WEBVTT - 🎙️Abbey Holmes - Commentator and AFLW Premiership Player 🏈 📺 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:08.760 Hey, Legends, Welcome back to the Mason cock Show. Today's 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:11.119 guest or a very very good friend of mine and 0:00:11.200 --> 0:00:13.119 someone I cannot wait to get into this chat with. 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:16.759 They are a real estate agent, Adelaide, Adelaid, premiership player 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:19.640 at Channel seven, commentator Australia's traveling no about as I 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:22.959 like to say sas, and survivor, contestant, owner of the 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:26.079 clothing brand Blindside, and many many more things we'll get into. 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:28.280 But it is a good friend, Abbi Halmes. Now we 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:29.240 just talked about this. 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:31.159 The carrot cake is going to be a here's my 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:31.920 carrot cake. 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:34.400 There's a whole thing between us now. I make a 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:36.880 mean carrot cake for those people out there, very good 0:00:37.120 --> 0:00:40.800 icing just and that's going to be my payment for 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:41.800 you helping me out today. 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:44.680 And I'm very upset that it's not right here in 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:45.479 front of us. 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:47.320 I've let you down. Yeah, it's a great start to 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:47.760 this event. 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:51.800 But I honestly cannot give high enough praise for your 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:52.360 carrot cake. 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:53.840 I hate the word moist. 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:56.880 I hate it, but your carrot cake is like the 0:00:56.880 --> 0:01:00.440 most perfect level of moisteness. 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:02.840 That they could possibly be in a case. 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.039 We've said moist twice now, three times. I think people 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:07.120 worked to I will say this. Matt Preston was on 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:10.720 the podcast. I still think you didn't like it. Carrot 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:12.720 Cake and everything. Yep, tried it. I think he wasn't 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:15.360 as impressed. Well, it's a tough crowd to please whever 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.400 it's Matt Preston obviously, so maybe our palette's just not 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:21.920 as refined as the great mister Preston. I want to 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:24.800 start this off. You've got a crazy life and I've 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:26.880 known you pretty well over the past few years and 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:30.000 the amount of stuff you do is insane. Now I 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:32.000 want to ask you this, like as a kid growing 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:35.679 up looking at yourself now, like, could you have fathomed 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:37.120 you being in the position you are now? 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:37.520 No? 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:42.160 No, And I'm a big one for sliding doors moments. 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.319 I love that, Like, you know what if you didn't, 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:49.000 if you didn't go out to this combine, well you 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:50.880 know we wouldn't be here to you know what I mean. 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:56.480 But I was a realistic agent only when what twenty fourteen, 0:01:56.520 --> 0:02:00.320 twenty fifteen selling houses up in the territory and yeah, 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:02.800 just through you know, a number of I guess achievements 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:05.440 in the footy world got thrown into a completely different 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:09.560 landscape in media and you know, flown down for the 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:11.919 Footy show and playing in Legends games and just thrown 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:14.919 in front of a camera and behind microphones on radio 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:17.880 and that kind of thing. So to think that, you know, 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:21.119 over the last ten years in particular, how much my life. 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:24.520 Has changed, it really does blow my mind. 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:26.320 And I pinch myself on a day to day basis 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:28.280 because I can honestly see here and say to you 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:31.560 right now that I'm living my dream. It honestly feels 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:33.519 like I never work a day in my life, even 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:36.720 though I'm a hustler and I grind every day, but 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:38.400 it honestly feels like I don't work a day in 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:40.560 my life because I legitimately love everything that I do. 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:42.480 Yeah, hustler is the number one word I think of 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.160 whenever I think of Abbi Holmes. And You're never not 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:47.959 doing anything. I mean, we drove here and I said, 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:49.120 what are you up to? And you just like, I'm 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:52.000 just busy. I'm just busy, And that's so y, I 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:52.400 do know what. 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:54.000 That's one of my pet peeves is when you go 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:56.440 how are you and people say busy, and it's like. 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:59.360 I just I just really genuinely busy though, did that 0:02:59.400 --> 0:02:59.600 to you? 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:01.920 And I'm so oh sorry, But I said to you, 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:04.160 I can't believe we're already heading into round sixteen of 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:07.280 the AFL. Like once you get into the grind of 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:10.119 you know, round one, round two, round three, one, three, eight, 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:12.840 it all just blends into one and to you blink 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:16.640 and you're at round sixteen. It's unbelievable. But as I said, 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:18.919 I'm a die hard, you know, footy lover. 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:21.280 I love the game. I know the game, I played 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:21.600 the game. 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:23.120 So to think that it's my job to sit there 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:25.120 on the sidelines and talk smack, really it really is 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:25.480 a dream. 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:28.640 He told me earlier years before you got into this, 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:31.200 that you consider yourself. One thing people don't really know 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:33.360 about you is you can consider yourself. And I quote 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:35.640 this from you because I had to question the word 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:39.960 a shazzar y chaza jazzar chaza. Sorry there's an a 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:42.280 in the I don't know, I just the Australian language, 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:44.800 but yeah, a shaza. You had to try to explain 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:47.800 that to me. Is what about you makes you a shazar? 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:53.000 Well, I'm just you knock about I don't know gal 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:55.520 who I'm not much of a city girl. To be honest, 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:57.440 not too many people would actually know that about me. 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:01.120 I would prefer to be you know, remote in an 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:04.560 indigenous community out in the middle of nowhere with red dirt. 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:07.560 Then I would be, you know, going shopping in downtown 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:12.320 Melbourne or anything like that. I think you could describe 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:14.680 it as a little bit of a bogan, but yeah, 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:15.080 I don't know. 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:17.840 It's a tough, classy, a classy bogan. 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:21.080 Can we go there like a chaser, Well, i'd say 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:23.320 Clay a classy bogan. 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:25.280 Maybe let's jazz it off a little bit. 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:27.760 Okay, classy boger. We will get into the NT stuff 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:29.719 and everything else, but I want to start off, like 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:31.640 a lot of people know you for your commentating at 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:35.040 the moment, obviously doing AFL W and AFL and you're 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:37.560 constantly on television left, right and center, and we'll get 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:39.479 into the Survivor and sas and all that kind of stuff. 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:41.400 But the thing you're doing at the moment, and the 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:43.200 thing that's why I've taking up most of your time 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:46.600 is coming commentating, and I want to dive into a 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:48.400 bit of the background. So a lot of people see 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:50.360 you and they say, okay, yep, she makes comments here 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:52.680 and there. Yes, you know she's in the MTV, but 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:55.840 people don't understand the meticulous nature behind it and how 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:58.240 on you have to be on television. There's no re 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:00.359 records or anything else. It is pure live, so you 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:02.360 can't screw it up, and you have to know all 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:04.359 of your facts and make sure they're all correct. 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:05.719 Yeah, like what all. 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:09.200 Goes into Like explain to me the start of your 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:10.640 weekend before you get into the footy. 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:12.839 Live television is a pretty scary place. 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:16.640 Sometimes petrifying if you make a mistake, like it goes 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:17.200 to a nation. 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:22.480 And trust me, they are bloody, relentless Twitter and people 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:23.080 come for you. 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:25.840 If you pronounce something wrong or you get something wrong 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:28.000 and mix in a number that's not right, they'll let 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:30.920 you know. But yeah, you're right, everybody kind of sees 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:35.080 you on game day on screen, but there is so 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:37.479 much more that goes into it than that. We're always 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:39.919 getting sent stats from you know, the champion data guys 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:43.360 and legends, and you're always kind of just. 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:44.440 Working your way through it. 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:49.960 And as I said, watching press conferences, pregame, postgame, I 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:53.640 try and come at it from a little bit more 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:58.120 of a personal point of view, so like it's my 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:00.960 responsibility and I don't take this life lead to bring 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:03.919 the I guess, the emotion from the players into the 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:06.640 lound rooms of all Australians across the country. I don't 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:08.120 want to go up to a player and just talk 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:10.920 to them about you know, how many contested marks Mason 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:15.120 Cox took and you know riveting, you know what I mean. 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:17.920 I want to delve into the individual a little bit more. 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.839 And yeah, I really try and bring that to the 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:23.880 broadcast sense. But as I said, I'm a die hard 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:27.000 footy fan, so it doesn't feel like work for me. 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:29.320 But when you actually strip it back and you look 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:33.599 at how many hours commentators do spend kind of nutting, 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:36.919 nutting out and working at their craft, it's pretty unbelievable. 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:38.719 Do you have help kind of like on game day, 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:41.320 like I feel like the behind the scenes, like before 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:43.360 a game, you would sit there and you've talked about 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:45.039 this with me, is you go and watch every single 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:47.840 game games before, try to figure out satistical stuff about 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:49.880 each single player so whenever it comes up in the game, 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:52.840 you can instantly go, bang, I've got a fact for that, right, Yeah, 0:06:52.880 --> 0:06:55.560 Like in the moment of the heat of the games, 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:57.159 is anyone else that's kind of like helping you. Like, 0:06:57.200 --> 0:06:59.120 I think about these ear pieces, right, and like, what's 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:02.279 going on in this ear the biggest secrets? Oh yeah, 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:04.599 it's just chaos behind it. And then you just have 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:07.840 to be calm collective, like someone's not screaming in your ear. 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:09.880 That's seven different things are going on at the same time. 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:10.280 Yeah. 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:12.400 So obviously we've got our produce so that talks in 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:15.160 a year, that that produces the entire game, you know, 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:17.560 and they've got to hit things down to the second. 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:22.760 But we've also got some pretty very very handy and 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:26.440 incredible stats people. We'll always have one on with us 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:31.600 per game. Josh Ka Swamp, the two that we use 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:34.000 at seven and they are absolute gurus. 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:37.080 So they just crunching numbers in the backgrounding away yep, yep. 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:40.000 And and look we've all done a prep so we've 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:41.160 all got numbers in our head. 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:44.280 But if it's you know, first. 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:45.600 Of the moment and you just need to know how 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:48.480 many contested marks, Mason Cox has boom swamp. 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:51.800 Swamp up to the box, swampy. 0:07:52.800 --> 0:07:54.880 Yeah, swamp Abs, and he'll be like, yes, Abs, I said, 0:07:54.880 --> 0:07:55.800 how many contested marks? 0:07:55.840 --> 0:08:01.160 Is Mason Cox. He goes he's got seventeen seventy take 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:02.280 that slight down. 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:05.240 And that's how quick they are, you know what I mean, Like, yes, 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:06.880 they've got a computer and everything in front of them 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:09.840 as well, but these guys are incredible minds. 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:11.520 You know that they know. 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:15.160 Basically every stat that there is in terms of history 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:17.520 of the game, and you know clubs and where they 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:19.520 sit with certain things from a week to eat basis. 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:21.680 They're unbelievable. So we're very lucky to have them. 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:23.800 Have you ever had a moment like we do Clanger 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:26.880 of the Week on this podcast every single week, what's 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:29.600 like the biggest one that you've just like either if 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:32.480 it's personally you or it's like the production team just 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:34.960 like no one knows what's going on. It's just chaos, 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:36.320 like all over the tib Well. 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:38.280 I'll talk about one early days in just a moment, 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:39.880 but lights out at the Gabba in. 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:44.520 Round two, I got they're not even in person there, 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:46.280 weren't they like they were in Melbourne. 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:50.040 So so I honestly had to feel for twenty eight 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:56.000 minutes and with nothing, and I remember the our director 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:58.760 at the time counting us back in from a break 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:03.040 and she's going teen T nine eight five four. 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:03.960 And I'm gone, what are we talking about? 0:09:04.000 --> 0:09:05.960 And they're like, we don't know, just talk and I'm like, 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:07.960 welcome back to the gabo with the lights are out, 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:11.040 and it's like you know that like the duck with 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:11.600 the little. 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:13.880 Legs swimming underneath it. Then you guys just see this. 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:18.760 Yeah, that was insane. But I remember early days, I 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:22.400 was doing well. I was working for Channel seven with 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.120 the VFL coverage. That's that's where I first kind of 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:29.680 got my got my opportunity with seven. And thankfully this 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:33.079 was only in a rehearsal, and we rehearsed for a reason, but. 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:34.240 I remember them. 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:35.160 You know. It was. 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:39.880 Jason Bennett, Nigel Carmeny talking, talking, talking through to me, 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:41.760 and I knew exactly what I wanted to say and 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:43.040 how I want to say it, and who I was 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:44.200 talking about and that kind of thing. 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:46.079 But they threw to me and I just. 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:49.520 Went completely and utterly blank, like I'm just looking down 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:53.320 the barrel of the camera, just wanting to sink into 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:56.440 the ground, just wanting to fall into some black hole. 0:09:58.120 --> 0:09:59.559 Tell you they were alive, yeah. 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.960 Yeah, but then I just had nothing on you. Oh 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:04.960 my God, so that has been but you know what, 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:07.160 it's these things that make you better. 0:10:07.440 --> 0:10:09.120 Hopefully hopefully learn from. 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:11.240 Stronger. 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:14.960 Yeah so no, there's As I said, live television can 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:17.960 be a pretty brutal place sometimes, but we've all had him. 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:20.160 Is there anything, like, you know, obviously you've worked with 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:23.240 the lights of people like Brian Taylor, who is somewhat 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:27.160 controversial attied we could say we love VT here. Is 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:29.200 there anything that he's dying that sticks out in your 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:32.760 head that you just go, oh, wow, we're going to 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:33.200 roll with this. 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:36.280 Well, that's effectively roaming Bryan. 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:39.320 I was like a million episodes of that. 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.240 You cannot produce roaming Brian, you know what I mean, 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:47.520 Like you're in a very happy environment where siders obviously 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:49.600 just want a game of footage. You're with the friends, 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:53.560 the family, the fans, supporters, so you just never know 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:55.040 what he's going to come out of the mouth of 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:58.200 anybody that Brian gets his hands on. But that's the 0:10:58.200 --> 0:10:59.760 best thing about it, and that's why we love roaming 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:02.240 Brian and is that it's so authentic and real. 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:05.560 Does he just get unleashed or does he just he 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:08.880 has no direction? He just goes, oh, here's the room. 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:12.320 They basically just hand over the rains to him. Yeah, gosh, 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:14.280 that's talent, it is and that's. 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:14.600 Not you know what. 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:17.160 So BT the other day, I can't remember who had played, 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:19.080 but it was a Friday night at the g We're 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:21.559 in the winning side rooms and he said, Abs, do 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:23.400 you just want to go and go and find someone 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:26.480 and have a chat, like if I need a chop out? 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:30.240 And I was like no. I was like, what do 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:32.520 you mean, what do you mean, Bt, what do you 0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:34.600 mean just go and speak to someone? Rand it? 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.400 And I said to him afterwards, I said, I got overwhelmed. 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:39.439 It freaked me out. I don't know how you do it, 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:43.200 and it is. It's such a skill for him to 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:45.240 be able to go up to anybody and just have 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:48.160 a question ready and to get some of the absolute 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:50.280 gold that he gets out of these people. I absolutely 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:51.080 love roaming Brian. 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:54.640 I like, I love these names because the people have 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:56.320 got to know over the years, and like it is 0:11:56.640 --> 0:12:00.480 insane the stuff that I see him say on to Vision, 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:01.559 like some of. 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:04.959 The wowyes, wow, poor boy. 0:12:05.760 --> 0:12:09.079 There's lots of old boys in particularly from our probably 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:16.160 production truck with the producers just going like oh uh, well. 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:18.800 You mentioned in your early days obviously getting into commentating 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:23.240 in the vfl W actually the vfl W, r VFL 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:27.560 VFL Sorry, And I just feel like, like any advice 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:29.280 for anyone that's going out there in the media world 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:32.120 that wants to become someone like yourself, who's you know, 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:34.360 looking to go down that path, you know, and those 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:37.240 initial steps are always I feel like the hardest. Is 0:12:37.280 --> 0:12:39.400 there any advice you would give someone that's coming out 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:40.480 there and wanting to do the same thing. 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.480 Just say yes to every single opportunity that presents itself. 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:46.280 And you know, I say that to everybody because I 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:49.760 am living proof of what that can do. So, as 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:51.480 I said, I was a real estate agent up into 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:55.080 o and kicked the hundred, got thrown into this this 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:58.280 world that I knew nothing about in terms of TV 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:01.120 and radio. Worked out very very quickly that I had 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:06.760 a massive passion for that area. And there wasn't too 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:10.440 many women working in the footy broadcasting space at the moment. 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:13.800 There certainly was some, you know, Caroline Wilson, Sam Lane, 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:16.439 There's been some amazing ladies that have really helped kind 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:18.440 of pave the way for other people coming through. But 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:22.240 I identified that there wasn't too many you know players, 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:26.079 Whoman's players that were involved, Daisy Pierce obviously as well, 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:27.960 but that was an area that I really wanted to 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:30.720 get get into. As I said, I love footy, I 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:33.520 know the game of played the game, and I was 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:36.360 just hell bent to making a career and to following 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:41.120 that path, and every single opportunity that presented itself, I 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:44.679 said yes too. I had to borrow money from my family. 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:46.439 I had to borrow money from my sister. I had 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:48.560 to you know, ask for five hundred dollars so that 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:51.440 I could book a flight to come down to Melbourne 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:53.480 to have a meeting with someone about an opportunity and 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:54.920 get back to dar When I was living in dal 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:57.720 One at the time. I remember my I don't think 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:01.760 I've ever told anyone this. I remember getting home in Darwin. 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.080 I bought a place out there, was struggling to pay 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:08.400 my mortgage. But I got home and my power was off. Yeah, 0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:10.640 and I like, god, it makes me teary here, but 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:12.240 I'm like I had to ring my mum and just 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:14.840 be like Mom, like my powers off, and She's like, oh, 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.240 just come home, like come to Mum's living up there 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:19.240 and I'm like, God, like, it's all of these things 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:21.680 that people don't actually realize is how much that you 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:27.720 do put into put into growing and following a pathway 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:30.360 and chasing opportunities. So I'm living proof that if you 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:33.120 do that, then you can end up somewhere pretty special. 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:37.880 She's always i'd have been a rude awakening. 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:42.560 Especially in Darwin when it's a million degrees. So Mom's like, 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.520 oh shit, come home, darling. 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:48.360 Please please just just go to a nice courthouse. It's 0:14:48.440 --> 0:14:50.480 it's crazy, and I want to go back to the 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:53.000 commotating side of things, like you have some amazing people 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:54.920 that have kind of helped mentor yourself. You know, you 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:57.880 talked about the Hamishes, I talk about BT's and all that, Like, 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:00.360 you know, who's been the most influential from that act 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:02.440 Because I think a lot of people see, you know, 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:04.760 females and commentating. It's quite new, like there's not as 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:07.000 many people in that industry. I feel like that are 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:09.040 doing what you're doing. It's really you and Daisy of 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:13.080 the two that really come to mind. You know, early days, 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:15.080 was there anyone that kind of was like a mentor 0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:17.040 in your sense that helped you kind of be able 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:18.640 to guide you in the right direction and give you 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:19.720 advice along the way. 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:20.440 Hundred percent. 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:25.600 Gary O'Keefe, who's the executive producer of the AFL at seven, 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:31.160 he gave me my first opportunity in the VFL with seven, 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:34.200 you know, putting a really green How old was I then, 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:36.400 like twenty five year old or twenty four year old 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:38.280 on screen in live television? 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:41.520 Oh yeah, exactly right, let's see how this goes. 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:45.800 Jayce Bennett, Nigel Carmedy, Campbell Brown are the VFL call 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:48.320 team and they've been unbelievable for my development as well 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:50.920 in those early years. But I remember Gazz would bring 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:53.160 me after every broadcast and just say, Abs, like you 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:55.120 did this really well? Perhaps work on this. 0:15:55.400 --> 0:15:57.640 Don't do that all right, you know anything that sticks out? 0:15:58.200 --> 0:15:58.800 Just like please? 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:01.120 Did I go dear in the headline first? 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:02.520 No? 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:05.320 No, no, But you know he's been so critical for 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:09.440 me in terms of my growth and development and confidence 0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:14.480 in all honesty, like he's really, I guess, taken an 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:18.800 interest in my development and continued to kind of work with. 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:20.120 Me along the journey as well. 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:23.840 And I certainly wouldn't be here, you know, where I 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:27.480 am today without the guidance and support from him, you know, 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.760 Glennie Postel, Dan Edwards. There's so many amazing producers at 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:33.440 seven which ultimately make us look good if you know 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.720 what I mean. But yeah, on screen, as I said, 0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:39.960 like Hamish, particularly last year for me with the com Games, 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:42.640 it was my first kind of big, you know, GLO 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:46.280 global kind of hosting opportunity, and he was awesome in 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.040 the lead into that and just saying abs like don't 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:50.720 do too much because I'm a crammer, Like I was 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:51.520 just cramming everything. 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:54.040 I was like, whoa, Like just chill out. 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:58.840 BT, like even yeah, rich oh Hodgy this year, like 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:02.360 they've they've just been so good in my confidence as well, 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:04.960 you know, hosting that first seg on a Friday night 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:07.600 and oh look, I could sit here and name them 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:10.000 all to be honest, like, I'm so lucky and so 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:13.360 grateful to be surrounded and supported by so many amazing 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:17.199 people who legitimately just want to see you succeed and 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:17.680 do well. 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:20.159 So very very lucky girl, Incredible people. I've got to 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:22.600 as this, how's the diet for some of these people? 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:25.560 Behind the scenes. I've been told there are some macas 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:27.360 rolling around every game day and. 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:29.160 Lots of nassy gorings, isn't it. 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:33.320 Lots of the go toosh at Marvel. 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:37.119 There's the old nazi boring at the G. 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:40.600 It's pretty good. We get fed quite well at the G. 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:42.640 Fish and chip stops in the area. 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:45.040 No, that's like a nice little maybe like even a 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:46.760 little lamb curry or something. 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:50.920 So yeah, yes, exactly, very bougie there. 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:55.680 But no, look, I think you can sometimes fall into 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:58.240 the track when you're working late nights, early mornings, you know, 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:04.359 big hours, you can sometimes into the caffeine and sugar coffee, 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:07.040