Hey, Legends, Welcome back to the Mason cock Show. Big episode. Today, Pendles hits the massive, massive milestone. We talk about Essdon well or not they can break the who do make it the finals? Get that w on the board. And lastly, for the clanger of the week, we have a guest and he is one of the absolute legends of the IFL and it is an absolute golden nugget too. You won't want to miss it, so listen and tune in. Let's get into it without further ado, Let's get into it.
Welcome Brighton Cox, get a mace.
Now.
We got to jump straight into the clanger because as soon as I saw this, it's clanger gold. Yes, Nick lost it, Richmond, Yes, he was caught cold holding the ball like cold, so he uh, you know, took the mark played on had no awareness of what was happening around him, tackled holding the ball, you know how, guys, Simon Meredith, very experienced umpire. Simon Meredith comes over and Nick Flosson's a bit you know, he's a bit miffed
with himself, so he's projecting outwards. It's everyone else's problem and everyone else's fault. He screams, this is embarrassing, Mace, which it was. It was very embarrassed.
D fifty either having a search off for Goald, the hall game stops.
He's not lying at this point, but Simon Meredith wasn't having any of it, and he says back to him, just just as cold as he was caught holding the ball. He just says back to him, not for me, mate, ooh nice in his veins. Hit him with the clap back. I think descent rule is out the window, but this is actually going to be more effective than the descent if you ever start talking shit in an umpire and you know that he can come back with something that cold.
And he's miked up, you know he's parked up. So it's going to be a good one.
That'll do a hell of a lot more than paying any fifty meter penalty.
Damn damn thing just to go through it. I have an umpire just cut you down like that.
It was very good.
It's very very quick married you.
Know personality from the umpires. We love that. Well done, Simon.
Now I can imagine that your clang is going to be pretty easy. Clanger. Two weeks in a row, three misses back to back to back.
Yeah, you would think so. But there's another clanger that I want to bring out, and it's a good one. Yes, yeah, well I wouldn't say worse. It's it's it's it's involving someone else, right and myself, And there's a bit of an exchange, you might say, over the weekend. And I'm bringing this person onto the podcast. Is I want to I want to dissect this. I want to go straight through the details of this, and we're going to figure this out together. So we've brought on the amazing, amazing
Jamar google Hagen, the absolute legend. Number two for the Western Bulldogs and then No. One draft picking twenty twenty, an absolute legend. Welcome to the podcast. Now I've got to walk this through and maybe I'd like to hear from your side, probably more than anything, kind of walk us through exactly what happened in the game. I mean, at this point, I think you were kicking two goals already and you're smashing us in the air and you're having a pretty good day out.
I'm going to say that, yeah, well obvious, so pretty excited, playing a few blokes and top of the ladder. But went out there and I was happy with my game at the start, and then obviously took a mark and you come and stood the marker, and then I couldn't really see the girls behind you anyway. But I just once I kicked it, I was like, mate, that's gone straight through the middle place.
That I'm going to give you. I'm going to get into you like you get to the other people. I'll get into it because I know we.
Me and you have a pretty good connection, but we don't hate each other or anything like that.
So I thought I'd be a pisstake.
And then next minute and just the ball started coming back out and I sent you that photo of where I'm just getting in here.
But Jeremy how I was just leading in the background to get the ball off Duzzy ball.
I was kind of pissed off with your teammates because you think they'd play it out and get on the line and you know.
SHEPD it over.
But at the end of the day, it's kind of it's a bit embarrassing, but I just top it on the chin.
I'm a big fan of it. If I talked shit, I got to be able to take shit at the same time. So if you if you're there and you can give it. I'm all for it, man. But it was It was so funny because I think whenever i'd even like, I don't know if I think we're in the same ideas, whenever you kicked it, it struck it really well, and I was like, fuck, this is probably going through. And then you got into me and I was like, all right, let's go, let's go. It's on, let's go.
That's all about it. And it was probably like five seconds till I actually realized the play was still going there.
I've got ship go back.
Came over to celebrate with me, and then you realized that it didn't go through, so we just had to quickly get on defense.
We've all been there. I feel like we've all been there, mate.
But I don't think anyone's been there.
It was from fifty It is a decent Why it's a decent Why well, I want to ask you this because it is quite timely, but also, Nate Doock Week was last week. Is there anything specially you did for Nadock Week?
I was obviously famous to celebrate outs, so I did a little presentation at the Western Bulldogs in front of the boys. I played a little music care like a song which is played by one of me uncle's archie Roach, and it's just took the children right away. So that was just based on my community and where it was and what he sings in that and all the words he says in that is exactly what happened on my community where I grew up. So that was a bit of a I don't know, a bit of a hit
for the boys. Kind of gave him a hit, that bit of reality check and it didn't happen that long ago, but it was pretty impressive that the coach and the staff let me do that. So that's my main thing that I did this week.
Beautiful man, it's it's been impressive as an outsider looking into to yourself the Western Bulldogs and the way you've handled yourself. Man, it's been incredible. The role model you've been able to become, what you've been able to do for the community, and continuing to be that person in the media that stands up for what's right. Man, it's pretty incredible. It's it's an honor going out and playing with your man, because you're an absolute legend and doing things like this.
Now.
I love having a little a little bit of a laugh and the fact that you can take it in stride means that it means a lot and shows a bit of your character also, mate, So massive, massive, thank you for coming on man, and hopefully we'll see you comes up.
Is that all right?
Easy? True? All right? Thanks you for having me right.
One of the funniest moments on a football field. There's a bit of beef. Bit of beef and it was a good fine and now we look back, we can all have a smile, laugh and they are credit to him. Credit to him for coming on, having a bit of a laugh of himself, you know, and like you know, just taking it in stride. Not many people would do that. So he's an absolutely legend. He's going really well and it's great to see him absolutely smashing it on the football field.
When you're a number one draft pick center half forward, I think you've got to have a bit of thick skin there.
Now.
It was good to see, but it was very reminiscent. It's very Mason Cox esque. I think that he's he might have been watching some tape because he's given you the Mason Cox.
I'm just saying that the jack in the box gets another w.
He did say that he couldn't see the goals past year, so you know it's working. There's maybe five gold posts there, Jesus, one little one right up the middle. Let's jump into the footy mace. Richmond, Sydney, MCG. Just a bit of a dreary, rainy little session down there at the MCG.
Thursday night. We love a Thursday night night.
It was actually the first good Thursday night game that I can remember for a long long time. We've normally started the weekends off terribly. But Richmond Sidney was great. Richmond getting the dub, which you know, it makes it a bit hard for Sydney looking for that final eight spot. Richmond one step closer. A lot of teams going for that top eight spot now they're going to be probably with our one player, the nanc Nack the tankod game too.
He did have a good game, but he's going to get a good suspension because it's pretty cut and dry that one, I imagine. But that wasn't the biggest talking point out of this game. Lance Buddy Franklin. Is it his last game at the MCG? Was it? Maybe we might see him here. I don't know if we'll ever see him again it might.
Be Buddy's last game? Geez, I think it was. Seriously, every other minute they were mentioning it. It was Scott Pendlebury played basketball as a kid. Did you know a Mason Cox's American? Did you know? It was just on replay the whole game and credits to Buddy. He's had an amazing career. So if it is his last game there, it's great to look back on some of the memories he's created there and some of the history's created there. But we don't know. I don't even know if he's
going to play next year. Why are we like literally trying to force this guy into being his last game.
They actually mentioned it so many times I started to fear for his welfare. I was like, what does Channel seven know? What are they going to do to the poor bloke? But yeah, obviously a very amazing career, plenty of good footy at the mcg kick two. A bit hard to the inconsistency coming in and out of the side, getting rested managed, you know, injuryws so it's yeah, wet game for the bigs. You would know how difficult that is.
But hopefully we see just plenty more of Buddy just absorb it up before whenever the end does, because it does come for everyone. Mate. Now Jacob Bauer was talking about the opposite end of the spectrum. This kid playing his very first game, and look the goods streaming down the wing. One two passage of play, hit up the leading option, looks great. Cut the mum in the crowd. She was up and about as you would be because it's your son's dream. He's out there on the MCG
running around, touching the pill. It's great.
Love mom cam.
I love the mom cam. But unfortunately Jacob looks like he's done. His hamstring was in a bit of a denial there for a bit, which is I think we all were. We wanted him to maybe it was a quirky and maybe it was. But took a little bit to get off onto the bench. Did take a little bit of like, oh, maybe I'm good, maybe I'm not overly too sure, let's just test it out again. And I think the physio came over. I was like, mate, you're done. Yeah, you're running on all sorts of adrenaline
at that point. Surely it's like, mate, just cut it off, tape me up and get me back out there. But Unfortunately he'll miss a bit, but you know, it was great to see the boys getting around him on the bench, and you know, it's one tiny blip in what will hopefully be a good career because his first two touches. You can at least live on that while you're doing rehab, because it was like, mate, I was going to have
forty in kick two the way I was going. If the game kept trending in the same fashion, you just never know.
It would be quite frustrating putting myself in his shoes, though, to have the family there, you get like twenty tickets right, everyone, to be in the change rooms after you celebrate to win all that, and like and didn't have that kind of hanging over you if you're not really having this Cinderella story of a start of a career, And it'd
be quite frustrating to putting myself into his position. But yeah, like we said, you know, his time that he spent out there, he made the most of it, which hopefully is a sign going forward that he's, you know, af already foot.
He can have the great, amazing, you know, Cinderella stories, but then there's so many that are the opposite of the spectrum and it's it can be a brutal, harsh game at times, but hopefully we see Jake ab out there again soon. Let's jump into the Brisbane West Coast game because we're going to jump in jump out of
this one because it wasn't a lot of action. One awesome as thing to see though, was Jack Gunstack coming back after you know, putting his hand up and saying maybe I need some a spell or well, he came back. It definitely worked because he kicked six two upon return.
That's not a bad start, not a bad start to the back end of the year for him.
Maybe more players should just have a week or two after have a mini preseason.
The fact that he came back and just kicked six, so yes, West Coast, it's like, you know, it's one sixteen to thirty five, so it was a big win. But to have him at the top of the goal kicking, you know, ladder of it for them, it's it's pretty cool. It's cool to see him like take that time off and realize in his self awareness that he needed a bit of a brake come back to be able to play at his best, and that's what he showed on the weekend and it's a credit to Holm. How many
people would have the guts to do that. They just grind through, you know, that tough part and then hopefully things just magically turn around. But you know, he put his hand up said, look, maybe I need to take a step back before I can take his two steps forward. So credit Tom kicking six is not bad for a return to the AFL level.
Poo pew gun stand yes, pure.
Pew sounds like Star Wars.
Now and will Ashcroft jeezu. He's continuing on with his impressive season twenty eight touches. It's going to come down to a couple there for the rising star. It's actually competitive this year. Yeah, I feel like previous years they just blow it out of the water. But this is a good year. A lot of youngsters coming through. Obviously, the fortress continues up there at the Gabba and they might you know, they go away for a week, they might lose, and then they come back and they win at the Gabba.
So it's get their confidence back up. Of the time they go. They know they're going to get a win at home. They're just that good underneath the gab.
Of lights when they're on. But yeah, They've got Melbourne next week at the MCG, huge Friday night thriller, another chance to prove that they can play at the MCG against Melbourne against good competition. Last time they lost against Hawthorne, but you know, they Hawks seem to be their bogie team. They lose to Hawthorne, whereas you know, another crack at
it against Melbourne and they're absolutely flying. Like at the moment Brisbane in that gap, you know, it goes Collingwood Port up there to horse Race and then out beneath them it goes Brisbane Port Daylight. The rest of the scrubs trying to win a game.
I think they're top fourteen. I think it'll be hopefully us Port, Brisbane and probably Melbourne. I think might be the last one. But there's gonna be obviously a big top four game over the weekend trying to battle out for the top four between Brisbane Melbourne. It's going to be I think one of the games of the weekend for sure.
It is a big game because it leaves the door open if Melbourne lose, it leaves the door open for another team to sneak up in there. Let's jump into the next blockbuster because it was white Hot Mace Giants v. Horsorn.
Favorite team you love the Giants, absolutely love them, and.
What's not to love Mace because Jesse Hogan when he's out there kicking snags one of the most consistent forwards in the entire Australian Football League. I would say they're really making a run for it because they're they're probably one of the most informed teams in the comp at the moment. They don't lose by big margins when they do lose, and boy, they're not losing that often at
the moment. They're getting the dubs. So putting it right up there that I reckon they can squeeze into that last spot even you know they can go up above that that you know, fifth through eighth is really open now because it was just that eighth slot. But I feel like, you know.
One's one or two kind of games away from each other that like every year of Felix k like that.
No one's really seeming to like be putting their hand up to just take it long have snuck their way back up in there, which we'll touch on, but they kind of give me the hebgbi's coming good finals time.
You give a lot of love to j w As. Now I'm here to back in and give a bit of love to Hawthorn. Right. We say it every single week. You know, they keep showing up, they keep fighting. I mean they go down eighty five to seventy two in this game, but the whole time they were coming back, it wasn't like they laid down and just fell over and so now we don't want to be here anymore. Up in Sydney, it's just the away game, We'll just
go home whatever. No, they actually put in a good effort and like, yes they're not they're not finals hunting at the moment, but they're not like you know, they're not just giving up and just saying, you know, this isn't our year and we're just going to go and go to sleep.
Well, they had a couple of disappointing performances in the lead up to this in their back to form, but you're going to get that from you know, the Hawthorns of the league, the North Melbourne of the league, where it's like you can be competitive all the way through and then you have one down day and with you through your team it can drop off a bit.
We digress. We'll move it to Saint Kilda versus Melbourne. A lot of hyper on this one because this is a four and five spot and it was a good game. It was a good guy, It was a good game.
Now you'd have to be living under a rock that's under another rock if you didn't see Clayton Oliver's you know, Newsworthy, I would say the frustration that was on display for the cameras down there at training where he was having a bit of a back and forth with the fitness guru down there in Melbourne. I heard so many you know, journalists and media commentators and stuff, lip readers reading what was being said. Now that out the window because we
don't know what was so no one does. So I just want to ask, from a player's perspective, how heated can some of these conversations get around the club when you're talking about you know, if I was like, hey, Mace, you probably I think you're going to miss the next five and you want to play the next five? Your button heads there, like, how heated do these conversations get?
Well, there's probably three different directions of heat, right, So you've got the coaches right, they want their best players on the track. They're pushing you to be ready to go, so pushing all yourself. If they're also pushing the physios and doctors to make sure you're going to get out on the track as soon as possible, then you have
the personal side of things. Right you might be out of contract, you might be trying to push to make sure you're getting games so you're in the good team that's gonna make it into the finals, all that kind
of stuff. Then you have the doctors. And the doctors are there because they're there to tell you yes or no. But if they don't say no and you go out and say yes and you do your hamstring again, you know who the coach is looking at the doctor in the physios and you say you should have done something different. So it's everyone that's trying to cover the bases, and sometimes you need to push. Sometimes you need to push. People say I know my body best, I can do this.
I can go do extra runs or extra sprints and what not to be able to make sure I'm good for the weekend, or you know, I need to do extras and I need to pull back some right at the end of the day, like it's your career, you make the decisions that's best for you. But you're guided by the physios and you're guided by the coaches, and sometimes the doctor takes it out of your hands. Right, we talked about concussions and stuff, and you're two weeks out and that's just you know, that's the lay of
the law, but the lay of the land. But I can understand from Clayton's side of like wanting to play. He's been out for a while. He's getting probably pretty frustrated because he's sitting the running circles around, you know, the oval, and not being able to touch a footy and not being able to be in training normality wise.
Like we've all been there, and yeah, sometimes there are stern words that have because you want to play, and that's part of being a competitive beast, is you want to play and you can't just sit there and just you know, trot along just think everything's okay. Like you need to push people to make sure that you know, we are trying to get there as quickly as possible, to be as successful as possible. And that's probably what
happened over the weekend. But as the media does, you know, they see a few stern words and they go freaking out thinking the whole clubs, you know, arguing with each other and everything's going and blowing up and it's like, no, you just he wanted to tell him he could do more, and the physio was saying, no, that's our session and that's all for the day.
That's the high performance environment now it is. They were compelling pitches because they're interesting. It's something that you don't see every day. As you know this the normal everyday person that goes.
To work, well, that's probably usually done inside. Yeah, so you might be in like a doctor's office and this conversations I had like not I think because it was in a public, outdoor space on the track. Then the media kind of saw something they usually don't see.
Yeah, and it's not like, you know, Janet from accounting doesn't flick through an email and you say, what the fuck, Janet, where's me? Where's me? Email Karen? So you know, the high performance environment can be different.
You knows a lot more direct feedback.
I'd say people see an athlete and go like the athlete no matter what, should only have the team in mind and go forward. But there are other things that play into your head, which is like I've got to be playing this weekend because my spot's like up for grabs and I got to beat this guy, which.
I'll have a bonus. You're trying to reach. And it's like, you know, I need five more games. I've only got seven more to play. Like there's so many things I can go into it. But I think the people don't realize is I can almost guarantee you this after the conversation was how they play went in and it was
normal and they weren't like upset at each other. They're just like, yeah, I respect the fact that you want to play, and I respect that you don't want to get you know, all the media scrutiny if I get injured again, and that's just two heads budding each other trying to get the best scenario for both of them. Whenever, sometimes it's not maring up. So that's probably where it gets lost in it is like, you know, it's a
high professional environment and high performing environment. People don't see this and like you said, then in their office, but in AFL, this is normal, Like you want the best. Everyone's competitive trying to win a flag, and that's what's going to have to happen.
I feel like the Ducks and the physios are going to have their hands full coming out of this game because Paul Saint kill. Jeez, it was it was a real car crash. And of course the biggest news and saddest news of them all, Max King twenty seconds into the game right away, just does his shoulder again. Out for the season. Just can't catch a break at the moment. And you know, he was looking so good for him and a vault from what I could see evolved as
a forward. He was this big, you know, brute of a Ford coming back from like his last break, and it was great to watch him play footy, Like I was really enjoying what he was able to do out there. Now he's out for the season. Must be frustrating to be, you know, constantly in and out of the side when you just want to put together some consistent footy.
Oh, I'll be frustrating as hell. I'm like, you know, twenty seconds into a game, like we talk about, you know, the Richmond player that you know, Jacob Bowrow that go injured right away, and it'd just be so frustrating, Like you get all hyped up for a game, right you get all your anticipation and everything else, and you get all excited, you get their drilling running. Then twenty seconds and you're sitting there with the you know, Jack and
I are not playing the rest of the day. And then not only that, but to know that it's injury's kind of done before in his shoulders and probably know the extent of it and how serious it probably is going to be. It would be playing on your mind of just like how unlucky I am, and yeah, just the demons of football can sometimes take over. But yeah, you'll have a bit of another still on the sideline and rehab and have to go through it all again,
which can be quite frustrating. But like you said, he's he's showing signs and it's like if he can just get his body to just you know, want to be on the same page as his mind, then he'd be a hell of a force in the league.
And he wasn't the only one out there. Seb ross hamstring, Zane Cordy concussion both before halftime, and I think that was probably the most impressive part from Saint Kilda's aspect. Although you know, unfortunate to lose these players, they really put up a hell of a fight. Every time it looked like he was getting away from him, they just caught it back up and caught it back up, and it was They made it into a hell of a game even though they were very undermanned.
Yeah two on this bench, Oh man, that would be so tough to look at. Ben Brown had a cool I guess I want to acknowledge it something cool or my milestone that he had. Now he played his one hundred and sixty seventh game, which was matching his uncle who played for a Collingwood and Fitzroy. And I know he posted up on social media and I love Ben Brown, big fan of him, So I want to give him a little shout out of congratulations matching the uncle's career
as far as games played. And yeah, he's the nicest guy in the AFL. Happy to say that nicest person.
We'll have to get him in on the podcast because he just seems like an absolute legend I've never met. But Petrarca, this was something interesting and there was calls throughout the week for it Petrarca to play forward because the knock was he can run all day in the midfield, but if he had a shot once he got forward. He was cooked mates and he kept missing. So starting forward Dusty s type role everyone always, you know, they tied Jordan de Goi to that and Christian Petruca much
the same. But he looked great up there, kicked four goals. Did He's just like the forward craft of like, yeah, I'm probably not going to impact this gets around to the front and Senna gets the crumb kicks the goal, fast, powerful, can push off, can take marks, and he's not cooked when he takes shots of goals. So they go through the big sticks. Obviously it's you want two of him because you want one in the guts and you want
one up forward. But did you see much of this game and how the balance looked to you?
Yeah, look good, Like I think having those players and like Jordan de Goy, Dustin Mortin, like those three, I feel like are and even like you kneel like those three, I feel like are just balls, like absolute balls, and they just like can't get tackled, burst through like packs, just all that kind of stuff. And yeah, just they, you know, are one of those players you can put
in different positions and they're going to be successful. And Patraka being played forward now I think is going to be something that they'll probably be looking out in the future of going if he can kick ford alls a game, Like why would we we have enough players in the midfield, especially if you get clicking Oliver back, Like he's definitely probably going to keep playing forward if he's going to be kicking that many yels a game.
So tie that to Collingwood because you would have sat in a million meetings and it's like, what do you do with Jordan to go? Like, if you put him up forward, he can kick four to six. If you put him in the midfield, he can get ten clearances, And it's like, well, where do you put someone like that?
She spends where we need him at the time, Like if we need more goals and stuff, we need maybe someone that's a bit more powerful up there on the ford line, we might put him there. But like, yeah, I think Nick day Cass has moved into the midfield now from defense, and now there's one less spot in the midfield is going forward. But now Tay Adams just starting to play a lot more forward and he's come
out of the middle. So it's it's amazing and awesome for us to be able to shift magnets around like that and not have any kind of issue and be able to have players that can play different positions at different times during the game depending on what we need.
So you need the players to be stepping up to fill that role. Like ideally for him to be able to move forward and play forward, you need a midfielder to put there end up and take his spot.
Well. I mean, this is the thing that it's like, you can put them in the four line, but if you don't get it out of the midfield to the forward line, it's pretty useless putting them up there. So you kind of have to have someone to be able to replace him in the middle to make sure you still admit the ball forward.
Port Adelaide versus the Suns, this was you know, it was going into the week the weekend, it was just danger signs for Stewie Ju and the Suns.
He's got so much attention over the last few weeks.
Because you knew how much pressure he had on him already, and going in to the team equal first on the ladder Port Adelaide at home. I feel it's unfair because the expectation would be that the Sons lose this game, but once you get this much attention on you, it doesn't matter what the expectation is. You'd need a win
to get people off your back. Now. Unfortunately the Sons didn't get that and there was a bit of controversy with Stewie ju taking Ben King off three quarter time at thre time he said it was a tactical sub. It was a bit slow out there, needed some more pace in the game, So explain that to him on the bench. You'd like to think that you could back in your big key marquee player to get themselves back into the game if they weren't out like, if they weren't in it, and it only takes a quarter for
a big key forward to tear a game apart. So does that come down to attitude?
Does it?
You know, maybe it is just really slow out there, but you're keeping slower guys out there.
Yeah, you got to think. There's kas Baal kicked for on the day. So Caswall was essentially their massive key forward on the forward line. Take him out now, you're not going to take him out. And then if you're looking to play a bit of a faster ground because Adelaide's so small, ride so like Adelaide's fields a lot skinnier, it's a lot more fast paced whenever you're playing there. I think it highly in his decision making. He's like, I don't need as many bigs on here because we're behind.
We need to get you know, the ball moving forward. We need to get a bit of pace on the game. So he takes the one person out of the two of those that are playing key forward that's not having as good of a day and that was me King on the day, So I think that was probably the decision behind. That was probably the reasoning. But you know, he had one disposal in the third quarter and it's like it can be frustrating as a key for it because you know you're not going to get a million
disposals because you're not around the football. You're waiting for the body get two used. So yeah, he pulled out. It was it was a bit of a story over the weekend, but we all know what he can. You know Ben King can do can like you said, he can tear a port of game and in a quarter. So I think it would be awesome to see him come out in the next game. Just kick a bag, Just kick an absolute bag.
I do love watching the King Boys play, So it wasn't a great weekend for either.
Would it be if you saw both King Boys playing on the same time.
I would love it. It would be so good, it would be really good. Class ask that was great insight as to why, because people get emotionally charged and they're like, oh, well, clearly Stewart jew just doesn't like Ben King. He's taking him off.
I can't imagine Ben King wouldn't be playing next week.
That would be travel science if we didn't see Ben King out there one more before we move into the positives of Port Adelaide, because there was plenty of them Gold Coast in a bit of trouble, obviously a lot of heat on them. But this is their next four Saints Giants away, who's a big big can't beat the Giants away Brisbane, then Adelaide away. It's a tough back end. That's a tough back end, and you know four more. You know ad losses and I said.
I still want the Sons to make the eight. I know it's going to be a tough ride home. It's going to be an absolute tough ride home. It's what you might call the sunset, but it'll be it'll be interesting to see how they go. And it's it's going to take some I guess technically some some upsets on the on the wagering line. But I think the Sons is a chance. You know, there's always a chance. I'm not sure what Touke Miller is. But if he comes back in the cycle back is he He's back huge,
He's going to just dom it. I've got feeling he's gonna dominate. He's gonna bring the team up to to the tope eight.
Let's jump into the Geelong North Melbourne game because you know it is what it is. This one, isn't it?
You know?
One good thing for North Melbourne. Loved their kids. I thought they're kids. The full blue with the white kangaroo front center. I love that. That's bring that back. Maybe don't bring that footy back ever again.
Maybe maybe gim HBO their hometown.
Yeah yeah, not great. I mean they've had a couple of rough weeks too, Geelong. This is where I'm getting to. They're starting to come home strong, which I don't like at all. Wow that one. I'm not a Geelong support mat So if you can string some wins together round twenty onwards. You've got the momentum going into finals and you can really do some damage.
If they do make the eight, it'll be a force to be reckoned with.
And if you're looking for any form of motivation, it all comes at finals. If you're these old guys and you know you might only have one two seasons left, really turn it on around finals time. Now, there was a nice little milestone. Seems we've been touching on milestone. Zack Towey got the Irish Games record off Jimmy Stein's. Yeah, obviously an absolute legend. Jimmy Steins and his family gifted
him a nice little Melbourne jumper. Yeah, that was really good, just to say congratulations for the moment.
It's incredible he's been able to accomplish and like me being an ex pat also that's come to Australia, Like it just kind of means I don't know, I look at that and I'm like that is so impressive, like so impressive of what he's dying. And not only that, but like kind of settling here in Australia. He's got a family and stuff now and the way he's just handled himselves has been incredible and it's a it's a credit to him and it's great to see him being
able to, you know, to break that record. And I'm sure even after whenever he had his speech and stuff, he was like, you know, I'm almost embarrassed to still you know, be named with Jim Steins and it's incredible what he was able to bring to the game and in his career. And yeah, he just you know, he loves the idea of him and what he's been able to do for Irish, Irish players coming over here from
from Ireland, it's incredible. And to have a Melbourne jumper given to him, I'm sure what a meant to light and yeah, it's crazy. And even during the game they begged himnd to kick a torp and he did it. He it was so good. It was just like a happy day for him.
You know, we talked about little positive signs for some of these teams that aren't going to be playing finals. North Melbourne Cooper Harvey now Brent Harvey's son.
It was so cool, so cool to see some of the media that came out with that, and he.
Did a cool little yeah the day the announcement video where he was walking out with his son. He just mate, you've got to train hard today, Train hard, train hard today, mate, Dad piss off, like, what what do you reckon? I'm going to do, come out here, come out here in half it. But yeah, he got to announce that Cooper was playing footy and he came out. He had a really strong showing and kicked an amazing goal from fifty and everyone got around him and looks for the goods.
So they just keep racking up these players the years.
Four hundred games to go and that's just that's the record.
Well, if he's got the jeans, he could surpass him. But a couple of downsides to this game. Now, Griffin Low came across from Frio was having a positive season unfortunately to his a cl which isn't good to see. And the North captain Jay Simpkin went down with a concussion so he'll miss next week. But Stangle did bounce back and kicked five. So he's he's been you know, his form has been down a bit, hasn't been kicking
the goals. Well he just came out and kicked five. Now, I don't know what what's the Stangl said.
Stangle sounds like as like the.
No, I was thinking, try a stangle. What you know, the triangle, the musical instrument.
Try stangle.
Yeah, that's the playoff words, mate, That's how it works, because what else is called a stangle? Nothing's a stangle, sang my creative throws to these games. Let's jump into the essen and Adelaide game. I think the score is flattering here because Essendon really put on a show. I feel like they've really been flying under the raidar for most people this season. But with that game on the weekend, obviously everyone's been talking Adelaide up and what they've been
able to do this year. Well, Essendon really put on a dominant performance and you know, at halftime the game was arguably over at eighty one to forty four at halftime. Obviously Essenon going on to win one hundred and fifteen to ninety seven, but they looked good from start to finish. The pressure Mace was their all game. Zach Merritt taking over the captaincy, but just taking over this game. Thirty nine touches, six tackles, a goal and just brought the heat.
He's really, you know, set in the standard for these young kids. And Brad Scott has him playing amazing footy and I don't know, it's pretty promising if you're an Essendon supporter.
We mentioned it. I mean, if you are going into the back half of the season, get a bit of momentum, you make finals, like that's the timing year to want that, And the way I sense playing at the moment, they're definitely getting a bit in my momentum and playing well in the time that it counts, and you know, if they get a spot in the finals and they're in peak form, you do know it might be able to end that streak everyone talks about they haven't won a
final on X amount of days whatever it is, like, if they continue on this projectory trajectory, then there's a chance that might be broken.
It's I don't know, it's really exciting to watch them play and Brad Scott's done it in a really smart way where preseason he set that expectation to say, look, we're probably a couple of years off it, but we're going to give it a red hot crack this year and it just set that expectation, you know, a bit lower. So now that they're up and about and they're flying, everyone's getting right around them and you know, they're not invincible.
They're not like you can't not score against them or whatever, but they're in every single game from start to finish. They just keep putting it on their opposition and it's it's interesting and you do love seeing the big clubs up and about. If Carlton can start pulling their way, which they've started to do in the past few weeks, get all the big teams coming up. It's always good to see Fremantle v Carlton.
Was it four weeks now?
They haven't lost, they haven't lost in four weeks and I'll give it to them this week.
That was there Domino.
That was their best win for the year, convincingly. Now Freeman, like in Perth ad optus Freemantle just couldn't get going. And they couldn't get going because Carlton has brought the same pressure for the last couple of weeks. And it's amazing what pressure can do. I don't understand it as a person that's outside the footy environment, because I can always say that pressure is the one thing you don't need any talent to produce. Yep, Like why are they
just bringing it now? But once you see that pressure, it just froze Freemantle, they couldn't do anything.
And I think once you get that pressure, then it kind of, you know, puts them on the back foot, and then they're constantly kind of almost shitting themselves, going like, oh, how do I get this disposal up effectively to the next presson? Try to the forward line, and that momentum just keeps going forward and that leads into your forward line. And yeah, for them to kick ninety eight and Freemantle
only forty five credit to their defense and offense. And on the day it was, it was it was impressive. Like I remember sitting there at halftime and I was like, oh my gosh, Carlton is dominating this game, like dominating this game. So yeah, it's like you said, I think it's Carlton's best one of the seasons so far. And it's coming to the time that they needed it and they're going to need to continue this momentum if they want to make finals, and they're well aware of that.
But it does release the pressure. You have to think, like four weeks ago, how much talk was there about Carlton. Oh my gosh, it was everyone's head on a stick. Now, hey, there's a chance of making the eight.
You can really only give your opinion based off what you can see. And before the last three wins, they were this.
Is footy, though it can change very quickly.
Well, maybe the criticism did them wonders and they started to perform off the back of that. I want to ask something now that they say there's no dumb questions, man, but I'm going to throw one at you. Is there from a technical reason, like a technical standpoint, is there a reason why a team couldn't bring the pressure? You know, if it's like, oh, too many people go at the ball carrier, it leaves too many people on the outside
and you can get cut up. Is there, Oh, our structure doesn't allow us to eat close or their structure doesn't allow us because they chip mark chip Mark. Is there reasons why you can't just go all flat out attack on the ball carrier.
Yeah, you can, But I mean, like you said, if there's a slow team, like let's say it's West Coast West Coast chip Mark team, right, Western Bulldogs handball through teams, so like there's different teams with different game plans, different styles that handle pressure in different ways. And if you're sitting there and saying like why can't the pressure you
know from for the forward line happen? And you've got myself time six, it's probably freaking reason, like you're too big, Like, so there is like you know, certain things that happen there, you know, certain game plans or maybe players within a system that can't provide as much pressure as someone like a Taylor Adams. Right, so you offset a big like me with someone like Taylor Adams who brings twice as much pressure as probably other people, you get an even
you know, an even tout. So I think it's it's something like we value very highly at our club, like pressure or a pressure side. But I think other clubs, you know, they just have different game plans and some can you handle pressure a bit better and some can't. And you know, a lot of probably has more to do with the offensive side of things and the defensive side of things. But yeah, it comes down to how in shape you are probably as a team, like pressure
can be considered based on that. But also it's a mentality. It is a mentality bit of like whether or not you're going to make sure that this is an effective disposal if your man does get the ball.
So I know now Bo McCreary's lifting a lot of a lot of workload. It's covering a lot of people, It's covering all my pressure points. It's good to see. But obviously, going into next week, Carlton finally have their chance to you know, test this pressure against one of the top teams in the competition. If massive game, if not the top team at the moment, Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium, So away game for both of them. Yeah,
game for both of them. It's going to be very interesting to see how that pressure stands up.
Who you got win in that game?
If the if the Carlton of the last two weeks shows up, Yeah, they're going to give him a red hot crack and I yeah, I can see Carlton winning that game if they if that would be huge pressure comes so you know, intgoligiable pressure has to be that and it's what happened last year. They probably got ahead of themselves a fair bit in the media pumping up Carlton when they had only verse teams outside the eight.
Now we get to see if they can do it against the team inside the eight, inside the top four, inside the top two.
Mace Real test a lot of Carlton fans out there are just sweating on that game, wondering how that's going to come out.
Well, they've got you know, their back, They're you know, not going They're ready to take the lid off again. Western Bulldogs versus Collingwood. Geez. Talk about another close one, Mace. He came down to it in the end, but it was a topsy turvy affair because they you know, jumped right out of the blocks. The hot on your earlier We've got to jump forward to this one. Norton and Jamara first half, they were blowing the doors off the seat.
It was crazy to see because obviously Jamara the last couple of weeks really you know, found his form another gear at the moment, and he's marking form in particular. He is just hanging over packs and it was very much the same. Norton's always had it, He's always shown it. So seeing those two up early flying for everything, mark and everything, kicking most things, it had to be you know, you guys must have been shuddering at the thought.
Yeah, I mean, I think obviously we've had a few teams do this to us, and you know, we've been able to come back and by the fourth quarter. But yeah,
it was it was impressive. Like they're the way they bought like move the ball and I think they're just hands and skills inside is like so clean like the Bulldogs, and they can kind of you know, we talk about pressure before of like being able to handle it and stuff, like their hands through pressure is so clean and good that sometimes like you, if you don't bring it and bringing it an elite elite elite level, they can be damaging on the other way. So their their turnover game
going back the other way is really really good. And the ability to spread and be able to get it into the bigs was really good at the bed of that game and it was a credit to them. They were smashed us in the first probably you know it's fifteen minutes.
Where did the game turn.
I don't know. Maybe it was Darcy Moore tackling BoNT on the goal line that got me hyped.
That was so good.
Oh, that was so good. It was real, like Olie Henry goal square should probably kick the goal but gets tackled and like couldn't get it to his boot and a captain tackle. Big time. Play's credit Tom and I reckon that was probably one of those things that momentum just shifted a little bit whenever that happened, and we were able to go on a bit of a run.
A sliding door of moments like that, because Bonton Pali the play before, running into an open goal and missed, which you don't see Bonton Pally do. And then when he ducked out the back and it looked like he was going to run into an open square and you're like, oh, well, he's getting this one back pretty quick holding the ball, which he is almost rarer. And I was thinking there was a fleeting thought in my mind of like to get Bonton Pally to the ground. He's a strong boy.
Darcy really had to flick him like a five point forty and tackle him to ground. And I was like, if they pay some kind of dangerous tackle, that's where it gets, you know, Dicey, when it's like you, he's a big guy, takes a lot of leverage to get to the ground. Caleb Daniel photo of you next to him, like a legend by the way, taken your son to work to day.
And he's actually.
Such a good player too, one of the best kicks in the com.
Actually he tackled Sean Darcy or got him in a big bump earlier in the year. Yeah, so moments like that, it's like, if he wants to tackle you to the ground, he's going to have to use a hell of.
A lot of leverage, and like because I thick it.
So it's like, I don't know, you're putting a lot of players in like weird precarious positions, like with that rule change, but I mean it has to happen. There was a few things out of this game, a few talking points. Will Huskin Elliott broken and so he'll probably miss a few weeks, it looks like, which is really not idea. Obviously, no steal at the moment. So you got a little position to fill there, which would be
interesting to see. But you've got a lot of young kids that like to run up and down there all day, so I'm sure that'll be fine. Now, you've got a couple of brothers that play for you. I don't know if you know these guys, Niko, DECUSI and Josh. Yeah, they're my I don't even.
Freaks is what freaks of nature?
Half of me sick of talking about him every week. But the other half is just I just love talking about him every week because they do ship that no one has seen.
And it's like Josh was you know, Josh is somewhat flown under the radar because there's so much hype around Neck in the Brown Line, all this kind of stuff. Right, Like, Josh has been an insane I think he's Australian this year, but people wouldn't even think about it.
I think he's starting to get deplauded that he deserves, like they're starting to realize because he's becoming undeniable, the kids getting twenty eight thirty touches, couple of goals a game, like just he's just a machine and he's kicking in particular against the Bulldogs, he was just there wasn't a
target that he couldn't hit. There was one up on the wing where he was mid getting hit and he hits it down the line and you know, hits like Ash Johnson on the lead or something like right on the tit and it's like, mate, how do you how do you even do that? Like there's some some bluckskneing at a twenty meter out in the open.
The one I had was Nick, He's sitting there in the fore. He's coming through as a midfielder and like the ball comes the ground, he just like picks it up and just like bananas from about forty five, just casually.
And I've seen the lead up play for that. He is in defensive fifty. Yeah, you know Wander's contest to contest. He's like, yeah, here, if you need handball, one two jugs onto the next contest. Yeah yeah, one two runs back and then like front and center for the thing, gets the banana outside the foot, little celebration back to the middle. It's like, mate, stop it.
I will say this. I had someone recently when a player on an opposition team right was playing against me, and Nick had done xyz you know, in the game, and he just he goes, he's behind me, he goes, He's an absolute freak of an athlete, didn't he? And I was like, yep, it's great to have him on my team too. He just they both just that thinks he's amazing. Like everyone in the league sees it and is like this is insane.
They both float, they float through the air and just they do the most miraculous things. The one where Josh got the ball and it could have been maybe not fifteen or not, but he didn't even care. He already played on and just kicked it off. A step went straight through the middle from the boundary, and it's just like they can do amazing things and they're undeniable. Now I think both of them are undeniable. I think earlier in the year everyone tried to poke holes in Nick
Dakos's game. He gets easy touches. There was one moment that was fleeting on tape where he pulled out of a contest. Oh, he's soft, even though he had like thirty contested possessions for the game or whatever. It's like they're really just trying to prick holes in it. Fans opposition fans because you know, the same thing. Tear him down, mate, they're trying to get too high. But yeah, I think
both Deakos brothers are undeniable. I think both the luck for all Australian and I think Nicks we don't want to say it on this podcast, but jeez, going well. He's going very well.
But the biggest thing that came out of this, I think in one of the biggest moments of the game, it was awesome the fans got involved it was a bit of a rock and atmosphere for a disposal. Now Pendles broke the disposal record and it was insane, like being out there, I didn't really know when it happens. There's two three disposals. He got kind of quickly in a little bit of a passage of play, and the crowd was getting up and about. You know, every single one was like, was that it was?
The next one?
Was that one?
It was not the one he broke the record?
Was that the one?
Like you couldn't tell. But he came up on the on the big jumbo tron that he broke the record, and I think Pendles was like more annoyed that people were talking about it so much. He was like, let's just win the game, let's move on, like but he doesn't really like I feel like it's just like that is such a big deal and it's a credit to
him in his career. And we've looked, you know, we've always looked back on these things, you know, the three fiftieth game and all these other things of him and this milestones that he's been able to accomplish, and this is one that definitely is like top of the table as far as milestones. It's insane, Like you're the most disposal of any player to ever play AFL.
Well, he's got a few mornings sites because he'll go on next year sign another contract. He'll be knocking at the door of ten thousand disposals.
It'd be cool.
He'll be knocking at the door of four hundred games, like there's some massive milestones. And he just keeps trucking like I don't see him. He's just he can't slow down. I was gonna, I can't see him slowing.
They'll slow down around him.
I was looking at him going like he wants to hit some you know.
Real like inside forty five gets us a goal.
He's pretty special. I'd say that now. One last thing before we do wrap it up. May Sports Illustrated. I don't know if you've heard of it. It's this little rag that they run out of the States nowadays, and the biggest.
Sports publication aren't there. Yep, yeah, I heard about it, so.
It might be it might not be a pretty big deal anyway. I saw your post over the weekend, the AFL featuring on the big double page spread huge.
I think they're like five pages in it, and it was the very very front of the magazine, so a lot of people realizing what IFL is and getting the exposure on a big stage, which is pretty cool. And it was the Women's World Cup issues, so obviously women's cut coming to Australia a big big deal and New Zealand and yeah they had AFL was one of the I guess the openers to the to the magazine, which was really cool. It was really cool, man. And it's
like I grew up watching, sorry, reading Sports Illustrated. That was kind of like the media before Swimsuit Edition everything else. I did have a few of those.
Everyone did, right, kids, I pretend like I didn't know about the magazine.
I know that one man and what was that girl's name?
I'm not getting into, but no, it was.
It was awesome, Like it was pretty cool to see that and I got something that you read as a kid and then seeing your own face in there was a pretty cool experience to say the least. And yeah, it was. It was a great exposure for the IFL, great exposure for the club and a few other clubs that were involved in something. Hopefully, you know, we can get around as a as a league.
Now, did you think growing up reading the Sports Illustrated magazine that you'd see your own face in there doing a double cobra.
The old trap cloak double covers. Maybe, hey, not the only first, and I did this weekend. Nick Tankos joined the club the two double cobras.
It was a good go.
He's a freak, absolutely freak. But all right, we'll end it there. Thanks everyone for listening. Absolute legends. We'll have more. We've got a podcast with Tom Mitchell coming out later. Yeah, two Toms. There's another uh surprise Tom. There's another surprise Tom in there. You got to listen to understand. But that's coming out later this week.
Check it out.
And also before we go, it's the last chance to get marched. This thing is dissipating at.
The most, so many people tagging it's awesome.
I had someone at the game, someone of the game had the merch, and I said, I made sure to go over to them and sign it and take a photo with him.
It's all about the og.
So if you do want the o G merch, you got essentially about twenty four hours and that thing's gone. So we're gonna put the h the other merch in after that. But we want to make sure that the people that have been here since the beginning they have the special logo, so anytime we see it, we know that you're one of the ogs of this podcast that supported us through thick and thin and through those rough
times at the very beginning the rough us. But seriously, all appreciate the love, follow us all on socials as you always doing that, spread the love to your friends and family, and a massive massive thank you for tuning in this week.
Thanks Jamar, thanks for cheering.
Yes, thanks Jamar, absolute legend again, we love you.