Good everyone, Welcome back to The Mason Cox Show. Now today we've got a special guest, a man that I'm very close with. He's one of the he's known as the man that is everywhere. He is one of the most iconic people I feel like of Melbourne and of the country. He's known. First time I ever met him, I think he was I thought he was a regius
filming of Australia. I was kind of confused on who he was, and so I saw him on the back of a taxi and I thought, oh, this guy's pretty big deal, I'd say, But he's a game show host, he's a member of the Order of Australia, he's an honorary doctorate from r MIT, Sale of the Century winner, former CEO of Channel nine, a journalist and AFL commentator, and I could go on and on and on about all the different things he's done. But he is one
of the most probably influential people in my life. I'd say, coming to Australia and it's so great to have you on The Man in the myth Legend Eddie McGuire show. Good to see that, Thanks so much for coming on.
Interviewing football is not the other way around.
I know this is I've been nervous here and usually you're the one on the other side the mic, so I'm going to have to really take control of this conversation. But I find it amazing because you've got such an amazing story and I think a lot of people gravitate you. You to you because you've come from broad Meadows and you've been able to create a career of yourself, and it's come through a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication. I think you're probably the hardest working person
I've ever met in my life. You're constantly on the go, You're constantly doing something. So I know, this whole interview, I want to say thank you for taking the time to come out and do this. It's amazing to have you on and something like I said, I think a lot of people gravitate to you, and you've got some amazing stories that we're going to go through on this podcast.
Well, you know, in a lot of ways, Mason, what you said there is what I'd like to be doing now, which I am doing even through our business at GMTV, and that is over the journey. Over my journey, so many people have given me a hand up. You always hear about the discrimination against people. I've always found that coming from broad Meadows, if you had a bit of go, people go, jeez, that's pretty good. Yeah, this kid's got a bit of go about him. Well, they would never
know where you're from. I just found over the journeys so many people gave me a leg up. Not one of them going buy me a car. And I think they just gave you a chance, or they let you not even they didn't have to be that. They might just say hello to you, you know. I remember the first time Bobby Rose introduced me to someone, he said, he's one of us. He's a great Collingwood man. It was one of the proudest moments of my life that
Bob Rose anointed me a Collingwood person. I mean, the club met so much to me as a kid coming through. But people like Lindsay Fox, who was the Sin Kilda president back in those days, and I remember ringing him up one Sunday morning something had happened down at the Saint Kilda Social Club, which was a regular account. Yeah, I can tell you I was either most of them or a reporter on the rest of them. But and then after that Foxy has looked after me. We became
close friends. I'm going on his eighty fifth birthday cruise. The family are close family friends of ours. And Foxy has a great line he says, to have a friend, you have to be a friend, and I've always been conscious of that along the any that you have to give yourself to people as well. So as my time has come around, you know, I looked at what I
was doing with Collingwood. I really saw that as my way of giving back to the community without getting into politics, So you know, putting in the housing for the homeless and things like that. That was part of what we need to do. It couldn't just be about trying to win the premiership. Of course, that's the thinking about it all the time, but it needed to be something bigger than that. And the saying that we sort of had a colling Wood is if you didn't stand for something,
you stood for nothing. So that was sort of the ethos we wanted to bring back to the club that maybe had missed for a while, but was really what the club was based on.
I've got to ask you this, as you brought the club already and I was going to bring this at the end of the podcast, we'll bring it forward. Is it true that you became a colling fan because the Collingwood theme song was on the back of a packet of chips? Is that story actually true? I've got a bit of dirt on you. We're good mates.
I sort of right there, number class enough. It was a doughnut bag. But what happened was in nineteen seventy I was from Great Prep. I was five years of age and I idolized my brother and clearly my dad who because we lived in broad Meadows, the closest team was Essendon basically, although were in North Melbourne zone, but they were no good at the time, and if I was on the other side of the fence, I would have been in Carlton's zone. So there I asn't and
so I idalized like I carried my brother's bag. He was everything to me. So I don't even I still don't even realize how I turned. But what happened was I fell in love with Petty McKenna nineteen seventy the price, you know, he should have won the premiership. We were right in there going well. McKenna kicked one hundred goals and every time you turned on the TV in nineteen seventy, the football you saw Collingwood was basically in the replay every week. There was no live games in those days
world of sport. I remember sitting there and finding out for the first time that Lou Richards played for Collingwood, that he was a Premiership captain, and that was like Hollywood had come to broad Meadows. If you liked that, Lou was Wow, Lou Richards, you know, and all that sort of Anyway, this particular day, Frank, my brother, was in there. Dad come back, you know, all the come
back to and all that. And I was walking back from lunchtime from school and there was a Jiffy donut bag that used to have the Jiffy donuts right the gym donuts, and it used to have the theme songs on the back. And I saw the paper about twenty meters from home as I came around the corner, and I said to myself, all right, this is a sign. Now, remember I'm five. This is sort of points to how mad I was even back then. And I said, if this has got the Collingwood theme sign it, I'll take
it as a sign. And that's it. And I opened and I'm sure enough universes talking about the universe was talking to me, and that was my moment. And then Frank came home a couple of weeks later and he said it was he nearly fell over because Dad had bought me a Collingwood jumper. A moment, so number six on it.
That was it? That was that your sould from that day. Well, I want to ask you this to start off, I know you as a person. I find you amazing whenever I see you work a room. I know you do a lot of hosting, You've done some amazing things for bush fire relief victims everything else. And I see you work a room and it's it's something that's a talent
that not many people have. Now, I want to get some advice from you, right, So let's say someone's listening and they want to get a bit of advice on maybe let's say this, how is there any tricks you use to remember someone's name? Because I feel like you're really good at this, so you can really like work and remember everyone that's day.
The first trick is I don't think about it. To be honest, I don't go on to go I have to work a round people talk about networking and contacts and things like that. If you're trying to do that, I find it's pretty awkward. And that goes back to probably being a journalist from such a young age when you're third and fourteen year to actually introduce yourself, have a connection with people, and you always remember their stories, and so there's always that part of it. I'm finding
these days. I realized that up until about five years ago, I had really good eyesight, and so that would give me the chance. So I'd see people from right across the room and look at them, pick them, see who they work out the connection to them, and i'd be right. These days they are almost upon me put the goggles on, so it's not as good as it used to be. But it's about being interested in people and knowing everyone's journey or their connection, and you know, without pumping the
tires up. I genuinely liked meeting people, not what they can do for me. I liked their stories. And I suppose going back to being a journalist, you're always looking for the story, as opposed to these days you see a lot of stories on television and the newspapers and they're really just phil everyone's got a story if you kick the rock over a little bit and find out what's there. So from there I was able to do that, and I genuinely was and continue to be an enthusiast.
I look forward rather than backwards, and so from that point of view, every time you walk in the room, it's full of possibilities for a bit of fun.
Yeah, exactly. I think there's a great quote. Someone said it was be interested not interesting.
Yeah.
I feel like that's very much of it.
That's the quote. That's the short line to a long answer. So well done. You've edited me beautifully. Yeah. But then when you know, when you are things that at Collingwoo, for example, when I was president, and you know, part of what you need to do is make people feel special as well. I feel the president of the club. You know, at the president's lunch, I would go around every table because they bought a table to beat the president's lunch. And part of the thing I know is
that they wouldn't have come to see the footy. But too, you know, I was entertained and I was a well known president, and your celebrity and all that type of thing. So you go around to these people and you have a bit of interaction and they want to have a photo with you and it makes their day. That's what my job is as president of Collingwood. Part of what
I brought to that job was my celebrity. You know, people like Jeff Kennett brings his political acumen, Jeff Brown now the president of collin brings his business acumen and and his connection to the club. You've got everyone's got to play there, get their role and my role is was was exactly that it was. You know, when you're hosting functions, don't just get up and give a speech and find out what's going on. And then you know, inevitably I'd find out this blokeerus, you know, wants to
be a sponsor of the club. I've brought him on. I'm not give your name, thank you, close that deal and anywhere you go.
It's one of those things. I feel like, that's something I've realized, I guess in my time here, is that like the littlest of things, he makes someone's day, or make someone's weak even in like month or year, and they'll talk about it for you like I'll meet someone again, you know two years down the road and be like oh, I took a photo with you this time doing that, you know, and I was like, yeah, yeah, of course I'll take a million photos made bike. It is so cool to see that you.
Just give a bit of yourself. I think one of the great things about Australia is and particularly Melbourne, particularly Melbourne, is the access to everybody. So true, you know, so I don't worry about peperazzi. You don't have pepperitis in Melbourne because there's no need. You see us every week, you know, we are everywhere Whereas in the States, I always found even going to the super Bowl, you go into one of the top hotels and they say, oh,
you're here, what are you for it? Super Bowl? Oh the parties, Yeah, you're not going at you Yeah, and they go you're going to the super Bowl. Whereas where we're sitting, I think this has been this place had a major impact on my life.
Let's give it people listening in and watching. We're at the MCG Iconic in CG. So there is my office actually.
Exactly in a box at the MCG. But what I've always found, even the difference between Melbourne and Sydney is that all our major events are open to everybody. There's one hundred thousand seats in this place. Now, maybe the Grand Final, maybe the occasional Landsac Day you might struggle to get a seat, okay, but every other thing you can go to. So as a little boy we would come here. I'd sit over there on half food front
when Peta mckinna kick nine against Richmond one day. I was here in the old stand in seventy two when we've got bet in the Pulminary Final Life, having led by forty two points at halftime. You know, I stood over there for the first Anzac Day game between Collingwood and Richmond, right on send a wing under the old clock when it was they reckoned. It was ninety thousand. It was about one hundred and ten thousand. In this particular.
I sat over there for the first Collingwood Essendon all the things I called, the Grand Finals, everything, but not only that, but I was over here as a kid on the Centenary Test, the day when David Hooks hit hit all the boundaries and Rick ma Cosca came back unto the ground I see. For the Commonwealth Games, I sat over there as an in grade one when the Pope was here, so all these things happen. You go to the Melbourne Cup, there's one hundred thousand people get
into Flemington for the four days of the carnival. You go to Moomber, which everyone sort of laughs at. But if you're a kid out in the Housing Commission house in broad Meadows, member was massive. You know. My dad was smart. It was Scottish, so he's tight right, and he worked out that if you stood opposite the town hall, that's where all the performances happened. Because all the vps are sitting in the town hall, We're sitting on the
other side of the road and in the sunshine. We thought this was better because they sitting in the shade, which is a bit like here you had the MCG. We used to sit in the southern stand in the old days and we thought this is great as we all the noises and it's so vibrant, the members are so boring and they're in the cold, you know, and so whatever. Whenever he sat, it was my dad and I said, you know this, this is the best place we could be. And that was our whole enthusiasm for Australia.
You know, I lived in broadma That may as well have been Beverly Hills compared to women Dad came from and my mom. So each generation gets its go and he just he and Mom just drilled into us that this was the greatest place on earth and if you had any amount of ability or get up and go, this was the place to do it.
Is it true you hit a hard trick on this, Well, it.
Was a hat trick and I took two wickets, and then it was a media game and Kevin Bartlett was actually facing up and I was being an idiot mucking around. So I actually went through the fence up into the back of the stand to start my running. But I got true morpht and I got David Hooks. Yeah, I got Hooks. You tried to try to put me over the out of the stand and he said he got caught on the boundary line. But he said he said it. I said, I sucked you in here. That was great, He on the on the m c G.
Yeah, you you've got an amazing amount of memories here, mate. I know you've been here and you've been part of this this building and this structure and this coliseum that is and you definitely make it up. But we'll go back to a bit of I guess your origins really you talked about your parents were immigrants back from Scotland and Scotland.
My dad Scottish Mom. I like a drink as long as it's free.
Yeah, I get it's yeah. I've got to ask you this because I love my parents, you know, my parents, and those are very valiably people that I've got to ask you this. What is the biggest life lesson you've learned from mom and dad?
Optimism?
Optimism and education, education.
And unconditional love and tough love. You know, there was tough love. It was it was pretty pretty brutal experience they were coming from, so there was no other way. There was no easy day in their life until both really came to Australia and started their family here. But they were both pulled out of school at a young age. Dead was working in the coal mines of Glasgow looking at running the pit ponies when he was thirteen or fourteen years of age. His big break to get out
of the mines was World War Two. So you know, Dad's life really didn't start until in the forties when he came out to Australia and Mum worked hard and then then when she came to Australia, she was working all the factories out broad Meadows, but you know they were able to provide for them. Every year. It was the battle to get the books and the uniform and
play the school fees. And you know we were pretty lucky and that you know, we won scholarships and my elder sister, my brother Frank, my young sister Bridget and myself, so that gave us a chance here. I went to CBCS and killed her, so it was great again. It was education by osmosis. I'd get on the train every morning and my brother actually brought this to my attention
because he did the same thing. And you get on with all the working class people in broad Meadows and they'd go into beginning off the various factories along industrial broad Meadows Line in those days, and you know, on the way up you'd smell then Abisco factory and work out whether they're making Vita bridge that day or chocolate or whatever, you know, And then I'd get on and
read the paper. Bought the paper every morning, and you go to Flint Street and as you've got to Essendon, sort of more professional people getting on, whether they were public servants or lawyers and things and sort of different people in the suits. And then at the end of the day and then when you know, you go to the city, you get off at Flint the street and out would go to windsor go past the Rosella factory in Richmond. You'd smell where they were.
Cooking making that day effort to get to school.
So it was an effort, but it was also it was good fun. It was late coming home when you're fullty training and things. So quite often in Windo you go to school in the dark and come home in the dark, and you know it, you learned how To's a.
Malay credit to you work, I think probably comes a little bit from that.
It does. Yeah, well you were you're working twelve hour days at school and go home and do your homework.
But most importantly you see at the end of the day, and you'd see that, you know, the working class people getting on and you know they had the dirt on them and things going home and they worked a really hard day, and you know that that to me was inspiring to see people who were literally doing pick and shovel jobs my dad was, who were doing it and for their families and then you know, you might even got to church on a Sunday and you knew all the faces and all that sort of stuff, and you'd
see them dressed in their Sunday best and they were doing great, and they would be the president of the local football club, so Dominic's Football Club or Broady Footy Club or those things. And you'd see these people in different different guyss and then you'd work out that day actually just good hard working class people. They're hugely inspirational.
And at the same time you'd see the professional people and go all right, there's another way through this as well, and that was inspirational for so you know, I remember one time saying to my dad, I want to get a job, a part time job. You know, my mates at school were getting making money packing shelves at Corl's and I said, He'd think this is great. I want to step up. He said, you kidding, He said, I haven't come twelve thousand miles for you to stack shelves.
He said, get in there and do your homework. And he said, I'll clean your boots, your jobs to get them dirty. You win the trophies, old clean them was his motto, and that was it and okay, said you were here to study, get the marks, get the results, and get on with your life. So that wasn't pressure.
It was inspiring. But at the same time you knew that people were sacrificing their lives and you know, you know, the letters would come from Scotland from an island every week, and the air mail and things like that, and as you've got a bit older, you realized how much they left.
Behind it to suck.
So from there you were you were obliged to have a go. And then you know, as you know, you start to win a few things, starts to become a habit, and then you start to get the confidence, and then you back yourself in and then sometimes people think I want to back myself in too much. At times I got over confidence. But you know that's what you needed to do, because, as you said, you'd walk into a room, you're in your brother's suit, you don't know anyone, and
you're eighteen and you go right here we go. But it was an adventure.
I actually saw Xander and your jacket recently. It was outside the club, kid, and I'll look to us, so that looks a little bit does it look like it's tailored for you. He just goes it's dad's jacket. Yeah. I thought that was this iconic little black trenchcope.
But he's taken more than a jacket.
I wouldn't done it, but I'll ask you the last thing on growing up and everything else. Now, someone who's been massively influential is sister Matthew. Yeah, Now, can you tell me the most influential thing that's kind of stuck with you from her? Because I know we all have these people. I think we all grow up and we idolize. And someone who's kind of shown us the ropes and maybe you know, pointed us in the right direction whenever
other things may have joined us away. But is there one thing that kind of sticks out that she maybe taught you?
I think what was her name was sister Agnes Murta, and she was a nun of the Josephite Nuns, and she came out for a while. She was irish, and I found it later on. Her sister was a nun as well, and they got every bad job going around, so they ended up in broad But she was an old old woman by that stage. And in grade five
I had a really hard year. Yeah, mum was My mum was really sick, and there was you know, there was a fair bit of tumult happening around the family at that stage, and it looked like I wouldn't be able to go to CBCS and killed Christian Brothers College and Kilda, which was all I wanted to do, because
of the finances and different things. So anyway, grade five had been a disaster for me, and the school had changed a little bit out some Dominic's, which is a great school, great kids, great friends out there, still have them to this day. Anyway, So I walked in the first day of grade six and I know I've got to go for this scholarship exam in March. So it's first of February or something, and she looks at me.
I've heard about you, and I'm trying to be a good you know, the good boy, to be honest, and I said, well, let me tell you what's happened, which was a bit bolshy now that.
I look back on it, great for sure. Yeah.
Well, I was pretty confident in those days and reading was my salvation. I just read papers and books and history and things, so I had a little bit more life experience and life experienced the hard way as well. And I said to her, so I have to go for this exam, and she said right. She looked at me and she said, right, okay, you sit there. And I came in the next day and had you know, we had kids who couldn't read through the kids who were brilliant, you know, not just wasn't just me who
had half a brain. There was really some really good people to compete with and against. And she just put it up, she said right. And by the time I went for the exam, I'd done every entrance exam, scholarship exam known to mankind that she collected over forty years of being a teacher, to the point when I actually sat down and did the exam, I looked around and I finished it that quickly. I thought I must have
missed a couple of pages or something. And so I got I got the entry exam, got invited back for the scholarship, got the scholarship. And I remember coming home at lunchtime. Good Mom was sick. I'd come home at lunch time, go and get all the shopping and come back and then run back up so I could play footy at lunch time. She cooked me a warm meal. It was great. So I had this all work done. I'd run from school to time myself.
You know.
Everything was competitive and about trying to you know, I wanted to play footy and everything and win trophies and all that sort of stuff. And I remember coming home this day and Mum was waiting at the letter box and she had the letter in her hand.
Oh really, she said, right.
Okay, she's the letters.
It was.
It wasn't opened it up and it was like Willie Wonker's golden ticket. Yeah okay, And I remember she said, don't tell anybody at the school. Just keep it quiet, don't be saying anything. And then but I knew that was it. It was up from as Ron Brossey says, if it is to be, it's up to me. It is up to me, all those words, two letters profound, and from that moment on, I thought, right, okay, I've got the entrance pass. If it is to be, it is up to me, And was fantastic for me.
It's amazing, like I've talked about multiple times on this podcast, of teachers being such a guiding light in this world, and it's like they're very for how influential they are in some people's lives. Especially the early years, there was so much undervalued and underpaid and under.
A teacher started teaching when she was nineteen and she's now older, and she's now seventy, and the amount of people over the years have come up and said, your sister talk me and I said, how she was a great teacher, you know, And she's a great sister too. So yeah, I'm big on that. I'm massive on education.
That some of the things i have sort of rolling around in my head that I'm trying to work on as big projects at the moment are all in education and trying to inspire kids and get the particularly working class kids to get the opportunity. The private school system is enormous in Australia. I think I think Australia's secondary
education is probably the best in the world. I'm not so not not as uh not as boying on our tertiary education for another day, but yeah, that's something I'd really like to do, not teach, but actually facilitate opportunities for kitchen stuff.
That's awesome, Well we'll move in something else. And this is this is how I actually got to know you. I mentioned this at the beginning of the podcast year the Regis filming of Australia. Now a lot of people probably don't know Regis filming. There is in Australia, but he is the main he's dead. Yeah, he started that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Now he followed us, he followed you, well, we followed Chris Tarran in England did the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? And Australia and Holland with a second okay, and it took off and it was an enormous show. And then Regis later on.
Have You've been doing this for years now? And I've got so many questions because I think it's such a unique game show. It's lasted so long. Now I want to ask you because I watch it right and I say, every time someone answers a question right or wrong, you've got this quip it there's all you know, there's all fact little factoid or whatever it is. What is on your screen whenever you actually are there, you know the answer before.
No, I don't know the questions. I haven't had time. I'm not at six in a day, so I don't look at the questions.
I know that's not six episodes a day, So okay.
I look at the fastest finger questions because they come up quickly, and then what we do, and because there's insurance involved in things like that, I don't know the answers until they're locked in and then on the screen. I do get some cheat notes on some things, but a lot of times, you know, I'll add the bit that I know of and connect it through and the hosting of the show or whether the person's from America, for example, if you're on there, you know, suddenly there's
an action to something that that's all I add. Lip But yeah, we get a little we get some I have a little bit on my screen. I have the question the answer where they are on the money tree, and that's and that's about it.
Jeez. I was really thinking they gave you like a video and a full script and everything else.
They get a couple of things on you know, a little bit of factoids if you like. But but that's it. But there is that we're making up.
Now, do you have a you have a fair in moments? I feel like that is such a life changing show to win that amount of money. Is there anyone that you've you've heard the story of and it's just kind of really hit you hard in the heart, you know, Oh my gosh.
Time. Yeah, you know, I'll take you back at not. One of the funny stories which people don't know is I'm sitting at home one time. I remember I've been out every night this particular week, and I had a Collingwood board meeting in Carla and said, my wife has had come home tonight. I'm going to cook a roast. I haven't seen you for about a week. Let's sit down and as it might have been even before the
boys were born. Anyway, the night before millionaire, the old millionaire who wants to be a millionaire, Molly Meldrum, who had one five hundred thousand dollars and it was going to charity. And you know, I knew Molly to be highly intelligent, and it changed his life. The next day what happened and the way people looked at him. The money was going to charity. Anyway, I walk in, I'm on the phone, color phone off, Come on, get off. So I tend the phone off and she pulls out
the food and the home phone rings. Now the home phone is Ali.
Mam, so hello old school, And.
I said oh, you know, that's fine. She knows, you know, I'll tell it. I'll talk to her tomorrow or something. Ah, Kerry and she looks up. It's Kerry Packer Hue. So she says, puts the food back iNTS the door. This is going to take you well anyway. He starts, easy to me, what are you doing? I saw you last night? What are you doing giving all my f and money to all your f in mates? And I start laughing, God thought because it riding through there if it was
a massive show. And he said, I saw you, you know, and he said, I said, hey, listen, there was a charity night. As a text induction it starts laughing charity And he said to me, he said, listen, son, don't be helping any of those doctors or lawyers from two rec or Bellevue Hill. He said, don't worry about them.
He said, but if you get a battler one, I've got permission to do what I'm doing anyway, but I don't know its You gotta be careful because you don't want to give a hint to somebody when there's other people who have got their opportunity. They're getting the one chance, so we do that pretty straight. But sometimes we get to the last couple of questions, there's only one person left.
Direction, Are you sure?
Not quite that bad? But but but the funny thing is sometimes I could say the answer is D and they're just.
Not listening, paying them, not even playing.
They're just they're that focused, not even focused. There the lights, the camera of the action, the television. It wouldn't matter what happens, it's it's a It's an amazing insight into human nature. When you get said, oh, yeah, everyone comes on, I shoot the lights out at home while I'm cooking. Yeah, okay, well you are doing it tonight. Let's see what happens.
Have you ever what's the Have you ever had someone really like miss a really easy, easy question that's like super embarrassing, you just feel terrible for it.
Well, I'll give the best example. Was the first person ever not to get to the first five answers. It was a guy called Richard Hatch, the first winner of Survivor. Guy got round in the nude. So he came on and it was what is twelve times eleven? And he at the end of and he blew up, and he really arked.
Up, and he was saying, ah, this question.
I think it's question three or something, and he said, we don't we do times tables to ten. Well, we'll do ten times eleven and had twenty two doing that type of thing and he blew up and not long after he got done for text avoidance and jail with God, I must have we might have burst his bubble. But there's been there's been some beauty. There was the girl who entered to you know what type of ring? You know?
I can't remember the question now, but there was wedding ring, engagement ring, you know whatever ring, and a burger ring. And she went burger ring because she had heard the story of Adam Cooney, the Brandway medalist who proposed with a burger ring. And she just got herself completely confused. And she was a really smart girl. In fact, when I looked at her card, I thought she could go really a big chance, and she was. She was a really vivacious person and fun. I thought, I'm gonna have
a lot of fun with her. This good because you love getting I love getting the young women on because when people at home or watching younger women going, we don't really get a chance at these type of things. And it's inspiring for them to go fantastic yeargo girl, all that type of rote. So she was. I thought, this is going to be a good, good air of TV, half hour of TV, and I am bank. She was out straight, became an intimate sensation. But you know, she
was great fun. And people started the usual thing, people start becoming mean and all the rest of them. I rang her up and she said, hey, listen, don't get caught up in all this. It's fun and you'll laugh at it down the track, and she said I did. I laughed my head off and then it got really mean, and she said, but I'm right now. It becomes a footnote in in life. Don't worry about it.
Now. You've done a lot of You've done a lot of media reporting, journalism, everything else. Now I'm all about a bit of a laugh here and there and now there. I'm sure you've done some wild crosses in Australia, and I've come to this country and I've seen some stuff in the media and I'm like just dying laughing. The way some reporters have to kind of maneuver their way around, or the awkwardness of an interview or whatever it may be.
Is there anyone that likes stick out sticks out in your mind and maybe something weird you have to talk about it or report on.
Well, it was, There's been plenty. I mean, first of all, I remember being petrified and as a nadine, I was doing crosses and just yeah, and I was hopeless and I was trying to learn it. And you know, there's a video of me when I'm seventeen, the first time I ever stood in front of a camera, and I was like that, and I was actually Bruce mcavany who grabbed me one day. He said, listen, if I ask you a question about football, you can talk for three
days about it. He said, you're over over preparing. He said, just stand there, and when I throw the question to you, he said, you know it inside out, just answer it. Don't try and you know, quote Shakespeare or anything like. Just just do what you've got to do. And so I'd nearly been put on the not to be used again on live crosses and you know, or for a
little while. And I saw in those days, because it was so new to cross live into television and into news reports that they you know, I saw some really good reporters lose their lose, lose everything and and you know, fall by the wayside. Anyway, so I'm thinking, God, I'm going to be out of here. I'm going to be back to broad Meadows in no time. And anyway, the next time Bruce crossed to me, I've shot the lights
out doing it. And it was and it was all happening, so it was even It wasn't even time to react. It was what was going on. And I was moving around and getting interviews and came back and almost got an ovation from the newsroom that was fantastic, and say, the confidence grew and then I'd be came known as one of the best live performers. That was it. And then you know who would have thought that, Dan the track the footy show was all live. I don't use
AQ million a hot set. I don't use OQ except for the names, and you know a couple of little things like that, and that became what I was all about. And so from there I developed what you said, able to be able to walk around back myself in, do all the homework beforehand, but just know you've got the knowledge and back your knowledge bank in. So there's that. But I remember there's one time down at Hawthorne and in the eighties we're doing a lot of crosses at
Hawthorn Asset because they've played with the Brand finals. So Durmott was one of my best mates, and Dipper and Johnny Platton and all those they're all lunatic seting out there. They've got the camera set up and there's nothing behind me, nothing behind me, just to you know, like you've see sometimes and doing stuff. But everyone was behind the camera that all decided they going to make me earn my.
Money faces and stuff like.
That's the start of it, right, So they started, they're doing all that sort of stuff. So then I'm interviewing Dermot. I turned to Dermott and of course as I turned drops drops his towel stand of it from here up, you know, so that's funny. And then John Platten crawls underneath the camera shot and gooses me. You know you goozing is don't you?
The story all the way here? Yeah, this one?
And then I turned back to camera and Dip is standing behind it, jumping up and down in the nude, and everyone's doing all sorts.
Of different times.
And I've got to do another three stories. And I did like to do meantime in Canada, the Canadian Grand Prix, you know, and center these things and then they're starting to throw things.
That if you can handle that, you can handle any like hilarious.
But you know, it was a baptism of fire and it was like an initiation and some people cut up rough and oh, why do you do that? You know, I laughed. I loved it. I actually loved the acceptance that these all these lunatics were being were being the pell and and at the end of it again they got standing ovation and Bobby youman, the legendary trainer, brought out a sausage on it with with onion and has
Son well played, you know, and all that. And from that moment I knew were accepted and you're part of the action. And it was great and for me getting involved in VFL football and then a FL football. You know. The first night over went to something, Sam Newman and I went out for dinner and yeah, pepper steak nearly
burnt the roof out of my mouth, you know. And then but Drew Morphort introduced me to everybody, and I met Lou Richards and Jack Dyer and the captain and the major Ron Casey hern Channel seven and was basically the godfather of footballer and Coco Roberts and all these superstars that were mythical and magical figures in my life. They were my cartoon characters about the whole on Superman.
These were the guys Captain Blood and you know, these guys who I met, and they brought me in and Ted Whitton grabbed me, I don't know, break my hand with his famous handshake and poured me a long neck beer and them, yeah, well Ted would break your hand.
The actually break it.
And and all that sort of stuff. And then afterwards Drew and Sam took me around for dinner and took me to the first night club and got me in my first drink card and all that sort of stuff. And ten years later, I'm being asked by Anne Johnson, what do you think of Sam Newman being on this show we want to do? And I said, He's a legend. I love him, He's so funny and John o'ska, really, I said, oh no, I think he's absolutely the I
couldn't think of anyone better. And that was the magic, that chemistry from that night where I turned eighteen the week before I was drove my father's car, had five bucks pocket money, got down to the top of gas
which is down into Rock Road. Still it's I think it's closing now and you seem realizing I had no money, pays for dinner, takes me across the road, introduced me like I was some superstar and you know, Dre fames abroady that night thinking that's the best, that's the greatest, No of that.
Well, I mean that's Australian culture. I've talked about on the podcast before. Is it's very much people just look after each other and it's something that's so unique to this country. Is I feel like it's very much lend out like a helping hand. It's has become a lot.
Mean spirited these days, you know, with social media but also the media media, and they're always looking to trip people up. And you know, it's not about how you're going, it's when we can sack here. You know, you're forced to apologize. Now, maybe I just apologize and I made a mistake or something or you know that type of thing,
and not that we need to be gentle. I think we have to dig deeper on bigger questions as opposed to going so hard on flippant questions, and your point is right, we can't lose that great give people a routine and give them a second chance if required. I mean, bad people deserve bad results, but good people who make mistakes you need to say, right, we haven't enough of them. Now,
that's why the other thing people talk about conflict of interest. Now, sometimes there's just not enough people in Australia to get everything done.
And we don't realize how small the country is comparatively to the rest of the world that they see these things overseas. Of the US, maybe there's three hundred and thirty something million people and there's only thirty something here in Australia. It's like it's just a totally different kind of experience.
You go to the big university's in American pleasure professional.
Yet well we'll talk about sport now. I know you mentioned this before Super Bowl. You love going to the Super Bowl and being an American I've never been. I've always wanted to. And there's a story I came remember if you told me or someone else told me about you somehow making it onto the ground. But the Super Bowl, after the thing was finished and you were celebrating with all the confetti in there and everything else going and.
Patriots it is, it's it's actually got a double funny story this right now because Craig Hutcheson actually loves he loves he does, and Craig does a fantastic business ballpark where he takes people there and if you've ever want to go to the Super Bowl, it's fantastic. Right. So this particular day, the day before, I'd interviewed Bill Belichick, Yeah, and I asked him a question and he actually said,
that's the only smart question I've had all day. So you know, he's notorious for just beating up the media. So that was it. So I thought, oh, that's going anyway. As we go from the media area, we had room pass us to go in because they let the international media. I think they've stopped them now this the international media to go into the rooms. Now, I've done that all
my life in football. But you walk in and there is Tom Brady, and there's Ron Gronkowski coming out out of the shower and standing there, and you could interview ever and a Bob Kraft. I've met a couple of times. Jonathan his son. I knew from meetings that I had with him, so they sort of knew who I was and and a bit different to the American sports casters. Not surprisingly, I'm in a suit. Okay, so that struck away elevated. They're not sure if you're one of the
owners or from Australia. Anyway, we go downstairs and as we're heading towards the rooms, I see all these people going the other way and Jane Muller, the American producer of mine from Triple and SOT Breakfast Great man. Jay, I said, cover up your credentials. I said, put them inside your shirt. He says, what what are you doing?
Man?
I said, just follow me? Said, I said, just follow me. I said, don't get don't drop off the back. I said, hold on to the back of my jacket. I said, we'll see what we can do here. Okay.
Jay's a big dude. He's like six for six, so you can pass as an athlete, I feel like.
But the thing with Jay, though, is he's very American, as you know in that it's like you, yes, sir, yes, ma'am. You know I've got a ticket that I have to stand up here, you know where I'm a bit more Australian let's see, let's see how far we get to this. So I do a big a U turn and Jay slips in behind me and it's the families. I've picked it correctly. There are all the families who are going
out on on the ground. So we're walking out and suddenly we come out of the race and all the crowd realized it's the families of the New England Patriots. So we're waving to everybody, doing the whole routine. So out we go. So I'm standing next to Tom Brady and cron Cawski and Edelman and these guys, and we're standing there and Jay, of course he's got the microphone, so I said, well, come on, let's bang off a couple of interviews. So everyone's jumping up and down. You know, yeah, cronquit,
I reckon, yeah, man, And this is fantastic. You got anything to say to us A straight you go perserk And I look up and up on the stage, I look up and they're about to present the the Vince Lombardi Trophy and Hutchie's got it in his hands. He's up on the back of the stage and he's got hold of it. So I start laughing. My head off anyway, it comes back down and at every and you could see it on the telecast. So this is then it comes down and I end up with it that I've
got it. The guy's going to said because somebody came over. It was one of those ones where one of the players had it and the family came in. I just said, I hold it for you, and they're doing photos and Chase getting they're doing this one anyway. From there, it all happens. I get a couple of interviews, and I said to Jake, let's not have a stay lucky, because
we're going to get everybody inside. Let's go. So we head for the for the rooms, and as we're walking on, I realized that Bill Belichick's ten ten meters in front of me, and it's like the parting of the Red Sea. We get in behind him, a couple of steps behind, and again I said, there's a Jake. Now pull out their credentials, right, So I've got all the credentials there. Then you know whether it was media or I was
a bodyguard or whatever the case of. So we go in and they open and we follow Belichick into the rooms and we're the only ones in there. And he doesn't know we're behind him, and we weren't going to spook him or do anything anyhow, I was able to watch Bill Belichick go over and he went over to a sink and he just put his head up against the wall and leant his head on the wall and
just took these deep breaths. And we just stayed right back, but just to watch what was going on, this amazing coach and what it meant for him, and you know, you talk to people when they win premierships, particularly coaches, and the overwhelming sense of relief and you could just see, you know, the blood drained from him and then come back into him and threw water up on his face and he turned around and he walked over and he
looked up and he said, who are you guys? I said, coach belichicker Eddie mcguiree from Australia with he said, oh good, yeah, I remember. It's congratulations, you know. And I didn't pull out the interview because it was more an observational thing. I sort of, you know, I was kidding around as a reporter doing that stuff, but I was more there just to observe what was going on. And it was a moment, and you don't want to be an idiot
on those things. You got to understand it. And he said all right, and he said, and somebody else come in. I said, oh, you guys supposed to be here. I said, yeah, we've got these tickets. Were supposed to be in. You're
supposed to be outside, and you come into. So we walk get there's a Q a mile long which is straight to the thing at the front of your Thanks maybe, but you know, and then we go in and you know, you're literally they've got those open style lockets that they're have and and there's Brady's locker with you.
Know, there's seven rings.
I've got the photos and also and that was I think it was the year that they is jump I got knocked off and so we actually sent them all the video that we had and it didn't see you couldn't see that anyone, but at least I've got a
look of who was around the place. So then we're going up and you know, it was funny because I went up to to Bob Kraft and did an interview with him, and I actually interviewed his wife, who was fantastic, And I said, you know, Bob, if you've got anything, you know, for the people in Australia, and he's the first interview is done, so he's flying, he's so pumped out Australia. You're going. So then the next one goes,
we're from Taiwan, what have you got to talk? Well, we're from hongk But it was great, it was It was an amazing experience. And yeah, I've been lucky enough to go to a number of Super Bowls now hosted them for Channel nine back in nineteen ninety eight at San Diego and the other one recently call at in
the Los Angeles and so far stadium was amazing. But that was and I was really getting into Gilbernaclachlin, who couldn't go because you get your head kicked in by the media because you're at the Super was that anyone who's in show business, entertainment, stadium management and sport who wasn't at that event needs their hedrid. It was a
master class. And you come back and you know, we look at the MCG and you still got people saying, oh, do we furbished the southern stand when you're saying, you know.
You go there, you see it.
We're also but you also got to read the play a bit. It's no point building a new stand here and spending a billion dollars and it's going to be outdated before it even goes up. Cricket is going to change if the world keeps going the way it is, whether it's weather patterns. No one's going to stand out there from ten o'clock till six o'clock in the middle
of the blinding heat on Boxing Day. You're going to have to have cover that people aren't going to sit up the back in July on Friday night football getting their head bolted off with hail. You put a roof on the thick we live in Melbourne's Sydney have macked it up. They haven't put any roos on their stadiums because they don't believe it. They have bad weather up there, but Melbourne can't fall for it. Now. I know that this is an iconic stadium, but it doesn't have to
be roofed all the time. When we're lucky, we've got to rally out across the road. You can have a sliding With the technology that coming in it is so great. It's all there and when this needs to be in the top five stadiums in the world always because it brings so much major events to Australia. And we've got Marvel Stadium down the road, which is a really good stadium, which we underestimate how good it is. But you know, concerts and all those sorts of things massive there there. And here I.
Want to ask you another story about sport. Now. You told me this story years ago and I still was blown away by it, and it's the Joe Fraser story. Joe Fraser on an airplane. Can you give us a bit of a rundown of this one?
Well, I was lucky in that I met Muhammed Ali and had dinner with Ali. And I was lucky for my fortieth birthday through Eloise Pratt and Anthony Pratt were actually wrote on you know the usually in the book all the time, the big One, and did that, and I had ordered one for as my birthday present, and so that was good. I've got two boys that I've got two autograph books. So anyway, when I was up in Sydney, I went to the fights one night. It was Mundane versus Green and Joe Fray. I looked across
the thing. It looks like Jefe Frasier, and you know, we're sitting sitting ringside. So the guy who had him knew me, came over said, I said, that's said Joe Fraser. He said, yeah, it is. Do you want a meeting? I do.
I want to meet him, of course.
Across and I meet Joe and he's in a wheelchair and he staggers up to his feet and having a bit of a chat and he is great. I love Joe Fraser. You know, my son's called Joe, but it's not necessarily but it certainly was in the back of my mind. So he's not named after Joe Fraser as such, but it's part of it, right, Joseph Fite Nuns, Joe Fraser. You know. Ye, my middle names show Joseph, but he just was a Joe when he was born. Anyway, we
get on the plane the next day. I'm flying to America to go to the screenings over there, and Jeff Brown was actually with us, and John Alexander, who was the head of p B All at that stage, was also colling supporter. As it turned out, first class was full of Collingwood people and Joe Fraser. And as we took off, we're playing Gelong this night and anyway, the games on, we're trying to get scores and things, and
couldn't quite get him. Anyway, we during the course of the night, I got invited up because Joe Frasier remembered me from the night before and the guy who was with him, et cetera. So I sat there for about two hours on the flight, asking everything, all the stories.
The man you'd want to hear stories from, for sure, but to you right now, he's.
At a different level to me. You know, he was in there with l he helped create the fable of r Le. But he did talk to me about how, you know, how hurt he was that he wasn't invited to do the like the cauldron at the Olympic Games, that Li got it in his hometown. And he said he was from Louisville, you know, I was from Atlanta. I should have done that, and when you look back on it, they both should have done it. They should
have got them both doing it, you know. And he said, you know that second that last fight, he said, you know, I can't believe that I didn't go back out. You know, he did the right thing, but he did the wrong thing. And other three minutes. I knew he couldn't come out. I knew I was I was still going, well, well, you watch the fight, you know, both of them. That's
watching two people kill each other live on television. And but he then he said, he said, you know that after that fight, he said, Ali was in hospital for a week. We went to a nightclub that night, you.
Know, become friends and over there it's like it's like Mayweather and McGregor, they all come together after and.
Yeah, but there was now there was still there was there was an edge. There was an edge with them, you know, because Fraser helped Ali when Ali had been rubbed out for Vietnam, gave him money financially and all that sort of stuff. And Ali Ali had a mean side to him. But when you go through the whole thing, you see how it worked itself through and old Joe, you know, after it got destroyed by Foreman. Yeah, I thought that that was the end of it, the you're
invisible to you're not in boxing. And then of course you had Ali beat beat Foreman, and then the two of them had that the round three, the thriller, and Manila was just unbelievable.
Back to the back to the plane back to he's giving.
Me all this sort of information and we're talking. It's just fantastic. Anyway, we land and uh and the news comes through the piles have beaten Geelong by a record margin. So we're all linked up and we're saying good old Collingwood forever up in the first class. But Joe Fraser
didn't know what was going on. He knew it was exciting and he knew that it was big and and all I said, anyway, about two months later I met in the office up in Sydney at Channel nine and you know, it was on We're getting We're getting built around the years a fair bit. And this package arrives. I don't know, I don't know. I was ticking or whatever it was going to be. And I opened it up and inside was a boxing glove from Joe Frasier.
Keep your hands up there, Joe Frasier, which of course have So I've got an autograph boxing club from Joe Fraser and an autographed goat book from Armad Ali. And wow, that's it's pretty bigre it is, But they they don't forget. I was on a little Boy when they were the first big in Australia. They were the first major events coming in via OC Australia on satellite and watching those fights in the those days World Heavyweight total fights on
the front page for days it was Underlieaver. It was amazing, shaking hands. Actually put my hand into the right hand of Joe Frazier, you.
Know with nuts people out was watching the left.
But to know that Joe fort and those fights and he was blind in one eye and everything and in to see Ali and Ali did the looked at Carla and looked at me, looked at at Carla, looked at me and she said to color you married him? You know he's gay? Yeah, yeah, You just sit there going wow, what sort of life is this? Yeah? Man, amazing people.
I'm moving to the last time we I talking about here, and it's it's someone who this is very recent. This is all kind of happened. You've had a very close relationship with this man. I'm looking across and I see his name and the Shane warn stand. I want to ask you guys about your personal relationship with him. I know you knew him very well and he was someone that was very dear to yourself and I had a lot of a lot of fun times, a lot of a lot of good times with the man. I've got
a bunch of stories that we go through. I'm not going to go through. We'll be here for another four hours, but just me, I kep.
Him keep look. Warning was yeah to me, the quintessential kid from Melbourne who came in and was the storybook. I mean his life is. I mean, you know, we only know parts of it. You know it was was even bigger than what it is, and he was enormous. But he was also a great friend. The phone call
would come, you know, what are you doing? I don't know what the phone of ringing you look, Shane Warning, and you're going to say, this is either going to be the biggest story of the year and he needs help, or this is going to be a great night ahead of us. And you know the amount of times that all happened. But once what I loved about Warning is once he actually believed you to be a friend and you showed to be a friend, then you were in again.
And I find that with a lot of the great people, they they will bring you in and give you everything, and they just want to have other friends and other people that can rely on. So it was a terrible tragedy when the news came through at one thirty that morning that Shane had died. But you know, I remember going around to his house one time in Dan at PORTSI and there's a guy there Ross. Hello. Ross seems
got an English accent. You obviously he's an important character and warning they said that we get talking and start talking about in English soccer and well they said, they said, it says to be how do you fastid? Well, you know, nominally Manchester United and I said, I still as odd as this is is a Manchester United guy like Liverpool because Kenny Delglish became a friend and you know his connection to Celtic. I said, look, I'm a Celtic man and yeah, they're the big club. And he says, oh
really you like Celie's heah, yeah, so I start off. Yeah. The first British team to win the European Cup in nine at sixty seven won the you know, the Coronation Cup in nineteen fifty three and Celtic played Hibbs and it was an all Green final and my father was there at Hamden Parker was one hundred and twenty five thousand people there blah blah blah blah blah, and I get wound up into it and they asked, Warning throws a few questions. You know, I'm into it about all
this sort of stuff. Not unusual, you know that I've got a bit wound up and going. And then Warning says, ah, yeah, I said, said, Ross is a Celtic man. Really if you break for the Celtic, said here, he says, yeah, his family owned.
Them, I said, said last and I had just got what.
I said, what your father you do my Desmond? So he said yeah, Ross Desmond. I said, right, okay, now he said. I didn't know half of that. It was fantastic. So later in the air they're coming out and Ross Ross came out for Warning's funeral down at the Saint Gilda Footy Club and so the Desmonds are coming out. So I'm looking forward to catching up with them. But one of my great memories was I took my dad back and the last game he saw of Celtic in
Scotland was with me. The first of the last game he went before he came to Australia was knee deep in the mud. And this time we went. We sat in
the director's box. And then the last game he saw just before he died, when his ninety four was over at Amy Stadium and the Celtic we say coach, but manager Neil Lennon actually came up and made a presentation to him and became a jumper with maguire n ninety four whatever it was, and there must have been ninety four and in a beautiful tanker and a ball and all that sort of stuff to my dad, who couldn't believe it that after all these years in Australia, that
the team that he loved. If we if we breathed loudly on a Sunday morning when the BB said World Service with no it was getting the results on the radio, you'd have to go. That was English Premier League, and there's the Division one and again through all that didn't bet Division five, then Scotland Quiet, Celtic two Rangers, and that was it happiness for another couple of weeks.
I must say, mate, I know you did the send off with Warner here at the mcg and that was a pretty pretty beautiful moment. I think it was very well constructed. I know you're a massive behind it, and something I know he would have been proud of.
Office was enormous and met Gadinski from Mushroom with the staging and cos cardown at GMTV and then the mcg and Peter Jones who does all the big events in Melbourne. And what I loved about it was it was Melbourne coming together and because it was on all the stations, none of the no one stuck their head in from Sydney or any of the other and we're actually able to do it. And as a turnout, I was actually sick the week before I was and I was petrofied
I had COVID, so I didn't test myself. I stayed home and on the Sunday I thought, I'm going to have to write this one because we had to put it through protocol, and two because in case I couldn't do it. So I was going to test myself on the Monday and Tuesday and see how I was going. As it turned out, it was a flu that was going around Melbourne that time and I tested negative and I was right. But so I sat down on the
Sunday and wrote the funeral. I just sat on the kitchen table and it knocked it all out because we knew we had out, and we knew we had been at Ed Sheeran, and we knew we had Chris Martin, and we knew that all these other things were falling into place, and you know that, so then you're able
to put it together. And what was interesting for us was because there was no ad breaks, we had to really almost do it like a theater production where they wanted to know or pull sets out, and we had to get the kids from their speech to at the top of the stand unveil it. So that's why we had the trumpet and then different things like that. So it was actually great fun pulling it all together, but at the same time making sure that we use the mcg as a set rather than it being the venue.
So we use it as a set, get the shots of Melbourne, get people realizing this will be a show, not just a funeral, but at the same time keep the solemnity of a funeral and what we're actually doing and not turning it into a circus. So that was what we were trying to do and I think we're able to achieve.
Are you accomplished it so well? Mate? And it's great to sit here and look across and see the shame warns that I'm sure you're pretty proud of that, and probably gives you a bit of goosew'm seeing it.
But it was great because the day he died, I received the phone call from the Premier, Daniel Andrews, who said, we need to do a state funeral, don't we and what do you think and I said, yeah, absolutely, that'd be amazing for the family. And then I went down spoke to the family and they're really taken by it. And then a couple of days in the phone call came through again and you know, what do you think about the stand and I said, well, well, yeah, it's
a game. It's a pity didn't happen when he was alive, but yeah, what a great moment for the for the family, and it's it's it's such a I mean, he's such a Melbourne icon.
You know, he's one of the first people over knew shame warning, so if you know anything about Australia, need no shame warn.
Well, he's got a statue at the front and he's got on the northern side of the ground. He's got to stand on the southern side. And I'm glad that the people have come out already and said, it doesn't matter. When it's redeveloped, there will be a shame, whether it be the whole stand or part of the stand or whatever it's it's there. Yeah, beautiful, It's just enormous.
You can see how much of a great friend he ones to you, mate, and just like you are to me. You an amazing friendship. With the amount it's you've been someone I've said it before, I'll say it again. You've been somewhat of a father figure for me since I've moved to this country. It made me too old, but we've shared a lot of Christmas dinners. Well, you've always taken me in as one of your own.
And do you bring a certain geness a quiet to the equation as well. I remember the first time I met you. I remember feeling you and Nol and your brother just how impressive you were. And I remember darre ringing me and he was over at the Combine in America and I said, is anything anyone over there? He said, there's one bloke we've got to get and there's a couple of clubs into him. I said, well get him
out here. He said he's coming out and I said, well, yeah, make sure we catch up and I'll do the full court press on him. And as you said, you didn't quite know who I was and you walked out and saw me on the back of.
A big deal.
But it was great chatting to you. And also what I think people underestimate with you is coming with your
college education. You've brought an enormous maturity to football, not just Collingwood, but to football and particularly calling Wood, and the way you've been able to battle through your I issues, learning the game, the criticism that is coming your way, which is quite incredible at times, but also then to not only play that game in the Polyminary Final, which is one of the most magical moments I've ever had
in my life. Watching you that day at the MCG against Richmond was just one of the greatest things ever. To sit behind your parents when your first kick in on Anzac Day and you kick the goal and nearly see them jump out of the out of the off the second deck there, only to probably landed on me because I were jumping even higher I reckon. But those they were their magic moments that you just look at
and you think wow. And then everything you've brought and what you continue to do even with you becoming an Australian citizen in recent times. These are things that are important. We have to get past just the media obsession with this week. You know, this week's game hero zero sack the coach, give him a five year extension. This bloke should get you. Forget all that's that that takes care
of itself. We need to get back to reporting the humanity and I think you bring that embodiment to our game and it's been great and long may you continue to be involved in the game. The fact that you're doing this, the fact that you are talking to iconic people in Melbourne, says to me you've got a lot
more to give because you actually get it. Whereas most footballers they come and they go, and you know, they come back for the past players thing and you think, geezuz, you actually might have had a bit more to give
you had have been given your head. Possibly, I think because you became as a mature age person who traveled to the other side of the world for a sense of adventure, and also because you had your college education and you've played a few different sports and things that gave you a completely different dimension and a capability to get through what has happened.
Yeah, and I think I'll look back to my career and everything that I've done and everything else comes from zero. I didn't know anything. I didn't know anyone in this country if I came here, and now Bill, all have this amazing experience since because of the people have been surrounded me like in that time. And you're a major
part of that. And it's like we talked about the very beginning of this podcast, it's all these people that reach their hand out and help you, and that's what makes it amazing.
And I think also, and ask you a question. I always find that first generation Australians and all those who have come from overseas see Australia for what it is, even better than people have been here for generations. I find one of the holdbacks on Australia is because it's so good that people go, if it's not broke, don't fix it. Whereas anyone who's into looking down the track of life goes, well, if it's not broke, fix it and make it better and do things and look further
down the track. So you know, we've got you know, unashamedly, Yeah, my mother said the best oy of the life was and she stepped foot in Australia and I took them back forty two years later and she said the second best day of life was and she stepped back into Australia. Really, So that's that's where our mindset is, or my mindset is, and mom and dads were So you know, I just love seeing what we can do in Australia. I hate when we get caught up in nonsense.
Yeah, it's one of the most beautiful places with some of the some just freedoms and things that we take for granted every single day that whenever you look back to the full picture of it, we're all quite fortunate to be here in the circumstances we are. But I just want to say a massive thank you Addie for coming on mate. It's been a great chat. There's some obviic serious So I've got a whole less of things. I can go through a million of things. I'll bring a
wine Christmas next year. I don't think it'll be as good as yours.
But I'll bring a wine taste for good wine.
I know someone's told me pretty well, so.
This is like, you know, I could have give him a Cordy. All the first street game round now were starting with with a Burgundy or a pep.
The wine glasses that were specific for the top of wine. I knew it was in for a lesson. So Mate, thanks so much for coming on. It's been a great chat. Like I said, Mate, you've been an amazing person in my life. I'm so grateful to have as part of my journey, so continued. Thanks man, I appreciate We'll speak soon. Got anybody, Thanks brother,