A football match raising funds for the Male Bag Foundation was held at Ikon Park on Thursday, with patron and Carlton Legend David Parkin watching closely from the sidelines.  

Parkin coached Carlton to three premierships in 1981, 1982 and 1995. A Life Member of both the Carlton and Hawthorn Football Clubs, he was voted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2002.

The Male Bag Foundation uses money raised to enable the purchase of vital medical equipment for placement in public rural and regional hospitals. This equipment greatly improves the lives of men living with prostate-related issues. A prostate cancer survivor himself, Parkin became patron of the Male Bag Foundation in 2013.

Parkin said the charity was born out of a group of men deciding to ride ex-postie bikes from Perth to Melbourne.

“The Foundation was established as registered charity at the completion of the Perth to Melbourne ride and has enabled every cent of fund raising to be directed to prostate care outcomes in regional areas – outcomes that would otherwise not be met,” he said.

"It is important that we continue to spread the word about prostate cancer, in the hope that we can save more men from this insidious disease that kills over 3000 Australian men every year."

Each year Hawthorn and Carlton players vie for the David Parkin Medal when the two teams meet in the season. Currently held by Hawthorn’s Tom Mitchell, Blues players will fight for the medal when they face the Hawks in their Round 6 clash at the University of Tasmania Stadium.  

Found out more about the Male Bag Foundation here.