Claim OwnershipSACKED: AFL
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What really happens when the axe falls in the AFL world? Some of the biggest names in the sport reveal the remarkable true stories of how they discovered their days were numbered and when the guillotine dropped.
53 Episodes
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1Three premierships, 718 games coached and one incredible story. Malthouse reveals the true story behind the black and white years, from his relationship with Bucks and Eddie, to his 2011 Grand Final regret, dealing with the 'rat-pack' and the moment it all ended. Part 2 | Mick's big Navy Blue coming soon.
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Grant Thomas is no stranger to controversy, in fact it shrouds most of his 123 game coaching career at the Saints. Did refusing to tow the party line cost him his career? That's up for debate, but don't expect him to change his uncompromising style anytime soon! He lifts the lid on the true story behind Blight's sacking, his rift with Demetriou and the culture he believes is still broken at St Kilda.
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Guy McKenna was handed the AFL's million dollar baby, only to have it cruelly ripped away four years later. Was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Go behind the curtains on the sacking without a review, Ablett's case of cold feet, the Karmichael Hunt experiment and the Brownlow night he knew it was all over.
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Scott Watters thought he knew the challenges facing the Saints when he signed on the dotted line. In his two short years at the helm he tried desperately to fight against an ageing list, salary cap handcuffs, a voiceless board and a culture, as he describes, still “stuck in a haze” after coming so close to Everest in 09’ and 10’.
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In April 1967, Robert Walls took to the field as a tall, skinny 16-year-old in his first game for the Blues. Thirty years later he coached his final game with a Hall of Fame career in tow. Walls is one of footballs true coaching doyens, and has a lifetime of stories to tell. He lifts the lid on his fallout with the Blues after premiership glory, the ‘Bad News Bears’, his role in the death of State of Origin and Carlton's current coaching search.
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After an unceremonious ending to his black and white days, Malthouse took on the the Carlton job with a simple goal at task. Restore the Navy Blues to their former glory and crest the coaching ‘Everest’ he felt he fell short of at Collingwood. What followed is now history, but it turns out the scriptwriters on Malthouse’s Carlton years missed a few key chapters.
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Mark ‘Choco’ Williams might have his knockers, but there is no denying he saw history in the making through his twelve year tenure at the Power. He lifts the lid on the 04’ flag, the ’mutual’ parting that was anything but, the payment backflip that left him stumped and the numerous top jobs which have slipped through his fingers.
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‘Spud’ Frawley was the potato farmer turned St Kilda legend. But in 2000, the Saints Hall of Fame inductee traded his halo for yellow and black stripes as he took on the Richmond top job. While he ultimately fell victim to the Tigers revolving coaching door in 2004, Frawley knew his days were numbered all the way back in 2001. In a cruel twist of fate, his coaching peak was also the first sign of his eventual demise.
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The moment Tony Shaw lifted the Magpies drought breaking premiership cup aloft in 1990 he cemented his place as a black and white legend. But could the favourite son lead the Magpies to another flag, this time from the coaching box? The answer came swiftly and cruelly as Shaw had his wings clipped after just four years at the helm. He reveals the truth behind his departure, the Pies attempted Damian Drum coup that left him fuming, the barbecue meeting that saw Tom Hafey sacked, Nathan Buckley’s transformation and the biggest regret of his coaching career.
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From the man Tom Hafey coined the ‘bloody back-pocket plumber’ to arguably the greatest coach of all time. Kevin Sheedy’s impact on Australian Rules Football is immense, as is his quirky personality and incredible story. Three premierships as a player, four as a coach and a first class AFL Hall of Famer. But behind the cups and confetti lies a tale of dodged bullets, career saving moves, hard calls and lucrative deals to trade in his red and black sash for enemy colours.
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After sixty three games in eleven years, ‘Chicken’ Nixon hung up the boots and seemingly walked away from the game in 1993. Almost twenty years later he was voted the fourth most influential football person of the past decade. Fast forward a handful more years and in 2011 he was given a two-year suspension and left the player management game. You know the story from the papers perspective, ‘the super agent who fell from grace’, but what about the story from the man himself?
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From the Tigers on the eve of the millennium, to the building of the Cats dynasty. The Bombers on the precipice of the drug saga and then into the doghouse at the Bulldogs. Fourteen years after his first role as an assistant, McCartney was finally given the keys to the top job. Three seasons, twenty wins and one departed captain later and he was forced to hand them back. Two years later the Bulldogs broke a 62-year premiership drought. So where did it go wrong for Brendan McCartney?
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A stellar career with the Magpies, an AFL assistant coach, married with three young kids. From the outside Gavin Crosisca had it all, but on the inside his world was falling apart. Crippled by a drug, alcohol and gambling addiction he lived his life from one fix to the next. For twenty-eight years that addiction ruled his life, until one day his wife Nicole forced him into the car and drove him to a rehab centre. Nine years later he is free of his demons and ready to offer a helping hand to lift those still stuck in their vices up into the light with him.
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Saints by club, not by nature. Stephen Milne and Steven Baker are old school larrikins, the mischievous pair up the back of the class and in the principals office every lunch. But do they have a story to tell! From sirengate, to hangovers at first training sessions, the Malcolm Blight experience and Ross Lyon’s dramatic departure. The bounce of the ball in 2010, Baker and Stevie J’s fight, Riewoldt’s mark and an endless supply of laughs.
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Bleached hair, handstands and a goal sense like none other! Jason Akermanis was born to thrill, but was his show overshadowed by the ever present controversy waiting just off stage? ‘Aker’ opens up about the Lions glory days, the Grand Final performance that saved his career, his rocky relationship with Rodney Eade before the axe finally fell and the story behind his famous handstand.
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The Saints hero who became footballs first big fish landed in free agency. After 205 games, three Grand Finals and two All-Australian guernseys, Goddard was on his way to the Bombers. The script was already bursting at the seams and plastered over the back of every newspaper, but the true plot twist was lurking just out of sight. The rest is history, the drug scandal stole the back page and Goddard’s career was thrown off course. We’ve all read the stories and heard the interviews, but what really happened inside Essendon as footy’s darkest days played out?
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One Matthew Scarlett toe poke, one cruel bounce of the ball and three Grand Final heartaches. Through what lens should we view the 09’-10’ St Kilda squad? A powerhouse team who went 20-2 in the 2009 home and away season and won 80% of their matches over the two year stretch. Or just a good team who came up small on the biggest stage of all? Brendon Goddard reflects on his career with the Saints, the Grand Final pain that still haunts him and the departure of Ross Lyon.
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Every weekend Brock McLean crossed the white lines and entered a battle on the football field. For 11 years he fought that fight for two hours each game day, then win, lose or draw he would step off the field and face his true battle. His mental demons were crushing, his alcohol and drug use slowly tearing his life apart. Six years on from hanging up the boots, and one year since finding help for his mental battlefield, McLean opens up about his pathway back to the light. Plus, the former Dee and Blue reveals the story behind his positive drug test, Melbourne’s tanking scandal and the moment the axe fell on his career.
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Three flags, three All-Australian berths and a club Best & Fairest. Justin Leppitsch’s playing career with Brisbane was steeped in success. Seven years after hanging up the boots he would return to lead the Lions pride after the tumultuous reign of fellow club legend Michael Voss. After just fourteen wins in three seasons, Leppitsch would eventually fall to the same knife as his predecessor. He knew the challenges when he signed on the dotted line, so where did it all go so wrong for Leppitsch and the Lions? Plus, re-living the Lions three-peat glory days, coaching a young Alex Rance and a behind the scenes look at the creation of the Tigers powerhouse.
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Premiership player, All-Australian and arguably the best contested mark of the modern era! Unfortunately, Travis Cloke’s glittering resume often took a back seat to the goal kicking yips that plagued his career. It took a move to the Bulldogs to discover that he wasn’t just missing the mark in front of the big sticks, but his passion and hunger for the game was also off course! Cloke opens up about the pressure of game day performance, the training session breakdown that led to his mental health break, the glory days with the Pies and his infamous goal kicking woes.
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Talking as if Harry O’Brien is correct just adds to the melodramatic way in which he loves to live his life....
when's the next one?
I hated these two blokes. Until about 20 minutes ago.
Did cutting Goddards contract make room for Shiel?
Lol at Shaw criticising modern coaches, one of the worst coaches of all time he was.
hu
More, more, more. love listening to these wonderful interviews from the side of a coach.
I’m loving this podcast. Plenty of coaches sacked or persuaded to move on, and 2019 will give you more material once the comment restraint period finishes. Keep them coming. 😃