WEBVTT - Mal Michael - The Unlikely Footy Star 0:00:06.880 --> 0:00:09.520 I think about the when they got away. That kept 0:00:09.560 --> 0:00:11.239 me up for a while. That one did it. Yeah, 0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:16.680 I'd think about it right up until, yeah, easily ten 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:18.880 years after. It was only when I saw my family. 0:00:19.120 --> 0:00:21.000 My family came into the rooms and then I just 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:23.400 I just started crying and I felt that I'd let 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:23.800 them down. 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:25.920 I'm John Ralph and I'm Glenn McFarlane. 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:29.200 Welcome to Sacked, a podcast that explores what really happens 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:31.760 when the ax falls in the AFL world. We'll take 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:33.520 you behind the scenes with some of the biggest names 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:35.919 in football and find out how they found out their 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:38.760 time was up and who pulled the trigger. Sacked AFL 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:41.159 is made possible with the support of subscribers to The 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:43.519 Herald Sun. To find out more, go to Herald Sun 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:45.839 dot com dot are you or download the Herald Sun 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:47.880 app at your app store today. 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:52.040 The Unlikely Footy Star with Melmichael. You'd think the odds 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:54.800 of a kid born in png and raised in Brisbane 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:59.040 becoming a three club three premiership winning star would almost 0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:01.760 be zero. Mel Michael was a skinny kid with no 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:04.400 promises and even less to live on when he arrived 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:07.000 at Collingwood as an eighteen year old. But he ended 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:09.720 his footy career a fearsome fallback and a member of 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:12.840 the Brisbane Lions premiership dynasty. And it was a journey 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:15.399 that took a great deal of self belief to even 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:16.840 get started in the first place. 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:23.120 You had sacked, you retired a couple of times, you 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:26.600 were traded for JEREBILLOI. But you know, it's a historic 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:28.320 and a pretty extraordinary football career. 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:31.520 Yeah. I always knew you when to leave. I never 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:34.920 outstayed my welcome and I had an uncanny knack of 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:38.320 when I knew that the time was right. I said, 0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:38.920 that'll do. 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:42.080 You must have loved your footy career. Tell us there's 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:44.920 obviously a couple of great moments. What's the one thing 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:47.119 that you think about is that the premiership medals? 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:49.960 I'd imagine, Yeah, the premiership medal sit high on the 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:54.320 list of accomplishments, but I think just the road travel 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:58.560 to get there was probably probably something that I look 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:02.440 back on and I think it's it was pretty good accomplishment. 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:07.040 Say that about myself. But I was just talking recently 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:11.120 about when I came to Collingwood when I was eighteen. 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:13.160 I literally just got dropped off at the airport. Rick 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.120 barr and picked me up, took me to the club 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:18.440 and said this is where you have to be tomorrow 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:20.360 at at am. Then drop it at my grandmother's and 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:21.080 said good luck. 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:23.440 And there was no promises either, was there. There were 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:25.640 no promises of what you were going to get and 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:28.079 you were living at your grandmother's for a period of time. 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:30.240 Then yeah, that's it. So it was basically the old 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:32.360 chuck you in the pool and you either swim or 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:36.440 you and I was lucky that I got lucky actually, 0:02:36.440 --> 0:02:38.360 and a few breaks went my way and I was 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:39.600 able to survive, but a lot. 0:02:39.639 --> 0:02:42.280 Don't you talk about your journey anyway, Ralph, and I 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:44.840 was speaking about it recently. The kid that was born 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:48.000 in PNG your dad went up there, you know, as 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:51.400 a young man after getting a degree and moving to 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:54.320 Brisbane in nineteen eighty as a three year old, who 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:56.880 then goes on to play AFL football and at the 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:59.720 highest level and has some amazing honors to go with it. 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:01.840 And that's what a great story. And I think that's 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:04.320 why I feel that the accomplishment of that of the 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:07.440 journey is it sits up there with the premierships because 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:11.000 it's just not a traditional road that one takes to 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:15.000 play AFL and to make it even just to put 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:18.120 a bit of contact context into it. At my junior club, 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:20.120 ken Moore Juniors, like no I would have ever heard 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:22.560 of this football club. I played juniors there with Max 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:24.840 Hudgton and he went on to Plats and killed it. 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:27.160 So you had these two kids out of ken Moore 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:29.920 Juniors that we didn't even have a senior team like 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:32.800 it ended at under sixteens. That's how that's how small 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:36.680 it is. So in that time, normally Brisbane kids just 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:38.960 never even got drafted and then suddenly had two kids 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:42.360 from Brisbane out of the same junior football club. It was. 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:43.560 It was quite bizarre. 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:46.240 Did you play coming up up against a kid called 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.040 Jason akermanis growing up in Brisbane as well at a 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:51.040 Whisper that you may have either played with him or 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:52.200 played against him as a kid. 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:54.680 Well, we played against each We played club football against 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:56.640 each other, Akar and I at the same age actually, 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:58.920 so we played a lot of junior football against each other. 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:01.760 But all the Repers native teams we played with each other. 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:05.320 So you're a sixteen year old forward, you get to 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:09.160 morning side, I drop for the Grand Final. What do 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:11.080 you like at that age thinking to yourself, stars in 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:14.240 my eyes, I'm going to play for Brisbane. Brisbane Bears 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:17.880 at that stage, Yeah, where are you along your career? 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:18.400 Apath? 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:21.440 I would have killed to play for Brisbane at that stage. 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.240 It was I just looked up they at the time, 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:28.799 Brisbane had brought in Alistair Lynch, Andrew bues Damian Burke, 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:32.400 all these absolute legends of the game. Yeah, and it 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:35.680 was really it was really unlike Brisbane to secure these guys. 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:39.720 Usually they got players that were either rooted or they 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:41.640 were just stuffed and they were literally it was like 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:46.200 a superannuation payout. But these guys are good footballers. And 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:48.800 then Nathan Buckley came in the draft and you know 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:52.240 things were really looking There was good prospects of Brisbane, 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:54.680 so I was couldn't wait to get there. 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:57.039 But it felt like you had the talent at that stage. 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:01.680 Of course, yeah that's it, but I was. I did 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:05.040 a couple of summer trainings with them and I thought, 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:07.360 you know, with a bit of luck, I'd be able 0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:10.000 to get one of the what they called at the 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:14.120 time the local the local spots. But that didn't turn out. 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:18.479 His own selection. I think that that's scenario. What went 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:20.640 wrong do you think, did you? Was it just the 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:23.240 wrong time, the wrong place, or what do you think 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:25.719 went wrong that they didn't see what we all got 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:26.720 to see the years later. 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:30.560 I think there was an influx of very good players 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:32.840 that all came through. So the guys they did take 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:36.920 was Jason Akermanus Clark Keating. I think Steve Lawrence was 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:40.800 part of that program as well, so they took Brett Voss, 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:44.440 brother of Michael. But the other guys that were training 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:48.000 in that little group was myself, Plint bisl Hamish Simpson 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:50.840 and Max Hutchton. But we all missed out, so we 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:54.240 all had to go elsewhere and it was I guess 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:56.680 the story doesn't really get told, but Brisbane can only 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:59.520 take so many and they felt that what the ones 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:00.679 they took was once I needed. 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:03.240 Yeah, And from that perspective, like you get a call 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:05.240 from Collingwood, is it Ricky Barron gives you a call? 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:09.000 You'd obviously shown you where's in representative footy and the like, 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:11.279 But so how did Collingwood get in contact with you? 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:13.679 And obviously you've got a Collingwood connection with your great 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.120 grandfather playing a game at Collywood all those years ago. 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:18.480 Yeah, he played one game, but I think he loved 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:21.600 the Beers team much fair enough to my. 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.360 Dad, except that one game, I'd be happy you just 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:26.640 could rest on your laurels after one game, I reckon. 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:28.720 Yeah. Actually, Dad was telling me a story about him, 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:30.800 Robert Michael Senia, and he had a nickname but I 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:32.479 can't think of it right now, but it's something along 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:36.680 the lines. He was called the leather Skin something and 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:38.919 I think it's because he just drank too much. But 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:43.120 I don't think footy and drinking went well for him. 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:45.479 But what was the original question? 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:47.159 I know I was just going to say with that, like, 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:50.320 you know, how did Collingwood come back to you? And 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:52.040 sort of was it Ricky Barram who gives you a call, 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:54.160 who was doing a bit of recruiting with Piees back then, 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:55.920 and how did the call come through? 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:59.839 Well, I was playing at Morningside and what happened was 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:03.640 when we go out to do the warm up, there'd 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:05.800 be this cameraman setting up on top of the on 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:08.960 top of the clubhouse or the grandstand, which was quite 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:11.680 unusual for us up there at that time, and I 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.000 didn't think anything of it. And then a couple of 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:16.600 weeks later there was another cameraman, another cameraman, another camera, 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:19.120 and then eventually the coach, Marty King, said to me, 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:21.960 he goes, he goes. Those cameraman up there are feeling 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.600 you playing, and they're from actually a few different clubs. 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:27.760 And I'm not sure whether that helped me or didn't 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:31.320 help me, but I understood that I was on the 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:34.160 radar of some AFL clubs and it was in my 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:35.800 best interest to perform. 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:38.640 So you get to Collingwood, you're on what's called a 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:40.840 supplementary list. Is that right before the rookie list? At 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:45.280 that stage you battle through I think you're sixty eight kilograms. 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:47.600 You talk to times about, you know, going to the 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:51.360 airport for games and you couldn't afford to eat, like 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.520 you know, I don't know, you're probably on absolute mega 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:56.320 rations at that stage in terms of your salary. 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:00.440 Yeah, I turned up sixty eight kilos ringing wet I was. 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.560 I was really worry because I was a swimmer growing 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:06.240 up and there wasn't an answer. Fat on me if 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:11.120 you look at me now double that late. But yeah, 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:14.360 it turned up. I was pretty fit, No fat on me, 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:18.520 but I had to play football in that time, you 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.160 needed to have some weight behind you, you just the 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:26.920 otherwise you just wouldn't survive. So football on a supplementary 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:29.440 list wage back in ninety six, just to give you 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:31.480 some numbers, was I think two hundred and fifty eight 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:34.359 dollars a game. Wow, and my rent was one hundred. 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:38.400 And forty that's tough, my mortgage. 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:40.199 Like, I'm no accountant, but. 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:44.120 To get anything apart from that, like, it wasn't a stipend. 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:45.920 It was just you got paid to play, that's it. 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:48.800 And you didn't have your license or didn't have a 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:50.320 car at the time, was that right, And so you 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:52.640 had to get the train like sometimes you know, four 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:54.360 or five in the morning to try and get to 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:55.160 where you needed to get to. 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:57.400 Yeah, I had a license with no car, right, Yeah, 0:08:57.400 --> 0:09:00.760 but it was still in the day's pre professional era. 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:03.559 So we trained and did wits in the morning and 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.840 that was at six am, and then you'd go to 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:08.719 work or study or whether and then we'd train in 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:11.640 the evening. So for me, coming from Ashburton meant a 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:14.640 four am wake up to catch the five o'clock train 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:17.160 and I just roll in the door at Collingwood at 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:18.040 like five to six. 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:20.760 Yeah, what was it like rolling to the door at 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.880 Collingwood's the most famous footy club going around in that sense, 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:26.079 and they were probably struggling a little bit at that time. 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:29.440 But you know, there's some pretty famous names through there 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:32.800 and pretty dilapidated old facilities there. But it must have 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:34.800 been amazing walking into Big Park. 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:38.120 I loved every second of that. I like the fact 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:39.760 that it was old and it had all the history. 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:41.439 I know a lot of clubs are moving away from 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.760 their spiritual homes, which I don't agree with, to be honest, 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:48.640 I think clubs, especially young players coming in, need to 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:52.520 experience that experience, the history of the place. So I 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:55.720 loved it from day one. Because I was from Interstate. 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:57.720 I hung out with all the Interstate guys and we 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:01.360 formed a little family and that was really cool as well. 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:06.280 But I wouldn't I wouldn't change anything from my first 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:07.640 and second year at Collingwood. 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:11.320 You had some tough times, you know, Nathan Buckley was there, 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:14.319 Danny Frowley was there as well, and assistant coaching capacity. 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:16.760 I think it's sort of it's written that, you know, 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:18.600 they basically saved you at times when you wanted to 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:19.040 go home. 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:24.840 Yeah, definitely Danny because he was my reserves coach. Plus 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:27.280 he was also a fullback and he kind of groomed 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:30.280 me too and taught me and train me to, you know, 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:33.720 to play fullback. So and he also lived in Brighton 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:35.319 and I was. I lived in East and Kilda, so 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:37.400 he used to drop me home all the time. So 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:39.240 when I heard of his passing, it was quite sad. 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:43.440 But yeah, Nathan came and saw me a couple of times, 0:10:43.440 --> 0:10:47.280 and it was never about I didn't want to play. 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:50.640 It was just that the stress of not having the 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:54.880 resources of the finances to be here was too much 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:56.199 at that age. 0:10:56.440 --> 0:10:57.400 But they convinced you clearly. 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:01.280 You know those times when you thought about it and 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:04.040 you just realized that I suppose they reassured you that 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:05.160 you know that you're still on track. 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:08.160 The AFL reserves was an actual competition back then and 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:10.520 that's why I started playing in So we had to 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:13.880 place the Sydney reserve grade team in Sydney as the 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:17.439 curtain raiser to the main game, and Danny Frawley said, 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:19.640 I want everyone to meet at Don Camillo's at North 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:22.000 Melbourne and then we'll go out to the airport to 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:25.240 catch the to catch the plane to Sydney. I came 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:27.880 up with some excuse of why I couldn't have go 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:30.080 to Don Camillo's and I said, I'll just meet you 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:31.640 at the airport. And the reason was I just couldn't 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:34.040 afford it. I couldn't afford ten bucks. That's that's how 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:36.040 That's how tight it was. That's how tight it was. 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:37.160 It's incredible when you think. 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:39.480 About what the industry is like now and how tight 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:41.480 it was for you, and you know how close it 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:43.760 was to going. I think it was was that Trent 0:11:43.800 --> 0:11:45.840 Hotton got into a little bit of trouble there at 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:47.960 one stage and may have been pushed off the list, 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:49.880 and you got put onto the list. Tell us about that, 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:51.920 and was a Gubby Allen who was the man who 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:54.040 told you, you know, you're on the list here and 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:54.880 you're going to play. 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:58.760 Yeah. So the supplementary list. First, the second year at 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:01.760 Collingold Day they introduced the rookie list and it was 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:04.960 quite a to be honest, I don't know what that 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:08.280 actually meant, but in today's terms, it means that it's 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:11.440 a supplementary list, but you can play. Whereas a supplementary 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:13.679 list back in ninety six meant you couldn't play at all, 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:17.480 So I thought I was They con missed me to 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:20.360 stay and I did that, and then yeah, Trent got 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:22.040 into a bit of trouble. They had a few other 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.559 injury problems. They were playing players at fullback that really 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:28.000 weren't fullbacks. I think they put gave Krusiska back there. 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:31.920 They even played Nathan Buckley back there for a bit. Yeah, 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:34.680 Anthony Rocker went back there. And then I think it 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:36.480 was Danny Frawley that just said, hey, we've got a 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:38.599 fullback that's playing in the reserves. That's why we have 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:40.800 the reserves, isn't it. So why and he's actually not 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:42.920 in bad form? Why don't we play him? So they 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:46.160 took the punt and I got elevated that week and 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.559 I played. But there is a story behind that one. 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:52.240 I was actually I think that was about round five 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:54.960 or six. I was actually going into Sure's offs to 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:56.960 tell him that I was actually going to leave wow 0:12:57.040 --> 0:12:59.640 and head badly. Yeah. So I saw him say I'd 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:02.240 reckon on Monday, and I said, sure, can I see you? 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.240 And he goes, yeah, yeah, he goes, come and see 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:06.520 me Wednesday afternoon. So I said yeah, no worries. So 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:08.839 I came, I went in on the Wednesday and I 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:14.760 went into the office and he goes, look, before you 0:13:14.800 --> 0:13:16.800 say something, I just wanted to say that you're going 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:21.240 to be playing this weekend. Yeah, it was crazy. 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:22.600 Why did you want to talk to me about nothing? 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.640 That's all right? So yeah, it's and why the same reasons? 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.240 Why were you at that stage thinking about going home? 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:33.360 It was just purely the financial reasons. Yeah. I think 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:35.480 I think the rookie list was playing maybe five thousand 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:38.480 back then, which is one hundred bucks a week. 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.920 That's how we're talking about Dean Cox and Stephen Milne 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:45.280 and Aaron Sandlands. Is the great rookie elevations, but you 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:49.680 were the first rookie elevation? Is that cor I believe Yeah, yeah, unbelieva. 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:51.880 And you play against North Melbourne like some stars at 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.000 North Melbourne at the time. They are a fantastic side 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:55.880 at the time. And you know, I think it was 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:58.640 it was it a Friday night game. So the Wednesday 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:00.640 you find out you're playing on the Friday, not you're playing? 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:01.120 Is that right? 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.400 That's it? That's how quickly that course asking the question. 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:05.439 But he's lost the free kick. 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:07.160 There's young mel and Michael wearing forty eight. 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:08.880 What a big night it is for him, As Andrew 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:10.920 Shubel said, great to see him getting a. 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:13.640 Chant kicks up And that's how quickly it DAEs happen. 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:15.439 How do you get your head around that you're playing 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:18.040 against superstars and in front of I think it's seventy 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:19.080 five thousand people there. 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:20.560 That your memory is phenomenal. 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:24.240 I was probably there now, Yesperado. 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:26.120 Now it was that. You have to remember that was 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:29.560 the reigning premier from from ninety six and they had 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:31.800 an all star team and an all star forward line. Say, 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:34.680 it was quite daunting, to be honest with you, Who. 0:14:34.560 --> 0:14:37.440 Did you play on? Do you remember that? Trying to 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:39.000 think you would have? 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:42.400 I played on? I played on a couple of players, 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:46.520 but predominantly Anthony Mellington, Yes, ex Fitzroy then Royd boy, 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:48.960 wasn't it. Yeah, So he's a pretty handy player. So 0:14:49.880 --> 0:14:51.440 that was my first taste of it. 0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:55.760 So ninety seven, thirteen games, ninety eight, sixteen games, ninety nine, 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:56.880 seveneen games, couple. 0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:57.760 Of blow votes. 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:02.200 And as a forward, as a forward forward as a forward, 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:02.680 so you might. 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:04.200 Have hoped you could have started as a forward because 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:07.920 you did stand Tony Lockett at full back in thirteen 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:08.440 hundred goals. 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:10.360 Of course not the record, but thirty hundred goals. 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:12.560 Yeah, amazing do you? 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:14.520 I mean you said before the game that game, when 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:16.520 you're playing against Tony Lockett, you know that he's a 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:19.760 chance to kick. You know that that milestone figure thirteen hundred. 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:22.160 You said, I'm in a no lose situation. If he 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:24.440 kicks the goals, I'll go down in history as the 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:26.720 player he was on and if I stop him, I'll 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:28.520 be remembered as the player that stopped him from the 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.240 breaking the record. You go down in history in regard 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:32.080 to that, don't you. 0:15:32.240 --> 0:15:34.320 For ninety years the Collywood Footay Club, I have held 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:35.000 the record. 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.240 And for sixty two years it's stood at. 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:38.680 Twelve ninety nine. 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:42.120 Will he write his name in the record book forever? 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:42.560 Come on? 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:43.520 Play with this kick? 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:49.640 It's going to go And we were reached. 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:53.960 I do, But I don't know if that's you're not 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:56.560 happy with it because everyone brings it up. Yeah, and 0:15:56.600 --> 0:15:59.080 I said was there was an AFL career there as well. 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:01.920 Of course we'll get to the premiership medals as well, 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:05.400 But that was the feeling that day going into it. 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:07.880 College was struggling and that was a wooden Spoon year 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:10.960 for Collingwoods. That was a battle. How do you stopped 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:12.760 the big fella? It's pretty hard, isn't it. 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:16.000 It wasn't. And that that wooden spoon year, Eddie canceled 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.560 their footy trip to Balleyd. He was so pissed he 0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:21.480 said he has I won't say what he said, but 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:23.560 he goes, there's no footy trip this year. He was. 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:24.800 He was livid. 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:27.960 As Glenn Archer would say, you played for premiership ships 0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:30.640 and footy trips, they would have gone down like a 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:31.520 wrought iron hang glider. 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:32.360 It didn't go down. 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:35.400 Well. That was his first full year as president and 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:36.960 he's pulled the footy trip and one of them the 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:38.120 blokes just happy coppy. 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:40.680 We did Yeah, that was happy. There was nothing we 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:42.680 could do. And also Mick was coming in as a 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.200 new coach and I think he wanted to just set 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:47.320 a new standard of where we're going. 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:52.360 Blokes have an inverted Commas Sunday afternoon, the turn for 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:54.200 five days into Queensland. That was it. 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.040 You basically had a man Monday and you just moved on. 0:16:56.800 --> 0:17:00.040 No, they did that anyway, so it would be a 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:02.080 four D a kind of vender back then, but I 0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:03.920 don't I think most guys did that anyway. 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:07.080 Yeah, absolutely, So that year. Was it a tough year? 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:09.399 You obviously had some really good form that year, but 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:11.439 it was a bloody tough year from a club perspective. Sure, 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:13.920 he's about to get sacked. There's all talk about Mick 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:16.560 Moldhouse coming in. Was it a you know, the final 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:20.240 game at Victoria Park. Was it a tough year mentally 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:22.520 as much as as it was on the scoreboard. 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:25.800 Yeah, it's always a tough year when the coach is 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:28.840 under the is in the gum from from the media, 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:32.639 especially as a player. I was fortunate at that time 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:35.840 that I was one of the younger players. I would 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:37.560 have hated to have been one of the older players. 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:39.320 And I went through that when I was at Essendon. 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:44.200 Later on when when Kevin Sheedy was when the whole 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:47.720 thing happened with Sheets, when the transition of Matthew Knights 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:49.960 came in, and I remember going out for lunch with 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:52.160 a couple of the older players at Essendon and they said, 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:54.119 now this is a great thing, you know, a new coach, 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:56.280 fresh start. And I said, guys, this is not a 0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:59.000