Get everyone welcome once again to conversations. My guest today is you gotta love speaking to him or listening to him, because he was a great player, really talented football player, one best and fairest in his first full season with the mighty North Melbourne in those days, played in North Melbourne's first premiership team. But he's probably much more famous to the wider Australia in this day and age because of his promotion of our wonderful Lamb products. And I
can speak of nobody else. Sam Kekevic, Sam, Welcome to Adelaide.
How are you? I'm outstanding, Graham, and thank you for that flattering introduction.
Well, we all think we know you, but I mean those of us who were played at the same time as you do. But the more look at it, I mean there's more we need to know. So we'll talk about all the footy career and the Lamb promotion which has given you lots of fame. I suppose no to rite you because they attract some criticism to the Australian. I don't know why why would people complain about Lambad.
It's just what I needed. Yeah, I needed that exposure in my life. Yeah, I don't know. The landscape of the world we live in our gram has changed enormously from the day that you and I. Yeah, we're trudging our stuff on the on the hallow turf, because our DNA was always based on a reverence, tonguing cheek and
a good old belly laugh. Now that we've been invaded by all these intellectual non descripts, missed their vocation in life and trying to impinge themselves on the inane crusades, trying to validate and legitimize their own existence, the world has changed and somehow we've fallen for what.
People didn't see then. And you didn't miss a beat. The microphone fell in your lap without missing a beat. Sam just scooped it up and put it back.
And well, you've got to also understand appropart of that part of my intrusion. If you recall in our early days and look at you're an old hand at this. Now you're an old pro. I'm just, you know, sort of hip came away through the labyrinths trying to keep up with you. But in the early days, when we're thrust on world of sport or through any medium, you know you have to fend for yourself. There was no
such thing as an education. I remember going to World of Sport Lou Richard, Jack Dyer and Ron Casey like, you've got to be on delta alert there and if you didn't stack up, you'd certainly be exposed for all your foibles.
You're definitely We've never got any training at it. It was. It was just throwing.
It's a raw and deep head and see how you can survive.
Actually, you start off on a rant. Just as we started speaking about the way of the world how it is today. I guess you're talking about politically correctness, plan for correctness, and the and the influence of the woke brigade.
Yes for better or for worse. Well, I think it's for worse. I think we're waking up as a nation. We realize that we've been due for so long. And the reality is I find it quite a barrant when we get compartmentalized by being misogynist, racist, homophobic. We're none of those things. Our DNA revolves purely, as I said initially, on a reverence, satire and tongue in cheek, a good old fashioned belly laugh. There's never any intent or malice
in our in our delivery. The only time, you know, there's racism involved, you think a bit better than somebody else. And that's certainly not the Australian DNA. Some of the dialogue could have could have been, you know, when some of the dig has been over the top and unpleasant, and I think there had to be some sort of reform. Well, some sort of reform you okay, might have been a bit brutal or truculent in some regard, but at the end of the day, particularly in the fields of endeavor,
you know, and now I'm talking about sport. Now you know, we always doffed ourid, put our met out and enjoyed a convivial after the game. It was all forgotten. There was no acrimony or no you long held grievances.
Redown again there's someone who well, yes that again, there's somebody you remember, so you do.
But we always used to handle you know, we dealt with it in a very how would I how would I say? You know, we dealt We handed out the receipt at the appropriate time and the ledger was squared. But there was no long term animosity.
No, you did right. Eventually you do forgive, you do forgive. Tell me about the Kekevich family. Now were you're born in w A.
I was born in w A. My parents were freedom fighters. They opposed Nazism and communism and the old Yugoslavia freedom fighters.
They'll expand on that for us.
Well, they defended their country. They fought with the part of the ends with the locals to avert in Yugoslavia in Yugoslavia, and then they escaped through tries through the north and ended up in Cairo in Egypt, and then caught the boat. My brother was born in Alarisia Camp in Alarish, Egypt. And in those days when you migrated to Australia either went to the US and Canada or to Premantle to Australia. Well, we had friends or associates.
Mom and dad knew them in Fremantle in Australia. So we went to a place called Mensumup where we grew tobacco. Here we did. Tobacco was a huge industry in those days in Mensumup, and then my father was very adept at it. And then got a call to come over to when the salt got in the soil in a memory and went to Myrtleford which is the tobacco hub
in those days of Mariba in North Queensland. The other two tobacco growing areas in the fifties and sixties, sixties and seventies, they were huge industries.
Did your mom and dad ever talk about the war about the well, yes, well it escapades, if I can call it.
Well, look very very vaguely, very vaguely. There are some very bit of memories. But the great thing about my parents and I'm sure well mum had a I believe, and I've heard it said a couple of times it saw her parents shot before a firing squad. Now that's but she never ever elaborated in detail. And of course in those days before Tito died, you know, we could never go back to Yugoslavia because there was still being
apprehended in jail. And a lot of people that did escape did very well in in the tobacco industry, sent money backs for their loved ones that they had to leave behind. You know, a lot of people that escaped had to leave a lot of loved ones behind, which they catered for a little bit later on when they did very well. But the ones that tried to go back, they were apprehended in jailed. Even still then, is.
There a hint of emotion you're saying it?
Well, there is, you know, I mean about family. You tearing up. No, I'm not tearing up. I'm just giving you the fact that I can recite them because I had these conversations in the early pieces. I remember mourning me a lot of things about the war and about certain races and certain people that you saw firsthand. And that's always been indelibly Wisconsin in my mind. But you know, as such as life, you move on, you get strong,
you know. But the one thing I will say about my parents, and this is not as an affront or anything to the contemporary, but my parents assimilated, learned the language, district, their laws, and became leaders of the community. And you know in Myrtleford they were very, very proud, and you know, they were involved in a lot of communal things, took us to all the sports, football, basketball, cricket, you know, and really embraced the community.
So how a were you when you went to Myrtleford?
I was only I was ten, So.
That's a that's typical country.
Victoria Fantastic footy and cricket forty cricket, basketball, you know, swim down the river, you know, mix, hang around with all your mates, the skills, socials, you know, the occasional girlfriend after halftime in the local picture theater. Oh those you know, unadulterated, simple things in life that we enjoyed, made our own fun. Did your mom dad ever go back to No, no, never went back.
And so you never met your grandparents?
No, no, Yeah, it's a sad thing. But they obviously exchanged letters and phone calls, but never never. We bought an uncle out once, the third brother. There were three brothers, my father and my eldest, oldest uncle. They came out together. The third one, the youngest, went have to stay back and look after his parents and look after parents. So after years and the seventies, we brought him out to see if you get assimilar, but just couldn't. So he went back. And you know, a life on the Tata
Apparent was pretty good. You know, it relaxed a lot under the old communist regime. You know, there was that a fairly good life.
Did they escape all the tension and the tumol and the violence of you know, Eastern Europe?
And no, not really you're talking about the war. After the war, Oh, there are still remnants of it. I think they escaped most most of it is there was a lot of activity, you know, in the Balkan region during that period.
Now I understand that like civil war between the service, Yes, all of that, all of that. Anyway, let's get back to Murtalford. It sounds like a happier well.
I've always had. I've been lucky, I've escaped it or made I've had a charmed life. And with the whole you know, the whole family we did as kids. You know, it was never thrust upon us. We had the best of everything. We never had much money, I'm sure, but whatever I had, that was always better. And that's we had a good education, a good u a good life. We're taking all the sports. We had the best of everything. They probably suffered, but we you know, Murderford was fantastic.
Did you have an ambition as a kid?
Look any country kid growing up Graham you should know that always had a manic obsession to play league football. That's all we lived for to become a league football. You know. I used to run around trying to get every snippet of news that cards. I used to collect every card.
Who was Who was your hero?
Well? I used to like Ray Gabrick. I was a mayor calling supporter Big gave was you know, I fell in love with him and you know Leaf football was everything I lived and died for it.
We need to take a break. I don't want to, but we will. Sam Kekevich is my guest, will embark on this footy career when we come back back Shortley, folks. My guest on conversations today is the famous or people could say infamous, perhaps Sam Keikovich. We know him fondly for his ads on the TV and social media about his promotion of the lamb industry, the meat industry. But
if it just turned in. He and his parents have immigrated from Yoslavia after the I know it's got different names now, but growing up in a country town of Victoria called Myrtleford, which was famous for tobacco industry. They still grow tobacco.
I think I got quator system now. I think that's all gone, all terminators. A lot of wines there now. But even prior to that, I was in a I was called Gunbao near Kahuna. Up until ten I had I had one year Cahuna High School and then we moved over to Cahunahs on the Murray River and here we took about twenty five forty miles horse of Ichuka.
So you grew up wanting to be Ray Gabli playing.
I wanted to be a le football there, but I enjoyed. I was a command colling with supporter and our footy. Our end of season holiday, for want of a better term, was always the Grand Final. We go to Melbourne and Dad to take us to Melbourne. We'd have three or four days in Melbourne, so we come there, get their Friday,
go the MCG. I got to the BFA Grand Final of for Sunday, which was big and also in those days and we could all we always secure tickets because my uncle had a good rapport with a guy that you will know called Mary Wiedeman. Mary Whedeman went to Aubrey as a coach and in those days you might recall in the early seventies the country had all the money.
There's a lot of champion football in the b fellows that was now and then left prematurely like Weedham and bob Rose and every club is particularly my area called the Avans and Murray like Mirtleford, Yarrawanga, Corowa, Ruther, Glenn Banella all had league league players because that's where the money was. And Weedham and I think left at twenty eight. Bobby Rose the same age and Mary had They set him up very well in Aubury. He was a captain coach of Aubury. So you must have been the star
as a junior. Well, yeah, have all three boys must have been good? Yeah, we were well, we had a mad passion for the game and you know we had a natural, a natural tendency towards it.
So yeah, So when did North Melbourne come knocking.
In about sixty seven? They started sixty eight. Brian, my older brother, went to Carlton. They played in the premiersure I was going to Carlton. They resigned to go to Carlton. What happened, Well, if you recall, and you know you're a very astute and very well researched. But the AFL, in their wisdom was the BFL overnight, implemented a policy called zoning. Oh remember that, So the best performed country
zone was allocated of the worst performed league club. So all of a sudden, the Avans and Murray, which was the leading country zone, was allocated to North Melbourne, so I had no.
Choice and they were the bottom team.
They were the bottom team.
How did you feel?
Well, you know, well I was delighted just to go to the just to be playing VFL football. I didn't care where I went. But Ron Joseph was very, very very forceful in assertive and we loved Ron Joseph. And of course he recruited the bulk of the seventy five premiership side and you know, run very well. It just
unfortunately passed away just recently as well. So it was you know, there were no hard years, our early years, but the great thing of being associated with the clubs that struggled, we also enjoyed the really good years with when Ron Barassi arrived.
Your brothers at Carlton.
My brothers at Carlton played in the premiership. Premiership sided in nineteen sixty eight and if you recall the great trivia quiz where the victor kick less goals than the vanquished, Carlton kicked seven, Eston kick d eight and Brian kicked four of the seven. Really, yeah, it's interesting. I didn't know, but I was heading to Carlton and I often told them if I had have gone to Carlton, I'd be rack raving to John Nichols that I enjoyed North Melbourne
and then said, I look, I owe everything in North Melbourne. Yeah. So you walk into North who was coaching Keith McKenzie. He was a champion rover of the club at the time. Aileen and co had just retired. Doug Dale and Lorry Dewai were the big names there. Of course, good guys, great guys. And I arrived there Wednesday night. I had
a bitter battle than to this day. I regretted, but I did A left there in tears at Birdleford, who you know, we were on the cusp of winning our first ever premiership and I was in fine form there at an R forty. You know, I was a seventeen year old kid. But so you walk out eventually he walked out. I said, I just wanted the opportunity in Rome was either going to kill Ron Joseph and my mother and I and Ron Joseph drove into Melbourne. A
car broke down at Banilla. We got the love of God it I don't know what he did, but he fixed it. We got in the Melbourne. About some ungodly hour. We dropped mamat the motel in North Melbourne. We drove the high that Ron's property. This was This was Wednesday night or Tuesday night, one of the two. The following day we went to John pars and he bought me a suit, two shirts. Anyhow, I had a whole new wardrobe and I trained that night Thursday night. For the
first time. We didn't knowing too many Petans, too many of the players. I knew a lot of them because I studied. I loved the game and I went straight into the side. Geelong. We played you along in our first game whereabout at Aden Street, and I played on a guy called Dennis Marshall. Good player he was, and I managed to was sentiment. I played in the center in my first game, kidding me. I was seventeen. It just turned ada in.
Your first game you've trained once and Marshall.
Straight in the side. Anyhow, I did you win? No, we got beaten, but I was uh nearly nearly got the votres. I had a really good game, an impressive game. Bet his fate would have it. On the Saturday night I went to I think it was in Melbourne tonight one of the Graham Kenny shows, I think it was Sunday was on World of Sport. On the Monday I got on TV Ring Side, I won the Player of the Week award, the cock or whatever it was. Wednesday had a new Manaro. So I'm in the I in Melbourne.
I'm in Melbourne four days, I think five days. I thought to myself, Ship, this is a lot easy, and I thought was fretting about league football. God strike a light. And of course, as I learned later on, in life got harder, It got a lot harder.
So what happened to your mates at Mertleford? Did they they were in the flag?
Ah? No they did not. They did later on they won the flag later on. But I had a great association with a lot of those guys at Mertleford that taught me so much. Martin Cross was the coach at the time, an ex Carlton raver. But we had a wonderful life and a great report of great community involvement.
Okay, so tell me now some North Melbourne, a perennial cellar dweller. Then Ron Barassi comes, You're you're, you're there. When Ron Barassi arrives, I am.
I'm at the peakham of powers when he arrived. Tell us about that, well, you can imagine the place, the euphoric scenes, the place was went a gog. Was when it was announced that Ron Barassi was going to coach the Cellar Dwell. I had the audacity game in the marketplace to cure the biggest single name in the game. And I remember vividly when it was announced the following day that Ron Barassi was going to coach us. Even I got that excited. I decided I was going to
train that year, but he was. It was just phenomenal. They were, you know, the streets of North Melbourne, Inner Melbourne's industrial suburbs like Kensington, North Melbourne. The North Melbourne supporters who threw sick and thin and through rayin hale and shine supported the club, you know, with great passion, and the great Messiah arrived and virtually flicked things overnight.
But also we had a we had a very astute leadership to Al Naylor took over the Helm as the president and he took advantage of a law that permitted ten year players to transfer clubs, and that led to the advent of Doug Wade. Johnny Rantell and also Barry
Davis who captained our first ever premiership. So that was a lovely a lovely filler for one of a better term because at the nucleus of a very very good side, the shumer Bushes and the Blights and the Greggs and the Brightesses and you know, and the likes were still developed. And that really topped this off nicely.
If you evaded the question what was the first training session like under Ambrassi? What sort of impact did he make? What demands did he.
Well, I'll tell you the mans. I'll tell you right now. I was in a catatonic state when he opened his mouth. You know, it's trance like you'd just you could feel the spine almost tingle. His very presence and he had that big, loud voice, but there wasn't a voice or his power of verration that really moved you. It was just his very presence. Let's telling you. Well, you well
know that yourself, you experienced it yourself. But I'll tell you what he could deliver a terrade of invective and unbridled abuse that there wouldn't be a HR department that could adjudicate on it. I'll tell you. And today's the contemporarys of today, let me tell you, they would be running home to their mothers that quickly. I don't want to play this game anymore. I got that brute over here telling me what to do.
That was the That was the only issue I had with barrass not that I felt it, but I saw it that the way he would abuse players, and the and then that I thought that was a failing of How can I criticize him because the record stands for everything. You look at the record and it's unassailable. But at the same time.
There's others to share that thought. But to his eternal credit, I must confess, Barass was never selfish in that regard. You know, as aurora as that may sound, it was always intended for the benefit of the recipient, to extract a performance. It's more conducive to him being a better player. It was never about him. In fact, he was the only one. He's the only one that ever didn't realize how famous he was.
I think he suffered that fate at the hand of Norman Smith.
Well, it's a similar thing. He was a whipping I was a wheeping boy too, with a lot of us were, and you know normal Smith was certainly instrumental in that used to keep him very tight.
The great Sam Kikovich, he's my guess, folks back after the break, Welcome back everybody. If you just tuned in, we're chatting with Sam Keikovich. And as you can imagine, it's a it's a great experience when the MIC's on and when it's off, it's it's great. We're talking footy mainly and we'll probably come to the to the Lamb
story a bit a bit later. But if you just churned in, Sam as a young fellow come down from Myrtleford trains, once goes into the center in his first game, plays well, it starts to establish himself as a North Melbourne player, the great Ron Brass. He arrives North Melbourne, recruit extremely well and start to get some success. Now, can we can we jump to the early days? I mean, because you were a glamorous player, won't you?
Yeah?
But you can't you can't resilve from that.
No. Well, look but North moment was that sort of club where we're Hollywood and in those days they would promote that element. You know, it's not like today they keep it under under a under lock and key because they might give you opposition, you know, an advantage of some descriptions, and you know, but no, we were comforting our own skin and the club, you know, perceived someone like myself who was you know, probably had some marketing, you know benefit.
What was it? What was that marking? Was that your physique? Was that your good looks? Was it your charisma?
Well, that's not makes it very difficult. Got a listening audience, But you've got to say not that hard in the eye.
Well, fifty years ago you won your best and first in your first year.
Yeah, second year sixty nine?
Yeah, okay, when were you surprised at that?
Not really, I thought, I just said, well, you know, well that's you, to be honest, you know, when you've played well, when you've had a good year. Some of those great players that you're playing with, what position did you play ruckraver?
Okay, and who was your ruckland then?
Ah, well had Barry Goodie Gooda and Rodney Dell in the early days, but Barry Goodean predominantly, and then mc nolan in later days. The galloping is somitra what a guy? What a guy? Buried big Meck.
So you've won the best and fairest and all of a sudden you're a big star in Melbourne playing for this What was happening off the field, well, what was happening off the field, Well got probably ahead of myself and you know, low Lely club light, No its Melbourne probably tolerated a bit more than they perps should have
even run by his own definition, said they've had. I got to a more successful club where there was a discipline imposed a bit more stringently because of you know the fact that the club is, you know, you got a number of superstars. Perhaps might have been a bit different. I'm not sure, but I just, you know, sort of fell in love with the bright lights and neon science for a period of time and football after a while. I'm not so sure that it was of paramount importance.
But I did get back after Barras. When Brass arrived, he shook me and shook that lethargy, and I got back on back on track, and I had a couple of great years with barrass.
Tell Us about the nude centerfold, oh God, strike a lot. You can't avoid it, Well you can't, it's there.
I realized that I'm not trying to avoid it. Had the revolve. I guess, gee, we're trying to augmentor me are income that we're on with? You know that? And then it'd be up at X amount for a did a photo shirt? Well there was a there was a slighter molument, a small stipend. Nothing to talk about these days, but yeah, I was approached what I do in nude centerfold? I thought, well, yeah, but I run again enough, I was.
I was even approached a little bit earlier than that if I would do a strip show twice a week at a at a colorful venue, a bit like the Chippendales in Yeah, twice a week for about five hundred dollars now five hundred dollars a week.
As you know in those days, why are you talking sixty seven sixty.
Yeah, sixty nine, seventy seventy years Wow, you know you can buy a house for five thousand.
I remember getting forty four dollars a week in the job that I was doing at the time Vietnam with combattle. House was fifty five, although we didn't pay tax, so that was five hundred dollars.
Five hundred dollars. You're kidding, Oh, I was that tempted, But I thought, how could I possibly tell my parents, now, what are you doing? Sun up? So we spent half our lives educating you and well, Mum, you wouldn't believe I'm just having offered this wonderful year and then gave back to the club and tell Ron Joseph and Ron Baressi and Alan Ailet. Look, I don't think anyone will really knowed us if I just went across just two
nights a week, and you could imagine the response. There was a kind of avoid asking this question because well, ask it because there's a sadness. Your older brother played for Carlton. Younger brother, My younger brother, Michael was killed. Yes, in I was seventy two, and he was an outstander. He was an outsider where he played a game at Melbourne,
at North Melbourne when he was sixteen. Yeah, he was a trendy grammar and he decided to run home after a game one Saturday night in the rain, in the midst of the mid midwinter, and unfortunately tragically got struck. And that was a you could imagine. My mother was in Merderford. Dad was home on his own. Brian was a Carlton somewhere. I was at North Melbourne, and I'll never forget when Ron Joseph called me in from the
players after the game entertainment. You know, we help sharing a beer with the opposition of Us and Kilda.
It was a Saturday.
It was a Saturday Saturday night, and I remember On Joseph calling me into his office and told me your brother's being killed.
Oh my god.
Well the whole world fell apart, and then you know, Dad being home on his own, he collapsed. Then they bought Mums Edta she wont to go to the morgue, and then they just compounded from there on n So there are difficult times. Well it's hard to imagine unless you've been through it.
We can't.
You can't. You know, you pick up the tissues every day. I mean you read them some atrocities, you know, kids being molested or kids dying or drowning, and you think, oh god, that shocking, and your even on at the next page. But when it actually happens in your own doorstep, you know it impacts enormously. And to see parents bury children is a horror story. We always recognize that we've got to buryer parents, that's inevitable, but to see the opposite it's gut wrenching.
Has he left a legacy? Can you? Can you maintain a legacy his memory?
Oh yeah, the school, the school has as a legacy of him and to us, he's always left the legacy you know of you know, even at that tender age, you know, and I remember Ron and Alan Aylett saying he had enormous leadership qualities even then, and his schooled
for the very first time beat Assumption. A lot of his a lot of the lot of the Assumption players of that era often still speak highly of the time that you know, Michael Kekevich, you know, played such a prominent role, and a lot of the people that went to Trendy Grammar still speak highly of his association with the footy Tip. So yeah, but he did leave her lasting legacy and you know, and memory to us all.
So, what is happening in your private life as we speak? No, not now? When you're this glamorous stripper.
Well, Elvis on tour, a bevy of beauties and bright lights and neon science. As they say, they say to George, best way to go wrong? George, I said, what where do they go wrong? No? Well, I was always in those days we all worked. Yeah. Life was great. Life was a ball. We trained and played and I was happy to just you know, keep going. And of course when it all came to an end, not that it didn't bother me. You know, I wasn't lost. I was
quite content. I did what I wanted to do, and I was I guess all I was asking did you get married? Did you get Yeah, yeah, I got married. Did you get married to kids? Yeah, you got married, got three grand kids. I got married and separate and divorced and went and I was been with a partner there for forty odd years.
Wow.
Yeah, So life's pretty stable to the to the one that.
So the injuries took us told to there was a sum criticism of your injuries were extra curricular? Played soccer? You played? Well? I did?
I did. I did be knee. The first knee I did was I did against Romania in the Harry Vitals glast thing. Oh okay, so I did that and that was a But in those days, in the seventies, for God's sake, you know, a tourm, a cruciate liguament. You know, in those days, you're on your back for two weeks, you're plaster of Paris and you're wither away and you've got to rebuild. You know, it's all about immobilization these days. You get up. The minute you're off, the block is
still on your feet. So medicine's taken a whole new turn. And of course not tho I'm using that excuse. I had a lot of a lot of injuries, a lot of knee problems. But I still likeaked out a very good career over ten years, which I really, you know, am grateful for. I had some great surgeons and but.
They're so different than this day and age. Oh so different.
Keyhole operations.
I keep thinking of Barry Robin.
Yeah, just never the same, never the same, You're never the same. But now they help tital titanium replacements. You know, in those days they'd pack it up with a bit of concrete or they'd stitch it up. And but I had John Grant at the time at North Melbourne. He was a father of you know, that type of medicine, and he was fantastic.
Sam Kekovich is my guest. Folks were a little bit more footy to come after the break. But then we'll talk about his new found fame in later years. Back shortly we're speaking with Sam Kekevich, who's in town for Actually, what are you in town for?
Well, I was in town to do a speaking engagement.
Okay, whereabouts?
I was at the for Variety.
Oh well done?
Yeah, good cause I do a fair bit with them. They're fantastic.
If you just tuned in, we've tracked Sam's career from Myrtleford to North Melbourne. Injuries start to take their toll. Do you give it away or do you get sacked? Or does Piran come calling? What had they? No?
No, I got sacked, Brass said, nice. Brass sacked me. I'll be implicitly candid with you. I didn't, but I had enough. It was mutual by the same taken. And then I went to Collingwood for four games, right yeah, Tommy Hafey thought, and I had it. You wouldn't believe my first game I was wanted, you know, nearly bog The first game we kicked four goals against Carlton. But then again I copped injuries there and you know that
went to a natural grave. But then I went to Pran the VFA and Sir Ripert Steele, who was the chairman of the v r C then and Charles Lux who was the Lord Mayor of Pran. I won to coach Port Melbourne at the time, but I had already appointed the coach. But I went to Pran and there were two of the best of the years. We won a premiership in our first year and the VFA in
those days. Believe me, I don't know if you know much about the history of the VFA, but the Port Melbourne's and the dandelongs and the Center against were tougher than any VFL game you play.
There's some vision of run seventy eight Grand.
Final against Preston.
Against Preston and it's just how violent was it?
That was? That was that was quite meet by comparison with some of the Some of the games were just brutal.
There are some vision, there's some vision on on YouTube. I didn't see you and you sort of kept kept out of that.
I always try to get out of the firing line, I could, Graham. You know, they're a bit too willing for me in that stage in my life.
What was the emotion like that you'd played an apprenticeship for North Melbourne.
Well, I played in the preper but I really enjoyed the time at Paran. You know, whilst it was you know, a lesser, a lesser achieve a competition, but still the people involved and you know, the it still had the same emotions, it still had all the same ingredients, and it still had the same meaning and they were terrific days. It really reinvigorated me Paran.
So what happened after a couple of years at Paran, that's that's it. Footy careers.
I went to Sydney. I coached at Newtown in Sydney, and I coached New South Wales for a couple of years. Yeah, when Alan Jeans was Alan Jeans coach in New South Wales, he went to Hawthorne. So I was coaching Newtown in the local competition and then I coached the Sydney the New South state side which played in a Tier two, played Canberra Tasmania in the carnival side.
Yeah, you coach didn't play, No, No, I wasn't playing though. That was a rough competition that Sidney coch. I played a couple of games. I was in the army for George Yes and Georgia. Oh my gosh, I haven't been hit so many times.
Well, if you had a reputation they would, I would certainly seek you out.
What were you doing career wise? After after I was with the.
Brewery, I was with the brewery for long time in pr and promotions for Toothing Company. And then when I came back, I was with a company called Disco Source Australia which was a computer consumer company for about a decade or twelve years. And then I took over when Teddy Witten died, I took over the calling of k Rock and I was also on Triple M and you back on the circuit doing the footy shows Sunday Footy Show on seven and nine over. When I got sacked
from one, I went to the other. They remy you know, it was like the deck chairs are Titanic at one stage. So, you know, for about four or five years I was, you know through the medium.
When did the meat industry come calling?
Well, manifest modesty will preclude me elaborating in detail here, but two thousand and five I go for it. I will go for it. Two thousand and five we started, Now, if you know anything about the rural sector, which are the real true champions of our society. Two thousand and five were culling our sheet and putting them in the ground for a buck ahead. Farmers were walking off their properties because they couldn't be able to see them. The
family dinner table wasn't a very compatible one. And if I told you some of the other stories would make your head spin. Suicides and you know it. It was a shocking time for the Australian farmer. You know he's you know he's a lot of the banks are calling their markers back in. So it was a dreadful time. The droughts, floods all impact that he So I was asked to what I promote lamb wasn't the sexiest thing in the world to do, but we did. Dave Thomasin used to see me work on a show called The Fat.
If you remember The Fat on the ABC. I used to do a mayor was in the early late nineties and I used to do a monologue, political monologue on nondescripts that permeate our society and give them a bit of a whack. And I used to look down the gun barrels, right down the down the barrel of the camera. And David Thomasin, in his wisdom, he was the marketing manager of Australian meat and livestock. Thought, well, this may revolutionize commercial the way we present our commercial. You know,
you don't make sense. I'm Sam Kikovich and just down the barrel. So we did. It just took off like wild fine, based purely on a reverence, satire and tongue in cheek. And that's what made it so appealing. Did it surprise you, Well, not really, I thought this. I thought the scripts were very good because I had to philosophically be who I am. You know, they couldn't deviate off.
But they recognized in New South Wales and Queensland and other places. Yeah, where's no footy?
Yeah I didn't. Yeah my word, Yeah they did, but perhaps not initially they weren't content about who the person was. I think they admired the content. But there's time war on. You got to understand how this is my twentieth year I've done them. Wow, you know, and that's very rare in this game.
And how successful do you think they've been?
Look, you can measure it well, it's probably the most successful campaign in the history of Australian television. Can be massive in export dollars and local dollars. And let me tell you the farmers. You will want to say a bad word about me in the bush? Might its be like killing Bambi? I'm telling you, and so yeah, and that was it. I meant to say, who would have thought from those early beginnings in two thousand and five
when they culling shape, that would have taken off? And I always remember when I signed the second contry, they rang me up and said, do you have a manager? Now? You like this because you're pretty student? I said, do I have a manager? Yeah? But I don't usese managers. I'm my own man. I'll decide. I said, Well, we'd like to talk about a two or three year deal with you. I said, certainly. So I came to a
restaurant and we sat down. We proceeded to have a chat, and then they gave me a coaster, be a coaster and a pin and they said, write down what do you think you're worth over the next two or three years? Well, beads of perspiration over my browse? Ah, What were I going to do? Now? God? What can I possibly say? Could I put an extra nord there? I went from thirty oh jee whiz. I was in a dilemma. I really wasn't a dilemma I talk about if I put
another nord I think, I look at this narissistic press. No, I thought I'd be a bit concervative. I really gave myself a nice little yeah, Cliff, and I gave it to them. And that's how honorable they were. They got mine and ripped it up and they said, you better have a look at mine.
It was more, it was more, what did you put on yours?
Well, I don't know. I think it was you're breaking up?
What was that I said? I said, I said, what did you find yours.
Twenty years ago? It might have been one hundred hundred really, and they gave you more. They gave me more. It was very, very honorable. But we've had a relationship now for twenty years. We do the the Summer campaign and it's just been a big hit. It's been an enormous hit.
What surprises me though, if you look at the complaints to the Australian Broadcasting Tribute you feature regularly, But why why.
Is he but it's any malice? Why because they have a crack of the vegetarians, those soaper avoiding doll bludging pots making vegans. Why would be be pissed up with that. He would take umbrage of that. We're Australian, for Christ's sake, And I tell people if ever drive a PJ O Rena or a citron, run over them because they bound to have a beotful of among beans lentil. Stay away from vegans because they're always hungry. So you got my drift all right across the board here would take umbrage
of that. And there you get the you know, you get the wokes, and you get the politically correct nondescripts, get a sense of humor. He's up smell the roses.
So they're always dismissed, though, aren't they always dismissed?
Not only that they get dismissed by What they don't realize is the one that dismissed them, give me a call and said keep going, just a see to be done.
No, you can see the complaints that they get, and you're not the most complained about it. But you're up there. So how does it? How's the day pan out for you? These as we speak? You've got your one arm and in a sling.
Well, I've just had a shoulder replaced, but that's that's only six weeks old. So I'll survive that. That's your second shoulder, the second shoulder, both hips, both knees, and a nukele. So I'm almost bionic. And my great fear is I'm going to live to well over one hundred twenty. I'll have no mates to go out with. I'll be a lonely old man and sort of I'll be peramulating around the periphery of these wonderful cities and they'll say, oh God, I think I remember him it was.
I don't think you'd be like that. No, I don't know the modern game. You must give us soon.
I'll give you as my synopsis on that. Look, I love the game. I love the game. I'm disappointed in the manner in which it's played At times. I just can't possibly comprehend some of the inept umpiring that takes place. I don't know whether they haven't turned it into a into a university course of Yeah, ten umpiring may pay them half a million dollars each. The players get a million dollars, get six God, you get a dozen competent umpires.
Teach them. You know the rules thoroughly. I know there's a lot of gray areas, and it's subject to interpretation, but it's a very simple rule you should adhere to always look after person making the play. You know, I get sick and tired of rewarding parasites. And it's almost endemic throughout our society. You look at our corporate world. You know, failed CEOs walking away with the salacious wage paget. You know, when's that ever come across We were talking
about meritocracy. I don't give a stuff. You employ fifty eight women in the board. It's the best people for the job. But don't tell me all there's been about quota systems. When's that coming to vague? Why don't we raise the bar? You know, everyone gets a prize. No,
you don't get a prize. One of the reason we've got these social problems that are prevalent, now, let me assure you, is because they're very fact that their formative stage, they're all given a prize, and so when they're exposed to the riggers of the real world and when they get rejection and come across the roadblock, Oh, how had that happen? Why has that happened? No, I'm going to ah, don't worry, son, there's a one eight hundred number you can ring or a one three hundred or soft landing,
and in the day that was never the case. Not that I'm saying that was right. I'm not an old dinosaur. I'm a pretty contemporary, switched on bloke. But there are there are certain parameters and dynamics we need to adhere to. And it's not the Australian Why I tell people we'll as sixty thousand that the Gallipoli, the Western Front and the Somme for us to enjoy the privilege is a
wonderful democracy. Now, there were certain guidelines and you know, these people played the eldimate sacrifice, made the ultimate sacrifice for us to enjoy that. And let me tell you, they turn over in their graves as they see some of the things that we're the way, we're abusing and prostituting them. It's great to catch up, Sam, it really is. We've come to the end. I know we can go a bit longer. It's idiot, that's it. I flew all away for that. I didn't even talk about myself.
I think you did. Sam Keikovich, was my guess. Mikes, thank you so much for joining us.