped in more than ever this year, and they’ve been bringing others along with them as well, younger boys at the footy club, which is incredibly powerful.”

His speech won the hearts of the crowd and those of Seven’s star co-hosts, Hamish McLachlan and Rebecca Maddern.

“Bailey Banfield’s speech was 17 out of 10,” McLachlan said at the end of the night.

Maddern added: “It was fantastic, wasn’t it?”

Banfield played in Peel Thunder’s WAFL premiership last weekend and is not expected to be selected for the AFL side on Saturday, having played just one game this season, which was when the Dockers rested a host of players in Round 24 ahead of the finals.