Lightning Stikes 🌩️ Water Bottles 🙅 Razor's Goodbye 👋

Hey, legends, welcome back to The Mason Cox Show. Big episode today, Freo fans, we feel for you. A tough way to end the season at Carlton. Congratulations. I guess I'm not really too sure. We're going to talk about that water bottle that was thrown against the Onpire. Seriously, what is going on there. We're going to break that down. Lastly, some retirees. Razor Ray the legend himself finishes up Dusty Martin, one of the goats of the game. He's done. Also,

Get a ice speak. Coming to the end of the year. Sad times, but yeah I did. There was a bit of a roller coaster on Sunday because the games were all important. The other the other couple of days they would just big blowouts to the finals teams. But I'm giving my cl this week. I'm jumping straight into it

The finals were done.

It was like a twenty twenty two flashback where you broke their hearts and all over again. They were having all those traumatic experiences because alls that had to happen for Carlton to get knocked out of the finals was we go over to Perth and we watched Freo win a home game against Port. Now we know Port's good. We get around ken Hinckley. They're now second on the ladder after the win. But come on, it was you know, literally season on the line. Your whole year you've done.

You're doing your two k time trials.

You're skinnies, you're missing family and friends and sacrificing weekends. No drinking, you're eating right, you're doing it all and then you come up and you dish up that putridge.

That was that football game.

You know.

I sent producer Harrow on the decks. I sent them a message saying Rotchies reserves. They would have rocked up and they at least would have had some ticker mace because what they put out there. And I can look down here and every Fremantle fan on the planet Earth would be agreeing right now, nodding at the screen with their headphones in because.

That was putrid. Like one, pick up the ball.

Two you've got that many forwards in your team list of Fords. Yeah, you got big Dick Tracy. He's out at the moment and he's an important pillar, But you got that many Fords. Collingwood would kill to have one of those blokes up there, but come on, they got forty of them up there.

Hit one of them, just hit one of them. Hit a lead.

Move the ball quick so you can get some action going because they just took so long and port was just you know, meandering back into D fifty, clog out of it and then they rebound out of there. Sarong got tagged out of the game, first game in forty years that he hasn't had over twenty disposals, probably not the game for it. Uh. And the moment that Hayden Young came off with his corked calf or whatever the hell he had, it was done. It was game over.

It's safe to say Fremantle Film of the Bag rather than Port Adelaide won that game. They're having an absolute crack.

Very evident thing.

And this is like disgusting for me to say. I can't say this because I don't play footy at any level and it's terrible. But looking at the two midfields, yeah, you look at Port and you go, there's some savage blokes that just want to win games of footy out there.

They got butters, they got.

Horny frank Like, they get in there, they rip the ball out and they charge their team forward and it just Freo didn't have that, which was very disappointing.

But that's it.

They're done, and I'm gonna this is probably a bit for later, but they also cost themselves a draft pick slut.

We'll talk about later. We'll get into that letter. I feel like you're still very hot. You've you've come off the top with absolute steam coming out of your ears.

Hot because we give it a bit of energy that it deserves.

And I'm just angry on behalf of the Frio fans because that was past tackle. You know, you know they put up the little they put up the Fox Footy precious stats.

I don't know what that is, but they were in the poor.

Calculator is excellent one end and then there's free down the other end in the poll on the red. So you know, you think if the whole season's on the line, you probably want.

To be up in the green.

Yeah, it makes sense anyway. Wow, Well, I'm going to continue the grilling and my clanger of the week. Obviously there's a bit of media you could say around this now. In the Carlton versus Saint Kill the game, there was a bit of a disgusting act as you could say, that was done. A water bottle that was thrown at a goal umpire, just absolutely ridiculous, weak, just weakest pissed, you could say. Then they're going through the details now trying to find the person on cameras and stuff that

We've talked about players overstepping the mark at times this year when you know you might boo, but it brings out the passion in you, and there's definitely a line that you can cross, and I think throwing a bottle at someone like you should be able to go anywhere without being assaulted, but you should be able to go to your workplace do your job without fear of being assaulted by someone, especially with well, it's a weapon, it's

Person therest believe there are that many cameras and more. Boy, if they haven't caught the person yet, I'm blown away. You've got tickets of who's in what seats, you can easily email them back. You know, everyone's got their email attached to it. You've got all the camera angles, you've got the people sitting around them, Like, I'm amazed they haven't had the person ousted yet. It's incredible.

They'll have face scanning technology, they'll be they'll get them and it wouldn't surprise me if it's one of those self report things where in the light of day you come out and you go, I've made a big mistake.

What do you do band for life?

Yeah, you probably have to because life for sure. Yeah, you can't like you can back someone in. Obviously everyone gets a chance to be rehabilitated, but you probably lost your privilege to be able to go and enjoy the sport that other people are just there trying to enjoy. We all do love the passion and is what makes the sport what it is.

But you can't cross the line.

So that's just beyond stepping over over the line. Yeah, just want to that's my Clanier of the week because it's unacceptable if I'm being honest with you. And yeah, I understand umpires. You can get passionate about calls they're making things like that, but there's definitely a line there of letting them be able to go to their job do their job without being assaulted by people in the crowd like those absurd to think that actually happened. So

Ridiculous and we like the results this week because off the top Melbourne they went down to the mighty Magpies fifty seven and one oh three. That's a big win to finish off the season for Collingwood. Hawthorne footy club. Oh my god. Now I saw a couple of players out there from the Hawthorn team getting stuck into the North team. And it's pretty easy when you can say we were tipped to be down the bottom with yours and look where we.

Are seventy points.

You got to be as a North fan where you know, we're very conscious about sticking the boots in.

We'll get that.

We'll get into that later. Geelong got the job done over West Coast. They're happy to knockoff. I reckon for the year. It would be very annoying to fly all the way over here, all the way down to Geelong, then all the way back. So I feel a bit sorry for the West Coast Eagles players. So have a good break, recharge, go again, Richmond, knockoff you're done to big retirees. At the end of that, we saw a dusty, teary eyed Dustin Martin coming from the field.

Which is grimes different to see.

I loved seeing that a bit of the human side come out and a bit of vulnerability as he walked off the mcg.

Scorecast, Like you know, obviously demos over there coaching and stuff. There would have been people within that program that he was connected with through his time at Richmond, so I think emotional for him leaving Richmond, but also having those kind of people like that were at the game that he was competing the team was competing against, still be involved as would have been a lot and.

We saw another goodbye. Dyson Hepple got to say his goodbye to all the loyal Brisbane Lions fans at the Gabba.

That was good to see.

Got chaired off eighty seven points to sixty seven.

Real stinker. By the looks of the scoreboard.

Brisbane could have absolutely dominated, but just decided to kick goals. They just wanted to do it one point at a time, which was great for all the spectators. Sydney v Adelaide, Sydney getting the points there, you know Adelaide so so yeah, very dangerous at times.

Had a few upsets Adelaide. They upset a few people along the way.

And then a couple of stinkers along the way. So Western Bulldogs GWS starting off the Super Sunday and that was a wild game out of Ballarat windsor plenty. Western Bulldogs got the job done, which locked them into finals because we probably didn't you know, talk about that enough that if they had lost that game, they were a chance to miss the whole thing. So pretty well, but they got the job done over GWS Carlton.

Wow, Wow, Wow, we we're going to dive into.

Events losing to Saint Kilda. I don't know how you feel about making finals after a loss.

Yeah, but it was a real deprestating and exciting day. Or there's a lot of emotions on Sunday as a Carlton fan. If you're out.

And then free, oh my god, that's the worst.

Anyway, let's jump straight into the big talking points, because I do want to just we need to go back, We need to acknowledge this, We need to do a mini reflect on it, because it wasn't us to be fair. There's a lot of people in the media, probably too many people, and a lot of them don't know what to say, so they just throw ship. Now this is coding.

Educated podcasters obviously would never do such a thing. Brandon.

See, well, if you're going to sling ship like I sling shit at FREEO at the start of the podcast. Do it in the last game so they can't come out next week and win and make you look like an idiot exactly.

So they're done timing.

I've got I've got six months of being right, So that's how you do it.

Improve me wrong.

That's got to really anyway, everyone came out after three coaches in particular, we got Chris Fagan, Kenny Hinckley and we got bever Luke Beveridge. They were mid season, they were all sacked. Everyone sacked him. You can't go on after that last You can't go on after that last. Well, it turns out every team sucked this year. They all had patches. Even Sydney Swans that were so far ahead had a terrible patch, a horrific patch. So that's whirred those three coaches.

They're in finals, aren't they.

With a chance home final? But they sacked him midyear. His fans were booing him off the field. They had the sign as you entered Adelaide. I don't even know if that was this year, because they want to sack him every year. Talk about character building, resilience.

Resilience, yes, resilience under pressure. Ken Henkley is your man. Write a book, So write an absolute book. Do some talks, because you could you hitimize it.

He could go on and he could be the CEO of a Forbes Top one hundred whatever company on the planet Earth.

He deals with pressure that well, it's sane.

Anyway, we were always going to give our Ken Henley love every.

Week he's he's up the tippy top because then you have Bevo and Fags who you know, Fags Brisbane started slow rolled back into it. They're still probably one of the more informed teams in the camp. Start with the big home final up there against Carlton and then Bev well we know that, we know that he likes to finish and have a run at the flag from the bottom four of the eighth. It's just where he's comfortable doing it from. Who needs the double chance when you

Everyone needs to just chill with.

Just we give some space where we need a little next year. The media like everyone I say, we but are we we sit down, We reflect we don't go as hard week.

To week because give it a feedback to the media, brod.

We have looked stupid at times.

Old of course not you were that you were overly steadfast on Gold Coast.

Put your hand up for that one. That's that's on you.

But gws, I'm still here and I must be just correct all the time.

Anyway, question you halfway through that you had a little spot there.

You're going, oh much off the bad one. There's one game off. I was one game off.

It's about four weeks. I'd say.

Now we go into the North Melbourne situation, because this is the whole you've missed them. Stats were kicking them while they're down. To kick them while they're down, they've got to be down, but they're never up. North is never up, so we can't kick them. Why they're up. They've been down for five seasons in a row. Now, if you're a North fan, are you putting up with this? MAT's twenty twenty three wins, twenty twenty one four wins, so they're on the way up. Building twenty twenty two

So that's you say that. But then I think like in the beginning of the year, North like we were like, oh, dude, North is putting up some numbers, like putting teams to the sword because it used to be like two three years ago. North was like, I mean, you look at their scores and stuff. It was probably like a sixty seventy point win from other teams like on average, and yeah,

That's a lot of leeway you're giving to a club.

I did write it out that it was if you combine all the points they got from all their wins over the last five years, so you take their last five years, you canbine all the wins.

They would have finished fifth this year on percentage.

Fifteen wins, you would be fifth.

Fifth with five years years over the winds, you can buy them all up, and they missed the top four on percentage.

Yeez, that's rough.

How do you sit there as a fan and you just someone did something horrific?

Still fan that? Sorry? Yeah, North Melbourne fan. Credit to you. Credit to you for sticking with them. You know it's not easy. I'm sure it's tough over the last few years. Every team has to go through this, right, but yeah, just credit to you.

I mean, I know it's a disappointing point because everyone says every team goes through it, but then you can clearly identify a few teams that don't go through it, like Sydney and Geelong, and you're like, they don't go through it. But yeah, I get it because we've all been there where it's like you've had a shitty week at work and you just want to go home and watch your team be good at foot.

You want to have some kind of hope, and all.

Through twenty twenty, all through the pandemic and then coming out and still no good. But we can see the list, the list should be getting better. So maybe it's a mentals thing. Have a bit of a maybe a Bali retreat by something over the off season and sparks some I don't know, some juice coming kind of helps.

Anyway, We'll move to the next thing. We've got, the wild card round. There's been a lot of converse sation around whether or not this should be something they implement next year or further years. I mean, next year's probably a bit soon, but there's a lot of people saying it's a possibility. Now.

Don't tune out.

If you're listening to the podcast now and you've heard every shock jock talk about this shitty topic, don't tune out, don't switch podcast, stay with us, because we're gonna It's just the counterpoint for me that everyone talks about it promotes mediocrity. You know, the seasons made up of X amount of games, and you've got to win those.

First of all.

You obviously have the counterpoints of when it was back in the day early nineties, there wasn't as many finals, like there wasn't as many finalists. They expanded, more teams,

Like how do you support? They have no choice?

You've got to be a great marketer to get your kid to come across the North Melbourne. But like things like that. But yeah, I just feel like one the fixture isn't even in the first place. Now obviously, I think that that's the biggest.

Thing to fix, the.

Biggest thing to fix. It's the easiest thing to manipulate to kind of shape the top eight. If you look at Carlton, Collingwood finished on this same amount of points, the same amount of wins. Percentage was the difference seven percent and Carleton makes the finals. They made a prelim last year, so they should have skewed a heavier, a harder fixture. But they got North twice, they got Richmond twice, the two bottom teams, and then they got West Coast.

Almost. It's always tough to gauge if a team is going to be good before the season, right, I think you obviously look at kind of where teams fall the year before and you say, like, here's a mathematical thing of saying, like, you know, Sydney doesn't play the eighteen team, calling twice.

A year twice this year one was going to be great.

Yeah, But there's also the thing of like calling us play twice, calling us to play Carlton twice. So I get that side of it, because there is money and financials that go into that. With the AFL looks at and says okay, with biggest following biggest kind of attendance. Also biggest people are going to watch on TV, like there's CBAS and all this kind of stuff with television rights along those lines too, So you have to be

Because the counter counterpoint is Freo doesn't deserve a second chance out at either.

Had a hard run at the very end of the year too, though. Yeah. So yeah, it's it's an interesting one. And this is I think that why the wild card round keeps coming up is because you know, essentially from Freyo was second on the ladder like four weeks ago. Yeah, and then you look at it now they've fallen out of the eight. So I think that whole situation of two three right being so like two through really twelve being so close, as many people go, oh man, like

Yeah, it does make sense. I feel like once it Tassi comes in, it's a note brainer. You've got to be doing it. Let's jump into the big winners because we're getting hyped for finals.

I mean, well, what kind of hype there.

But the Bulldogs are Bulldogs, big winners over GWS got them at the top of the big winners this week, although GWS a lot of laid outs, a lot of really important laid outs for them, so they'll hopefully get those top backup to be more competitive for the first week of finals.

But let's jump in Bulldogs.

Just talk about the wind, yeah mate, some of the stuff I was watching over the weekend just kicking it essentially out on the fall and just swinging and back and going through. Yeah. Oh baler rat Fara. Don't get me wrong. It's great to go to the country and play, but you'd be hoping for better conditions than that.

Especially when the season is on the line, like for the Bulldogs and you.

Know gv I top four. Yeah, looking at that.

Positions and all of that stuff. To have it out at ballerrat, I thought that was hindsight. Obviously they can never tell like where all this is going to fall. But yeah, it was a bit wild seeing blokes having to There was a couple of old houses that you can see in the background and you basically have to kick it at the roof of the old house. On the right for it to drift back through and get

It just kind of looked at him was like, this is ridiculous. I just rolled out to the next stay. It just had this blank look of like, how in the world am I playing in these conditions right now?

Jesse Hogan kicked one and it went dead straight and he was like, wait on, that's meant to where's the wind now? He must have found some pocket. But anyway, Balls, massive win for them. It gives them a well final spot. Yeah, I was going to say it gives them a final spot, which is great, but now they're playing at the MCG in a home final against Hawthorne when it's Hawthorne's home ground and they're not playing at Marvel but who knows who?

Who knows? But anyway, let's jump into port.

Massive win over Free are not only knocking Freo out of finals but locking up top two for them, they basically just had to not lose by five goals, so they just the win was for a bit of momentum and to just screw over Freer. But yeah, locks in a top two spot for Port huge. Have you you wouldn't have you played a home game against Port in in finals in Adelaide though ever you're not in finals now, but you would have in general in general played a few games.

I don't think we've ever played a post season finals match against them in the last ten years.

But like journal sis during the season, Yeah, of course, how is it over there? How hostile is it? How's the crowd?

Because it's like these things have like people sit like behind the bench and just horrible abuse and stuff, and it's like whenever you warm up, so can you kind of like run back and forth on the boundary to like get the legs warm after you know, halftime or something. If you're on the bench to start and people just give it to you. They just hackle the living shit out of here. It is insane and poor fans, are you know? They give it to you. They don't hold back.

Well, they went wild in the showdown the other week, so like if the.

Whole like showing the teeth thing just rolled them up and the like just fire in their eyes.

I think a prelim final chance on the line home game in Adelaide, the fans are going to bring it.

Never tear us apart is going to be wild.

It'd be a great atmosphere from March to the stadium is going to be wild. Hopefully the sun's on point. It's nice there. Does the breeze come through the stand where there's no stand for there?

Yeah? Yeah, the breeze is a bit unique because there's like no stand behind and there's just a grasshill and then there stands on the other side, so you get a bit of a bit swirler at times. But yeah, it's a great place to play well once it's a small ground, so it's a big fellow. You don't like to run around as much, so it's kind of nice to be able to get to contest to contest with

And we're going to see a little Ken Hinckley jig over there maybe, So hopefully that's what we're all waiting for. Hawthorne and Geelong, well they just boosted their morale heading into the finals just by absolutely murdering their opponents on the weekend.

So just a little drive by just to say well done.

Drive by to the teams at the bottom just really just dig the dagger in.

No, Well, this one's another drive shout out.

To Tom Hawk did a little lap of honor over there in julyong too, so I want to shout that out back to it and Zach Tuoa. Yeah, so tough see an International Fellows retire up one of the absolute legends of the game and the Torp King. You almost calm but him and Tom Hawk. You know, the last game at the Geelong Stadium was pretty special, So shout out to that. That was cool to see.

It was nice because there was a moment where you Tom Hawkins is getting interviewed postgame and he was mindful that West Coast was lined up for the guard of Honors, So he kind of cut his interview short so West Coast could get off the field on field and then he could go back out there and do a million laps. But that was nice. He seems like just such a

Like, we get that that's not the time for this.

Yeah, no one else is retiring you and Zach, so we talk about.

You guys, And then this one. I just chucked this one in there. I don't know if I've mentioned I don't like to kick North while they're down. But Richmond lost their last game of the season to lock up the number one draft pick.

Why do you say North? Was that maybe possibly a thing that did in the past with Harley reed, I don't know.

One they cost themselves Harley read two. They almost won the spoon again by losing by as much as they did. If Richmond had to beat the Suns at the g not saying that they could have if they tried real hard. But they lost locked in the number one draft pick, and that's how it's done.

Richmond wy I think it was zero point four percentage difference and like all of a sudden, Northalberget's the first pick. Sane Richmond's thinking long term love that.

But now as a case study, if you look back and it's like wins matter more than like number one draft picks, We're a year on. North isn't any better, probably technically worse with the percentage, and they don't have the number one draft picks, so they kind of didn't get anything. So next time, if you if you can lose to win the number one draft pick, maybe just lose. Anyways, after this, I don't think they were big fans of ours anyway. Platforms subscribe just to hate on us, that's great.

Just to win they didn't need to have, like didn't do anything for the season, but just a real dagger for Carlton fans like the oh, the emotion in their faces is that game finished such a close one snap over the shoulder by Higgins, just the one, the one guy that you probably go, yeah, he's going to celebrate, he's gonna let you know.

Did that kick earlier in the game where he hit it that hard. He just put everything into it, his whole body like levitated off the ground and he still managed to have the accuracy to put it through the middle.

It's just great.

I just wanted to give them a little bit of love because a couple of weeks ago I was like, Oh, they're winning these games on the run home. It must be a bit frustrating as a fan that it's like, oh, where was this earlier in the season to give us a chance at finals? But like now, I think it's at a point you'd flip flop it around. You've come to terms with you're not making finals, and then you're just happy that your team's kind of being competitive all

It also shows you have a good culture where people just layover yeah you know.

Yeah, absolutely, do not really have anything on the line.

You say stuff it, I don't care, Like we're still going to give our best.

And yeah, it gives them confidence going into next year, Like they beat you along the other week, then they like they're beating these finals bound teams, so they're thereabouts.

So it's very similar to us against Melbourne, like it was very low possibility where ever going to make finals. Were still put out a really good performance. So I think it's a good sign your culture is in a good place.

Absolutely, let's jump into the big losers.

Uh, free did you mention this one?

It deserves five or six slots in this podcast. So if you're a Freeo fan, this is that whole. This is cathartic. We're doing it for you.

You were going to get it out of our system and then we're going to start fresh for next year.

Because I love free As I've mentioned many times, my housemate is a Freeo die hard. I was barracking as hard as I could at the TV.

Justin's a legend, legend, it's a it's a great place over there.

They just couldn't get the win, which is annoying. They lost their last four to fumble finals. I went to the Essendon game which started it all off, big five goal lead, and they just couldn't get it done. It really that last center clearance that they streamed out of the middle and kicked the winning of the winning point or whatever it was, that was just like, Yeah, you.

Stopped that center clearance. It's all done.

But yeah, they also cost themselves a draft pick slot because losing, they dropped below Collingwood, and Collingwood is giving them their first round pick, so they It might be one of those ones that we look back and go like there was a kick after the siren that Richmond won and they ended up locking in Dustin Martin as the draft pick. You never know how it rolls out. It could be another one of those situations. But yeah, pretty amazing fall from grace of Frio, who only four weeks ago was.

In that we feel for you right now.

The pain now, Carlton, I was I'm a ring whether to chuck them in the biggest winners or the biggest losers because they have they had. They had a shock and loss against the team outside the eighth when it was all on the line for them. In their heads, it was all on the line.

The power make finals, like it was all up to them.

And they'd had some injuries.

They went across the West Coast and got a decent win against West Coast who obviously haven't dished up much in the past couple of weeks. But you know, yeah, they went on to lose that game. They had all the momentum, the crowd got back into it, they hit the lead and then Higgins kicks the winner. A couple of shock and things to look back on and reflect for them. I'm sure you got the two weeks you've got to rest, recover and get all your injured players back or as many as you can to reload and

Important and finals looking good for.

Them, Yeah they have.

They probably have trips if you're looking at the top eight at the moment. They have to go up to the Gabba and versus Brisbane at the Gabbo week one of finals in the elimination. So it's going to be a massive game, hopefully big turnout. Hopefully the fans can get up there, just see how confident they are that they can beat Brisbane, to see how many go up there. One last one, big losers Melbourne, just the game in general, but you could just see it was they were just done.

But even their club over the last two or three weeks has copped quite a bit of criticism, and it's like one of those things where obviously you haven't finished on the top of the ladder, in the top eight, but then you pile on all the speculation and everything else that's going on and just kind of makes the whole experiences in Melbourne fan just feel kind of gross. Yeah, and yeah, just over the weekend, you just I Remember's sitting there finishing the game, like looking at him, thinking like,

It is footy there is.

It reminded me a bit of like the twenty sixteen seventeen times where like Collingwood would go to start the season and it would feel like I don't know if I was gonna say, I don't know if journals do this on purpose, but they definitely do holding a story till the eve of the season drop a big bombshell

That doesn't help us to Stephen May.

I don't know if you remember the comments, mate, Stephen Mays said, we're a hell of a lot better team than Collingwood. Can't believe Collingwood won the Grand Final.

Well, guess what, I think you had a few drinks before that comment.

You both you're both not there this season, so we can all look back and laugh at that as we jump into the Collingwood game.

Because you did beat Melbourne.

Quite convincingly in the end, it must have been a good feeling to get out there and finish the season with the wa.

It took a bit longer than expected. It took a little bit longer and expect it. But the minute plush looking up at the scoreboard, and I didn't know like the clock would go that far up when it was like sixty five minutes, So I was like, I've never seen that before. Interesting, But yeah, now it's a great

Yeah, and I think Fly said after Fly said a few funny comments and press up, but he said, in that last game, you did get to learn a fair bit about your list. Like obviously played a lot of kids Dan McStay Out, Sauna, Slate and stuff like that.

So yeah, a lot of.

These kids came in, not kids, young men came in, played you know, their early starts of their career. What did you think that you learned from your list, not only in that game but this year because you've had a lot of injuries, a lot of ins and outs.

There's been a lot of opportunity, I think for the young guys this year, which has been awesome, and I think they've really kind of showed how good they are and that they can actually play at the level I think obviously you want kind of the best players playing employee. You know, we have a very experienced team, and some of those people were injured throughout the year, and that's

And He's good Ed Allen tell me a bit about him, because it was he's a big boy. When I saw him out there, I was like, he's one of the he's one.

Of the midfield. Yeah, pretty tall midfielder, and yeah's it's a tough midfield to kind of crack into. So he's he's definitely had to do his time in the VFL. But over the weekend played really well and I think showed different signs of yea his capabilities and what he can bring to the table. So yeah, definitely look out for him as one of those that's going to be hopefully in our future playing games. And you know, at the club long time.

Speaking of tall, I saw you rubbed the top of Darcy Cameron's head and I was like, jeez, you're you're.

A lot taller than him. I was like, you are big.

Yeah, Docy Cameron's probably three or four or two or three interest sort of me.

At least wild. I was like, this is free. Who's this free?

Big tree.

Ruffled him on their head. Good on your champion, Good on your little fellow.

I was like, oh my god, this guy's anyway, let's jump into some like intricacies about the game. I did want to jump into Razor Ray's last game. We love Razor. We had Razor on the pod, one of the all time pods that we've done. Spoke with such eloquence and articulation that it annoyed me that I was agreeing with an.

Umpire as much as I did.

It was just like when in Loaded, Locked and Loaded to be like, why don't you just the one where it was like, why don't you just umpire like the Grand Final every week? And he broke it down the reason as to why I'm an idiot, and I was like, a son of a bitch.

But if you haven't if you haven't heard that one, look it up on the just you know, look it up on the search bar. And he speaks really well. And I think you'll leave that being more understanding of what umpires have to go through and why they do what they do. Very very interesting chat that I think a lot of people can learn from.

Yeah, and I hope he stays in umpiring in some facet because he's definitely in it for one hundred percent of the right reasons and wants the game to flourish and all of that stuff.

So, you know, I want to see as a role for Razor Ray. I'm gonna put this out there to the public right now. In the NFL, they have an ex umpire or an ex referee that anytime there's a questionable call or something that happens that's controversial, they go to him say what's the facts, you know, what's the ruling around us, what's going on? And that person just gives it to him straight says this is the rule, this is where it's at. This is the code ballbon

It's a no brainer.

And I but I figure it's so obvious to have that person as a role that they mustn't be doing it for a reason because at the moment the commentators just guess the public is none the wiser, and it leaves a negative opinion on some of these calls that were correct but.

Still opinionated there. Yeah, so like Ray could go and do that Channel seven stuff and he could say, yeap, this is the way it should be a judicated. Then it's it's quite different on the field. So it's a lot of responsibility to put your name out there and say, Okay, I might be wrong, why I'm speaking on it, and just know that the game sometimes is not going to follow the rules or as might be swayed one way because of an umpire's opinion on the day.

Yeah, and it's just educating everyone. But to the rest of stuff anyway, No, we got to get into the Razor Ray.

Razorra retired.

Amazing career, would have you know, umpired a million games, done all the Grand Finals. He's done everything there is to do. Good made of yours moments shared pregame or anything. Did you talk to the big fella.

Pregame post game? Yeah, Like it was cool to kind of see him and I rocked up. I didn't know he was actually umpiring. On the day you go in, they've got like a sheet on the wall next to the schedule and says like who's umpiring? You know the four major umpires or however many there is, and Razors on there. And I was like, oh wow, like this this might be his last game. He'll over umpire. It's kind of cool to be involved in that because he's such an icon of the sport. I feel like, you know,

I saw him having some words as he was leaving with his with his fans, yeah, and he was going back and forth to someone in the crowd. It's like you have to give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't know that it was his last game or like even though he just walked through a guard of honor. But at the same time who gives a shit like I don't abuse people as they come from the ground.

Doesn't make any sick.

But he's given so much to the game cops, so much criticism and everything else, and he's still done it with a smile. And I don't think there's many people I could do what he's done. So I think you have to give credit to a person like that, a person that's dedicated a huge chunk of his life to try and make the game better. And you know, it was great to see both teams give him the respect and you know, clap them off. And I asked him,

Right you your life, you and gone would have been funny.

Thing is so Ray. I can tell the story now he's retired. So Ray back in the U S I f L. You know, there was this kind of celebration after it, you know, and I was like, right, job, all shoulders, mate, I had a few beers. So there's a photo of me and raise full on my shoulders and raise all my shoulds. I gonna find this all my shoulders. He's like, yeah, just go nuts. It was so funny, man. But he's just an absolute character, an

It reminds me of one of those cartoons where they stack each other up, the two short blokes and they put the trench coat over the top. It's it's never been as tall, but yes, that's awesome. Congratulations raised a great,

It's quite wild, but it's very impressive.

It's like he could be a barista in the future because he'd remember everyone's names and orders.

Coming back in, let's.

Go into mortgages spare time.

So you kind of glossed over the lightning delay, but you had a lightning delay in your game, Yeah, what was how did you know what was coming during the game like it was getting pretty ominously.

You could hear it through the broadcast.

Well, yeah, it was. It kind of like started spinning in like the fourth quarter, and you go, okay, and then that at one point there was this big lightning strike that kind of like lit up the sky. And then you know with lightning, as soon as you see the lightning, you kind of count. I think it's like you count the seconds after to figure out how far it is from you. Yeah, and it's maybe like one seconds, like you know, five miles or something like that. So

That you could do a soft tissue or something.

Yeah, I mean, like I've had a bit of like hamsterring awareness over the week and stuff like that. So I was on the bench to start off, and like I did a few extra runs and what not, just to make sure that I kind of felt felt good and didn't want to ping hamstring in the last nine minutes of the season. So yeah, it was one of those things. Yeah, it was. I felt like it was quite rushed, but understandable given a Friday night game. Families want to go home and stuff like that. But credit

Well, I guess as a Carlton, as a Collingwood fan, you're like, oh, we got fifty points up. Last game of the year, Like women as I stick it out. I think everyone probably wants to know last game of your season were you planning beers. Are you thinking this has pushed the plans back? What's the postgame salies?

Yeah, I mean like we were still a chance for you know, that last part of the season. But I think, yeah, you finished the game, you go okay, chances that Carlton loses by one hundred and fifty is probably not high. Plus, Like there is the bye week after, so they can do a beers. It's not irresponsible to many beers after the game, right, So that's all kind of like set up after the game to have a few in the locker room and be able to share some friends and

I never liked that last speech from the coach.

Look around the room, boys, it'll never be the same, Like, oh yeah, but don't say it. One or two blokes that might still be there next year. The Decos Brothers, don't know if you've heard of them, but pretty good eighty disposals between them, but Nick is the one that they're talking about Brownlow chance.

Reckon he's a brown Law chance.

Yeah, I'm hoping. I'm very tough him and Bonce of Pelly, i'd say up there at the moment, come home. I'm strong too. Yeah, I mean i'd love obviously I'm super biased. You could say that one now it's early and then early four months since of his career.

Yeah, like he will.

I would love for him to get one now. So in the pressure for him to get ones off, you's don't have to worry about the rest of his career.

I feel like if he gets one now, he's going to get like six of them.

Yeah. Well that's a possibility too, of course. But you know, whenever he goes through a whole season and doesn't miss a game, you know, I think that's one of the biggest things. If you have an injury or something like that, you know, I obviously hurts your Brownlow chances. So for him to have a whole season where he was healthy, I think it's a good chance for him to win a Brownlow. You look at most of the games, he's definitely best on ground for a fair chunk of them, so.

We would have won the last one if you didn't get injured for it.

Yeah, exactly, there's like three games you messing he would have won the Brown there. So hopefully this year he can win that and get to celebrate that. WHI would be an awesome accomplishment in his life.

So what happens now?

We will do another podcast where we talk about the future and good questions all of that stuff. But logistically, what's what happens now? So exit meetings mad Monday.

Yeah, exit meetings this morning and then going to a wacky Wednesday is what we're doing.

So exit meetings just happened so quick.

I do well. I think like they kind of prep it in the background, the docks and the physios and the high performance stuff and stuff like that. You know, they have to kind of be prepared so you can't just like smash that all into two days and expect you to be able to have all the programs ready. So there is I guess a bit of foresight in that sense. You go in there, you talk to the coach, you talk to the doctors and stuff. You know, go

You have to do conditioning in the States, Oh of course.

Yeah.

Yeah, you got to go back to state Wide and go for a jog and hit the gym and stuff.

Yeah, and go to the gym every single day pretty much, and then go go run every other day.

Wash it down.

Do you think we just go on holiday just drink piss for two weeks or two months?

Yeah?

No, still professional athletes, If you did that, you would come back so out of shape. There's no chance you'd ever get a game.

Yeah. I don't know.

We can't be like everyone else. You just go you see to put a few back.

We have Ken Monster come through the student. Yeah, he eats like bloody, what's the hungry jacks, big burger.

The whopper. He just puts them away like it's different.

I reckon the big boys over at the NRL. They get to put on a bit of mass.

Yeah, they put on a bit more mass. I think we try to run it off.

We need the protein.

We did.

Last thing we talked about the fly, I spoke about how you'll just sit and you'll watch the finals and let it burn. And yeah, you're actually going to watch the finals, so you probably just skip that.

Jeez. I don't know if I have access in Europe. Yeah, I'm going to go over to Croatia for about seven days, do a bit of the sailing thing. Is your family then, yeah, the brothers are gonna come with me. So I'm going to do Croatia and then we go over to Milan or take a train up to Como, do that like Coma for a few days, and then my brothers are meeting me and the Dolomites in Italy. So we're going to do a bit of hiking and some high altitude

To do your conditioning well.

I mean, we'll be doing a week of high before then, so I think I'll be able to work it off. And now I'll go back to Austin, go back to see the family, spends a quality time with them, obviously being gone from them for so long, and it'd be good. It'd be good. I'll spend most more time in Austin, Texas as my brother at his house, and you know, I've got a good kind of training regime there that

His Raser doing his last round of international football.

I was furious. I don't think he is, was the man, like, who's going to come? He's like, I don't know, man. I was like, it's not going to be the same without you.

Celebrations that's good me and how horrow will probably head back to Rachie. Yeah, same time for a weekend or whatever. I went out, did the one thousand steps out of Dandy Ung's basically. Yeah, well we get we're both getting hiking. Get into it, jump into finals predictions before we wrap it up.

U v.

Geelong in Adelaide, Western Bulldogs v. Hawthorne at the MCG, Sydney v GWS it the SCG Brisbane Carlton at the Gabba.

That kicks us all off. But who are you tipping? We'll pick the tips.

And then we'll just pick who we think is winning the flag, and that's how we'll wrap it up.

I've got Port versus John got to Port Adelaide. Incredible, incredible team. I think honestly Port Adelaide is going to win the whole thing. Yeah, and I would love to see it because they've been up there for so long. They've had their chances and they've just missed out or missed out by kick here and there, whoever it is. This year, they've got the momentum, they've got the team, they've got a home final, they've got everything that's kind of falling in place for him. If they can win this game

Yeah, well they Yeah, they're going to get a home pre lim if they win this, and then good luck going over there and beating them.

So I've got who do you have in that game? Port? Yeah, you go the Western Western Bulldogs versus Hawthorn. This is an interesting one because it's the two informed teams are not really been in finals over the last four or five years, so young lest first experience doing it, very hyped up, very motivated at the moment. Western Bulldogs experienced team, have players that kind of played in the Grand Final in twenty sixteen, and you'll rely on their kind of

Yeah, after all you just said all of that stuff.

I think I just love the way they're playing right now. Yeah, it's so good.

They're so like they're undeniable at the moment. It'd be interesting to see if they can just have them like the belief that, like why not us, we can win this? We can go all the way through and we can just win it. I think I'm going to go the Bulldogs just purely on half the stuff you said around, Like you've got ads Chi Law who's done it, You've got Bond who's done it. You've got Libo who's done it like experience, and then the youth coming in the

Yeah, sorry, Luke, Luke.

So I'm gonna go Weston Bulldogs Sydney GWS. I on GWS s juicy, I love this one. I'm on GWS. If they can get Toby Bedford back and Brett Daniels back lock them in.

Okay, but then Sydney's got a few backs too.

Yeah, but I just like GWS is like in absolute form. Yeah, they lost to the Bulldogs, but it was without those two players who are super pivotal to how they play. But they're killing them in terms of form. They've been one of the most informed teams up there with Hawthorne.

This is the thing if WS wins this game, grand final for sure, form like, yeah, has to be right because then they get the home final. Yeah, and then from there they make the Grand Final.

I'd say they play their home final SCG.

Now it'd have to be in the suburbs of the Paddock.

Oh, we don't want to they will they have time stamp this time stamped it.

You said it again, three.

Point fifty Monday afternoon.

Twenty sixth of August.

Ah, yeah, the stadium called do we even know ng G n G stadium? That's what they're going to play. Sorry about the calling that has charged.

It's changed a few times. It was spotless. Ah, so yeah, are you going to.

The showgrounds that's where they Yeah, you can get that out.

Are you going just put a bleep just they know what it is?

Sydney or GWS.

I'm gonna go to Sydney in this game at the SEG purely home ground.

But they've been the best team all year.

They've been best team all year. They finished pretty strong. I've just got this feeling a week of just refreshment is going to do them wonders. And then they hit this kind of last chunk with confidence. Yeah, especially if they win this game, I don't see them not making the Grand Final. I say, whoever wins this game is making the Grand Final.

They need to get some defense back up and running because if they're kicking it up there to Toby Green and Jesse Hogan, who's on absolute fire. Good luck Brisbane, Carlton, Brisbane.

Sorry, Carlton fans, I think you can understand where we're coming from. Six of the last nine, you've lost the three, you've only won bottom three teams. Let's be realistic. Momentum is probably not on your side.

I'll tell you if they kick eleven goals twenty one again, it's anyone's game because you can't be kicking that.

Not the away game. I feel like Carlton, Look, I think the fans are in the same boat. They're going Look, obviously we're in the eight, we're open for the best, but I wouldn't say the confidence is too high. Who do you have in the Grand Final? Then?

Yeah, obviously you go on Brisbane this one. Yeah, yeah.

And then I think Port GWS, which on paper doesn't sound very advertising.

That sounds like probably the worst situation the AFL could have asked for. Out of all those eight teams as far as audience.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, see I think I look at Geelong, I haven't been that convinced by them all year. Hawthorne would love to see it, but also I'm happy to see that it's before their time. They had a big run of flags. You can you can have a you can have a build a year. Western Bulldogs would love to see it. Ads like love watching ads play footy. Sydney used to be a die hard Sydney fan wouldn't mind it either, to be honest.

We'd love Brodie Grundy to get it.

Yeah, battle, It would be great to see Sydney get up there get the win.

For Kenny really.

But Brisbane they're a good team, couldn't get it done last year. They've had a run of finals. Imagine if they did it from outside the top four after all that.

They've been through. So it'll be great, it'll be It's be interesting.

I reckon it's a competitive top eight in the end, because I didn't think we're going to settle there.

Yeah.

I think probably the two weakest teams on paper of Geelong and Carlton, and watch that come back to bite me because I love their baltimate great, just make it through. It's just what Geelong does.

It's got the experience Tom it comes back. Who knows well to say Anyway, that's all we got for the year. That's it for the year. We've got one more coming. We got a fan question. We want to give back. We want to give back to the fans because this is, like I mean, this is what we do it, you know, entertain people and to have them involved, to be able to answer all the burning questions they've been thinking about all year and give a bit of a wrap up

I love questions, they're the best.

They sometimes it get a bit loose, to get a bit sideways. Get more fans of that big fans. But that is it for us as far as you know. This episode so massive, massive, thank you for listening in tuning into the whole thing. And I just want to say, as always, follow us on social media, subscribe all that good stuff, and thank you so much for being a supporter of us, the podcast and everything we're doing. So