The Overly Excited Podcast

This episode is brought to you by Swash Clothing and Sugar Life.

Welcome to the overly excited podcast hosted by Jack Watts and Dale

Sidebottom. Two friends with a passion for life, learning And all

things that get them jumping out of their seats.

Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to the overly excited podcast.

I'm Jack Watts. Dale Sibonum here, my cohost. Thanks, Jacko.

Let's get after it. We've got an incredible guest today.

Premiership hero, probably the most natural Tall talented sportsman

that I think I've come across Settle. And I know Annoyingly.

Annoyingly. Because, I mean, It was usually me, Dale, to be

honest. Yeah. I was sort of the kingpin and couldn't could

do it all, but this bloke came into the club and, he took the mantle

pretty quickly. Jeremy Howe. Welcome, mate. Thanks for having me, boys.

Been, very excited to be a part of it. Yeah. One of,

one of those things we're excited to have you on, mate. And, probably More importantly,

talk about your year because if there's been a year of roller coasters

Yeah. In your story, and I'm excited to hear about, what you've learned

from it. But more importantly, How's the last month been

made? That's what we that's what people wanna know. Winning your 1st

flag, bloody epic. Woah, damn it. No. I appreciate that. It's, yeah. It's my

1st senior flag in my whole life. So never won one as a,

in Tassie. 1 like a couple underage, but,

pre that, yeah, now it's It's been a a wild month to say the

least. Even, it's small

things. It's like you probably you probably have moments where it's like it's

You work out the weight of what it's worth when you start going to the

shops and that. Whereas, like, I go to Woolies 3 times a week. No

one says anything, and then all of a sudden, it's like over the last month,

probably a dozen people come up and stop you, and they don't wanna hassle. All

they say is thank you, and just keep walking. Well That's it. And I was

like, when you start the gravity starts a lot of the pull of what The

premiership means to others. I was like, that's when you start going, shit. It's like

we've done pretty good done pretty well. But, yeah, personally, it's

like since it finished, it's been pretty crazy. I was fortunate enough to have the

cup for 24 hours. Got some really cool photos, like, with Kalia

and Zana, and then you start reflecting on Why he got there and

what it means. It's probably more to I was like, to see Xander and have

it have the cup for a day. It's probably is

like because I've been a nightmare to deal with for 13, 14 years.

And Carly's been a part of that for nearly 11 years of it.

Yeah. The ride together. Mhmm. So I was like I was like, maybe this is

like a little element of, like, here you go. It's like, is it is it

worth it for you? Like, is it, like, is this is this is this enough?

We all square. We're certainly not square. But

but, yeah, I think you start reflecting, and then of a sudden, the people who

mean the most and the most important ones, they're the probably ones that you wanna

share it with the most. And fortunate enough, we had the family over, and I

had a hell of a couple of days with them. And But, yes, it's like

I feel like I've kinda had the moment to decompress, soak it up, and,

I hate the fact that people start talking about what's come. I was like, can

we just keep savoring the moment for everybody to be like that? Yeah. About this

on our podcast. Like, why does it have to be something next? Yeah. Yeah. Like,

why do people think, like, it, Yeah. I don't I don't get it. Yeah. And

that's a lot. The most important thing for me is, like, is, like, we always

talk about being present and so enjoy the moments of what what we have.

Start and talk about it. It's like, oh, yes. We are in an industry where

you gotta prep, you gotta plan, you gotta make sure it's like, you're gonna be

in the right shape to be able to perform and all that stuff. So Fuck

it. Can we just enjoy what we've done? I was like We're we're still the

premiers until the last day in September.

Sorry. The dogs. That's alright. Until next year. Yeah. I was

like, can we please just enjoy it for a little bit longer? And you work

your fucking ass off for your whole life to get to this moment. Yeah. And

it's like, if you just move straight on, what has all that work been for?

100%. If you don't enjoy it and Sit back and, you

know, obviously, you're not getting complacent, you know, and this is what people don't understand.

Oh, the premiership hangover, all this. It's like, fuck. You've been doing this for

14 years. You you're gonna be you know, it's you know what you're doing. You

know? You're gonna be in shape. You're gonna be ready to go, but we're gonna

enjoy this moment for what it is. And you'd like to think that your training

mentality that doesn't change. Like, everyone still works the same. Mhmm. Everyone's working their ass

off to to get there. Yeah. Exactly. There's an element of luck that comes with

it that ultimately you get provided with a premiership, which I'm

never giving back. I was like, fuck that. No way. That's mine. But,

ultimately, it's like everyone in the AFL, anyone in law, they work they work

their ass off.

And then yeah. But like I said, people just like, Bill, what's next? Let's fucking

get another one. I was like, fuck that. How about we just enjoy what we've

got? Be grateful for 1. Isn't it? Oh, I agree. It's it's

like we're what's next always? You know? Instead of just like you said, I know

has been really big on that for you guys being present, that comes back to

everything in life. 100%. You're living in the future, you miss out on so

much because you're not present. Yep. I was There's an element of, like, the

anxiety that comes in with performance. It's like you're starting to predict as of what's

gonna happen. For us, it's like, yeah, it's it's pretty hard to be present all

the time. It's like, it's not it's You find yourself pretty easy projecting as,

like, how am I gonna perform? What's gonna happen? It's like, jeez. I need to

train well this week. Because I well, As I've matured and I feel like I've

got a little bit more experience, I don't really lose a hell of a lot

of energy thinking in that space because I was I know it's not good for

me. Anytime I think about anything, I was like, it doesn't help. I was

like, for a long period of time. Yeah. So I was like,

oh, like, I love my golf, And, what, you'll certainly vouch for that. You

do hit the pole very well. Day out there. I might I might I might

need a PK after this, and you've you've turned it down. I couldn't believe it.

Yeah. I couldn't believe it. I'm, actually turning that down, but I feel like for

golf, like, if I have the best round I've ever had, I could barely

remember hitting a shot. Because you're just in it. I was like, and if I

have the shittiest round I've ever had, I'll tell you exactly where I went at

any given time. Because all you're doing is thinking about So it's

like it's amazing how that stuff aligns with performance and not just

in elite athletes, but, yeah. So fortunate enough, you'd

like to think that you Kind of evolve and experience probably

helps in that space. Now we had, your good mate, Steely, Cyber

on the pod, a while ago. The wiz, the the wiz.

I'm actually very interested to because speaking

to him, you know, it was it was great for me to talk to him,

but About our very different experiences, him and I. He's

obviously been at Pies for 15 years. I was at these. But

For you, we actually went through similar things, and now you've come out the other

side of it and probably seen a different way of Yeah. Of how it is.

So I'm really interested to ask, like, Obviously, we you know, at the

days for 8, 9 years together, it was pretty tough

going. Grim. Grim. Just Grim is the best way to describe

it. Can you sort of I mean, I I think it would be

hard to do, but maybe just try to explain what are some

of the difference is like just watching the way you play and you're so

free flowing and it's enjoyable. I'm seeing the small, you know,

and every The way the column of players talk about each other and talk about

the coach and talk about the club is just completely different to what I've ever

experienced. What what are some of the key differences between the d's

highs? Yeah. I suppose Mentality. I've got I've

spoken about it a little bit, and I was like, don't get me wrong. It's

like my time at The days in terms of performance and

results was horrific. It was like 100 games, 120,

got out of there. But the friendships that you make, unfortunate enough,

is, like, Jackie being one of them. But there's, like, they're the things that I

cherish the most. But in terms of, like, the way that we the way that

it was kinda organized and the way that we ran the joint. Yeah. It's kinda

chalk and cheese. It's like and I've spoken about it as, like, what comes first?

It's like, do you loosen the grip in terms of give players flexibility to be

able to drive their own progress and standards, or it's like,

do you have to be or do you have to get good before you go,

oh, no. Loosen the group a bit because they know They're doing. A lot of

the time, there's a lot of teams that aren't going so well. I don't even

know if I should even be talking about it, to be honest, but it's like

the teams that don't go well, The answer always seems to be more is better.

I was like, it's never been the case. It's never been like that. So true.

So for us, it's like a value for us is like, well, if you don't

you don't tip in and you don't wanna be a part of it, you just

fall behind. So that for me, personally, is enough to go, well, I'll give you

absolutely everything of me because I was like, the the thought

of letting someone down or in that and not being just barked out the whole

time. Mhmm. Our whole philosophy is, like, You get

we focus on about 90% of what we do really well with a 10% room

for improvement. I felt like when we're at Melbourne, it's like because, unfortunately, we weren't

going so well. It was probably the flip. It was like you used to

you'd be so heavily invested on rooms to get, like, areas to get better. You

need to do this. It was like, we're not doing this right. I was like,

fuck. What are we actually doing? Why are we here? I was like, what are

we doing well? I was like, how bad are we? Like, I was like, I

know the results aren't going well, but, like, give me some value. Tell me as

of what where we're going is gonna be is gonna be worth it. And,

unfortunately, we probably didn't really get that for a long period of time. And

I think for us at Collingwood is, like, one of our values is having

fun. It's like, as soon as you lose the enjoyment out of it, then you

tap out. It's like it's gone. And I was like, I think the way that

we play well, we make more mistakes than anyone in the whole comp. That's

an absolute given. Logistics would probably back that up as well, but It's a

not it's for someone to go on and give a shit if you make a

mistake, it's also more, it's

holds more weight if you can go, I'm gonna back it up with evidence. It's

like, fuck, yeah. Have a look at all this shit piece of play where everyone

makes so many mistakes, and it's almost like, who's not smiling? It's like, which

one are you ass wanting? Yeah. Yeah. And and how much does fly

how much does fly have to do with that? Because, I mean, What I find

interesting is I feel like almost the messages regardless of whether

whether you're down the bottom at the diesel. The messages by the coaches,

They sort of know what to say. Like, even when we were playing, they said,

oh, we won't care about mistakes, and we won't care about this. Yeah. But they

fucking do. Because as soon as we make a mistake, they absolutely ream here. Whereas

It seems like when, you know, at the top where teams are playing

well, they actually follow through on what they say, and they They don't

get angry at you when you make a mistake. They actually encourage it and, you

know And that's a part of our reviews. Like, it was like, you know, our

game plan is pretty messy, you know, it looks Pretty terrible at times, but also

it almost looks really clean and pristine. Everyone's like, jeez, you boys move the ball

well. It's like it reminds me playing, like, old school. It was like when I

grew up playing Tazzy. So I get it, Kick it long. Lick it flick it.

Lick it. Yeah. Celebrate. How good is this?

But, yeah, evidence in back it up in terms of what you're saying is, like,

the feedback that's given. A lot of people would be like, I don't care if

you make a mistake, and then you make one, they're like, are you fucking kidding

me? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, well, how does Make you feel. Yeah. Ultimately,

it's like if coaches are like, yep. They're great tacticians, and I

have hell of a lot of respect for a lot of coaches. But, Ultimately, for

me, I was like, you need to make me feel good. I was like, you

need to make me feel like what I'm about to do is enough, and it's

gonna be valued within the team. Yeah. That's all you need to do for me.

I was like, game plan. I was like, yep. We all live within that,

but there's flexibility to do your thing. It's like, I just need to feel like

what I'm what I'm worth is gonna be enough for you guys to make me

feel good. And then post that, it's like then you ultimately, you play your best

Love. Love. I think fun is so important, Jess, and you can

see that you're doing that. And Yep. That's a reflection of anyone in any part

of their life. If they're not enjoying it, you need to stop and find A

way to enjoy it. And Yeah. Unfortunately, that was the last thing that sounded like

come at Melbourne. You know, I wasn't part of it, but Yeah. From what I've

heard Yeah. There was no fun, but also there was no love. No. And that's

the word that I think describes what you created, this you

and your club. It's love. You know? You just you just have to see that.

Like, How refreshing is that? Hang on. Sorry. You alright, mate?

Go. Yeah. So for us, it's like relationships has always been

something that has been All that. It's like building him. I

was like, even before but we literally just got to sign the coach

of of never been Had any relationship fly at all. Nothing.

Never spoke to him. Never seen him in person. Nothing. So and

he rang me, before he Came to the club. I

was like, yeah. Sweet. And he's like, ended up having, like, a 45 minute chat.

And I was like, how do I know this bloke? I was like, how do

I know him? I was like, I was like, I don't. Yeah. But But it's

like, that's where it started, and then as soon as you meet him, it's like

you work out pretty quickly what his what his

values are, and it's especially, like, it's family. Like,

Relationships are huge. And, like, if you come to our club at any given time,

there's kids there. It's like it almost looks like a part time daycare, to be

honest. And he's all about that. Like, how

the way that we celebrate after games is always families in first. That's why we

get to sing with our sing a song with our kids, which just, like, looking

back, and it was, like, when you're in it, you kinda, like, yeah. This is

just a norm. Well, it's not. That's the reality. It's amazing, and it's so nice

to see. And, like Like, thankfully, like, a few other clubs have jumped on board.

It's like they get their kids involved, sing songs, and they're just memories that

you'll never be able to replace. Like But, yeah, he's

been enormous in that space for us. Like, I'd yeah. I

was like, oh, I'm so grateful that I'm grateful

for my whole AFL career, to be honest. I was like, I love that 5

years, like I said, the relationships, which is value of mine. I was like, I'll

definitely hold them really tight. And then

fortunate enough, it was like, where my career has gone. It's probably, like, started really

slow, didn't have great success. Off the field, made really good

friendships, relationships, which I've still got to this day, but then

ultimately, 2018 is like or when I got to Collingwood,

1st 2 years was horrific. He He broke our hearts when he kicked the goal

on, I think it was Queen's birthday. He loves it too. Which I've put

Queen's birthday game is normally on repeat, and that that that one certainly

features. It keeps a go. It's because it is. We'll get that highlight

real. Yeah. Surely. And if you watch it, I actually

actually chase a prick all the way down the wing, and I thought but I

don't get close enough to make sure no one thinks it's my bloke.

And you're looking after your mate. Yeah. Mate, you give him something. You need 1.

Yeah. You need 1 hole. You need 1 hole.

And then it kicks it, and there's it's lights out. Game over. It's,

Yeah. I suppose it's like yeah. There's plenty ups and downs within

AFL, but, Yeah. The way my career has kinda panned out, it started really

slow, kind of even went to Collinwood first 2 years as a struggle.

2018 was like, Fuck. It's like, maybe this is it. Didn't happen,

and then all of a sudden you just, like, get me back. And it

took, yeah, 5 years, which is Looking back on it now, are you thinking 5

years is a long time? It's like, you know, AFL. Do you have another crack

at it in 5 years? Yeah. You certainly kick yourself, and,

thankfully, it fell our way. But, Yeah. Pretty

crazy when you look back on it. Like, I'm I'm not a huge in terms

of, like, reflecting on a massive journey over a long period of time,

but I've definitely done it Probably this year more than any because it's probably been

the most challenging year for me personally in terms of footy

and, That kind of side of it, which affected probably the way I

was at home. Can we get into the arm and the injury and the

like Yeah. So That was pretty insane. It's The,

well, that's Pretty hectic, Scott. Yeah. So the elbow right down to his wrist.

That's where the bone came out. Oh. And then I've scarred all the way on

the inside as well, where they had to open up both sides. Is that when

and I'm gonna probably get into this, but when it got infected? Yeah. Yeah. So

because it was a compound fracture. A lot of the time, the

chances of infection probably increase given that the bone's out and exposed. And

for me Yeah. And, obviously, came out, and I didn't know

at the time. And I was kinda laying there, but the

bone kinda went into the ground. And

given it was round 1, it's like Ed Sheeran concert. Who knows what they pumped

on? I was actually there.

A little something something. But now I think anytime

there's a compound fracture, the chances of infection certainly increase.

And But I was like, surgery went well, but you had double

break, double break. So 4 breaks in a 2 inch span.

Chip 2 bones in my elbow where my elbow tried to dislocate. Generally, if you're

gonna if you're gonna break something, something tries to dislocate first, and

I must have really strong ligaments because it didn't dislocate. And then also

my forearm copped it, so it double snapped there. Two chips in the

elbow, and then I landed on my shoulder. So I'll snap my AC joint as

well just to go along with it. So 7 7 breaks in

the 1 incident. Yeah. But

surgery went really well. And was it like I guess because you

the feeling I could imagine was like, you you know, injuries always suck,

but when you you're in a team that is so special and you're loving

playing so much and you're on fire and do you know what I mean? Like,

that Yeah. The feeling of, like, fuck. I'm gonna miss out. That would have been

really tough. Well, that that killed me initially. And to be honest, it's like,

Well, it happened in round 1. So for me, I was like, I haven't

missed any of preseason. Like, I've done the whole preseason. It's like

For athletes, and you'd know, it's like it's pretty fucking hard to do. To to

get a whole preseason in, it's pretty hard to do. So I managed to, like,

get myself super fit. I was like, shit. Yeah. It's like Close last year is,

like, in really good shape, looking like we're gonna do good things.

Start of the Q3, I end up Fucked himself up pretty bad, and then

all of a sudden you're thinking like, well, what's gonna happen? Like,

literally talking to surgeons and then they kinda don't even contemplate it. Like, don't even

Mhmm. The thought of trying to get back and add all slash even try

to contemplate getting back at at all this year was Pretty minor,

and then yeah. I mean So you have always sort of self

proclaimed the best healer on the planet. So I feel like

there's enough evidence to take that off.

I mean, in all honesty, you have every single injury or

Whatever. Like, you've come back weeks weeks early. You know?

It's Always try to push push the limit, but Maybe to

my detriment at times, but I think yeah. I had

the surgery on the Saturday, so I had to have it the next

day Purely for, like, fasting and all that. So then when I was in

hospital, they pulled my arm straight, and the bone went back in. So it was

probably that 14 hour period where It wasn't

clean. So it was out of your arm for 14 hours after So my

bone was out after I left the Left the ground, got

in the ambo, had to go get egg had I got had to go get

X rays with a bone lock, which is fucking hanging out of my mouth. Could

you look at it? No way. Because thankfully, it's sticking Now the back of the

rings out. There's a lot sticking out there. It's making me cringe now. I was

gonna I put my arm I put my I put my arm on the x-ray

machine. Are you feeling this little And now she's like, literally, you're

picking all that. Pick picked it up and the whole thing all looks all

sat about that because you couldn't cover it, and then just watching, like, this pool

of blood just work its way out in the back, and I was like, Jesus.

It's like something's going on. And ended up pulling it away, and,

obviously, got told what what happened. This is a funny story. I've told a

couple of times. Anyway, so I got the x got the x-ray done laying

flat, so I'm of more than capable of doing that. That's fine. And then he

goes, alright. Now for the next one, can you just pick pick that

board up and just hold it up to the side, and then you should lift

your arm up and and just levitate it in the middle, and we'll get a

siding. I was like, did you fucking see the first thing?

And he's like, yeah. Yeah. I was like, well, you pretty pretty know that I

can't fucking do that. But that's enough. If I could lift

if I lifted up all that, it would've just gone.

Did you see the fucking birthday, mate? Did you

blink, man? What did you see? Couldn't believe. And I looked over at the 2

chicks who brought me in from the, the ambos. I looked at them,

and they're just kinda having a chuckle. Have they taken the piss or

not? I did. Yeah. Sure enough.

They, dosed me up on plenty of drugs and straight pulled it straight

and then wrapped me up. Mhmm. Compressed it till the next day and then had

surgery on the Saturday. Checked out Monday and then back in emergency on

Thursday with an infection. So grim. And then

came back what what time is Okay. In terms of playing? Yeah. Well

So I came back, I think it was round round 18. So

I end up missing I end up playing 12 games for the year, 13 games.

Wow. Which, to be honest, to play 1 was enough. Yeah. Yeah.

Probably more so to go, well, I contemplated retiring, which I spoke to Carlia.

Because it was that bad? In high school. I was like, well, I was like,

I'm on a no illusion. Look. I'm 33. I was like, I don't need to

be physically busted up this bad. Mhmm. Especially when I'm in hospital,

probably when the infection kicked in, and I was In a bad way

mentally because I was like, well I was looking back at messages, and I call

message out, and I'm like, you I've never heard you speak like that. Like I

was nowhere. Was that like? Because you're in there for a week? 2 weeks. 2

weeks. You're in there for 2 weeks. I had 5 surgeries. So it's like so

they had to keep putting me under and wash my arm out. And I was

like, so every 3rd day. And you kinda like,

well, you're in there. And, again, it's probably when I elaborated before. For me

to be on my own and think a lot is really bad. And sit Still,

you know, and that sits still weeks of it. The old meditation back in the

day, wasn't you sort of, oh, I can't concentrate. I was like,

literally, it's like, I shut my eyes up. This bloke in my head is just

going, ah. Play golf. Play golf. Play golf.

Go to the boys. Go to the boys. But, Carly

came in every single day, which was out of control. Like, she was still

working, obviously, full time. Mhmm. But would come in and see me

every single day, and it's kinda like the highlight of my day. I was like,

shit, yeah, it's like, she's gonna come in. She's gonna hang out with me. But

also, there was element of, like, And I don't know why there's,

like, an element of shame for her to look because what I looked

like was horrific. Like, Lost weight? Lost so

much weight. I was so, like, pale after a fresh summer. Oh, I actually

thought it was a little bit of a sun. But Somehow Preseason it's summer. Somehow

or somehow turned into Casper within a 2 days. 2 days.

And a White Walker. And, I don't know. There was, like, an element. I was

like, because I physically couldn't do anything. Like, I was hooked up. I had, like,

a blood bag attached to my arm. So if I wanted to get out of

bed, I had love this massive machine, hook it up, and spoke

about it. I was like, I'm literally like a like a recovering drug addict. That's

what it looked like. Mhmm. And For Carly to come in every single

day and see me like that, I was almost like almost couldn't look her in

the eye to go, fuck. Fuck. This is what you're dealing with, or this is

what I am. And then I suppose the element of for me thinking

about being 33. Yes. I played,

like, a long time ago, I felt, which I'm grateful for, but it's like, is

this How I really wanna go out? Like, Xander would come in, and

I just cry. I was like, because I can't. He's like he's like screaming. He's

like, daddy, dad. Can't touch him. Can't pick him up. Can't do anything.

He's, like, he's trying to jump on me. I was, like, I physically couldn't do

anything. It was, like, for me, ultimately, I'm a dad and a husband first.

Food is great, and I Fucking froth on it. Like, I'd love it.

But if I can't fulfill the first 2, then that the

third one just gets the chop. Like, and that's that's kinda where I was at.

Kylie's like, no. Let's just see how he goes. Let's just let's get it let's

get out of here first, and then reassess and work out what we're gonna do.

So alright. Fuck it. We'll see what happens. And, yeah, the

1st month was really hard because, like I said, I couldn't do anything. I was

like, thankfully, again, probably a testament to fly

because he came and see me a few times. He's like, why don't you come

back in, dip your toes in as, like, getting involved with the coaches. Like, we

still feel like you're gonna hold a lot of value even when you're applying. It's

like, yep. That's Fine. I was like, but for me, personally, when I get out

of here, I need a week. Mhmm. I need to, like, fuck that. I was

like, oh, I need to get away from all this. Let me just reset it

at home for a week, and then when I'm back, you'll get me. As

long because if I come straight back in, You'll get, like, a version of me

that's just not it. And thankfully, you guys you guys you just come back whenever

you want. Because I don't care if it's a week, a month, whatever. So I

ended up taking the weight, which was really good. Carly had pretty much took the

weight as well, and us 3 just hung out at home all day every day.

And then all of a sudden, you start, like, the probably the athlete mindset starts

ticking over. You're going, like, fuck. It's all maybe she's starting back in. It's all

like, yeah. It's all like, I'm capable of probably doing a little bit, and then

Started running pretty much, like, within the next 2 weeks, and

then just build myself up. And the next 6 weeks after that was

really strong, and then all of a sudden I thought, Maybe I'm a chance. I'm

not maybe I'm a chance to to do something. And then the boys

obviously going really well. I've got a lot of FOMO stuff. Yeah.

Big time. What happened last year is, like, no. It's different this year. It's like

what they're doing is, like, the way that they're playing is, like, I knew that

we're on to something. I was like, Fuck it. I'm not missing out on that.

No way. And then I just flick the switch. I was like, oh, I was

always doing everything I can to be physically and mentally ready

away from footy, but all of a sudden, it just started aligning. It's like, I'm

starting to train. I'm starting to do what I was like I used to. I

started, like, tackling. So getting shit mixed to train. It's like, Okay. Well,

I'm not a contested player, which we can all vouch for. I was like, I'll

put my hand up as well. It's a hard ball. No. Thank you.

Hey. And then courageous getting up in the air. It's very courageous. That's a

long way out. Not many people know that. It's a lot it's a lot easier

doing that. Yeah. Putting it over Repeal running straight at someone else. It's,

yeah. And then all of a sudden, all the stars started aligning. I was like,

jeez. I'm a genuine chancy. And then the conversation with was like, what you want

me to do? Do you want me to push to play? Do you want me

to play VFL? Do what do you want me to do? And he goes, as

soon as you give me the go ahead, we're on. Probably took 2 weeks

of, like, full match conditioning type training, like, getting belted flat

out. I was like, nah. I'm on. I was like, I'm in. I was like,

if you want me to play VFL, I'm all for that as well, which I

fully respect that. And they're kinda straight in, played the

Adelaide game, and, Yeah. Man, they, like, managed to get the

win, which was awesome. And then as soon as you finish the game, it's

like, I feel like I played the 1st game on pure adrenaline. Yeah. I was

just like, I So wound up. The game went so quick. It's

over. It's like, get me to the next one. Get me to the next one.

And that next week is, like, we end up playing Gold Coast, Got

managed, subbed at halftime, wrap off 15 goals.

And then, yeah, kinda just drip fed my way back through and Managed to play

out the, yeah, the last 12 games of the year and ultimately

go all the way and Mhmm. Their kind of things their minds that you probably

reflect on now. You're like, Imagine what if. Yeah. I bet you just chucked it

in. Yeah. Yeah. And that's I think it's a great thing that, you know, in

the moment, You didn't make those decisions, like, when

you're when you're in that real dark space and because we've all been there, I

reckon, like, when you're with with anything, You know, when you're struggling and when

things aren't, it's like, fuck it. And we spoke about it last week, you know,

that sticking with something, going through something tough, and then getting to the other side.

Yeah. Reward and And, because at the time, you

can think of nothing worse. Like, I I've I when I snapped my leg

and, you know, I was sort of similar thing. I was in hospital and then

back in 2 weeks For more surgery, and you just you you honestly just,

like, this isn't worth it. Yep. I don't I'd never wanna be here ever again.

So the thought of, Yeah. But, you know, the fact, like,

as you said, imagine if you you make that sort of decision

there when you're feeling shit and, You know, you look

back now what you've been able to achieve and Yeah. It's how it works. It's

a life changer. I think even something that we even do is Minor as

it is. Like, we do, like, small reflection pieces. Yeah.

Everyone does reviews, and you'd talk about The game

and performance and all that kind of stuff, but we almost do, like like,

personally, you write down, like, your immediate emotional status postgame.

So what did it What did it feel like? Was it loud? Was it quiet?

Were you calm? Were you angry? So do you use, like, 1 word to describe

that? Or just you write down, like, 3 words, Like, postgame Yep.

Whether it's in your phone or you journal it down. But then you give it

48 hours and you reflect on after after the dust is settled. So

I think emotionally when you invested so heavily in the game, straight

after the game, what you think happened or potentially how you

feel Doesn't directly translate to 2 days later. I was

like, once the dust is settled, you kinda, probably didn't feel like

that or but it's amazing how When you perform

well, like, what you write down in comparison to maybe when you

think things didn't happen that well, the 2 days difference

to be able to reflect and Evaluate what actually happened. Yeah.

Pretty pretty crazy. It's like you'd like to think a lot of the time they

would align, but a lot of times they don't. So Even if you

have a shit one, the first thing you're walking off is, like, angry,

fucking busy as, and stressed. Like, you kinda like and then 2 days

later, you're like, Oh, fuck. Hang on. Look. I actually contributed a lot. When I

didn't have the ball, it was like, at least made 3 of my teammates better.

I was like, so there's there's a positive, but you don't go into that space

post game. Yeah. No. You're just thinking, what about my last kick out shit?

And a lot of it, like, is also result based too. Like,

if, you know, if, So you don't get the win. Straight away,

everyone's gonna feel shit. And it's like, they might have made there's such a fine

line between winning and losing, you know. It's like but If you

lose, the world's over, and I feel shitty about myself and I'm the worst player

out there. But if you win and you haven't played all that well, but it's

like you can find the positives. You're looking for the positives. It's It's interesting how

that happens, I reckon, just how results based everyone is. And even

that, we always say is, like, the scoreboard's irrelevant. Mhmm.

Again, it's probably goes back to the mistakes theory. It's like, well, okay. You can

say that. So what happens when we lose? Yeah. I was like, you're gonna throw

us a Out of negative clips and we need to get better in all areas

Yeah. Doesn't happen. So I may use you for 20 minutes. Mhmm. That's

it. And to be honest, like, we've been exposed to long

3 hour meetings? How boring is all work?

Walk out of there and you're just like, Fuck me. I thought you're not signed

up for this.

Get rid of me. The good thing is is, Again, small

margins. Like, there's a lot of games that we potentially could have dropped, but we

didn't. So how does the review look like if you did drop it? Is it

is it gonna change? Yeah. And they don't. So it's like,

again, like, we do a hell of a lot right. So let's focus on

that, double down on that. And then there's, like, a small bit of, like,

if we had it done this maybe a little bit better Yep. It just enhances

what we do really well even more. So let's just focus on that a little

bit. And it's amazing how you walk out of the review. You kinda like

it keeps some morale up. That's all you need. It's like that's the joint. You

need blokes to feel good. Yep. Walking around on eggshells and wearing your

helmets and mouth guards 247. Who the fuck wants to do that? Like But it,

it really comes down to trust, And that's what it is because you know

that you've got trust in your team and your coaches that they say they're gonna

do this, and they back it up. At the moment, they don't do that. They

lose trust. Yeah. You loot you then you're on eggshells. Yep. And it comes

both ways. And it starts with the relationships as well. It's like you gotta build

it first. It's like, you're not gonna come in hot and just Slam you and

just expect shit to get done, and that's thankfully, it's like the crew that we've

got with Fly, his support staff around him is incredible as

well. We're tactical gurus, but also they're all kind of like

they're pretty. Like, they're all like like, enjoy having a beer, and we all

Really get along like a house on fire, to be honest. And So there's no

that great divide? Like, sometimes, you know, like, you see the coach and it's there's

a big division between. There's certainly, like, a respect Authority. I don't even know if

that makes sense. It was, like, it was, like, I know you're my coach. Yep.

But there's, like, there's input from players, which meetings these days,

Which I can only vouch for. We do, but, like, pretty much player generators.

Like, the contribution has to come from the players. As much as the

coach Coaches know or what they're trying to project to players.

That's that's where I'm fine. You could be the smartest bloke in the room. But

if the players don't get it, who gives a shit? I was like, what are

you doing? I was like, So, ultimately, the players are running the meeting. So is

all and if it needs to be steered or navigated the way

that they want, they can chime in, But the players

really pretty much drive 90% of the meetings, which is really good

because on game day, they're the ones have to do it. Yeah. And that buying

and ownership as well. Yeah. You know, when things aren't going well Yeah. You are

really owning it because you're the ones that voiced Well, it just produces

accountability within the team. It's like you're the ones that are speaking it. You guys

are saying it. You know it. So now fucking go and do it.

Love what you said earlier about, like, If you don't buy

in, then you'll just drop away. You Yeah. You know, like and

that comes from having that trust from your coach And him putting trust

in you. Yeah. Because they're instead of him screaming at you and telling you,

dude, you're not doing this well enough. You're not good enough here. We need to

get better at this. And you're going, fuck. I'm giving it everything, and so there's

that like, you sort of button heads. Yeah. He's actually there with you in the

trenches. Yeah. And so you're going, Fuck. I'm not gonna let you down. I'd

I'll I'll do anything not to let you down and not to let my teammates

down because there's 97% of my teammates doing the same thing. Yeah.

Given there everything, it's like but the last thing I wanna do is let anyone

down. So I'm gonna, you know, go above and beyond. Whereas, I feel like in

our sort of environment at the days, it was like, Fuck you. Like, I'm doing

everything I can, and you're fucking at least hang me out to dry, and it's

never good enough. It's like Do you find that sorry. How do you find that

really interesting? Like, you probably Had the 2 most extreme

parts of your career Yeah. Like, it is management wise Yeah.

Trust, respect, relationships. Yeah. Like, in such we your career is

very short Yeah. But how much that's changed from 2 different clubs? Like, it's

insane. You'd like to think I feel like as even as an industry, it's It's

certainly evolved and it's changed. A lot of the cultures within clubs have changed. It

used to be if your team's not going well, you slam

and Fill their boots as hard as you can and work them over, and then

that's the only way you get better. Well, ultimately, you don't. It just doesn't happen.

I was like, everyone in the AFL, so from

So we win the flag to North Melbourne or West Coast on the ladder.

I guarantee you through the summer, everyone's working the same.

Maybe it's like some some guys are tweaking things a little bit differently, but everyone

is tipping in the exact same. Does everyone feel the same? No

way. No fucking chance. So that's that's a great point. So

how how it's run, how it's organized, again, comes down to relationships,

but that's probably the point that I touched on first. Does performance

always like, what comes first? Like, when you're going well,

all of a sudden it's like there's flexibility in the program

to go, okay. Well, you can do this or you can you've got options to

do this. Or it's like, if if you're not going so well, it's just

like, Righto. This is what you're doing all day, and at any given time, do

not even think about fucking missing anything. Yeah. I was like, so well, that

doesn't work for a lot of people. Mhmm. I've used, like and,

like, I I don't have a massive relationship with Jack Bonnie at all, but I

was like, I've I've referenced him a few times in saying this is like, He

could be told he could be bruised, battered 247

of the day, and he will turn up, and he will literally be the best

trainer, best performer Any given day, he's in the 2%

that that can do that. Yeah. The other 98% of

us? Fuck that. I was like but it's almost like I feel like I feel

like coaches coaches is like, they wish or coaches I

had they wanted everyone to be Jack Barney. Yeah. Like, that's what I want.

So that's the 1%. Yeah. Like, he's a He's a maniac. He's a

monster. And it's incredible what he can do. And and, you know, it probably cost

him a fair bit with injuries and whatnot because he would just say, I'll do

whatever you tell me to do and fuck you know? And he's He got hurt

a few times because he kept pushing through, but as you said, like, that's the

1%. Yeah. That's that crate, you know. Whereas

everyone else, like, getting away and going and playing golf and

going and seeing their family and doing that, that gives them energy. Yeah. So then

the next day they come back and they can Concentrate out in a in a

meeting for 20 minutes rather than being frazzled and or whatever it

might be or because we yeah. We discussed about talking about getting energy in.

I was like, what what What fills the cup? Like, what gives you energy in?

Mhmm. It's like, is it family time? Is it playing golf? Is it literally not

even been at the club? So it's like, has been enormous in terms of he

goes, I don't even want you to come in today. Just don't come in. Have

a day on your own. Oh, just don't even think about it. I was like,

Okay. Good afternoon. If you log log straight, and I was

like, any tea time? I

think, like, ego is a big thing with that. Like, co with coaches, I

reckon, like, I think that coaches egos, Well,

from from experience getting away Yeah. Like, because they

want to be in control and they wanna be. Whereas

I feel like they now it's like the coaches who can sit back and,

like, they're still they're still working it beautifully and they're still

they've got that relationship with each of the players, But it's not about

them. Yeah. They're it's they're sort of behind the scenes Yeah. You

know, working. And as you say, it's like it's Making each individual

player 45 on your list, what do I have to do to

make him feel as good and as confident and that he's the best

player out there so that when he goes out there and that we got 18,

22, 23 out in the on the ground at a given

moment, they all feel like they're Contributing confident and And that's a good

thing for our like, the way that even the way that we play, like, we

don't have guys getting 30, It locked at all. If

someone's getting 30, we're probably playing the wrong way. Like, literally, no one gets the

ball. So to be able to go, Tom Mitchell averages

35 touches a game. I was like, okay, mate. You're coming in. You're probably having

22. And if you start getting 35, you're not doing

what you meant to be doing. Like, you're chasing it. So don't don't chase it.

And you're probably hanging in there too long rather than giving someone else a fresh

Legs getting in there. Oh, mate. It's like you used to getting 35. I was

like, I need you to get 8 clearances and tackle 8 times a game. Yeah.

I couldn't give a fuck if you don't touch a ball outside of that. Yeah.

So even for, like, those little moments of flicking the switch for that

Mhmm. It's pretty hard. It's like everyone must touch a pill. It makes you feel

pretty good. But to know that, like, Beau McQueary, for instance, if he didn't kick

a goal, he used to crack the sheets because he's like, well, if I don't

kick a goal, what why I'm even out of here? But now he's just like,

All all you need to do is put fear of God up 3 backs in,

and that's all we need to do. That's all you have to do. Mhmm. And

now he's got a rep that I'd guarantee if he's near the ball, bloke's Fucking

petrified that he know that they know he's new. So for him

to be able to mentally flip the switch and go, okay. What do I do

is enough? It's also rewarding him, though. Like, when he doesn't because

because everyone used to say that, like, remember at the days, and this is a

hard thing. It's like, They'd say that to the little forwards, but then they

don't have 6 touches and they wouldn't keep going. They'd be the 1st one dropped

because Yep. And I think that's a That's a benefit of being in a

successful team too is you've got a bit more stability. Yep. You

know, if if you're in a team that's where, you know, we were losing my

10 goals every week and you you're sort of go on out with unchanged lineups.

People are gonna be saying, you know, come on. Yeah. But, yeah, it's

interesting. Yeah. Evidence based stuff is, like, kind of what

you We crave clarity, and it's like you're also like,

well, you don't wanna be shit talking. You kinda like you can't say one thing

and then all of a sudden throw something back at it differently. I was like,

well and instantly, it makes you, like, sit back. He's like, well, what are we

doing? Yeah. And, thankfully, I've been fortunate enough.

Like, I had an unbelievable relationship still do with Nathan

Buckley. Like, I'm catch up with him for lunch on Monday, and

I had an unbelievable relationship with him. It was like, You know, there's obviously

people that potentially didn't get along with him as good as what I did.

But he, for me, my last 2 coaches been unbelievable,

because they They had, like, a sense of like, they make you feel

like what you were worth was enough. Mhmm. I was like, for me, that's all

I need. Yeah. Start questioning if if I train hard enough or what

I bring to the table is not good enough, then I'm out. I was like,

because well, that's probably ultimately, I'll probably I'm too old anyway,

but so it was like and then the way that the kinda lock

so, like, A lot of the older players don't come back to the new year.

I was like, you hear of all the way that that Geelong have been able

to manage their old guys for so long and Well, they probably

performed so well for so long because they get managed really well, and they get

looked after a little bit. Again, look, we still work our ass

off, There's, like, I'm not coming back till after the Christmas. Like,

I was, like, you're fortunate enough to be in that position to be able to

do that. For me, that mentally freshens me right up. Mhmm. It's

like, I know our meetings are short, but for me sitting in 3 meetings a

day, it's like, it's still pretty hard. Mhmm. And for someone who wants to go

into coaching, maybe I'll just do it. Maybe maybe I'll just do the walk through

genius. It's all we're all hands on. We're all we're all we're out the field,

boys. We're out we're out the field. I don't know if you blokes a lot

playing golf. Well, I mean, I thought I'd mix it up. A lot of similarities

between golf. The meeting will go for 4 hours, and we're gonna play golf. And

we're gonna we're gonna be active. We're gonna walk the whole way. Jess, I'm really

interested, like, what you've learned personally as an individual

from not winning a flag, not all your career, but What you've had to go

through as an individual sitting through those demons, like Yeah. I can't

imagine, and nobody could unless they've been in your shoes there. What it was

like for your family because shame is such a like, that's a it's a

horrible thing to be able to say, mate. Yeah. What what have you learned, or

how have you changed as an individual from This season because,

mate, as I said, it's a roller coaster. Yeah. And you if there's 1 roller

coaster, you've been on it. What have you learned as, more importantly, not a football

player, not as a partner, as a dad,

That's enough for me. It's like, I'll be happy. It's like it's like my mom

passed, it's like it's like, as long as my dad can get through it, I'll

be fine. Never checked him myself. I was like, and I still probably got the

same mentality. But then when I got injured, it was like, it's the effect

that you have on others. So as soon as Carly is drained, and

she's not so happy. I don't see her smiling. It's like, I feel like that's

because of me. It's like it's just because, like, I'm having an impact on that.

So it's probably like I probably held a lot of that in, and then it

was like, I carry that a lot. I was like but then

Probably touching on your question is, like, the thing that I've learned is allowing people

around me to support me. And for me, it's like

and I know athletes or people in, like, Jobs,

they probably lock they feel lock the responsibility and the accountability purely comes on the

individual. There's an element of it. Yep. But as soon as I started letting

people in and let them, like, almost, like, almost fell into a hug as

if, like, oh, just hold me for a bit. Yep. And I just needed to

be told that I'd be okay. That was enough for me for

Carly to be there through that period. And I thought I said it before. I

was like, I don't think I would've come back if Carly if I was on

my own and I had no one if I wasn't Seeing Carly or didn't have

Zena. There's fucking no chance it would've played. Yeah. No

way. Like, no chance it would've came back. And, Yeah. The

greatest learning is to lock the people around you. Like, you build great relationships

over a long period of time, so let them let them in. Yeah. Fuck. Let

them support you. And I at that time, I've I've probably it was the first

time in my whole life where I was like, I need to be held. Like,

I need to be told Mhmm. That that I'll be okay because I didn't think

I was ever gonna be okay, to be honest. And then so she's played a

huge role in that and, like, my family back home as although that their

interstate We're enormous. So,

yeah, as I've checking in with people, it's probably, like, a greater learning for

me. It's like Ringing people that you don't normally speak to a lot. I know

we touched on pre potty, but it's something that you're probably trying to do. Like,

I speak to Mon. Like, I always make sure I ring my nan every single

week. Fucking pretty simple thing to say, but to do it, I was like, I

know she blocked it. It fills her cup up so much just to hear from

it. Send her photos in once a week. I thought that's all I need to

do. I ring my dad every single day. I ring my brother every single day.

Ring Carly probably 3 times in a day. Now you're in also,

she's a lady. We got we got any milk? That's all we got in here.

A phone's never been cooler since I got out on Earth.

But, yeah. It's that it's the human side of it. It's

the emotional Side of it there. Because if I'm being honest

Lenten. When I first met you. Yeah. You're pretty headstrong,

Tazzy boy. Come over. I'm fucking I don't Anyhow, I don't know. Yeah.

I'm like and that's but I've definitely noticed over the years. And,

Carly, I'd love to touch on Carly because, You know, for

someone who you love a good time, you're one of the boys blah blah. But

the minute you met Carly, I'll never forget. You you changed as a

human being, you know, and And, like Settle. Well,

he's got an issue. But honestly, like

and and I think, You know, the way even just

hearing, like, at the start of the pod, you're saying, what was so

special to you was having Karl here and Xander there with the cup for, You

know, like, can you sort of try to

explain to me a little bit, like, what what she's meant to you over the

years? Because It'd be hard. It's like, fuck. It's like, oh,

it's always a touchy point. Mhmm. Yeah. Like, I've

been playing footy for 13 years

now, and done in my 14th year. I'm better in my 3rd

year. So I've been together for over 10 years, married for 4.

Yeah. And like I said, it was like that injury. It was like it was

probably a small taste of the reliance that it that

I put on her for me. It's like, It's it's selfish as it

is for me to be an athlete. It's so

taxing on the people around you. And Carly for me is, like,

I used to I used to carry on, like, have a great time.

And to be honest, I still get to do, Like, you know, have good

times and have beers with the boys, and we kind of met out.

We're both pretty similar personalities, to be honest. Or we did, like, have a

good time. We'd be the 1st one's on the dance floor. All of a sudden,

look around, there's no one there. That's the last one. Absolutely. The joints closing. And

I was like, I think it was like I got a taste of it,

after the on the Sunday after the granny. She, wound back the clock. I was

like, There's a girl fell in love with a couple of years ago. There you

are. There she is. Well, I think

yeah. You'd like to think. I think you just when you say, like, the word

changes, I I feel like our personalities probably haven't, but you'd like

to think you have mature and evolved, and I don't know.

I've never yeah. Stubborn. I'm pretty stubborn.

Mhmm. Still am, quite grudgy.

If I got someone in the gun, it takes me a long time to get

them out. It takes a long time to get them out. To a wizard's home.

Look here. And that's something that I'll

still Try and work on and I'll struggle a little bit, but I

think yeah. I wouldn't be anywhere remotely close

to where I am if I wasn't with it. If I was on my own

and living on my own, I'd fucking hate it. A lot of guys are like,

fuck. Yeah. I love interstate trips. Could just get me out of the house. I

hate it because I don't sleep that well. I was like, And I'll sleep the

house down if I'm at home. Yeah. Just knowing that there's someone there.

So when I say someone, call out. We got

that. Cheers. We got to clarify. Yeah. We got that, man. It's Boris or

Yeah. So I get but, yeah. I I

can't I can't speak hot more highly of her. I can't be any more

grateful for her. Mhmm. And you'd like to think because, like, even when

you You go through all the shit. It was like when we won the flag

and you get the cup for a day, just get it to hold it. I

was like, I hope this is it's certainly not repaying The whole

shitload of the 11 years of grief that I've given you. But

maybe it's maybe it's worth a little bit. Like and just to see the joy

that They got out of it. Yeah. It just makes you happy.

Yeah. I think perspective's a massive thing. Yeah. Do you ever go

into that space? People people probably don't a lot. The perspective for

me even when I was in hospital, that was the thing that was rinsing through

my mind over and over again. It's like, I used to think footy is

that's all I need. I was like, that's I'm Fully invested in that and

outside of that, fuck. Obviously, Carlia, yes, and

Zena. But outside of that is, like, Who am I? What do I what do

I look like? What's my identity and all that kind of stuff? But since

Carly's been we've been together for a long period of time, you feel like you

kinda Turn the nozzle on it a bit.

Focus on what's really important that's away from the game for me, knowing

that if I'm Like that, I know when I'm playing

slash at training, you'll get the best version of me. And,

thankfully, she's been out to do that for me for a long period of time,

And hopefully, a bit longer to go. And and I think

sometimes it's interesting we can take that for granted too. Like, when when

you're in the bubble and you, You know, like, playing footy and

you're in the middle of the season or whatever. And it is it's a lot

about you and it's a lot about your, you know, Oh, no. I can't go

to that event because I've got training tomorrow morning. You can sort of

take it for granted a little bit. I've certainly found that during my career. And

then, You know, those moments where you are on your own or

you're you're in a dark spot, and as you said, or or you've in a

great spot, you win the flag. It's like, who are the people that you wanna

spend it with? Yeah. And you said the people I I wanted to be with

was my family back home and Carly and Xander. It's it's sort of,

you know, it's important to to keep reminding yourself Who's

important? Well, it might be it might even be a little semi controversial because

for what I'll say, because we won the flag on Saturday night of

Saturday. Aftermath was fucking enormous. Like, it

was one of the greater experiences you or sense of euphoria. I was

spending it with, like, all the club and family and All that in the same

room for a long period of time. Got to, like, 4 AM.

That's kinda like the, are we going home, or are we going through? It's so

poison. And I was like, you know what? I was like, fuck it. I was

like, I just wanna go home. I was like, get me home. So I grabbed

Carly, I scruffed her. Just because you're jumping in a car. Let's

go. I was like, Managed to bank lock 4

hours sleep knowing that the next day was family day. Yeah. So

family day is 10 AM at the club. You get presented to the fans at

midday, but from 10 till 1:30 or 2 o'clock,

you're allowed to bring whoever you want in, so the family. Amazing. So it's like,

fuck. I don't wanna be Severely Rat shit. Not

severely hung. That was always gonna be happen, but I don't wanna be I don't

wanna go all the way through and not be able to communicate with the

fan at all, because Pretty much for the next week. That that's the only

moment you get with them. Yeah. That's it. So because you got a

function at 2 o'clock that starts on the Sunday that you gotta go to. So

I was like, no. I'll be there. I wanna be present. I wanna have a

drink. So I was we're on the piss at 10 in the morning, which sounds

pretty early, but it's a lot but in saying that, I had a table of

I think it was, like, 9 of us. And we just got to sit

there, meddle on, and then just, like, fucking hand you meddles

with all the family I'll wear, get the Photos. Oh, yeah. That was the photos

I saw. Yeah. And just talk shit for 4 hours

with your family. Because it's it's funny because all the players start rocking up.

A lot of them, they obviously hadn't slept and was like, fuckers, well done. It's

like, we've all been there. Yeah. But I was like, I'm so glad I went

home. Yeah. So glad I went home. To be honest with, a lot of the

guys that didn't, they go, I wouldn't change it for the world. No chance as

well. It's been the greatest thing of all time, which I get. Yeah. Maybe being

33. You're kinda like, well, I don't really need to do that. I reckon if

you were 24 back in your heyday, how do you you might. I'm well I

still I still used to find a way throughout the week to be able to

maybe catch up. So The old boy

showed a few Oh. Countries. It's pretty it's pretty funny like that. It's

like the Watching the young bucks go hard, and then you get to mad

Monday, and all of a sudden, he was like, well, their boys are drained. They're

gone. Yeah. I was like, oh, I'm sorry. This is we start turning

turning up the torch. And

it was like yeah. So I think we had Tuesday off after the granny, and

then that was Pretty much the only day off in 8 days is that. Do

you, so looking back at that, obviously, it's so chaotic. Like, in

certain stages, you're like, There's too much going on, and I know you have to

do that for your fans and everything like that, but I think that's a really

I really loved hearing you say that. That's 2 hours with your family Yeah.

Like, how important that is? Like, it it Yeah. That's the whole

week is out of control. Like, But I was like, you kinda

you kinda get briefed on what potentially might it might look like, but when you're

in it, it's like Fuck. Do you still do you still have those shitty Exit

meetings and stuff. When you win it, it's like you don't have to talk about

anything. It's just this. Well, good

work, mate. We'll see you next year. You still do you still do your medic

Medicals? Oh, yeah. So you had to do your medicals, but, for the guys

that played, there was no exits. So The exit was at the middle

or edge your neck? No. Yeah. So that was it, which, was pretty cool,

but, yeah, you still had moments like that where yeah. Look. Again,

that week Was so hectic. It's like grand final Saturday,

family day slash post function Sunday, where it's just

players and staff from 2 o'clock onwards.

Mad Monday. Day off Tuesday. Wednesday, we'd kinda try

to do, like, a what would feel like a reunion, so we tried to organize

a dinner with the players that played. I think only, like, 14 of us rocked

up. They were all just couldn't get there. I couldn't get it.

I just made Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Yeah. Yeah. And then

Thursday was the 7 hours of signing memorabilia. Oh. We

you're literally sitting in, like, a a u shape of tables

and the signing jersey's passing on. I don't I sat next to

Crispy, and this is this is this is how bad the day was.

I don't even remember who sat exiting me on Right hand side. You were there

for 8 hours? I'm there for 7 hours and didn't chat to him myself.

What, what pretty penny are you taking home for that? Oh,

well, Not enough. No. Not

not enough. Not enough. For what for what we for for what How many

For what we get and what Yeah. There it goes. It's definitely not How many

how many signatures do you reckon you did in 7 hours? So it worked out

to be, a signature every seven and a half seconds for 7

hours. 7 hours. For 7 hours. So it's all I

think it had it had been about 2,250 or something like that

Wow. In 7 we had 15 minutes at lunch. And that was it. Was your

hair just wobbling because you were just going to What what was your Honestly, my

left hand started cramping. I signed with my right, but to get the jersey,

I had to Spread it for that. Every time they'd signed, throw it

across, spread it like that, and it started severely cramped. I've got I don't

know if I can do this anymore. Because what what can I do? I feel

sorry for the for the people that buy the The 6 hour one. Yes. The

6 hour Jersey, which is just To be honest, it's on the line. So

funny as, like so, Jamie Elliott was next to me. That's right.

So we've had, like because you signed for a bit, and then the first,

like, 100 signatures of a new text is average because it just grips all the

time. Fuck. Can't do it. Then you find a group for

probably 200 signatures in a row. You're like, shit. Yeah. This is Yeah. This is

smooth. Work well. Alright. I'm all in it.

Then the next 50, like, is that dark enough for that?

And all of a sudden you're going, fuck. Did I do the numbers? It's like,

we get out. You all of a sudden just, like, having these moments, you're like,

Jeez. I don't even know. I was like, I can't even recognize that. Then

you go through a sock again. New text out. You know what I'm saying? You're

so shit seems through a bit. Finally grew. Dies

out, and then it's like it was the only way you could get through. So

we had Bruzzy playing tunes Oh. The whole way through. But

again, yeah, no one said a word to each other. And then Friday's best and

fairest, everyone goes to the I was like, they had the after

party after the granny and after the Best in Ferrison.

It was pretty pretty quiet. Yeah. Everyone's ready to get the fuck out. Yeah. Yeah.

Get away from each other. What a what a weekday. When you when you look

back at, Look back at the old season. What are you most proud

of? We love asking this question, don't we? What are you most proud of?

Probably 2 parts as an individual, but then also what you achieved because I

think You're you're here is a lot more unique than most. Yeah. I

think, the thing that I'm most proud of is probably the in terms of

the whole group was Managing the expectation of the year.

I think we will manage we'll gift it probably in 2022 with the

year that we had. No one expected nothing from us. Yeah. It's like new

coach We'll shit the year before, so no one's

thinking anything will happen with us. Get to a prelim, lose by a

point, And then watch Sydney get torched the following week was really

hard. And I said to fly, I was like, with the way that we the

run that we went on, I was like, Jesus, is, like, so highly motivating. It's

like this emotional ride that we're on. We're like, fuck. Yeah. It just keeps going

up, and then it just went bang, crashed at the end. It's like, fuck. How

do you plan on, like, Getting everyone on board that for the following season. He

goes, don't even think about it. He goes, this is what I do. This is,

like, my jam is to motivate guys, get them going, and it's

like, just don't even think about Fair enough. I hope you You've I'll

rock it. I was always like, and I'll come back in January. See

you, mate. And then The there. The

thing that I'm probably most proud of is the way that we performed under

expectations. So I think and so there was a

stat that went through the year. So everyone wants to perform against Collinwood because everyone

fucking hates us, which I kinda like, to be honest. But then all of a

sudden this year, everyone thought this started turning a little bit. It's like everyone

kinda likes Collin because, like, we have so much fun, and it's a good place

to be around. It's like, who would have thought a joint that has fun people

like? It's like, oh, makes makes a lot of sense.

So, yeah, it's kinda like dealing with the expectation,

knowing what was coming, and, yeah, that stat. Every team wants to Bring their

best against you because you got 8 Every time every time that played

us, whether they beat us or we

managed to beat them, The following week, they were locked

2 and 20 for the year. Mhmm. Wow. Build themselves up to

play us, and then the following week, they just fall off a cliff. And then

it was like so the teams have beat us or the teams have played us

every the following week Mhmm. Pretty much everyone. Dropped it. Nearly lost. Literally, you

know, like 90% of the time, 95% of the time. And you could feel that.

It's like, we just we knew they're, like, going into the game. Get

through the first. Well, get through the first. They're gonna bring the fucking heat, and

it's like, can't Can't wait. It's like, don't just match it.

Turn the dial up. Like, let's let's crank it up early. But

there's some downs where it's like Teams, like, literally worked you over. You're like,

it's pretty fucking hard to do every single week. Yeah. Really good teams do

it for a long period of time, and we're certainly not that. But

What you probably think of is, like, to get through it, to be able

to perform, keep notching up wins. Like, everyone's like, oh, you won so many lucky

games. It's like, well, Yeah. There's there's an element of luck, but you earn it.

Yeah. For sure. That's all. And the thing that I'm most proud of, like you

said, is, yeah, like dealing with that, Getting the result, and

even when we dropped a couple of games, no one dropped their bundle. The way

that we rock up on Monday, it's like you won a loss. You wouldn't know

at all. And then, personally, I was kinda locked just to get

back and play. It was enough for me. I was like,

Yeah. There was an element of FOMO, not not winning the flag, but

just not playing. And, like, I've I was fortunate enough in my 1st

10 years, missed stuff all games pretty much through a 190

or something. And then the last 4 years, like, I've pretty much

missed two and a half, 3 years. So, Yeah. To be

able to get back and and play and contribute on the greatest day of

the year was something that, yeah, I'm super proud of.

I like that. I like that. I think, one of the sorry, Jack. I think

one of the 77,000 was your average attendance.

2nd 2nd 2nd biggest team in the world. In the globe. Yeah. Like, it

That is and that's why That should show exactly what you mentioned. The

teams Turn up Yeah. Because they know Yeah. It's gonna be

epic. Oh. Like, that's insane. And that was, like,

like, has always been massive on bringing the fans along. Like, it's one of the

values at the club. Like, bring the fans along. And it's like, you

watch anyone do an interview, you watch anyone talk about the club, it's

always like, Get the fans there. Yeah. Bring them along. It's like we

they're literally, like, the way that again, like, Fire is a great people

manager, knows how to motivate. He mowed motivated the fans

like no one in the block. Yep. Because we have arguably the greatest

weapon slash advantage, Why the fuck would we not use it? Yeah.

And trust me, it was like they turned out and off their trolleys.

I've never seen anything like it. Like, it's just out of control. He's telling the

kids he's, like, in pressers telling the kids to rock up to school in their

black and white. He's like, just tell him it's like, Floss said it's okay.

Smart. Oh, so good. Smart. And, like, the chant and that that goes

around, They've they've worked out that normally, it's like, if

you go to a sporting event, which we've all been to, you you cheer when

things are going really well. When there when there's a sense or a

moment where the game doesn't look the way it's meant to, they just hit these

calling. Oh, oh, oh. And we locked 3 goals down, and all the boys just

like, Fucking. It was like and

then all of a sudden, it just it just ticks. It gets you going. It's

just like, no. They're on, and they know they know for a

fact that the game's on. Like and then all of a sudden it just turns.

I'll tell you who's leading the charge with that, that chair. Maynard?

Maynard. My man, Davies. What about what

about a turn of events in the last 12 months? Oh, no. Because I remember

I remember the The 2018 when he went viral for the

Oh, yeah. Summed up. And then you see the

you see 10 seconds later, he's getting the bird after

he's kicked the goal. But, yeah, Davey's, you know,

my best mate. He's Long time Collinwood supporter and him he didn't mean

and his brother got to the granny, and he just said it was the best

day of his life, you know, because he's been through it all. He goes every

game. He's, you know, and He's it's funny. He's been fortunate enough to meet you

and become mates with the fuel man. Yeah. It's amazing.

You know, he's a mate of mine and just to see what it

What it brings him, the emotion and the joy and the, you

know, how much it means to him, like, go goes to every game, every

week. Yeah. And he just loves You boys and loves how you play

and, you know, pretty special to be able to do that

for what have you got? A 100,000 members, which Probably all feel pretty sore. Yeah.

I think we broke the record for the highest membership in the history of the

game this year. Wow. And they plan on A lot

eclipse in that the following year, and it'll just keep growing. And Mhmm. That's probably

when you talk about the gravity of what a premiership holds. I was

like, You kinda get it's like, yeah. The like, we're locked in with that

23 players. Like, it's Mhmm. For the rest of your life. You have

reunion for the rest of your life. I was like, those guys will always be

connected with you with them whether you like them or not. I I'd like

to think I like most closely. You're not you're not gonna lie. You're not get

It's like working. It's any anywhere. You're not gonna like everyone or get along. I

think you accept. You're not gonna be best mates for everyone. You don't have to

be. You can sort of. Yep. But, like, yeah, Pendle's always inside. They do their

reunions for the 2010 all the time. Yeah. And you just look at

photos and then just, How good would that be? Mhmm. Fortunate enough when

we're at 70, we'll still be doing that. It's it's so interesting, isn't it?

Like, as we spoke about earlier, The difference between winning and losing

and even, you know, your granny, you're like, fuck. Could've gone either way. Yeah.

But no one's gonna, You know, remember them. No one's

gonna remember the Brisbane Lions 2023 team. And they were great

team. Yeah. But and they were 1 kick 2 1 kick

away and yet, you know, and just how fine that is, and and now you're

a premiership player for the rest of your life. And Yeah. It's fucking crazy how

it works. Yeah. Hectic

day. But I also remember going at halftime. I was like, can

we like, we always everyone sits in their lines and kinda have a bit of

a chat. Take a fucking breath Mhmm. And actually

just realize how good that half was. Yeah. It

wasn't amazing. 68 to 61. It's a

fucking hell of a half. Oh my god. Too many goals?

Maybe. It's a Unbelievable half.

Like, one of the best halfs I've ever seen. I just remember laughing. It's happened

a bit. There's a lot laughing with Darcy Moore running back to full

back after a goal And just going, how fucking good was that?

And that even like, there's even a lot when Zak Bailey kicks a couple of

those unbelievable guys. Zak Bailey. That guy. Hey. Good, Zach. I was like,

and if they're gonna if they're gonna be spot kicking girls all that, we'll probably

go with that hats off. I love that

story. Pendle's Told on a podcast recently about, was it Nick

Dacos? And, coming into that last set of bounds or something

when they just keep a Yeah. And he said, oh, do you want me to

get out of here? And and Fendal was just, like, fucking serious?

I want in it. Like, he's like, oh, no. Okay. Yeah. I mean I mean

I mean I mean, and then he gets a handball, and then they go down

The goal kicks that goal and Kinda win. When Cameron keep that goal, you're

thinking, fuck. Maybe? A lot maybe it's maybe it's not our

day, Especially when we keep, like, 9 points in a row. Yeah. I'm just like,

the amount of times that we managed like, teams did that to us, and we

managed to just clip them over the end. Surely, this is not gonna come back

and bolt on them. Are you back? As soon as that center

bounce unfolded and, yeah, it got hacked out, That

Darcy gun, it punched this living shit out of the ball. We're thinking as a

defending lot, best case scenario, and just lands right in Dakes' lap.

Yeah. Yeah. It jumps up Ali ooped to Jordy, and he knocks it

over from 50 on, like, kicking the ball sideways. I was

like, maybe it is out. Maybe it is out. And then Soddy

kicks 1 from I was like, so funny. I was now I had to pull

it up there. I was like, I was with him, obviously. Ball that far in

his life? No. You can't keep over, James. But but

from grand final day, it started at 54 meters. And

then I had a beer with him yesterday, so Three and a half, 4 weeks

post, and it's got out to 75. It doesn't end up 70 all the

time. It just keeps it just keeps traveling. And so Righto. So, Baldy, it's only

rocks up day 1 of preseasons from the center screen.

Oh, I couldn't believe that. Couldn't believe how he Flushed it off. Yeah. But as

soon as he kicked it, though, to get that much purchase on a ball to

travel that far, you almost have to semi belly it. Yeah. Because you get too

many if you get too many revs, It just, like, it's Slows it down a

lot. No. To go through. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, starts to, like, come and almost,

like, slowing down. He half bellied it, Which he wouldn't admit,

but flushed it. Yeah. Woah. And it fucking sailed

like Without the fence. And he did kick it from outside 50. Contemplate

obviously, contemplate kicking it put it because he's he kicks further on his left hand

and does it on his right, which is fucked up. He's the

most ambidextrous bloke. It was like, Even playing 8 ball with him, like, he plays

8 ball left handed. I was like, are you just doing that to take the

pin? Oh, my god. Good. Like when

you play cricket. We used to play cricket. He'd bowl right hand and bat left

hand. And I'm like, what are you doing, man? You're running the wrong way. He

said, oh, that's how I do it. I'm like, what? Comes in from both ends,

left hand at one end, right hand the other. But he's, yeah,

that was probably one of the those 2 moments. Our last

3 goals of the game when we couldn't kick goals was Penbury De

Goli side bottom. Pretty fucking any players Keep goals when you need them.

Yeah. Did it did it make you like, because, obviously, you're very close with Steelo.

Like, did you feel something, like I don't know. Was there a different feeling because

it was him? Like, have you thought of that? I think there's a everyone kinda

craze moments like that in in that, but then watching him do it and the

way that he he used He's, like, he's definitely and

you'd know more than any, but he's, like, he's a larrykin, loves having a

good time, and carrying on at certain time. On the field, he's he's so

professional. Very locks like, he'll kick a massive gun and kinda just

waddles like a duck back to the wing. Mhmm. Fuck. Yeah. It's like, That's just

what I'm doing. What I do. Yeah. Yeah. But I feel like over the last

few years, he's like, big moments or any goals in that. He

gives it heaps Yeah. Which is like because it gets everyone going.

So I'm seeing react like that and respond like that just makes me instantly

feel heaps better. Mhmm. So I thought we'll keep fucking doing it.

So you just need, like, when we spoke to him, just just hearing the love

he has for footy And for Collingwood and for his club and his team

you sick. Like no. No. Like no. But, like, you know Yeah. Yeah.

Like, you know It really I mean, it really didn't. It made me it made

me feel I mean, jealous Yeah. That

that's how he feels. But but also, like, that's probably just not me

regardless even if I was there. It's like it made me realize just how much

he loves it. Like, I just assumed I sort of thought everyone just sort of

fucking hates footy. Like, I don't know. Like It's just you, mate. There's an element

of that. Yeah. And and I think we're we're you know, I

think we've probably been a bit more in the same headspace at

times. Whereas he it was like, I just wanna play

forever. Yeah. I just wanna keep going. And then to see him, you know, and

just for him to have that moment I mean, he said fucking shitloads of

moments over 300, but, You know, to have that moment in a grand

final, you know, he's a store to the club, and he's probably the

most beautiful human being. Like, just, You know, like, you couldn't

find a better blow. He's one of those humble guys I've ever met Yeah. For

what arguably will stack up as a really strong Accolade

listed in his career. All Australians best and fairest, premiership

players, Anzac Day medalist. He's got fucking everything. Fuck.

Everything. And If you still meet him in a pub, he

literally because, like, all can have a beer. It's just us 2. And then he

I was, like, where the fuck is he? He's talking for, like, 20 minutes to

just some random person he's met, and he just gives Every every moment that he

can. He loves that, though. And on the way on the way out, he probably

goes, anyway, here's my number. Just let us know if you wanna give it a

buzz. You see there at any any given

time, his phone just ringing. He goes, oh, this is that bloke from Cobram that

I gave him about 3 3 years ago.

This is the kind of guy he is, and I was just like, it's it's

great. Yeah. No. But, he's he's obviously brought up brought

up with all the boys, all his brothers, and With you, fortunately enough,

for a long period of time community. I think it's the same Yeah. Country community.

And that's, like, probably the craziest he goes and he said it before. He's never

enjoyed his footy more because the club's probably never felt more

back. Like, you have moments like our club's like a country footy club. Yep. There's

always kids carrying on there. It's almost like a borderline daycare center at

times. Country footy club with 80,000 every week. Yeah.

77,000. Imagine, like, Philly, they're gonna put another stand on top of the

g. I think just to get your members canceled. Kinda like

yeah. I think they're trying to push for us to play round 1 In

Sydney, there's like a bit of a split round.

Fuck. It's like it'd be it'd be cray no. Homebush, is it? In Sydney.

Yeah. Alright. Home bush is like 80, is it? Yeah. So it's like

they won't yeah. So it's like, I don't know what the plan is there, but

yeah. I know For sure. It's like when we get to play the g first

first time. I'd love to know. Fucking stack. Oh, I love to know what

It Might be hard for me to get some free tickets. Yeah. I I saw

you, man. Yeah. There she is. I'll stop I think I've exhausted

1 avenue. I'll I'll start reaching elsewhere. I would love

to know if how big the stat you know, how many tickets you'd be able

to sell in a granny if you had more seats, you know? Like, I

couldn't I couldn't even tell you how many people I had messaged me saying, can

you get grand final tickets? I'm desperate. Yeah. You know, blah blah blah. That's a

good point. You would've sold Yeah. But where would they be? But but

then all of a sudden, Loxo at the AIA Center, they

played on the big screen, and you couldn't see the grass. Because there's only people

stuck with people sitting on lawn on the ground watching the game. And they

had, like, I don't know if it's a Fed Square or whatever, but every venue

possible, they just chocked it out. Yeah. Chalked it. Like and I was

like, I know, but fortunate enough, we we get 10 tickets,

to the granny. But if I got about a 110. Yeah. They'd be gone

just quickly. Yeah. Exactly. Like, so easily just gone. Like

Yeah. Yeah. So it's We're

we're grateful for our fans because there's nothing like it. Mhmm. Sure. Because, like, the

DS fans are great. I was like, great great experience with them. Still chat

to The, the banner girls every time that we

play them. And, but yeah.

The Collinwood chant that we get, you don't get it anywhere else. It's like, I

love what Port Adelaide do pregame. I love that song that he gets. Yeah.

Anytime he gets the fans engaged, they're like, Fuck. Yeah. Yeah. I've got a

bit here. I was like, oh, what I'm doing is it's working. Mhmm. But the

fans just go off their trolleys, and it is so good. Yeah. Like, I get

rinsed every time I kick the ball out by Oppo fans. No. I would love

to know what our fans

You say that you you would not take. Like, I I could tell you

a few things. You'll tell your supporters. Give me just Yeah. It's

pretty famous, like, because it was all all I know is, like, when I like,

we'll take the 1st kick in against the or anyone, to be

honest. That is the they've got no ammo anymore. The one thing that they would

always rinse me for is not is leaving and not winning a flag. Yeah.

Or turn around. I might even try to shove it under me top and turn

around and just go, This one. This one. That is

small. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, man. Good on you, bud.

Exactly. I'll try I'll try takes every bit of me not to acknowledge same time,

I can't lie. Yeah. You got me. You got me.

Not anymore though, mate. Not anymore. Exactly. Well, How,

dog? Thank you so much. Before we give you some well, brought a couple of

little presents, sponsored by, Look at them. Sponsored by

Squash. So, But we like to know from our

from our guests, we like to know other than footy,

other than golf, Other than Kalia, obviously,

what gets you excited in in life? Other than, you know, the obvious things. We

might have put you on Spot a little bit here, but Oh, we didn't start

with it today, mate. We didn't sort with it. So Zana's out of the equation

as well? Yeah, mate. Yeah. That is that is involved. I suppose you could

say that's golf. No no footy pets, Carly, or Zander family.

What gets me going?

No

Well, I'm testing you here. I'm testing you because, you know

What gets me excited? I think I've always been,

Again, I was like, I've I've raised the point. It's like, could be a few

controversial things, but it's like, I've always been like a giver in terms of gifts.

So what gets we go on, it's like it's gift giving. Because, like, I wanna

give Khali something or I wanna give Zen something. I was like, I know you

said don't mention that. No. No. No. No. No. Probably more it's probably more in

theory. So That gives you Make sure you feel really good. My brother saying. He's

like, gift him old man saying. He's like, for me, Carly, you

know, I annoy the shit out of Carly. I was like, on my birthday. Because

she's like, what do you want? I was like, nothing. I want anything because I

just don't get me anything. I was old. Get me a pair of squash shorts.

I'm guessing it's too. Wait. Wait for the sale.

Bring that

up. But I think for me, it's like when it's someone else's birthday or something

like that, That's when I'm like, fuck. Yeah. What can I what can I do?

What can we what can we just kinda g up and Yep. I don't know.

When you give someone something and watch them smile. Amazing. That's all that I

need. Yeah. Giver. All the way to finish. I think I think

that is, it started off pretty dicey. I know you

guys all the all the, personal Everything, mate, you think a

bit deeper, mate. I love that. We speak about these all, like, kind of service

giving. Yep. It Fills you. Makes you feel amazing, mate. You

would have fulfilled so many Hollywood supporters this year. Not only college supporters,

but the overly excited family. How exciting is this? Really

appreciate you being on the show, mate, and your time. As always, great man. Thanks

for having me, boys. Been a pleasure.