IN THE SAME week the footy world bade farewell to Jim Stynes, it must now come to grips with the news that another club saviour is facing a battle with cancer.

Hawthorn Premiership captain Don Scott announced on Wednesday night that he has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

He told Channel Seven that the cancer had been detected early and that his prospects for a full recovery are good. He will undergo non-intrusive surgery shortly after Easter.

"But the reality is, I caught it early and the outlook is better than what it might have been," he told Channel Seven.

But the parallels with Stynes are strong, perhaps even eerie. Both were undersized ruckmen who made up for their comparative lack of inches with toughness, courage and an unflinching will to win.

Both were at the forefront of keeping their clubs alive. While president of the Demons, Stynes oversaw the Debt Demolition campaign that wiped $4 million of debt off the club's books.

In 1996, Scott was the catalyst and spokesman for Operation Payback, the campaign that stirred Hawthorn's large, but hitherto apathetic supporter base, into tipping in more than $1 million to stave off the AFL-brokered merger with, to add to the irony, Melbourne.

If there were any Hawthorn members still unsure about which way to vote on that emotion-soaked evening at the Camberwell Civic Centre in September 1996, then they were left in no doubt after Scott demonstrated what the merger was really all about by famously ripping a velcro Hawk logo off a Melbourne jumper.

And the link between Stynes and Scott goes even further. Scott moonlighted as the ruck coach at Melbourne in the late 1980s, just as Stynes was embarking on what would become a brilliant career.

News of Scott's illness will hit the Hawk faithful hard. He was the second of four champions to wear the No. 23 at Hawthorn and there are plenty to this day who would still take Scott ahead of John Peck, Dermott Brereton and Lance Franklin.

Scott played 302 games for the Hawks between 1967 and 1981. He was best afield in the 1971 Grand Final and his fiery speech at the final change - with the Hawks trailing by 20 points and seemingly well beaten - is regarded by many as the turning point of the game that Hawthorn would win by seven points.

He was then captain of the 1976 and 1978 premiership teams, having replaced Peter Crimmins in that role. Crimmins died of cancer in September just three days after the Grand Final.

Scott has cut a peculiar figure since retiring from the game. He was estranged from the Hawks pretty much from the time he stopped playing, returned to the fold and joined the board after the aborted merger, but fell out with then president Ian Dicker in the mid 2000s. He briefly contemplated putting together his own ticket to challenge for the board.

He attended the 2008 Grand Final but reportedly played down any excitement he may have felt in the aftermath of the surprise win over the Cats.

Those who know Scott say he still reveres the Hawks, but perhaps feels more fondly for the 1971 version of the club than that of 2012.

Still, his place in the pecking order of Hawthorn greats is most secure, which is why anyone with any affiliation towards Hawthorn whatsoever wishes him a quick and full recovery from his battle with cancer.

And if he approaches his latest fight in the same manner with which he did his football, then he'll soon have it well beaten.

You can follow AFL Media senior writer Ashley Browne on Twitter @afl_hashbrowne