Essendon premiership player Paul Barnard was brave enough to spar with eight time World Kickboxing Champion Stan the Man Longinidis in the boxing ring at the Bombers' training gym. Longinidis was a special guest at Essendon training yesterday and spoke to the Bombers' players and coaches for over an hour in the auditorium about the importance of following your dreams and never giving up. The Essendon players attentively looked on as the 37-year-old sparred in the ring and cheered Barnard when Longinidis allowed him to get a few quick punches in. Longinidis is in Melbourne preparing for his fight against Gurkan Ozkan on February 17th.