Hell, just welcome back to the Mason Cox Show. Plenty plenty of stuff going on here. We've got two special guests, Tom Phillips and Tom Mitchell. Yes, we've got Tom Mitchell, the twenty eighteen Brown Love Medalist who's now playing for the Collingwood Football Club and absolutely smashing it at the moment. We've gone Tom Phillips, who are on that twenty eighteen
campaign I've been really really good friends with. They've got different business businesses from super Boosts to ball Magnet's plenty going on in this We also talk about how they change passports in the US. There's plenty of off season stories in this one, so check it out. It's gonna be a good one listening. All right, ladies and gentlemen, we'll get straight into it the two Tom's. This is a big pot here, a lot of manpower in here,
and there's a lot happening. And I think a lot of people wouldn't really listen to podcasts, right They want to hear the stories that no one tells them. They want to hear the stores in the off season, you know, the stuff that happens outside of the media that everyone gets into. And I know you two have traveled a bit on a bit of traveling in my home country in the US. There any great part of the world top ten, Yeah, I reckon. We've been three times. Yeah,
probably go again in this off season. Any any good stories. I know a few stories, but I think the broader public needs to know this.
I mean, you know your your mate, and you know through your brother and great family connections, our man James Bates, the Beta.
Trent shout out to the Beta Trumpe, great man. That's where we know. We stay at Bates's house. Amazing.
He plays for the Austin Crows in the U s a f L, which you're obviously an ambassador for. And I think they've won like six flags in a row, Like they just don't lose.
I haven't lot when was usime actually lost.
They lost about three or four years ago. I think my brother's been like MVP of the tournament, the national tournament so many times over. And Yeah, it's an incredible, incredible place Austin, Texas. Just insane, like just the mans of that goes on from a c L to you know, the F one and everything else. It's a place for fun for all ages.
Long hans As well, like we got to know Isaac Pearson who.
Was the part today. Yeah yeah, still going well, still got the Aussie flag and on the back of the.
Have you seen facilities like that before? Like it just makes the AFL look like, yeah, not great is what it makes the IFL look like.
Like. University of Texas, for those listening, is a place that is one of the top tier universities in America. They've got anything and everything. The money they make has to go back into the facilities. They can't spend it really on anything else, so they end up essentially beefing their facilities up to be the best of the best. So they're the same and pretty much on par with a lot of NFL facilities. You've got names above lockers, you've got you know, all these kind of things where
you sit inside the locker. I try to explain this to a lot of people back home, is like, sorry, here is where you like sit in a chair inside your locker. And then it's like you got drawers either side, you get the lights and everything else. They've got a barber shop inside there. Like there's an arcade, an arcade, Like it's yeah, it's crazy, like everything whenever you go to those places. Do you sit there and go like, oh, AFL has got a fair way to go.
I feel like we don't need that stuff. I feel like they don't even use the top of it.
It's just looks. It looks good.
I remember we did the facility tour, which we've done a few times. We went onto the oval or the field as they called it, and we were just having a kick around with the NFL ball and our ball and teaching a few of their players about AFL. And they pointed up to a few of the boxes.
In the stadium.
What they said earlier. They were saying, you know, their own twenty million bucks for per year.
Yeah, so yeah, I think it's that, which is like, well, just eight or nine home games, there's ten boxers for twelve million dollars. They had to pay twelve million US to get the box for the season, So you're paying over a million per game per game. Yeah, and there's about ten boxes. That is some serious is easy? You know big operators? Yeah, yeah, even you know famous cow Let's talk about him.
Bebo is the famous car that they tranquilized the four games to make sure he's kind well, he sleeps the whole game.
He's the mascot and he they tranquilized because he sleeps the whole given.
A little bit the horse trangel the fact check that.
But yeah, anyway, the atmosphere in Austin is awesome. We like to get to America most years. Obviously a bit of business with what we're doing with ball magnets and super Boost, and then obviously good to travel around. Last year we actually went. Remember when you missed your flight to the US, so I was actually one out for the first part of the leg.
Your esta didn't go through, so you got centered around at the airport.
Yeah, yeah, I don't know it was. It took a while to go.
It took a while to go through. It actually ended up being ten minutes too late, so I could have actually still that it was live and exclusive. I was doing that and they Tom Brown, Tommy Brown, and they turn it back, So yeah, I had to wait another twenty four hours.
A bit of silver lining.
That's the night I met Dan mix Stay the first night because I'm like, oh, I got to find something to do something to the Basketball Lakers preseason game, and yeah, Dann Micstay was in the line buying tickets and he said, hey, come watch the game with us, and so I got to know Dan.
We hung out for a couple of nights and Flip joined it on the trip, and off we went.
At that point, did you know you were going to Collingwood? It was just before the trade period.
So we kind of, like, you know, the media had an idea. Dan and I sort of had a look at each other as if we both kind of knew, but we didn't really know. I said, is your trade going through and he said, oh, mine's about to go through tonight. I'm like, oh, well, we better we be able to get dinner and things like that and celebrate. I was hopeful obviously that my trade was going to go through maybe a week or so later. So yeah, we hung out for a couple of days until Flip got the essay approved.
Yeah. It was amazing, Yeah, because Dan was Dan was kind of towted to come to Collingwood for a long time, right, like you were a bit of a last second, you know, and I guess as far as the trade goes, like, so you were sitting there looking at him, going, I know where you're going, but you have no idea that I'm about to be your future teammate.
Yeah, pretty much.
Mine was obviously probably not as well publicized like Dan. I think from the halfway point of the year it was known that he was going to go back to Victoria and that Collingwood were chatting to him. There were some rumors that I was going to Collingwood. But yeah, it was nothing as far down the line as his trade.
So you're overseas, you're not in Australia. Is there a medical that you have to do overseas or is there some kind of doctor thing you would think that it would have to go through before you kind of get signed on, or what's like what's the process of getting traded? While internationally, you.
Know, I think in regards to your body, like I'd missed a game in about four years, so that's probably enough to know that you know you're going to be fine. You still do catch up with the medical team. So I caught up with Fooksi the physio and Sammy Harker the doctor. My trade went right down to the wire. I reckon there was two minutes left. We're in Miami when I saw a mate of ours, lou Hedley, who
University of Miami. Yeah, it was like in the middle of the night and Miami were like, well, I couldn't sleep, so I'm like I got to stay up, and then we're all sort of sitting around the phone refresh, refresh, refresh. My manager actually said it was a good thing that I was away and out of the country because he didn't want, you know, my head noise to be you know, think about what the met he was saying at things, He's like, oh, I have a break.
He's like, leaving with me, sort out what needs to be sorted and yeah. And then it went through with literally a minute ago.
With me and Nanate just jumped on Nank.
I saw us one of my mother mates, Locky Nank Krbis.
They jumped on me and a celebration turned into a bit of a wrestle, so me and Nate as boys do on footy trips. But it was it was a pretty cool moment. I had to have two of your best mates that were there to share that with you. Its pretty cool too, was.
His reaction, like, Tom, you were there on the day.
Well, me and you've both been traded a few times. They listed you're still going, You're both still going. It's it's a weird feeling when you're going from one place that you've had, you know, a lot of memories at and then going to another place. I couldn't imagine looking
at the perspective trying to get perspective around it. You look at every other sport, the NBA, EPL, you know, the big global sports, when they trade people, when they do that sort of stuff, like it's it's amazing, like how it can be like a weird feeling for us. But least there's like a bit of a lead time with like I reckon, you sort of know things are going to happen, and then when it does happen, it's
shit okay. But then sometimes you know in these other sports man like they can be traded within a few hours.
Sometimes they find out through the media, the communications poor and through the athletes.
We've got to know through.
Business like you hear stories and I'm like, wow, we've actually got a pretty good here. Like the transparency and you're involvement and saying where you want to go and what you want to do is much superior in the players favor Compared to American sport, it's very different.
AFL is the guaranteed contract part of it is very unique to probably any other sport around, Like you don't just get moved around. And I'll never forgive. When I was growing up, there's a guy that was playing for the Dallas Mavericks who got traded while he was in the game. They traded during the game, and he's sitting on the bench to even realize, and he's there going
like you need to leave. He's like why, He's like, you've just been traded to whatever team and they've got to go flow over there and you go to live there, and that's just that's your future. So it is. It is quite different and like pretty cool in that sense. I think there's a bit of a cultural want for players to stay the team for a long time, where another like overseas markets and stuff, no one expects a player to play for the same team their whole career, if that makes sense.
Whole concept, they're out a one club player, which I don't know, do as loyalty exist.
I don't really know if it's changing.
I think it's changing quite a bit now.
Yeah, like clubs as soon as they're done with the player, you know that they won't have an issue.
They'll do what's best for the advice.
Mid season trade and that sort of stuff. Yeah, it'd be very interesting to see what that goes with. But I think on that if the mid season trade happens, you have to have both parties agreeing that that's okay. I think. I don't think like the af I can go in and say, like you're going to move to Queens that next week and you're out to find a new place and everything else. If they do do that, then you have to have some kind of financial renumeration for that. Like you can't just all of a sudden
say I see you later. There's not enough money in AFL to make that okay.
I think, yeah, yeah, it's a good point actually, the calling with thing though, like I you know, it's a real possibility in the days leading up to the final day of the trade week, and obviously had to flip to land On because he had a great career calling with himself.
He played in the twenty eight and grand following being there.
How many you just have the finally one hundred games back when you start.
Yeah, so he'd been there, and yeah, he talked me through you know what the club's like. We faced on brush one of the other videos as well we got to brushed over the Farnes.
It just spoke me through.
You know how much of a great club it is the fan base, like you know the experience of game down the crowds, and you know it was a helpful selling point as well.
Yeah, and this is I want to ask this question, this passport question. Now there's a story within this time frame of this all happening.
Stuff that was happening.
He is a bit of parent trap, you know, twin swapping of passports. Is that's true?
Yeah, mistake a few things. We're going from Miami to Austin. For some reason, we had a separate flight about half an hour apart.
There was a tornado coming. It was a hurricane. Yeh, hurt up to its name. So yeah, that was I went early and Tommy and Nank were coming after.
But yeah, somehow my mistake. He grabbed my passport.
I end up with this guy's passport. He's got mine. To mention, I couldn't check in my big luggage bag in time, so I had to leave it at the airport. Anyway, jump over to Austin with a with a backpack and it will carry on. So and then the bag ends up being there for fifty two days until I.
Go back fifty two days.
Yeah, but I'll go back six weeks later in surprise.
I kept it there for you.
Yeah. Yeah, it was in was in the like oversize, not over so I it was just like storage I gave.
You when you went back to pick your backage. What are you doing?
Yeah, they'll go on, what are you? How are you back here?
What?
What do you bother coming back?
I mean that's yeah, that story in itself, it's pretty rogue.
Good kids and things to be retrieved.
Yeah, yeah, that was worth going back from.
Yeah, I mean it ended up being a bit of a bit of a cost, but yeah.
It was the past part of this.
No, no, we we ended up working that out. I don't know how.
I don't know we said that work you know which we are both both names Tom. We're traveling together. Somehow my passport was mixed up. I was kind of like, I had my idea and stuff, and I was like, this is an honest mistake. I think they checked the flight you were on. It's a bit of a.
So I think I think I think I gave him my passport. They didn't really look at it and go they just like scanned it, let it in and I just and they're like, yeah, just going back, and I keep going, but I don't know how.
He do you have my passport? Because I got yours? And then I looked like, oh, I've got yours. But then my guy who I went.
Through the security, he looked at mine, yes, and he's just going this is not.
I might look, I can explain this.
You're already you're sitting there at.
The pretty quick.
But yeah, obviously I had all my ideas and cars and explained what happened.
Did he put you in like the box? And I anyone's ever been there in the airport where if you get in trouble, you're putting this like a little box area.
And it was pretty crazy, to be honest.
It was more we just laughed about the fact that obviously there was the missed international flight and then with something our changed identities for about and now. But we got to Austin, our favorite city in America, and I never looked back. I had a great trip there, went to Springs Spot. Yeah, but do you love button?
Yeah?
I love but love the button Springs. What do you call the big meathouse? Places you can eat what are they called barbecue barbecue smokehouses? Yea great smokehouse. Yeah, Franklins. If everyone's been to Franklin's out there, they know that's one of the best in the world down there in Austin. We'll get we'll get We'll get into another one, the Vegas to Phoenix trip. Now a bit of petrol, Tom, I have to tell this story. This is actually a
story I wasn't planning to bring up here. You know, exactly at one point in my life, I was going down to the Peninsula run. I'm going to Tom's house, and Tom's I'm pretty much the twenty seventeen eighteen right, and you got a beautiful place down there, shout out to the fam. And I get this call from Tom like where are you at? He's GoF had a bit of a bundle. Was like, what is it, Tom? What could possibly issue? He's run out of petrol on the highway. This is like the main highway.
For kremera road East Link or Peninsula Link.
And he's called me up like a dog with his tail bedween the layers, going can you can you come bring me a kettle or a can with petrol?
Can go to the petrol station to the petrol s.
I was already there, and he said, drive back to get the jerry can filled up with you know, petrol, and then come find me on the side of the highway somewhere then drop it off so I can fill my car up. This is this describes you pretty well?
Yeah, yeah, I mean yeah it does.
And this is not the first time you've almost run out of petrol apparently in Phoenix a lot.
Yeah, yeah, we nearly before that. So we went.
We went to Vegas because the Lakers were playing a preseason game and we've got to know the head of security, Johnston Lakers quite well, he's a friend of ours.
Johnny.
Get out to Johnny and yeah, we we got to the game. We just made it in time for the game. We paid a silly amount for seats because that.
Was very last noticing until the third quarters.
Yeah, because we didn't organized prior because we're hoping it might be able to meet Lebron.
That was the sort of big ticket item. We were like, well, we can't, we can't want it. We can't pass this peace that was there, right, So we got on.
We met Joe, we met a few of the players, we got on the court in the stadium in Vegas was cool. We didn't meet Lebron, which planning, but you know it was a preseason game. You had to get out of there. And yeah, so we were only in Vegas for a night for the basketball and the next day we went. We heard Phoenix was really cool, so all it straudes of Phoenix and we thought it'd be like four hours.
I will kind of measuring on the map, We're like, it's roughly like kind of I don't know, like Melbourne.
Usually and usually you don't sleep in Vegas coxy, but we actually slept the full twelve hours.
Yeah, we had great twelve hours in Vegas.
You didn't do Vegas right then. We actually we wanted to.
Do it our way.
Smoothies and things correct, bodies of temple. Yeah, yeah, so back back to the.
How good are the internel? Just the thick shakes and oh they got a big top, introduced me first level and we also what was the car?
We had a Mustang that was cool.
Yeah, that was you know, you can get really cool cars and we had a Mustang which was cool. Anyway, we drove from Vegas to Phoenix the next day, thinking you'd be about four hours and midway through yeah, Greaspice there we underestimated the time. It actually ended up taking eight hours. We're in the middle of the desert too long, and we were hitting low on the petrol bas again. We were in trouble and we pulled over to this like parking sleep spot and we ran this guy.
It was top. I had my pink bright pink short.
Yeah.
The guy said, we're like, oh, where's the nearest petrol station for you? Man, Like, do you know this place? And he's like, oh exactly, I think, yeah, yeah, twenty five miles away. I don't know what you're going to do. It's like, oh, yeah, we're I think we got like ten fifteen in US.
Maybe.
It's like, yeah, you boys are going to me.
And Flip was obviously his name was being thrown around in trade discussion as well. When he had he had a phone call on with s c N on trade radio. So we also needed to find reception to get that.
So we got to call in like an hour. We need to like either not we need to get some petrol.
Somehow.
I found McDonald's in the middle of the desert in Phoenix and Flips like standing up on this bench like getting reception and then yeah we got to Phoenix. Well we somehow made it without losing, like we're on we're on empty. Yeah, and we would have been in a massive strife. Oh god, somehow you know, the car just keeps going.
Yeah, I kept going. I saw one thing on Hamish Nandy Apparently you can go one hundred k's over the empty and you're still good.
Well, we were doing like we I mean what the story is told before, right, you know, I've pushed We've all pushed that.
Yeah, we'll let the car roll out like he used a bit of petrol.
You let it all out.
Wow, neutral for a bit. We had.
We had a lot of time together discuss all sorts of topics.
Can we talk about the environment and the landscape, like the topography and just like the desert and the mountainous area. It was just beautiful, like there's nowhere else, nowhere else in the world. That's like, it's so unique.
That whole you go through like that, you got the Grand Canyon, you go out to Arches National Parking of Bryce and you've got Zion. That whole area around Utah is just beautiful. It's it's like you're there and you really feel like you're in a desktop background, which is like terrible to say because that's how we envision things in our life. But like to sit there and experience that is just something that's almost like spiritual around it. You know, it's a it's an amazing place for being
ones out there listening. That hasn't been definitely recommend it, but a lot of times, you know, athletes, you know, like yourself, myself, everyone like kind of goes over to America to experience sport. Right, like what would be the number one thing either one of you would experience over they were like bucket list I'm talking about.
Let me just talk about the story around this ice hockey rider. So six weeks, six weeks later when I go and we go back over to New York do some stuff with Paddy Mills with super boosts. I did some filming that sort of stuff. But a few days before that, we went a little bit earlier, flew in. This all happened in about twenty four hours, but I flew from Melbourne to La Stop over two hours, LA to JFK, JFK, straight to Madison Square Gardens, walked in
with two bags of luggage, sat in the crowd. I was meeting a few other mates there they were sitting in the opposite side. Watched the ice hockey. Awesome, awesome, fun, great, then had some dinner. After that, dropped the bags back of the hotel, had a few drinks, and then the next morning at ten to six am, took a flight from New York to Miami to get my bag.
Got my bag, freaking flowers.
Two hour stopover back to New York.
That afternoon, two hour stop over Miami's You went to Miami just to pick up your bags and go back. Yeah, that's I don't know what was in that mark that you so desperately, but it had to be worth something that's worked right, always turn us. Yeah, it's a great piece of the story. Yeah. Wow, there's a few pieces, isn't there. Yeah, so you do the ice hockey is what you go for.
No, it's not what I go for. But I think I think au, I think a Super Bowl. We've got all NBA final Yeah yeah.
I mean I'm a huge basketball fan, as you know. NBA Finals would be awesome.
Having said that, the Texas Longhorns home game was incredible. Like the entertainment side of things, and you know, just packing one hundred thousand people into a stadium like that, like just such a cool feel to it.
I don't know, it's it was so unique. Do you think there's a way that AFL can do that better entertainment? Sure, but starting to do it. So halftime shows super well, we're going to halftime shows though for the AFL Grand Final. I think even whenever we go up, you know, like through the banner, we've got like fire and all that kind of stuff. Now it's like a bit of entertainment for everyone. You know, the lights go off, they shut it down and kind of gets a bit of atmosphere
going with that. I think they've taken subtly little chunks here and there in the progression and becomes something that's quite spectacular.
It's a mix of a few things I reckon, Like it's it's budget and what resource you have. It's it's culture and what sort of expected and you know, how to improve that whole outlook. And then it's yeah, like it's it's it's the offering around. Yeah, you just want
better creativity and energy around that stuff. But like I think teams are getting more through their outside of the football department stuff, you know, being able to then create those sort of things for membership fans, that type of stuff, more engagement, like it's I think it's improving, like it's on it's and obviously a lot of the American stuff is a really good, really good to look at that and see that and go, okay, this is sort of
probably world leading when it comes to entertainment and commercialization of these things. But yeah, I think it's budget and market like. That's the US is probably a little bithead and it's got a bigger population. There's there's a lot happening, but Ossies have there's a unique sort of feel too, especially in AFL. Right, there's there's a unique following with
that too. And I know a lot of Americans, especially you know you would have seen it, are really when they first see the sport and they watch it and they go what is this? Like I never knew this is yesterday?
People believe it. It's really cool. They can't get the editor.
I think in terms of travel to America though, like in terms of personal development, which is you know a lot of our trips to America being based on performance now we can improve as athletes, but also learning about
you know what we can do. So with Flipstom, the Superboos and all the athletes that he's mett and who have brought into Superverse for example, like obviously Patty Mills and Joe Ingles some like, we try and connect with you know, a few professional teams over there each season, whether it be in the NBA or the college teams
and connect with athletes and learn. So that's the thing I love about American sport is because you know, in terms of sports science, Australia is quite advanced and we're very good, but there's so many things you can still learn from American sport and just the way they operate. And I guess coming back to the athletes themselves is a really good starting point.
With that point is where you make There so many Austraian athletes that have gone over there, especially in the football space.
Perne.
Yeah, so like obviously through Miami, through Austin with Isaac and Lou that were there. You know, these individuals that there is, there's heaps that there's heaps of guys now over there that you know.
Even the NBA like more and more Aussies every season.
Yeah, Like so I mean that's yeah, that's that's a good thing about that. It's good to see. And then especially guys that have been on AFL lists as well, that might have been delisted or you know, they get to a stage and then they actually going Mitch McCarthy over in Orlando. Everything happen to be Damon Greeves. You know, he's going over like these sort of guys that have finished up, had a short stint with their their frety career here and then they go, I want to try
and do something over there. It's cool.
I've got asked this because I've known both of you, two as AFL players, right, and very different pregame routines. You've probably picked up a few things along the lines, probably more Hitch than you. Tom. I hate to say, but Tom Mitchell is a three hours four hours, five hours before a game maybe starting to get ready. Tom, you just kind of rocked up and just was like, let's do this thing.
Does he talk to you before the game?
Not time, but like he's so myself and him always the last ones out of Like, so we go to the facilities before we go to the MCG and we'll do all our prop work and everything in that and we're always like the last ones to kind of leave, even training sessions and stuff like, we're always the last one. We've always see him. You do these like the handball juggle, and then you do also the jiu jitsu flips on. I don't know how to describe it, to.
Be honest, I do things differently for sure.
I love it.
Yeah, absolutely cops and flat for Jordy to go. He loves giving it to me. But that's just what I need to do to get the best out of myself. That's what I like to do as well.
You do you still you still sit out there at the end of the training sessions. That's that's how the best players.
Yeah, and try to kick goals. Didn't have this week, Unfortunately, you don't have funny.
As you mentioned, you look around the locker room before a game, there's so many different guys doing different things. Some guys need to be calm. Some guys go to the choir room lock themselves in they can't be around any noise.
Some guys are blasting chun's they love it. They're dancing. Other guys are doing jiu jitsu, rolling on the floor to.
Tommy like would always like throughout the week, we'd just be you know, training hard, doing all that sort of stuff, but then taking the piss and a lot of banter and you know in awful days. But then when it gets to games, you just locks in.
Right. Is there any one piece of advice around prep of yourself, your body may be for games, career, it may be in that sense that you would want to pass on to someone else.
Yeah, I think it's got to be individualized, like as much as it can for people. We've all got different upbringings, different coaches and things that make us tick with our personality and our character in the way that we sort of go about our preparation and recovery and trying to perform in a certain environment that's high pressured and there's
a lot of strain around that from different areas. So like, if you're better at sort of keeping things out, not getting too much of information or advice from certain people, but then you'll take it from one person specifically with you know, stuff you've got to do with your game or whatever it is, then that might work for you. If you're more jovial and you've got to feed off everyone else's energy and get around everyone else you know, we know guys are like that, some that just are
into their shell. Like I don't think it's a one size fits all.
I think our club does really well.
Yeah, I think both during the week in terms of guys know what they need to do, and we've got a pretty experienced list, so that obviously helps. But I think the club are very good at like you know, you know what you need to do, like even in our warm up, like you'll see, guys, it's not a one size fits all.
I think that's just such an old school.
Approach, Like it's very individualized during the week, on game day what you need to do.
Then we come together as a unit and it comes all together.
It's so true. I think a lot of people think that you have the two hours you play a game every single week and that's all it happens, which people don't even realize, Like there's probably maybe four to five hours of prep work before you know that even happens on the day, right, so like you know, you've got all the stuff from sleep and diet and everything else that goes into it. That's a twenty four to seven job.
And then like even in our club and you're a part of this with Pola, like we have a ballerina that essentially sets an individual program for each person to prep yourself for training for game days in different muscles you want to activate in different things that might take you an hour to go through just to be able
to train. Like it's there's so many little meticulous things along the way that people don't see that they only see the outcome of and then they only see this small amount of time that you're actually out on the ground, which is probably, you know, maybe a tenth of the
actual time you put in through the week. It's such an interesting thing and it's been insane, but I want to I want to ask this because I was just thinking about Buddy Franklin, players met what might be the last game right at the MCG and things like that, like do you have any favorite memories on the MCG time? I want to say, I'm hoping it's not the time you got knocked out and kicked a goal at the same time, because I was sitting there right next to you.
Whenever that happened. That happened scary times for me.
You have somehow just laugh.
It's unconscious, so you ru an autopilot.
Autopilot Yeah, he's got to you know, he's got a sixth sense for the goals. Yeah, game, how did you get knocked out?
Chris Main?
Need me in the head? Yeah right?
Friendly fire Round eight, twenty eighteen Rember some like that against you Long? Yeah, what's your best what's your best memory? Outside of that?
Ah? Man? I think I remember like we had a run similar to what you know watching the Pies now, Like just a run where you just win those close games and you're just you know, at twenty seventeen, I remember we would been a lot of games, but we would sort of lose by maybe one, two, three goals, and we just the group almost hadn't connected and matured
and meshed as well as it could have. And then it's almost like that we went through a stage where we would then win those tight arm wrestled games the following year and just knowing that, all right, we're onto something here, and like it's it's probably similar to what you guys are feeling now, where like there's just so much confidence and energy running through the group where like you just back yourself in and you know you'll win
those tight games against other teams across four quarters. So like that Final Series twenty eight em was pretty it was pretty cool. Yeah, those big, big crowds and that sort of stuff.
I asked you a touch was it whenever you got fifty four dispellers against us in twenty eighteen or so?
Obviously last night Pendles broke the all time disposal record and that raw around the stadium was like wow, it was like some like it was like a team he'd won a final, a grand find like it was so loud. I'm not sure whether it was because the roof and was in closed, but that was loud. I remember that game. It was it round one, say yeah, anyway, I remember like it was late in the last quarter and the crowd started clapping, and like later on I learned why
because because of that record. But during the game, I was like, what are they clapping for? Like as someone done something hilarious in the crowd. So I was actually thinking about it, and then it made sense. I got interviewed after the game, I think by Abby Home. Yeah actually, and then it made more sense then, but I didn't realize it at the time. No no idea, wow, no idea, but just.
Getting balk Pill gone like yeah, his.
Preparation recovery, Like he just is so strict and he just's so sure of what he does and it works, you know, and he's been doing it.
Because Frus shredded it.
Also, like like you guys have obviously played with him longer.
Than I have, other than known him for six months.
But he's just like such a good guy, such a good teammates, so selfless, like sometimes you know with superstar players like that.
Yeah, I had no idea he was like that.
He's all just about the team, genuine excitement about making others better.
I'm making the team better. He's all about that.
That's and it's like he's one of my favorite teammates I've ever played with and known him for six months.
I think he's also a person that you know, he's he's almost like a coach on the field, you know, you talk about meetings. He knows every single rowle of every single player within the team. Even if it's like a key forward this position you'll probably never play, he knows exactly where that person needs to be at all times during the game. Like you'll be sitting there looking at him. I'm like, I've been playing for nine years
and he's gone. You need to be five meters to the left, and I'm like, shit, you're right, damn it, it's just insane. But another thing, I'll say, Tom and Titch, one of these things over eyed and you've been here for six months, right, and it's I think about you know, people are listening. Maybe something that can take out of the podcast, right, Like you came into the club very quickly, was able to joel with the team team and then learn the game plan, be confident in speaking up and
meetings and things like that. Was there any nervousness going into the club whenever you were traded?
So I made a conscious effort that as soon as my trade went through, you know, I wasn't going to start day one of pre season with everyone. I was going to start in the off season and anytime there was a group training session, I was going to be there every single session. And I didn't miss one starting from October to our official start of the pre season, which was December one.
I think.
So, you know, you talk about great leadership, I think it was Pendals actually who as soon as us knew guys myself, Billy, Bobby, Dan Leggy. As soon as we got traded, Penels added us into the team players WhatsApp group made us feel welcome, and then guys were inviting us to sessions and come here and you know, do way to come here and let's have a kick. And so by the time the official pre season started, I feel like I knew everyone. I was so comfortable already,
such a great group of guys. We worked really hard and then we got to work officially with the staff on day one. But I guess that's where the confidence and the comfort came from, because I felt like I knew everyone and they gave me the confidence to do that.
I want to ask you a question because when we interviewed you for Yeah, I was going to say, like, you've known Fly for you know, since you sort of got there a time. How have you seen his development? And you know, I guess maturity from development sort of coach towards head coach and like his sort of journey through Yeah, I guess the.
Existence of it's because we've all had the experience, right, you both played at Hawthorne. Remember he was the development coach there and Fly as a person that's probably been development coach for what fifteen years of his career or something like that. Sorry, assistant coach up but he was
development coach for that for a long long time. And you think of like our list as we do have some of the experienced guys on the top end, right, they've been there for a while, and then we've got a lot of young guys on the list that are quite youthful and like to have someone who's been a development coach who's been interacting with this that age group you know of people like changing and trying to get into the AFL system and stuff like that, Like it's
probably given him the best experience possible to be able to handle the personal relationships that he has to deal
with within our club. But for me, like I've known him for a long time obviously, and he's it's kind of weird now, like because he's always been a friend of mine, but now for him to be a head coach, like you kind of have that it's silly, like like nervousness around him, but like you know that he's you know, he's top level now, like and he's he is where the buck stops and like whenever he says something, that's
how it goes. And he has to be a bit more I guess direct sometimes being a head coach, and he's really good with being able to people manage. I think is like one of the hardest things as a
head coach. You have to obviously tell someone either they're playing every single week or they're not playing every week, and that's essentially telling someone and like cutting their dreams on a weekly basis, knowing you're probably gonna have to do that to at least one person every week, and for all the head coaches out there, it's a it's a terrible job, like you never want to be the
person has to break that news to anyone. And like, well, you've experienced it probably a lot more than you Titch as far as like getting dropped, and it's really tough pill to swallow, like it really is, and like Craig
is one of those people. I've experienced it the last year whenever I was going through it, when I got dropped and things like that, and the way you handled it was like fantastic and it was able to, you know, give me that confidence going forward that I knew I would be able to get that short time there to hopefully kind of launch pad back into it. But I think over the years, knowing Craig it's and you can
kind of speak to this titch a bit too. It's like he doesn't feel like someone you can't go and talk to. Like his door's always open. He's always there to have a chat and just see how things are. And he like cracks a joke. He's not too serious, but knows when to be serious. Like there's times where he can sit there and say, you know what, we're
not training at the higher standard. We need to turn things around like now, And you know, that kind of gets a bit more I guess it's a bit more weight to it whenever he says it, because he doesn't say it all the time. He's usually quite positive and everything that goes on. So whenever he says something like gets your shit to we need to actually train harder an hour, everyone goes, okay, shit, like we are training
pretty terrib work. Let's turn this around. So, yeah, he's a phenomenal human, like an amazing, amazing person that's growth to be able to have this experience with them that we're having now. But yeah, it's just been it's been awesome. Like it's such a back to the people management thing. I think that's just like his one would.
He's very Yeah, he's such a phenomenal person first and foremost and coach.
You know, it speaks for itself.
I agree spot on, you know, the way he just values every single person in the organization and he leads from the front in terms of setting the example. And I think that's why everyone follows him. And you know, this culture that's been created.
Is quite amazing.
But I think, you know, from what I can gather, having done that long apprenticeship and done you know, development and VFL, he's been in pretty much every everyone's shoes, you know, like he's been there with the guys you know who are you know, forty to forty five on the list, and he speaks up in meetings and makes them feel and talks about the journey of VFL. And so we're all in this collective buying together. It's not all about the guys that are just playing on game date.
It's about the club. He brings the staff along, everyone's involved.
I was going to say, like you you brought up challenges and hardships and like at the elite level, like there's so many individual circumstances with thee the top player, you're in the bottom five, whatever, it is like, you know, everyone knows Tommy for you or yourself myself for a little stint with like good footy that you play right, but then they don't see a lot of the hardship and when you get dropped and like this stint that you play, you know and the reserves level of VFL,
like you had a fair bit of that. Well, tell us you know some of the I guess things that you learned, coaches that you had and you're taking you.
Were dominating the need for getting like fifty touches a game, but couldn't get a game the seniors and then that team goes and wins the premiership and you're sitting there on the sidelines watching it like that's there, Like how you how do you mentally deal with that?
That's tough?
Like you, everyone faces adversity and they at some point, whether it's in life, friend footy.
That was really tough.
Like I felt like almost helpless, Like I knew I was playing really good footy, and I.
Was just.
You're still young. You're still right, You're young. You just come into it when you get to outed twenty twenty eleven eleven, yeah.
Yeah, so twenty tits my first year and.
Already playing that level of footy though, right, like, yeah, you're not. You're trying to break in the sceniors and play and you're doing you know, above and beyond in the in the in the second still as a eight nineteen twenty year old sort of thing, like.
What's the messaging from the coach at that point and just saying like, you know, because like there is an understanding from a coach's side of you know, you trust certain players that have been there for a long time, and it's tough to bring in a person whenever you're making a finals run that's in their first couple of years. Whenever you've got someone there that's been there for five, six, seven, eight, nine years that you trust and you know is going
to be able to do the job. It's it's not ideal for either scenario or either side of the coin, Like what's what is the feedback the coach gives you whenever you're playing well but you're not getting I guess the opportunity in the AFL level if.
I cast my memory, but it was, Yeah, it was tough time. It was more around.
Team balance at the time, like we had a deep midfield yeah, but it was it was you know, the messaging was you're doing great, just wait for your chance. So I don't know, it's kind of a tough thing. Frustrate You're like, I just got to persist and keep going. I guess it makes you really hungry and motivated. And when I eventually did crack in, it was, Yeah, I was just just so motivated to to start and grow a career. So but yeah, back to the adversity thing
like happens with everyone. Like you know, you know, had a broken leg as well, and that was in my prime, like after my best footing.
So it comes at all different stages.
You guys have experienced it, you know, Flip you've played in the Grand Final and and done all sorts of things as well.
And Cox you've you know, come from American you know, probably a bigger role.
So and one thing with with what you're doing in the Mason Cox Show. And you know obviously the ball Manus podcast. Like the last time we said on a podcast was about four years ago now, and that was called The Board. That was the Bordroom podcast. So I was along with lot, Yeah, I was doing that with a few mates out at Collingwood We did that for about two years, about fifty episodes, and Mason jumped on Yeah, yeah, every two or three weeks. Yeah, so it's good to see this taken off as well.
Yeah, it's great to see everyone doing everything. I want to say Ball Magnets. A lot of people think it's just football. You're also getting into the basketball side of things, correct.
Correct, Yeah, footy and basketball.
So obviously Josh Kiddy probably Australia's best basketball player at the moment at just twenty years of age. He runs everything in the basketball aspect of Ball Magnets, so that's his category. And yeah, we've just filmed a number of his sessions at Hoop City has been obviously home for the off season, so there'll be a gym sessions at least by Josh Giddy. How we trained and prepares for
the NBA skills sessions ball handling, shooting, passing. So for any athlete out there, no matter what level you're at, you know there's there's druels for everyone beginning, intermediate and elite, and then no one better learn from than Josh, the best up and comer in the country.
He's an absolute freak.
He's a freak. Second he's been like Lebron James records.
You know. The really bad thing though, is Josh Kiddy at the moment. It's it's sad that I picture this is whenever Lebron broke the scoring record, right, Josh Kitty has just missed out on the photo, the iconic photo Lebron taking the jumper is almost like.
Last You want to be the guy that give Pandles that ye kicked it to I think he kicked his eyes.
You should should have run around for him.
Yeah, but it's great to see different athletes doing different things and be able to to extend their experiences passed just a football career, to help them build something that's bigger than just what they've done on the football field. So it's been absolutely incredible. We'll wrap this up everyone,
Thank you so much for listening. It's been great having all three of us get on this podcast together and be able to riff a bit of off season stories and a few kind of business ideas that we're doing. But yeah, hopefully everyone got something out of this and we'll hear from you soon.