WEBVTT - Greg Williams - It's hard being a star 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:08.800 So I thought I was gonna win the Brownlow. Yeah, 0:00:08.840 --> 0:00:11.280 I should have got to throw it anyway. Anyway, umpire 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:14.400 deliberately to vote for me. That's the that's a fact. 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:16.480 I'm John Ralph and I'm Glenn MacFarlane. 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:19.759 Welcome to Sacked, a podcast that explores what really happens 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:22.280 when the ax falls in the AFL world. We'll take 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:24.040 you behind the scenes with some of the biggest names 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:26.440 in football and find out how they found out their 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:29.240 time was up and who pulled the trigger Today. 0:00:29.480 --> 0:00:32.760 It's hard being a star. The never boring footy life 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:35.520 of Greg Diesel Williams. He was the kid in leg 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:38.559 Irons who couldn't run out of sight, rejected twice by 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.720 Carlton as a teenager, who became one of the game's 0:00:41.760 --> 0:00:45.440 greatest players. Greg Williams always believed he was the best, 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:47.600 and he showed just how good he was as a 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:51.560 Geelong Best and Fires winner, a Swan's and Blues Brownlow winner, 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.480 and the ninet ninety five Norm Smith medallist. And controversy 0:00:55.840 --> 0:00:59.600 was never far away either. Greg Williams, Welcome to the podcast. 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:03.400 Brownlow Medals, a Normal Smith Medal, the Premiership, some Best 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:05.520 and fairest. You're pretty bloody good, won't you. 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:09.880 Yeah, well, a pretty good record I have and a 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:12.920 lot of hard work, but yeah, it ended up really 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:13.440 well at the end. 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:16.440 Even early doors like growing up. I think you were 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:19.479 the third of eight kids growing up and you had 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.440 calipers on your leg early that. 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:24.240 Yeah, for a year I had irons on my legs 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:27.319 for a year for straighten my legs, which they did 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:27.920 in those days. 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:28.880 They don't do that anymore. 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:32.840 Yeah, that was a battle, but a yeah mum said, 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:33.399 didn't stop me. 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:35.640 I just kept swinging around. 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:36.360 With the calipers. 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.000 So yeah, that was all part of growing up. 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:43.319 But I had a great family and mum had over 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:44.280 one hundred foster kids. 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:45.440 Is a mum really? Dad? 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:48.240 Yeah, so it was a pretty unreal family we had. 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:51.960 And yeah, mum and dad's still going and wow, there's 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:53.200 a different upbringing. 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:55.960 So I hate kids, but also welcoming. So many people 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:58.920 assume in changing circumstances into family. What was that like 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:00.000 for my day to day existence? 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:02.960 Yeah, it was like get home, there'd be a couple 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:06.040 of babies there, or a couple of young kids running around, 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:08.360 or yeah, stay for a week or a month, or 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:12.360 a couple stayed for a year a couple of kids. Yeah, 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:16.800 that's pretty cool and they actually it's not football, but yeah, 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:18.919 they came back when they were about twenty eight, see 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:22.480 mom and dad. Yeah they Yeah, they're just so thankful 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:23.120 for what they did. 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:25.919 And do you still keep in contact with some of them? Occasionally? 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:29.720 Not a lot of My mom does. She gets cards 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:31.040 and stuff still and stuff like that. 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:33.560 So it's pretty good upbringing. It's other than that. 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:36.400 She adopted the last two, did she Yeah, John I 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:36.760 and Hope. 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:40.200 Yeah, so that was and that was a really sad story, 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:40.600 those two. 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:42.320 But then I've just done so well as well. 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:45.280 Mark Robinson talks about you were pretty good. He was 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:47.000 pretty good as well. Did you come through the same 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.480 vintage robber Or said, yeah, Greg Williams had me and 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:51.600 maybe a couple of others. But did you play in 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:52.840 the same vintage A Robo or? 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:56.000 I think I'm not sure, ol Rubbo he's old than me. 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:59.840 He's a bit young and probably but oh he was Sanders, 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:05.359 which we didn't like them. We didn't like them. But yeah, 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:07.760 I had a great time growing up in Benyo. Go 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:10.519 one square, yeah, and then the two pre seasons got 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:13.440 the ass from Carlton twice, So yeah, I was devastating, 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:17.880 but yeah, I really needed it. I got fit like 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:20.959 I wasn't fit. Dad used to say, I used to 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:23.480 walk around and get forty possessions, you know. Yeah, and 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:26.359 I did it really easily, like yeah, not you. 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:28.280 Know, standing in the Senate square you get to the stoppage, 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:29.520 but not spreading as you got. 0:03:29.560 --> 0:03:30.040 I couldn't. 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:34.519 I just got the ball time and which became a habit. 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:38.400 And yeah, I had to train. I actually did two 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:40.600 praisons that really helped me. They went to Geelong of course. 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:43.440 Yeah. I wrote to Tom Aphy and he asked. 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:46.360 You wrote, Yeah, what do you remember what you said 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:50.080 in the latter? Yeah, just give me an opportunity I 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:53.720 want to go. Yeah, and they knew me. Geelong recruiters 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:56.000 knew me and said, yeah, bringing down And I was 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:59.040 lucky enough to and another hard preseason like I did 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:00.960 three in a row, like yeah, I really needed it, 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:02.840 and yeah. 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:05.560 And I was ready then I was really ready to go. 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:07.920 Were determined to like prove the bastards wrong. But what 0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:10.080 went wrong at Carlton do you think, like, other than 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:11.840 the fact they had some of the best. 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:14.000 I think it was fitness stuff. 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:17.720 Yeah, really so who did you work with there? 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:19.839 Well, to south Come was my coach. 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:22.480 Yeah, he played a Carlton and we did for half 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:24.839 a season, went back to Benygo, but he was a 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:28.119 marathon sort of running. I did a couple of seasons 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:31.920 with in pro season running like ten K ten K's 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:33.240 you know, like I still remember it. 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:37.360 And I was a plumber with dad. Sons were as well. 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:41.440 But like we we did stuff like we go to 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:44.760 work Eagle Hawk do a job and he made me 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:49.080 run home. I run the train like like whatever it 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:50.880 was from work, just run the train and you know 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:54.960 I did it. And there wasn't many players doing that. 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:58.520 It wasn't so I did. I did work really hard 0:04:58.839 --> 0:05:01.720 on it and eventually went to Geelong And. 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:03.120 Did you want to prove him wrong Carton? 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:08.440 Yeah, yeah, no, it was definitely in the termination to 0:05:09.120 --> 0:05:11.440 make it. Actually there's a few players Ricky Nick and 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:12.039 I grew up with. 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:14.560 Yeah, and he made it Chicken. Yeah. 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:17.120 Yeah, if he can make it, I can make it. 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:19.479 That was seriously, that did help me. 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:20.240 I really did. 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:25.039 And yeah, so that was yeah Geelong and then I 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:26.800 was lucky enough did a pre season there and then 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:32.360 obviously got a game. First game in eighty four four 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:36.160 with Garry Seniors. First game for Gelong as well. Wow, yeah, 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:38.080 Mick Turner's captain and I was in the middle. So 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:43.320 it's a cool day and I I will I struggled 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:47.400 at half time. I had twenty at half time. Really 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:50.880 it was a real good start. But then yeah I 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:52.960 had thirty eight my first game, Like that was my 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:54.560 best day ever and three. 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:57.640 Brown obots first start, Like you must think you worked 0:05:57.680 --> 0:05:58.640 so hard to get there? 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:01.039 Is this it was? 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:02.720 It was a great day and that was still my 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:06.359 favorite day knowing really all the just just because of 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:07.440 how hard it was to get there. 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:12.400 Yeah, it was. What was Gary Ablett scene? You Like, 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:14.200 I think for a time there you might have been 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:15.559 when you got your first job at Geelong. 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:19.160 You might have been working seats to the club. And that'suff. 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:20.200 Was. 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:23.880 He a good works horrendous be late. It wouldn't turn up. 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:29.680 Pretty much like the way he played, He wouldn't train 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:31.520 like he's amazing, that guy. 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:33.200 He's my favorite player for as well. 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:35.080 Just watching you. Yeah, take it. 0:06:35.040 --> 0:06:37.320 Through what what you saw? Obviously we saw it. You 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:39.280 know what did you say it was different? 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:40.240 I saw? 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.560 Yeah, he's the best athlete I ever saying best player 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:47.200 ever saying, and most ability anyone's ever had. 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:49.360 I've ever seen. Yeah, all those things, all the. 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:53.080 Ones, Oh stupid things you want, Like he could kick 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:57.159 sixty five minutes both feet jump his average marks, but 0:06:57.400 --> 0:07:00.120 like an arms length above everyone else is the average one. 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:01.960 And then he takes back he's as well, Like he's 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:04.640 just amazing. And one of the stupid things I watched. 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:06.799 I remember do a run throughs all the time with Tommy. 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:09.280 You do high knees and stuff, just running through the 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:11.200 square with the high knees, and I'd be next to him. 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.640 And seriously, he'd be hitting him knee and his jaw. 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:19.840 I'm there just jogging like a hack runner, and he's 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:22.200 just this machine, is like a piston, Like he was 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:24.600 so fast and powerful. 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:26.480 Like, yeah, it's just nothing like it. 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:29.840 Yeah, So you finished in ninety five. 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:31.920 So for those there that are listening to this podcast 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:33.880 for the first time, they're thinking, he's getting these forties, 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:37.640 will be so good. That'd be humble about it. You 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:40.120 saw the ball, well, you had great hands. Tell us 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:42.240 about what made you a good player? You know why 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:44.000 you'd feel confident going into every game. 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:48.360 I think it goes back to the way I was. 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:50.440 I had a bigger brother, John, who was bigger than 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:52.800 me and tougher than me, and I was brought up 0:07:52.800 --> 0:07:53.120 with him. 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:53.679 That helped. 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:57.400 That helped a lot, but even just skills and development, 0:07:57.440 --> 0:08:01.280 like I'm big on that now, still living, But I 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:04.360 had no I'd ever en covered in regards to both feet, 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:10.600 both hands and anticipation. I knew I was good at it. Yeah, 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:15.720 I knew I was in close. And I always don't 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:17.360 know whays talk about it, but I talk about the 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:20.160 secret that the game is creating the loose man like 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:23.280 it always has been it always will be. It's a 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:24.920 lot of hard to do now because of the defense, 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:27.800 but that's what I did better than anyone. I created 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:31.720 the loose man with handballs and kicking and looking out 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:34.640 further and seeing guys in the open. 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:36.520 Yeah, so that's what I did. 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:38.760 What was what were those heady days that J're long, Like, 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:40.640 all of a sudden, you're working your ass off, and 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:42.520 you know, twenty and twenty one was probably late at 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:44.320 that stage where if you didn't get drafted at times, 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:45.959 you know you were past it almost. 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:47.360 What was that like early on? 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:50.000 And as you said, that extraordinary center line and you're 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:51.200 away in your AFL career. 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:54.040 Yeah, it's cool. I loved it down there. 0:08:55.840 --> 0:09:01.400 Mcturnal's captain had a great relationship with him. I only 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:03.839 played twelve games my first year. I won the best 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:06.360 first year playing in the AFL. Did you did my 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:12.400 what's great? And missed the rest of the year. So yeah, 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:15.000 I went to the World of Sport for that. I 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:18.679 won the hamball competition same day. 0:09:21.200 --> 0:09:27.199 And I got the I gave you this. I was 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:34.000 a recliner, lazy boy, was called Moran famous, Maranne reclined 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:38.079 and I've still got it, Jaging. This is the worst 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:41.040 president I've had. You still got saturd in my whole life. 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:43.520 That it's in your private place in the living room. 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:45.120 That's fantastic. 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:47.839 So you do your name and all of a sudden, 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:51.680 Then so second year, another big pre season, so you did. 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:54.960 Had to do another one? Yeah, and got fit. Yeah, 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:55.920 I was fine. 0:09:56.000 --> 0:10:00.199 I was fine after the rest and got back and yeah. 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:02.160 Actually had one of my biggest yees in eighty five. 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:05.480 I won the best off and I got over six 0:10:05.600 --> 0:10:07.840 hundred and something possession likes the world w. 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:10.960 Six seventy five three ninety nine handballs. 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:15.320 It was a lot brown Over it's fourth behind Brad Hardy. 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:19.880 Yeah, there's nearly my best year that one. Yeah, and 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:24.360 then one of the best first and then got married 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:26.640 that December. The whole g long forty team came and 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:27.960 then I went to Sydney. 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:30.000 So he wasn't a great wedding. 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:32.960 So were you already you'd already checked out at Geelong 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:35.760 when you had the wedding and tom the sack, doesn't he? 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:36.559 Yeah? He does. 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:39.160 How were you with Tommy? Tommy was great, gave you 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:42.480 the opportunity early and yeah, pissed off when he got. 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:44.560 The sack, Yeah, I was. 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:47.280 And then yeah, he asked me to go to Sydney 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:50.280 with him and Edison, so and that just turned into a. 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:53.000 Offered too good to refuse in the end. 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:54.600 Well, of course, matter of the weekend, so far as 0:10:54.640 --> 0:10:58.640 football was concerned, Doctor jeff Eddleston after purchasing on Wednesday 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:01.120 the Sydney Swans for more than six million dollars. 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:03.600 So how did they pitch it to you, Edilton at 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:06.320 the rialto is that right? With wives and partners? 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:07.280 He did? 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:12.000 Mary came and we met him. Yeah, it was just 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:16.400 a unreal meeting. He said, come up and put the 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:17.800 offer in front of us, and I thought it would 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:21.760 go on. Can't be serious, you know, And we went 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:22.240 up there. 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:23.720 But what was the offer? 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:24.640 You remember what it was? 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:27.120 Yeah, one hundred fifty thousand, and what would you long 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:30.000 offering fifty thirty two or something like that? 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:31.920 Like I said that. So at one stage there they 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:33.720 are offering forty five and you said give me an 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:35.719 extra five and they said, no, is that is that right? 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.760 So I think, yeah, it might have been ten. Yeah, 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:42.520 but it was like ten grand more or something. 0:11:42.400 --> 0:11:44.640 And they didn't want to match it. They didn't want 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:45.880 to not even match it. They didn't want to give 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:46.439 you the extra ten. 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:49.640 But yeah, because did you really want to leave or 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:50.040 was it? No? 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:50.480 I didn't. 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:54.559 Actually I was country and I loved it there. And 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:55.880 like the last thing I thought I'd be doing is 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:56.520 going to Sydney. 0:11:57.120 --> 0:11:57.520 Last thing. 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:00.760 So it's a lot when when you know, I don't know, 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:03.000 if he writes it on a serviette verbals won fifteen, 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.320 you think, and this is life changing money. 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:07.400 It was, it really was. And then the thing we 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:09.160 went up to Sydney might have. 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:12.640 Been a month later, and he had the medical center 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:17.280 in Sydney. It was amazing anyway, we've gone in there 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:20.760 and my wife was on fire, so we've gone in 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:22.920 there one hundred and fifty seven. Mary said we need 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:25.520 a car, so he said, yeah, you can have a car. 0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:29.920 And then she said you've got to pay a rent 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:32.880 for three years and he said, yeah, okay, we'll pay 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:37.560 your rents. Well, wow, was good better good negotiations. 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:41.160 Described Jeffrey Edelston to those who are for younger friends. 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:44.400 Flamboyant, controversial, everything. 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:45.160 You know. 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:48.120 He had the pink helicopter. He is married to Leanne 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:51.160 who had the I own the Owner message on the 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:54.920 back of her pink What was it like that heady 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:56.160 days with with the doc. 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:01.400 That was like heally came up and to Bolon and 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:07.200 Colon and like there was some yeah, serious recruiting done 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:09.720 and they already had some good, really good players there 0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:15.760 and yeah, we just started training and then it's a 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.160 bit embarrassing because there's that there's no club there as such. 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:21.040 Like it was just people don't understand how bad it was. 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:24.480 It was like we couldn't train on the CG and 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:26.160 we played there, but we couldn't train on it, and 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:29.680 we're just training in the car park or the overall 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:34.160 the park or wherever it was. It was really horrendous. 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:38.640 Actually show grounds. Yeah, it's cowshit everywhere. It's like, yeah, 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:39.520 it was just horrendous. 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:41.920 Feel like a frontier or I feel like what's going 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:42.280 on here? 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:45.000 Yeah, and there's blokes even a couple of years in 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.240 there's still blokes traveling up on Thursday playing on the 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:50.480 weak ground. And yeah, like we finished on top the 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:51.600 first two years I was there. 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:55.199 It was. It was pretty amazing what Tommy. 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:56.920 Did and we actually did to be able to do 0:13:57.000 --> 0:13:59.600 that under the circumstances because there's no guts to the club. 0:13:59.600 --> 0:13:59.800 What's that? 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:00.960 What would you do? 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.120 Like what was your post match and like where did 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:04.600 you sort of meet and where would you know post 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:06.199 Thursday to know when you're going to get selected. 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:10.240 Yeah, we train probably the showgrounds of most and then 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:11.280 we have a team meeting. 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.000 You tell us tom it ring it Friday night and tell. 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:16.959 You in the team on I yeah, yeah, Friday probably, 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:19.400 But you always ring and talk to you Yeah, come on, 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:21.880 I know you to be you know, it's just pretty similar. 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:24.000 But it was just you always waited for the call, 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:26.720 like I think it's just checking anyone's own. 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:31.280 No, that was that was the cool thing. But I 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:33.520 struggled my first year. And see now on the brown low. 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:35.480 I was going to say, thirty seven disposed of two 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:37.480 goals first game and then you're in the brown lay. 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:40.360 Yeah, I did. So that was pretty cool in my 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:42.320 first year. And I love the c J as well. 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:44.840 It was a did it suit you a bit as well? 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.000 That that sort of ground? Every ground suited me, but 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:51.680 that one suited me more. Did I love playing there? 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:54.680 What's so special about that year? You? You were guys 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:57.080 brought in from a whole lot of different clubs, but 0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:59.760 somehow you made it work to finish on top of 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:02.440 the lane ADR and unfortunately you had to share the brow. 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:05.480 Oh that's you. Probably Dipper only went for the free feed, 0:15:05.520 --> 0:15:06.080 didn't he. 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:09.280 That's pretty cool Dipper and I get on. 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:12.040 Well, yeah he did well. He came tenth and the 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:15.880 best and fairest that you. Yeah, but he's on the 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:18.560 wing of course. And yeah he was a dirty player too. 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:19.480 I don't know how you want it? 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:21.440 You want to do? 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:25.560 That's how much confience did you go into with games? 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:28.000 Those days you're getting tagged? Are you're getting you know, 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:30.600 could that we're untaggable? What was it like to describe 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:31.880 those emotions. 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:36.720 Oh, look, I often say it's like hard being a star, 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:40.200 Like it really is so much pressure on you, and 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:43.080 even today, like you can just see it in some players. 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:46.640 But now I was like, I remember days where you 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:48.720 know you're getting tagged, you know. 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:51.960 You're struggling. At half time, the Empire has given you nothing. 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:55.120 You've got John Worsfold trying to kill your on the 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:56.800 half back flak, another bloke on the wing trying to 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:58.960 kill you. And then you're going at half time and 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:01.200 Tommy says, come on those to win the game for us, 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:03.880 you know, And that's and that's what it was like. 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:07.080 It was like, and I wanted to do that. You know, 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:09.520 I loved it. I loved all of it, but I 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:12.600 did and I obviously thresht out sometimes and you know, 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.040 you just get frustrated your belts someone or whatever. 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:17.480 That's what I watched the first couple of minutes and 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:19.920 the ninety five Grand Final. I said, you're finishing ninety five. 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.840 You won the flag in ninety five. It was so violent, 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.680 you know, from the first you get bashed, Dean Rice 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:27.680 gets clobbered, and that was the first couple of minutes. 0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:30.680 Described it us what playing football was like in that 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:31.920 ultra violent time. 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:34.720 No, you had to, like you had to protect yourself, 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:38.120 like I'm telling you, Yeah, those people trying to you 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:40.000 shouldn't say killed me, but they were trying to knock 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:44.040 me out. There's no idea. Yeah, definitely, every every game 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:47.360 I played. I'm pretty proud of the fact I never 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:50.840 break my nose. No one ever broke it. 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:52.120 Lot of flakes tried. 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:55.160 But so how did you How did you approach every 0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:56.720 contest and you're in one hundred contests? 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:57.520 Yeah, the same. 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:00.360 You had to so you're going in with a bit 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:02.120 of self preference of preservation, but as soon as you 0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:03.840 take a short step, you don't get a footage. 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:04.800 So that's a challenge. 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:09.200 No, there's no doubt about amazing reflexes or something. Yeah, 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:12.960 some pop vision, Yeah, I feel and that not a 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.040 lot of players had to protect themselves like I. 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:17.639 Who were the players you didn't like out there on 0:17:17.680 --> 0:17:20.600 the field. There would have been a few that consistently 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:24.760 later on we get onto Reef and that favourite things. 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:29.240 Like John There was players who, honestly, this is true 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:33.440 in games like I'm not out there to bail people. 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:34.879 I'm out there to try and get the footy and 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:38.000 people trying to stop me getting that well, and they 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.600 did whatever they could to do that, so and I 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:42.600 got people got to spit suspended. 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:44.399 For me, but I got them all back. Yeah, like 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:45.280 that's the cool thing. 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:48.159 Yes, So you waited for the moment and that was 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:50.480 the Reeth Jones things later on. That was definitely what 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:53.160 happened there. And Willis went fair at him again. 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.640 And we'll see a similar procedure take place once more. 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:04.280 It's David James and holding the jaw and that's why 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:06.600 the cart and player jumped over the top and gave 0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:10.120 away the free kick because he saw what went on there. 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:12.680 They are Reece James and Williams, neither of. 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:15.680