Whateley with Tom Morris - Thursday | Full Show (16.04.26)

0:00Australian made, make to support Australians right here, and business owners pay.com.au it, and start earning rewards today, and manage your fleet with Radius GPS trackers. Visit Radius.com. Thursday morning, this is your town, this is your station, this is Waitley. Good morning, amid the backdrop of tensions between Port Adelaide, the AFL, and a frankly bizarre tribunal hearing, Adelaide football club and the Dawson family are living an unfathomable unfathomable tragedy this morning. The passing of Jordan's brother Jared extends far beyond football, and at Sien, our thoughts are with the Dawson's this morning. From a football perspective, there's a game tonight. Carlton vs. Colin would remind us that yes, amid the drama of the week, the best of sport is always the on-field action, and there are questions around tonight will explore throughout

1:00the morning. Rob Kerr from the AFL Umpires Association will join me out of ten to give us his perspective on the Nickfoot Zack Butter's saga that has engulfed the last few days. Chats with Sammy Edmund and Brody Mycheck will add more footy colour to the morning. The discussion around the sale of BBL clubs is red hot, so Chief Cricket Rider at the age Dan Brettick will be with me at 11, while Chair of Nepal Australia Liz Ellis has a big announcement for the sport in this country, she's with me at 11.20pm. We'll also explore the potential collapse of Liv Gulf, with sports illustrated golf rider Bob Harrick to join us a little bit later on. He's in Florida, and he wrote the book on Tiger and Fill. He's our golf man. The either coach is a must listen every Thursday. If I don't get it live, I download it on the podcast app. Normally it's Jared and Simo. Today it's me and Simo. Let's give it a whirl again. Morning to you Adam Simpson. Morning Tom. How are you mate? I'm just going on this morning. Well, I've only got 110km left of my car, and I live in Mount Martha, just sent a refinery

2:00blow up. Have we down in July? No. I've just got the phone call from the wife a little bit earlier saying you better fill up. I'm not sure what's happening about what do you do when you live out of town, and you don't have an electric car. What do you do? Get the train down. Get the train down. Get the train down. Is the V-long going down to Mount Martha? You probably asked the wrong person train track down there. Maybe from Frank's. It's expensive Uber. So yes, the cost of living and all that sort of stuff, but just getting for me to be could be an issue for us in the coming weeks. Yes. So before I ask you about footy and we talk about the various issues of the week, how are you enjoying relocating to Victoria? Good. Yeah, I, I, I, good. I sound like good wine there. It's a living down there. It's great. Yeah, the peninsula. I stay up in Melbourne one day a week and probably got to get something up here one day, but yeah, just the, the weather's a different than Perth. The world's in Perth for 12 years, and it was 30 degrees every day for 12 years. So just the ups and downs of the weather is, is it good as well? And yeah, just being able to go to footy a little bit more is being part of the enjoyment

3:04of moving back. But going on in Victoria as well, I don't think everyone's as happy as they were when I left 12 years ago. Yeah, but what was Victoria like 12 years ago if you cast your mind back? 2014, yeah. It felt like a simple place back then. Well, it's just, there's, there's a lot's happened. There's a lot. It's a bit dirty. Yeah, the way I said and I'm certainly no political commentator, but there is a pre-COVID era and there's a post-COVID era and I think there was, there's a clear gap between the two. Yeah. Yeah. And anyone had their issues going through COVID, it just seems like the Ripple is a bit bigger in Victoria. Yeah. All right. Some footy issues. So Zach Butters has been the news of the week. What's happened at Port Adelaide? Really? Yeah. Have you picked up on it? I'm trying to work at the media. I'm, I now I'm in it. I'm going, okay, well, how did this, because I'm more worried about side, but I'm not playing tonight than Butters, like his reputation's fine. I agree. We're not going to be talking about his reputation, no, that's, but he doesn't feel as if it's fine. No, and that's fine. I'll get all that. That's, but how did it get from, I don't, I sort of do get it, but what controls the story?

4:05Is it the, the people that call in or do you guys set your own, hey, listen, we're going hard at this, because the footy, not much happened on the weekend, let's go, let's make this the big one. Or is it just natural evolution of a story that goes from a ripple to a big deal? Yeah. I'm trying to get met, because I'm footy. Yeah. Try being honest. Yeah. But so, and I'm sorry about that, but this, this has got to level where the talk backs big. Yeah. And is it, who drives it? Well, it's, it's that old adage, probably with old newspapers, even a hundred years ago, is it the readers that dictate the content? Or is it the news editor that dictates the content? And it's often a slice of both. Right. So, in this case, I hear you about tribunals. I also get a bit fatigued around M.I.R. own tribunal chat tonight, and that's my job. That's my job. That's your job. Yeah. But, in this case, an umpire V player incident is always going to be big news, as particularly a big name player, particularly one of the senior umpires, and even more pertinently, a game on Sunday night in gather round when everyone's watching in prime time. Yeah.

5:06Everyone's watching. Sunday night. Yeah, okay. Well, yeah, I might have drifted off for those 15 minutes, but um, yeah, it was, um, it was a big story. And then, then what happened with Jason Johnson for, but we've all done a team's money for my car. It pulled over side the road, obviously, but obviously not, not, not something this big. So, that, that's just added another uh, another cog to the machine of, of, of this weekend, but it's Thursday, and we should be talking about tonight. We should be. Um, I totally get it though. I totally get why it's, it's a story and how other clubs and our common dating on it as well. Yeah. So Brad Scott, um, mentioned it yesterday, which was interesting. Yeah. Yeah. So, would you ever comment on another player's tribunal hearing, you know, trying to get him? Yes. So, do you think that's a play from Brad Scott? No, no, no, that's a bit facetious, but um, it's, it's, it's, you can't up with think, okay, is there ever going to comment on it today is, uh, other coaches, I mean, you do, you do go on to bat for your man. No, when it's your team and your club, obviously, it's, it's, you're, you're oversensitive, you're oversensitive.

6:07But when the other, the coaches are commenting on, on that way, okay, what's the, uh, what's the angle here other than, um, defending the player, I suppose, or the incident, I don't know, it's, uh, it's interesting how we get a bit of that. So it reminded me, and they played this on Wednesday night agenda set as last night of Damien Hardwick talking about Tom Lynch when Hardwick was at Richmond and Lynch was at Gold Coast in 2018. What I will say though, is the article that Tom, uh, that, uh, Mark Robinson wrote on Tom Lynch is incredibly disappointing for mine to go to the integrity of a player who was given seven to eight years of service to a club, I think is appalling. Sorry. I mean, here, yeah, they went and got it, they went and got it as a live and breathe. There's an outbreak. Um, so from a football club perspective, there's a circus going on outside. There's a player who clearly feels, uh, hard done by how you handling it as a coach. Yeah, that's, and, and, and it's his first year as well. So, um, I haven't heard him comment on the situation just yet, but you, you go on his

7:07support mode, but you also got to prepare for a game. So dealing with where they're at as a footie club and then your best player who you're trying to keep as well. So there's a lot of sensitivity around it all. And, um, from a coaching point of view, when you deal with some of these issues that are aren't really football related, there's an integrity piece, there's, it's not been suspended. So it's not like it's, um, it's going to miss a game. So how you deal with that, um, we've got your backmate sort of stuff and we're not going to stand for this. We're going to appeal. If, if, you know, any care what the fine is, we're appealing it and we'll look after in that sense. So there's a lot to work through and then you've got to prepare for the other 42 players on the list. Um, yeah, so there's a lot going on from a coaching point of view and there's always things that can become distractions on your weekly performance because your job is to win this week. And so with all these things going around, I mean, our biggest one is probably, uh, Willie Riyoli incident where he was guilty and he had to confront, um, the consequences. But from a club point of view, how we dealt with that, it's, it's, it gets really heavy and that's not the only thing that you've got to deal with.

8:08It's not football related. And is it a distraction for the players as well? Is it a distraction for you as a coach? Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's training and, um, you know, all the conversations in the locker room, you want to be talking about your opposition who we're playing this week. How are we going to beat them? But they're not robots either. So, uh, understanding training might look a bit different, feel a bit, not, not this particular situation. I think training will be fine and mate, they might play with an edge this week. It might be a good, I know what Ken would be doing. What would he be doing? Wow. Using his fuel. Yeah, the, the, the Tiger's on repeat. Yeah. The Tiger's on Tuesday night, Wednesday night, us against them. It's perfect photo because this is not the end of the world. Is it? No. This is not life or death. This is just, and he's integrity is fine and all that sort of stuff. But there's a great opportunity to go back against the wall. Let's go. Um, you know, they've poked the bear, that sort of stuff, but I'm, I'm not sure where Porter had. No. I'm not sure they're quite sure they're out either. What was your advice to players from a coaching perspective around dealing with umpires and communicating with umpires? Did you spend any time on it? Zero.

9:09Yeah. Yeah. It was just not spoken about. So, Harley Reed in his first year had some issues with umpires and still does occasionally. Yeah. The issues were with him, not the umpires. That's right. But so, you didn't talk to him about it at all. It wasn't a discussion. I was dealing with umpires to talk to spoke about what he needs to deal with to get his best version of himself as a player. And um, you know, every player is a little bit different, but if you, if you get involved with the umpiring decisions, even if you kept it, it's just, you don't know where. So that wasn't really a discussion. So how do you get the, what we call the best version and blocked version? And when you're in your best version, you're not arguing with umpires, you're not staging for free kicks, you're not doing anything other than what's next. So best version versus your blocked version, and we quite often spoke about when you're blocked, when there's something in the way, well, how can we get back to your best? What's your trigger? Is it just pull your socks up, take your mouth, get up, put in your socks. Is it a physical internal thing, um, or is it um, you know, I'm going to get in the next tackle. There's something there to get you back in your best version. So you're going to acknowledge your, your blocked and that's what Harley would have worked

10:12through. And I'm sure this butter situation is not that, but when you're not playing at your best, whether you're giving free kicks away or you've been, you know, keep your goals against all it. Whatever it is, how do you get back to your best version? That's what we do from a psychological point of view and that, that'll happen during the week on big events as well. How do we get, how do we train well today as a team despite the fact that there's a lot going on? So I'd imagine some of the best players have had some lip over the journey, but in your experience are the best players, the ones who stay quiet with the umpires, are the ones who communicate and have a relationship with them? Well, best players versus the best leaders, that's probably a little bit different. If the best leaders happen to be your best player, that's, you got the combo. And I think, I think the best leaders slash players deal with reality and what's happening right now and what's happening next. Okay, what we've just conceded two goals in our own that was a free kick. I'm not going to worry about the free kick because we need to win the next clearance. So how do I sharpen up someone who's drifted off a little bit? How do I think about what the game needs for my leadership point of view?

11:12So that's what leadership is on game day. Not, I need to put the cape on and win the next clearance, it's like, okay, I need to get out of the centre bounce. I'm part of the problem. So that they're the type of leadership questions you ask yourself on field, as opposed to dealing with the umpiring and that sort of stuff, it's, yeah. And your best players quite often will put the cape on, but your best leaders might be at least, I need to get this guy on ball or I need to get out. I need to get this guy here. I need to give this guy a clip to sharpen him up. So that's a little bit different than being the best player. Does that make sense? Yeah, that makes sense. And they sort of overlap, but they also completely interconnected as well. Well, you look at Ginevin, he's a great one. Now we've all sort of acknowledged his talent and now he can tell he's part of the on field leadership of, you know, what the game needs. I saw him a few weeks ago, run over to the banjo line and start talking to the coach on the bench about, okay, we're two goals up, one goal down, whatever it was. What do we need from a game point of view and that meant something that didn't involve him, but he could go out and explain to the other players.

12:13So yeah, there's more to it than just being a good player. Grief is a terrible thing, clearly and at Adelaide Football Club, they are supporting Jordan Dawson now after passing of his brother. He's not just a player for them and an employee. He's also their captain, an incredibly important person within that club. And as I said, from the outset, our thoughts are with the Dawson family and anyone involved in this. But from a Matthew Nick's perspective this week, how does it look for him? Yeah, well, that's heavy and Grief is a part of life and being at a football club and dealing with that doesn't matter if you're the captain or you're a staff member. It affects everyone a little bit differently. So I think one of the messages we spoke about is just, it's okay to feel how you feel. You know, you don't need to be feeling this particular way. And there's the player and his family. That's one thing and there's a lot of care around that and how you connect as a football club that's different every time. There's different relationships that you have and different support mechanisms that some players really need and some players just need time away.

13:15So that's one thing. Quite often that's not the coach. That's obviously a support will be there, but it's more your CEO and your footy manager about, okay, what do we need to do to look after this guy and what kind of space does you need? The coach's responsibility is how do we get through today and tomorrow knowing there's a game there, but we're all feeling a little bit different today. We've got training. Do we even train? Yeah, let's train, but that's not be too prescriptive about what we want to get out of training. Let's get out and have a kick and just try and clear our minds a little bit. So that would be a conversation that Nixie would have had and already have done probably. And then you get to the point where we need to prepare a little bit for this game boys. We know that there's support provided within the four walls if you need to talk to someone. That's always there. I think it's always been pretty good at footy clubs dealing with grief. I think it's a way to galvanise and really show a bit of support. Did you have to deal with it at all while you were coaching? Yeah, a couple of times. We're going into too much detail, but sometimes it's family members, sometimes it's partners,

14:19sometimes it's a long-term illness, sometimes it's sudden. So everything's different and then the club does rally. Whether it's a staff member or a player, it's... Yeah, you all feel the pain. So dealing with all that and then you get to game day and I think we saw Pierce and Fremantle a few years ago dealing with as McCarthy situation where it was just an emotional. They didn't win that game. That was a really emotional performance. So that's real and that's part of why Ben and football clubs are a great thing that you get that support. But sometimes it's a little bit bigger than winning and losing and that's probably one of those times, especially midweek. I think one of the most memorable games for that reason in the last 15 or 20 years was an Adelaide party against West Coast after the passing of Don Park and that was a game that's charged with emotion. Yeah, well, sorry, sorry, apologies, but it was still fine. But yeah, yeah, and that's, you know, and we all gathered before the game from memory just or after the game.

15:21Just for a moment, and it was so much emotion there, so much emotion. So yeah, it's tragic how it goes out to everyone who's connected to the Dawson family and the football club will deal with the grief as best as they can. But there's no right or right way, right or wrong way. It's just deal with it is how you think the best. And then someone will be more connected and emotional than someone else who doesn't really know the family. So this dealing with the best way you can and hopefully, you know, they can perform well and have a good win in the weekend. But it's not as important as it probably was last week. No, clearly, all right, plenty of footage she's still to get to. I want to talk to you about Essin and Carlson and Colin Wood tonight, maybe some criticism, external criticism. And that whether that gets inside the four walls, the McAfee menu stack today. Sam Edmund, Rob Kerr, Bob Harrig, Brody Meyercheck, Dan Bredig, Liz Ellis, Dr. David Munro. What about that, the new McAfee drinks range? You'll listen to Weightly for Australian made. When you buy certified Australian made, you're backing at local businesses, jobs in our economy right here. Weightly on SEM.

16:23It's nice to hear publicly, but it's nothing new to me because we've had a very clear strategy for the last three years. And we were eyes wide open that we're going to be some real challenges in the short term. But we were determined to set a stable base, you know, to build on. They're the same words coming out of my mouth that we're coming out of my mouth two, three, four weeks ago. Yeah, the only difference is that's public now. The discussions internally have been going like that for three years. So Brad Scott in his media conference yesterday, he's been backed in as a coach, Andrew Welch, said in a couple of media interviews with the age and the herald son that he believes Brad Scott will be the club's next-premiseship coach. What does that do for the confidence of a senior coach? When you get asked, is he the next-premiseship coach? What does he say? Hopefully. I think that's good. That's great. But they're getting on the offensive from a club point of view, picking around. We've got Melbourne. Next week we're going to go on. I don't think they said, once we win, we'll go on the offensive. I think it was more around. We're going to go out there and start to push this message. That's a club messaging strategic plan, you know.

17:26So getting on the front foot and trying to get a message out there, that's not uncommon. It just coincided with the win, which was great. If you lose by 100 points and you do all these things, it becomes a difficult proposition. Interesting how these clubs near the bottom of the ladder sell the club and sell hope without over-promising. Rich men are trying to do it West Coast, they're doing S and then put Adelaide. I haven't really done it yet. Wait for one of those. One weekend they'll come out and do the whole. This is what's happening, which I think sports supporters would appreciate. Sometimes it can go sideways. If you get it slightly wrong, then the whole season is still around. And then some of the S.A. He's the next-premiseship coach. That might happen. Great. It's not guaranteed. No, that's exactly right. Nothing's guaranteed. I was watching Carlton play against Adelaide and this is a while ago now and it was a discussion of top, it was a discussion point of week ago. It was a week ago, but Simo, as a recent AFL coach and a Premiership AFL coach, can you explain to me who has clearly never played at the highest level,

18:26how Patrick Cripps can be left on the bench for the first six minutes of the second quarter? And how Michael Voss, after the game, could tell the media it's essentially a silly question because we need rotations. It's not what probably wasn't a silly question, but it was reality. Locking your starts on the bench all the time. But they've got lots of other good missions. That's right. Yeah, so I think what Carlton are trying to do, and we all saw it, was they're trying to get a bit of a different balance in that midfield. Now, on reflection, they lose the first, I think they miss three centabouts as Cripps and they lost all three. All three kicks. And what happens sometimes is you put new players through the middle and they don't know how to handle. Even Smith, he's not ready really to handle the inside game as much as probably what we think. So he gives away a free kick. Zach Williams is in there for 18 centabouts. He gives away a free kick. And there's a hole in the ball with Walsh or something, and all of a sudden you lose field position and momentum changes and Cripps is on. And you go, oh, I waited any start in the middle. It's a reasonable question. But the bigger picture playing is to try and get more exposure,

19:26try and get that inside out going. This is my assumption. Yep. I haven't asked specifically this question. And unfortunately for the three minute payoff, those three centabouts is momentum did shift. So could a water shooter and the coaches don't live in that space. So yeah, I don't know if I'll happen again this weekend. It wouldn't surprise me if they did. There are club footballs all around the country going, you've just had a six or seven minute break a quarter time. Yeah. Why would you have your best players off? I think they're saying the argument, and I don't know this, but say it's like, oh, Cripps is at his best if he plays 20 minutes a quarter. So he needs two breaks. When do you want your two breaks? Do you want to do it? Start on the bench, and then go hard, and then come off once, and then finish the quarter off. Or do you get to come off twice when you start on the ground? And that's actually a little bit harder to go for 10 minutes, come off for five, come off for 10, then you miss the last five minutes of the quarter. So where do you want? Do you want him on the ground, the last five minutes? Or do you want him on the bench first five? So there are the conversations you have. Or you go forward and go to the goal square.

20:27And I did notice on the way, can he probably spend a bit more time on the bench and less time at full forward. So I think they're just experimenting, to be honest. And trying to find depth. I think they're trying to evolve. And that happens with a bit of heartache. And unfortunately for that five minute period, there was a bit of heartache. So I'm not as critical about that particular situation, knowing all the things around it that hopefully down the track, it pays them back. Just give us an insight into the challenge that awaits Carlton tonight against Colin with them. Well, I don't know who's going to win this one. I think it's going to be pretty close. I mean, Colin, we don't go on great. And I'm trying to work out who designed that game on the weekend. Which one the Colin was? Yeah. It was wet as well. It was steaming rain. Yeah. So did someone do Colin, we're going, we're going to keep this dour and we're going to make it a eight goal game. I'm not sure if they had 63 inside 50s. So normally when that happens, we're going to score regardless of the weather. So they'll be looking at how they connect inside 50. I think you mentioned that fly in the presser. But I don't think it's deliberate to drag them into the trenches.

21:29I think their systems around pressure and when they're on, they're the best in the competition. But their contest is poor. They're 18th contested possession. And then you've got Carlton, who's really good at stoppage goals. Colin, we're not great at defending stuff. So there's this ying and yang this tonight. And who can be good at their stuff? They're not good at. That's what it's going to come down to. And we spoke about this last night on 360. You're like, how many teams out there have one club in the bag? You know, there's the handicaps between 10 and 20. They've got a couple of good clubs, but there's a few clubs you just don't want to touch. And I think both of these teams are living in that space a little bit. They've got some real strengths, but there's some flaws there too. Yeah, yeah. So you think Carlton's a red hot chance tonight? I didn't, I didn't think I said that, mate. No, no, no, no. Who's going to win when things are going to happen? Which means they're a chance. Well, not a red hot. You take a bit of mail of that. Yeah, nice. No, I think, I just think it's, it looks like a 50-50 game on paper from the data point of you. And I like to live in a bit of data land, but also good a gut feel.

22:31So the gut feel is that both teams go into tonight thinking we played our best. We're a really good show. Yeah. Nick Dacoch has been selected on the bench. Surely he's not starting on the bench. Wow. Did you ever have an impact, have an input into who is selected where when the teams go out on a, when is that utter a Thursday night? No, I didn't care. No. I think a media manager did it. So it's true. It's true. Well, when I were, it used to be, it was, oh well, you can't start him on the bench. It was like, I really? I think I can reveal this now. When I worked at St. Kilda. What do you work at St. Kilda? That was my first job. Three years. He's doing. Website, social media. Who is the coach? Alan Richardson. We tight. Tight. Yeah. Yeah, we go along well. Okay. Do you set the agenda? Well, what I did, my job every Thursday, was to go into a room with Adam Kingsley. Who was one of the assistants? Oh. And that, give me the line up. Okay. And I would select where the team would be named. So I would put the magnets on the whiteboard. And I would decide, yeah, I think Jack Billings will play Senaf back this week. Is that all you got the hours? No, I didn't get the hours.

23:31I didn't get the hours. Well, I had it at the end. I got a job at Fox Whitty. I just got offered it a job somewhere else. Yeah. Anyway, so it just shows how fickle they believe those initial selections are. Yeah, they are. Simo, just hanging around for a couple of moments. The New Macafe drinks range, time now for the latest news headlines, with Nathan Gardner. Thank you, Nathan. One question I've always wanted to ask Simo is, how does criticism get inside the four walls of a football club? For coaches, for players, not from journalists as much, because we are less opinionate, more so from the experts of the world. In public, yes. In public. I'm not giving opinions on ball media. You get caught up in it, though, sometimes. I got caught up in the other week, yeah. But most of the time, I'm trying to leave the opinions for the former AFL players. Yeah. And I just try to report the news. Sure. But how much do these opinions infiltrate inside the four walls of the football club? It's real, isn't it? You can't hide away from it. And even if you try to, then someone goes, oh, how are you going about that article? I go, what? What article? And then it just happens. In the social media piece, that's a really difficult one. I know Harley dealing with a nine-year-old,

24:33and he was on the back page every day for a hundred days. And it was like a badge of honor for the Western Australian. And the criticism came about some things off-field. And he couldn't get away from seeing it on his phone. And it's amazing how we had an algorithm. No, just you just live off your phone, these kids. And you can't. You can't. There's a bit like anyone with 14, 15-year-olds. I know they're social media bands. That's a joke, by the way. Get off your phones in terms of, don't get on social media. It's impossible. So you get to try and manage as best you can. And it's the same with the young players. And they can't get away from what the comments are on the social media. As much as you tell them to stay away. So it's control what you can control, really. And try and listen to the right people. And not block it out. Because it's very difficult. So that's for the players. But what about you as a coach? Did you read and listen to everything? Oh, when we won. I read everything. Did you really? Absolutely. So when you were good, you were good. Yeah. So I didn't read the paper for the last three years at West Coast.

25:33But the unfortunate situation is as your people feel sorry for you. I hate pity. I'm a big boy. We get paid well. So don't worry about us. And that's the same with Vossy. Oh, he's resilience. It's through the roof. Like, you know, he's fine. Yeah, he's fine. And dealing with the criticism, I think, from a coaching point of view. You sort of get pretty resilient. I don't know how much stress internally and what it's really doing to you when you're not going well. And, you know, Clarko, what he went through in his situation. And what's carried dealing with it at the moment? How has Adam Rooze right now? Is he, like, water off a duck's back? Or is he starting to read a little bit of, oh, hang on, you know. Don't they know? And so, yeah, you've got to keep an eye on not just the senior coaches, but the players as well, just on how they deal with criticism. Because some people really respond hard. And some people just let it go. I think the older you get, the more you let it go. What about the role of the coach when it comes to media messaging for a club? And getting information out there? Some coaches don't care. I don't care what you're doing. We're here to coach and play. And I suspect there's the younger ones alike that.

26:35And then the older ones, I got a little bit of micro. I'm a management about, okay, if we say this publicly, this is the ripple. So, can we not say that? Or so, you've got to put a lot of trust in the media manager, which obviously didn't happen as in CUDA. Thank you. And did you deal with that? Do you remember saying, okay, there's a bit of an issue here. This is what I think we should do. And then... Well, I wasn't very senior at the time. So I was just following instructions. Oh, yeah. But I look at the close relationship, for example, with Sam Mitchell and Matt Dixon at Hawthorne. They're very close. I don't know how close you were with Stocksie. Really close. And I assume Mitch would go, no, we're doing this. And that's the right of the coach. And sometimes other coaches go, I don't know. We'll do what he wants. I'm here to win. So, upon reflection, you micro-managed a little bit. Yeah, I think that was a criticism internal. I was myself. But, you know... So media messaging is not just dealing with issues. It's okay. We're in transition. That's what we are. We're going to try and blood some kids this year. We're going to talk about spirit a lot. And they're the top of media messaging pieces.

27:36And, you know, when in doubt, bring it back to Unity. Voice. And that would be me pushing that to this club and the staff and the players. And I think that's important. Not just to have a chairman or a CEO. So we're going to finish top four this year. And you go, hang on. That wasn't what we wanted. So that's what I'm talking about. Yeah, yeah. So it reminds me of Carlton recently saying they want to be a top 10 team this year. I'm not sure Michael Voster necessarily needs that. Well, yeah. He's as long as you're aligned. It's all good. But someone's got to align you. Yeah. Yeah. Wesco's Frio is Sunday night this week. What's a build up to one of these games like? I thought it used to be. I just thought it was big. And then I realised it wasn't. And then I was dealing with Ross every week. So the press conference had Ross the Boss and me sitting in the corner. And then we started winning. We won 10 in a row. So, and it was still Ross the Boss and me sitting in the corner. But it was like, it was a bit of digging. And I, I'm reasonably pragmatic in my presses. And Ross was entertaining. So I was the second streamer.

28:37And then Jail came in. And it was probably flipped a little bit because he was the new coach. And I was the more senior one. And then they started winning. And so the same thing sort of happened. So the build up, I thought it was going to be bigger than what it was. It just hasn't been a great rivalry. It hasn't. One team's dominant. So 15. Both teams finished first and second. In the end of 15. That was big. It could have been a grand final. But apart from that year, one team's been high. And that was being terrible. And yeah, it's, it's, we need it. We need a good run. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be for a little while though. Simmo, thanks for your time. And you mate. It's good joining you this morning. Adam Simpson, through the eyes of the coach. The McCaffay menu, Stack Sam Edmund, is up next. This is waitly for Australian made. When you buy certified Australian made, you're backing local businesses, and our economy right here. Simmo, we'll see you on crunch time on Saturday. Yes, I'm on this week. Look forward to it. Want to have your say? Ring Jared, on 1300, 736, 736. Now, back to waitly.

29:37Tom Morris, filling in for Jared Waitly this week. I've enjoyed the company. The Hyundai Openline is 1300, 736, 736. Enjoy early deals at Hyundai pre-ofeast on now at participating Hyundai Dealers. The 40 wings temper text is 0433, 98 limbs, 16. The difference is temper. My old trade radio mate, Sam Edmund, is in the studio. And I've got to stay, Sammy. I've got a Twitter message the other day on X from a colleague of ours. And I decided not to click on it, because I thought it might be a success. Smart, man. I've got it here from Tim Gossich. Yes. Hey, mate. I've been nominated for a sport FM comp and it's down to public voting now. Would you really appreciate your support? It only takes a few seconds. Here's the link. And I didn't click the link. I thought it was faulty and so it proved. Yeah. You're a smart man and I am not. You are everything I am not because I did click on that. That sounds like something Tim would do. But anyway, all resolved now. Thankfully. So apologies to everyone. Not at all. That's right. Sammy, you're here for Alex Scott and staff to sell your livestock or sell your home. What's taking your fancy at the moment?

30:38Well, Blues Radio. We were hacked on Blues Radio a long time ago, as we said. So we resume tonight. Back into the fire pit we go. Andy Marm, myself and two of my childhood heroes in Anthony Cudafetti's and Ange Krista. So you can find it all on the SCN app. We'll be live from seven at the MCG. And if you need a little reminder, I'm sure you don't. If you need a little reminder of just basically how we operate on Blues Radio, he's Andy. Back in the middle. Gorn again. Sparrow. Just run through the creeps tackle. Run through the creeps tackle. Pick it for each. Look at this. What an absolute joke. What a joke. Honestly, you hate back in your own 40 turn. And we're not going to do that. But this is burning embarrassing with a capital. I was hoping J.K. had a nice holer. But the truth be told, Blues Radio. Paired by Booper. I grow friends of Booper. But don't have a great win loss record. So we're looking to correct that tonight. As is trash. Yeah. As a group. There has unfortunately been a little bit of trash over the journey.

31:38But geez, they've got a good chance of an account tonight. Look, how do you look at that game? What did Simo say? He said he can't pick a winner. OK, well, that's positive. I said, so you think they're a red hot chance? He said, no, you're adding mayo to it. No, I think there are chances. Well, I'm going to be too cowardly. I'll tip Collinwood. I'm not confident in that. I'm not confident in that. I would too as a neutral, because I think we jump on Collinwood quickly when, yeah, they're struggling to score. But the rest of their game's stacking up pretty well. More entries, more shots, more opportunities than Freeman. Although I probably just beaten for efficiency. And Freeman will do that to some teams with that forward line. So I think they're going all right, Collinwood. But the ins and outs make for good reading from a navy blue persuasion as well. So there is that. Anyway, if you want a horribly biased call, or you want to tune in and take great delight at Collin getting done, then we're on the SCNF from seven. And I am following your commentary journey as well, Sammy, and I'm invested in it. So good luck tonight and for the rest of the year. Good to have you as an investor. Thank you, Sammy. What's making you use this morning? Where do you want to start? Let's start with the team news at the dogs. This is one of your favorite topics, too. It must be said over the journey. So I don't talk about the war.

32:38Their team will make for interesting reading tonight. Now, Luke Beverage is speaking in about 10 minutes' time. But when he does, I think he'll go very close, too, if not completely confirming that Ed Richards is actually going to play against you along on Friday, which would be a remarkable turnaround, wouldn't it, after the scenes at the Adelaide Oval at the weekend, when he was in enormous pain with that right ankle roll. So we'll lock him in for now. Tim English did some training. Yes, they're not convincing some told 50-50 a best with that MCL. But if he misses again, then I reckon you can just about put him down for next week against Sydney on a Thursday night, which is another big one for the dogs. Libert is back back from that hamstring, and after meeting the Duke of Sussex, he's good to go as well. Aaron Norton trained pretty solidly yesterday with that hand. Now, he might end up wearing a glove, the astronaut, but he didn't have hand surgery. He saw a specialist during the week for a console, but they decided that operation wasn't required. I expect him to play at this stage as well. And they've got the cats tomorrow night, and the first of five Friday night double headers over the next six weeks for the competition, which it does induce that sort of reaction.

33:38It's a sigh. It frustrates me. I understand fixturing is not easy, but surely we can avoid these in the future, Sam. Yeah, I mean, I get the AFL's justification for it, but when you've got the coaches and some CEOs speaking out against it, and they want to maximize attendance at the gate, so I get that, like the Sydney Derby or the showdown, or whatever, they're getting a Friday night, otherwise wouldn't have got, so that's great. But they want that landscape to themselves, for their sponsors, for their membership, for everything to maximize. That's what Friday night has always been, hasn't it? And it doesn't mean things don't change and evolve, but I think you earn that slot, you get it to yourself, for all the riches that it promises, but not over the next six weeks you don't. And with you, speaking of Sincilda, Lance Collard? I spoke to them this morning just to touch base on this, whether they will appeal that Lance Collard normal exemption, of course, two of those matches suspended. They're yet to decide. There is a pouring over this. This is legally very, very heavy, as you would know. And any avenue they potentially have to appeal. So, I touched base on this morning.

34:38There's no decision on there yet. I think they've got until the end of the weekend to decide. Do you think they'll go for it? Well, I think team Collard is in Collard's camp with like him to go for it. I think Sincilda is weighing it up. They've got a lawyer on their board. What's his name? His name just skates me. He wrote, his surname starts with B. I think the AFL ruling was written in a way that makes it difficult, not impossible, but difficult to appeal. Yeah, indeed. And then, speaking of appeal, Paul Adelaider, obviously, appealing Zach Barters. We don't need to bang on about this, because I think everyone's just about hardly sick of it. But I could drag on until next week this. I don't think the hearing will be heard until the start of next week. Now, I stand to be corrected on that. That's the general expectation at the moment, because clearly, a dozen effect is availability Tom, we would like every tribunal member to be available, and available for the entirety of the hearing. We would. Do you think Nick Foote will do a poor Adelaide game again this year? No. No, I don't think so.

35:38I think that's an easy avoidance. I just don't think. Just for the circus that would surround it. Just for the fact that I think there's nothing to gain. And potentially everything to lose. I just don't think you would do that, particularly when Zach's the captain of that club. There has to be some form of rapport relationship line of communication with the captain and, and I'm poor, and I just don't think that's something the I, if I would want to do, what should I do? We would have, we would never have more eyeballs on Adelaide. Point toss handshake. Then the Zach butters Nick Foote's one more time. Do you reckon the mocks would be turned up by the broadcaster? Every single time Zach would be in the vicinity. Let's, let's fader up. Fader down. No, it'd be fader up the full time jam down. Uh, the, what am I looking out here? Uh, which checks them all here? Ross? Uh, no, I've lost it. All good. Um, no worries. Uh, we'll see you on Blues Radio tonight. Looking forward to it, Tommy. Thank you, Sammy Edmund joining us, whether it's selling your livestock or selling your home, contact Alex Scott and staff today. Waitly on SEM. A message coming through from 633

36:38via regarding Sammy Edmund's commentary. Sam should be commentating normally, not just on Blues Radio. I think he will be one of the best commentators in the land. That's George from East Bentley. And looking forward to tuning in to Blues Radio tonight. In a sadistic way, it's, it's actually better when they're losing. Which is, um, which is not what I want. I like Carlton. But, uh, the radio itself is more entertaining when you hear Andy Mar calling Carlton embarrassing. Uh, a message coming through here from, uh, Block in Ringwood. Tom Umpire foot must be highly regarded by the Umpires Association as his Umpire grand final. If Portwood would have made a final where Butters is playing, does that exclude him from Umpire in a final, potentially putting an inferior Umpire in the match? What if Butters moves clubs? What's the flow and effect there? Well, we'll ask all these questions, uh, up next Rob Kerr, who is the AFL Umpires Association Boss. He's going to join us just after the news. And there's still a bit going around with the Zack Butter situation. We're going to take your calls a little bit later on 13736. 736, the Hyundai Open Line. Enjoy early deals at Hyundai pre-office on sale.

37:39On now, participating Hyundai dealers. A little bit later on, the McAfee menu Rob Harrig. He's the, he's a golf writer for sports illustrator. Live golf seems to be on its knees. I'm looking forward to exploring that with him. Brody Myrchek, Dan Bredig, Liz Ellis. And Dr. David Munro as well. With an interesting concussion story. We'll join us at 1140. But for now, it's newstime. This is your town. This is your station. This is Wade Lee. Tom Morris filling in for Jared Waitley. Still plenty more to get through this morning. This morning, Bob Harrig. Brody Myrchek, Dan Bredig, Liz Ellis. And Dr. David Munro on a new concussion app. That gives uniformity across local sport in Australia. But now Rob Kurs joining us is the CEO of the AFL Unpies Association. Yesterday we got the players view via James Gallagher. And today we get the Unpies view of course following the Zack Butter's and Nick Foot controversy drama tribunal case this week.

38:41Rob, thanks for jumping on. No problem at all. Tom, thanks for having me. Rob, talk us through what the role of the AFL Unpies Association is. When things get hot like what they've been the last few days. I'll look at a primary role. I guess it's to look after the interests of the umpire. Make sure they're feeling well supported and everything that's going on around the issue is being conducted in the proper and appropriate way. And I guess where the umpire feels that they need a little bit of extra help. We're there to provide that. Do you believe that everything has been conducted in a proper way? Yeah, I think that the process has been followed pretty well, Tom. And I think probably some of the, I guess one of the concerns we've had through the week has been that Nick effectively just done his job to the later father process gone through all the procedures. And there's been times where perhaps an absence of understanding of what's involved.

39:42In the process and how it's going to play out is course and commentary. I mean, the example at the start of it was when Nick didn't engage at the end of the game with Zach. You know, you can't have the rules that were cleared. A reported player is not allowed to approach an umpire. There's good reason for that. You know, you can't have dialogue around a report happening before the reports been laid officially. Or tribunal hearings. And if you extend it out to community football, you certainly don't want reported players approaching umpires on the field when the silence sounded. So things like that have, you know, caused probably unnecessary commentary. And has had an impact in terms of some of that commentary, which has really been attacks on Nick's person and character. How has Nick been throughout this process? I assume he's spoken to him extensively. Oh, look, I think for everyone involved in this process has been, it's been a pretty stressful process.

40:47Because there has been a whole lot of commentary and understandably a lot of interest. But throughout he's been, he's been adamant and very consistent with his, his version of events. And, you know, I think he's taken comfort from that. And he's understood he had a clear understanding of what the process would be and how it would play out. So he's managed to keep it all together and look forward to umpiring again this weekend. Was he wounded by what Zack Butter said? Oh, look, I, I, I, not, not, was he wounded by what Zack Butter said? Obviously, that's where the dispute's been. But in broad terms, whenever an umpire feels that their integrity is being questioned, they're going to act on that. Because the whole authority of an umpire and official comes from them being fair and unbiased. And if someone makes commentary, that suggests they're anything but that, that obviously undermines their role and their authority.

41:53So, um, as, you know, I did say Ray Chamon speak during the week and he made the point. If an umpire feels that their integrity is being questioned, they're going to act on that because it's so central to their role. Robin, your role, is there any way that we can get to the bottom of, of why the audio or the microphone wasn't working on Nickfoot at the time? I mean, that would have, that would have accelerated this whole process, I'd imagine, because we would have known exactly what was said without any ambiguity. Have you managed to find that out? And what, how can we stop this same thing happening again? Yeah, I mean, that's the, uh, that's a great mystery in this episode, isn't it? Um, I have asked the question, but I can't say I've got a clear answer as to what's happened there. Um, so I've got no more information than you guys in terms of what precisely happened. The suggestion is, you know, the food goes to where? So sometimes, uh, the sounds faded down if there's potential for, um, for bad language to be used, you know, someone in the, in the coverage is making that sort of decision, I guess.

43:02Um, but I'm, I'm no clear on that one, the newer Tom and it's probably one that I think everyone, uh, would like to understand better. I guess it's been two instances over the last two years where, um, the, uh, the, what the mics picked up has been really important. I'm thinking that last year, the lock issues piece and then this year with this instance. Um, but, uh, yeah, we're, we're unfortunately haven't got, um, what we know this time around. Do you think in an ideal world, there would have been some mediation between the end of the game. And when this reached the tribunal a couple of nights later, I understand that Nick foot, um, by the laws of the game can't speak to Zach butters on the ground. But is there an avenue where there could be a mediator to, uh, try to appease both parties so it doesn't reach the levels that it did if this sort of thing happens in the future? Yeah, that's, I think that's a really good question and, um, I think a few people will turn their mind to that. Um, I guess the challenge with that one and you know, I've, I've thought about it a fair bit myself.

44:07I suppose the, um, challenge is just understanding, um, what instance you're going to mediate and what you aren't. Um, like which, which report of all incidents would you say, well, let's try and mediate this before it gets to the tribunal versus not. So you'd need to come up a game with some sort of procedure and process that ensures it's not, uh, an ad hoc approach to it all. Um, so in the absence of having any really clear, uh, procedure or guidelines, there probably was no alternative in this instance. Is it something that might be considered going forward if you prepare if the times put into working out how that might play out? Then it's, then there's probably merit in looking at it. We're talking to Rob Kerr, the AFL, um, buzz association CEO. Can you answer this question? Why is it that if his integrity was questioned, he's only received a $1500 fine for that. If it was so serious. Yeah. Well, the best answer I've got to that is, uh, that's the, uh, current guidelines.

45:11Um, I think it's a fair question. Historically, the penalties have been much greater. Uh, but under the current table, I think it pretty much says that if, if for charges of abuse and insulting language, it's a $1500 penalty down to a thousand if, um, if the player accepts the finding before going to the tribunal. Is that sufficient? No, I don't think it is. Um, uh, but that's one that slips through and, uh, probably one that we, we'd be, well, is one that we'd be keen to talk further about with the AFL. Are you, uh, are you concerned at all about the optics of the, uh, conflict of interest between Nick, uh, Nick foot working for sports bet and also being an AFL um, um, uh, well, I understand the perception issue. The facts are Nick, Nick's a sport horse racing analyst. So his work has no connection to the sport that he umpires.

46:11Um, the AFL, uh, examined this issue a couple of years ago, look for potential, the conflict, their integrity department, ticked it off. Uh, at a game was raised within the tribe, general hearing, uh, Nick was questioned about it. The tribe, general also didn't see that it had any relevance to his umpiring. Well, I understand the perception. I'm yet to hear the argument that fully, uh, spells out why he shouldn't be allowed to perform his employment as a horse racing analyst. Yeah. So do you think it's something that should be looked at in the future or could be looked at in the future because, um, I'm sure you're aware of the, of the phrase perceptions reality. Um, and even if he, he doesn't work on any football on sports bet, the perception can sometimes hurt the broader integrity of the umpiring unit. Um, well, it's, it's, I mean, it's a different one because the industry itself, uh, takes, uh, you know, has sport as as betting agencies as sponsors.

47:13Um, and now we say, well, you can't have an umpire who's employed in the horse racing side of the, the business, um, perform their work. That's. And, and, and until we get to the point where, um, you know, umpires, uh, hollus, uh, totally, uh, fully employed by the AFL and rewarded appropriately. Well, then it's typical to say you can't go and do your work if it's being kicked off by the AFL integrity unit as, as not representing any conflict. Rob, one of the talking points for the rest of the year will be, and it's already been a talking point last night. Uh, what games Nick foot does and whether it does a portable game again. Um, I, I imagined that you'd put full confidence in him to umpire, portable and impartial and unbiased way. But he concerned about the media circus or about the attention that would be on that game, particularly because Zack butters is captain, if he does do a portable game for the rest of the year. Uh, well, look, I think the reality is you probably know the little period, uh, where, where, um, things settle, uh, but I think both sides have to be, uh, adult about it and accept that at some point, like it was, it was a final and Nick foot's one of the, one of the best umpires going around.

48:29You're going to say you can't umpire a port at a late game or the thought not, um, you know, you got to select him on his merits and, and do the game where appropriate. Uh, maybe as I said, there's, there's a period, uh, where obviously the tension's high at the moment, where it all settled, but, um, I would have thought at some point in time, uh, Nick would be implying a port at a late game. And do you think that there'd be a moment in time, um, before that game where Nick foot and Zack butters can come together, um, either privately publicly and, um, they don't even have to shake hands or break bread, but agree to move on from what has been a pretty stressful situation for both. Um, I think that's, that's a pretty reasonable suggestion. Tom, I mean, it's going to be up to both parties on that front. Um, you know, it's like everyone in life, you know, you have issues that sometimes bob up and the best way to resolve them is sit down and have a conversation. Uh, whether we get to that point or not, I don't know, that's up to those two individuals, but I wouldn't say it's not, not a possibility.

49:35Rob, really appreciate your time. Um, thanks for jumping on. I know it's not an easy time of the year. Uh, just not an easy situation to be involved in. There's the umpiring association CEO, but I commend you for your statement yesterday and also having the willingness to talk to me today. Thanks again. All right. Thanks for opportunity, Tom. Thank you. Rob Kerr, the AFL Umpires Association CEO joining us on waitly for Australian made when you buy certified Australian made your backing local businesses jobs in our economy right here. Next we're going to dive into the potential collapse of leave golf and head to Florida to do that now back to waitly breaking news today and it's swirling rumors. The financial times reported early this afternoon that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is on the verge of cutting its support for live golf with an announcement of the future of the lead coming as soon as Thursday. The report goes on to say that no final decision has yet been made on the future of the live project. Live is preparing to stage its event in Mexico City beginning tomorrow.

50:35Well, I've been happening overseas. You are listening to waitly Tom Morris filling in for Jared waitly that was rich learner from the golf channel talking about live golf and the potential collapse of that of that tournament of that investment. Bob Harric is a friend of SCN. He's a good friend of the waitly program as well. He's a golf writer for sports illustrated. He's written a fascinating book on film Nicholson and Tiger Woods and he's been good enough to join us now from Florida to bring it up to speed. Bob, welcome to the show again. Tom, how are you doing? Thanks for having me. I'm going well. Thanks. I've just sent an article you published on sports illustrated for those Melbourneians or Australians driving along or listening at work or at the gym wanting to know the background as to why live golf is all of a sudden potentially in a bit of trouble. Can you bring us up to speed? Yeah, and we happy to try. I mean, it's been kind of a tumultuous 24 hours. You know, these reports started to surface that that live was possibly in danger.

51:37That the PIF the public investment fund was going to pull its its funding. There was even talk that they might shut down as soon as this week. It appears that that is not going to be the case. They have the tournament in Mexico City that begins Thursday, you know, Thursday in this time zone. And their CEO, Scott O'Neill has says has pledged that they're pushing forward that you know all this came though after a lot of a lot of media scrutiny and with no comment whatsoever from live. They made no attempt to squelch it earlier in the day. The financial times, the Wall Street Journal, these are not like fly by night operations. They both reported that, you know, that the PIF was going to drastically reduce its funding and basically live golf is completely supported by that entity. They do not have significant revenue. They do not have revenue that supports them paying $30 million a tournament in purses and these huge, you know, signing bonuses to players like Bryce and the Shambon John Rom.

52:50They've operated at a substantial loss now going into their fifth year. That's been understood and it's also been understood that it might take a while for them to get to the point where they even break even. So if the public investment fund were to drastically reduce funding, well, what does that mean? It either means you're going to shut down or it means you've got to find a way to secure more revenue. They do have places like an Australia and Adelaide. That event's very popular. If I'm not mistaken, the local government there in South Australia, Adelaide, it might be a combination of the government and chambers of commerce, as we call them, contribute funds to get lived to come there. When you throw in very good support with spectators, hospitality, that sort of thing, then that event might make money. I think the event that they just had in South Africa probably did very well and will make money.

53:56But they do not have a robust TV media rights deal. They do not have title sponsors at all their events, which, you know, that's the model for being profitable title sponsorship in TV. So, you know, until they can do that for all 14 of their events and also probably sell their franchises, which was the goal from day one, and yet they've not sold a single one. So, you know, they're going to, they're going to be, you know, losing money, frankly. And the PIF invested in February 1st, the financial documents show they put in more than $260 million again. So, okay, that probably gets you through this year. But what about next year? Do you have to start making, they didn't say anything about next year. So, I have a feeling that, you know, maybe there was a little, there's some smoke. Maybe some of it was overblown.

54:57But that, you know, they've, they're in some distress and they need to, they need to figure out a few things going into next year. And now, you know, this will be a storyline. I mean, the fact that this came up like this might, might cause people to pause whether they want to get involved with them. It's probably not something they needed. Yeah. So, are we really, I say we, is live golf really relying on the public investment fund of Saudi Arabia, on an annual basis, on a year-on-year basis? Because that seems quite volatile to me. There's no question. You know, the PIF is worth, you know, trillion, basically, almost a trillion dollars. So, they have, you know, live is probably, you know, has been said, it's a, it's a, it's a rounding error. You know, but still, I mean, there comes a point when, even something that in the relative scheme of things that's small, you don't, you still don't want to be losing money. And, and my sense is, is that, you know, they've decided five years in. We need to tighten the belts a little bit here. We need to get, we need to get this thing under control.

56:07And, you know, they, they subsidize it. Look, a lot of their titles are, are, are PIF companies. So, like they'll have an event that says, you know, a sponsored by a Ramco. Ramco is the, is the Saudi oil company. It's, it's just putting money from one pocket to the other. You know, in the States, obviously, the big benefactor of the PJ Tour is FedEx. FedEx is not owned or affiliated with the PJ Tour of them being a sponsor. You know, it kicks in $100 million a year to sponsor their, their bonus pool and, and a tournament. And, and, and, and obviously it's a huge underpinning. So, it's a big difference when that's, you know, they, they need another one is, I guess, re odd air. Well, obviously, that's a government, that's a Saudi government owned airline. You know, I'm sure it's great for them to get it exposure. But the bottom line is is that, and that's just, you know, shifting money from one entity of the PIF to another.

57:12Yeah. So, you know, and I don't think this is any big secret. They've got a lot of money, but it sounds like while they have a lot of money, they, they've decided they, they're taking a harder look at this. And they want to make sure that, you know, maybe, maybe they're, that's a lighting a fire under the live executives, like, hey, you're going to have to start doing this on your own. And we're not going to, we're not going to, you know, do all that do, you know, be the, be the funding source that we've been here for the last few years. Yeah. And we're just going to be a charity for the next few years, just for the sake of it, just because we're going to go through these dollars. And the reason they probably got trillions of dollars is because they haven't been a charity. They've had smart business models across the journey, which has allowed them to beef up, I guess their stocks and the money they've got. We're talking about Harry Gulf writer for sports illustrated regarding live golf, which has been in the news for a variety of reasons. You're right, two months ago or three months ago in February, live golf was in Adelaide. I've been to live golf in Boston before a couple of years ago, and it was great fun.

58:13But it hasn't quite captured the imagination in some parts of the world, I'd imagine as, as other parts of the world. What do you think the future of live golf is then your best guess as to how it plays out from here? Well, let's say they're able to continue, you know, let's say they're able to, to, to keep it going with the funding. You know, like I've said this forever, they can go as long as they want. As long as they are fine with losing money, you know, maybe it's just a matter of, of making those losses a lot less and easier to swallow, they'll be okay. But I do think they need to find a rights partner that's going to pay them more money. They need to continue to find markets that are underserved. I mean, in Adelaide, one of the reasons is so popular is, you know, the folks there, I'm guessing, you know, obviously you know better than me. It's not, it's not like it's right next door to go to Sydney for the Australian open. Yeah. And the Australian open doesn't always have like, yes, it did have roaring this past year.

59:16But it doesn't have, you know, like John Rom and Bryce and DeChambo. And some of these players that play for live who are, you know, big stars. And so they want to go see him, Phil Mickelson, what have you? So they need places like that. There are places like that in the states that are underserved. You know, they that don't have big time PGA tour golf. And yet they've elected to go to some areas that do like they're playing an event in New Orleans. Well, there's already an event in New Orleans on the PGA tour. You know, and so that's surprising to me that they would go there. But yet they're going to Indianapolis, which is a place that doesn't. And it was very popular there last year. The other thing is I think they need to establish some roots. Like they've done that in Australia. You need to like, it needs to be something that people get into. They make it a, you know, an annual affair like where I live in Clearwater area, Florida. We have a long time PGA tour event called the Valsfar. It's a, it's a, it's a community event.

1:00:17People know when it's coming, they make it, they make it a point to go. When you start moving these tournaments around all the time, you, you can't establish any, any continuity. So that's, I think the other thing they've struggled with. You know, I don't, you said you had great fun when you went to the one in Boston. Like they only played in Boston once. Yeah, 2022. All right. Right. So like, why didn't they go back? You know, I'm sure there was venue issues or what have you. But, you know, I've said all along. If you don't like live, that's fine. You know, but some people like shotgun startups. They didn't mind 54 holes. It's now gone to 72. They like the team aspect, even though I think they've leaned too heavily into that. I, I think that's, that's been a hard sell. Although their business model has been. You know, selling these things is franchises, which they've yet to do. So it's a, it's a really, I don't know. It's a, it's a very interesting dynamic. What they've got going on. And, you know, how do they get successful? I don't know. I think it's going to take a while still.

1:01:17You know, the problem is, is they're not, they haven't gotten any big names. They haven't gotten any big name new players. You know, since John Robb. And, you know, that was their big selling point early on that. I'll look at who they brought on. Brooks Kafka and Bryson and. And, and, and Robb and Phil and Dustin Johnson. And well, some of those guys are aging out. Bryson and, and Patrick Reed have already left. Yeah. You know, and so are you going to be able to get any more new blood in there to help you? And I think when a day like today where they have some of these issues that come out there, you know, that might make people. Make some players pause about joining and joining and joining live. Yeah, yeah. No, I, well, we really appreciate your time. www.si, which is supposed to illustrate a dot com. And you've written a piece talking about the internal memo that says full throttle. Continue, continuing a full throttle this season of live. But there's no doubt it's a little bit more volatile and delicate than it has been in the past.

1:02:17Your latest book is Tiger V Jack golf's greatest debate. A celebration of two of the greatest golfers that explores the records, rivalries, statistics and context of their illustrious careers. I will be buying that because I am very much into that debate. And I'm happy to have it with you at another time. Unfortunately, time to get the better of us now. We really appreciate you jumping on board. And we'll speak to you again soon. Thanks a lot for having me. I really appreciate it. That's Bob Harric joining us from Florida talking about the, well, the potential collapse of live. Not now, but maybe it's a little bit more delicate than it was in the future that it was in the past. The new McCaffay drinks range time now for the latest news headlines with Nathan Gardner. On an offseason with plenty of moves. One of the big ones was Brody Mycheck from Collingwood to Melbourne. He's made an excellent start for the days. As has Melbourne aside from the weekend against Essinan in Adelaide. And Brody's been good enough to join us this morning. Welcome, Brody. Thanks for having me. Brody, it's moving clubs I can imagine is never overly easy. You've probably spoken about it a few times. But at what point did you decide, yeah, I think free agencies for me.

1:03:18And I think Melbourne's for me. Yeah, it's definitely something I didn't want to have to think about. Sort of, yeah, just the landscape of Collingwood with the older players. You sort of try and see where you fit in there. And what you can ask for in terms of contracts and that. And I knew probably coming in late to the later to the AFL system. I wanted to try and make the most of it. And yeah, just the initial contract from the Pires wasn't great. So you sort of put your manager, put yourself out there. And yeah, Melbourne come back and we had a few chats. And yeah, nothing was decided till really the end. Because the Pires were contending for a flag. And then yeah, it all started happening. And as soon as that last game against Breezy happened. And yeah, it still wasn't an easy move.

1:04:22But reflecting back on it now, it was needed to be done for my career. And how I felt with my footy. And yeah, I'm loving it so far. So you walked into a footy club. I reckon there was on the move itself. Like Melbourne footy club. By its own admission had been a bit vanilla for a couple of years. They hadn't had the success. And now they've got some edge this year. Not just in terms of the way you're playing. But also everything around the game. The fact you're turning up to games and casual clothes with a bit of bling. Some of the jumpers that you're wearing. Stephen King has brought a new vibe to it as well. What had your impressions of Melbourne football club as a whole band since you arrived? Yeah, I could feel it the day one I got there. We had my first week with the training camp in Bryson. I think what the players wanted to get out of that camp was a kick start to what we're doing now. And King is first week as well at the club.

1:05:24And yeah, that sort of set the tone on what we wanted to achieve. And the group was young, but still had a lot of potential. And yeah, myself choosing to go to Melbourne. I knew their list was still good with a good mix of older players, few mid-tears. And then the young group, which we're going to set the club up for the next 10 years. So yeah, I knew if we played the right brand of footy and attacked and played with a bit of flair that we could do some damage. And it showed in a few games. We're still yet to put four quarters together. But yeah, I think everyone's leaning into the just enjoying your footy and keeping it fun. And the media's the social media at Melbourne are leaning into that. And where, as you said, doing the casual clothes and trialing some new things. And yeah, I think everyone's enjoying their time so far.

1:06:27Did you feel refreshed? Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, trialing a new preseason at a new club, obviously. You want to prove yourself again and get the most out of your body. And I feel it's fit as ever. And still, still managing the mental, mental game of it. And yeah, a few niggles with the body. But yeah, it's fit as I have been. And yeah, get to experience a lot of a lot of first things again, like getting to do your first game. First jump of presentation, meeting all the past players and doing all that. So yeah, it's been fun. And yeah, something I didn't think I'd experience. But yeah, I'm happy with the way it's panned out so far. I reckon being afforded at Melbourne in recent years hasn't been the easiest job. I know Jacob Van Ruin has worked hard and he's played a bit in the Ruck as well. But you've come in. And Eric and you've really helped him.

1:07:28How has it been working alongside him? And give us an insight into what Jacob Van Ruin's like as a football behind the scenes, but also a person? Yeah, it's been good working with him. I do know he puts a lot of pressure on himself. It's not easy being a K-Ford in a team that is struggling a bit. So if anything, I can do is take a bit of pressure off him. Still wanting to get the best out of my footy and keep improving. But knowing that my role and what these wanted me there for was to take a load off the younger boys. And if anything, keep their heads in the right space to perform at their best. And be Guru, you had a career best game first round. And sort of, I mean, these young kids, they ride the highs very well, but struggled to find in between. So yeah, just working with him.

1:08:28And yeah, he's a fun, fun kid to be around and definitely making me laugh and enjoy my footy more as well. So yeah, learning things off him a little bit. And then yeah, just trying to keep him stable. And yeah, we know the ball is going to get in there at the days. It's just making the most of it when it comes in. We're talking about Brody Mychak from Melbourne Football Club. He's been good enough to join us ahead of Jim's game this weekend, which we'll get to in a little bit. Now you've had your review from Essendon and the dust has settled from that game on Saturday. Are you able to give us an insight into the main areas of improvement that you're looking to lift for this week? Yeah, it was a completely different game to the goal coach one. Yeah, a bit disappointing. We will come it off a good win and an asset. And obviously most weeks need to get the feel that first win and get on the board. And yeah, we got a red hot Essendon on the day.

1:09:30And I mean, we can control most of the things we did wrong. But yeah, it can't take much away from what Essendon did. They're controllable very well. But our pressure wasn't on from the start. We're still in the game towards the first half, but just faded away in that second half. And yeah, just as I said, the young kids can ride the highs very well. And then when things get difficult, it can be a bit hard to bounce back. So yeah, our contest work wasn't great. And then just need to get the ball deeper entries into the forward line. And we can fix a lot of our pressure and tackling targets. And yeah, we'll better way to bounce back against the reigning premieres. And we're excited to be back at the G in for a very special game as well.

1:10:30And yeah, it should be a good battle on Sunday. Who's the teammate that has surprised you most walking into the club? Maybe someone that you didn't expect to be as hard a worker or as talented as what you've seen up close? A lot of the young midfielders are very hard trainers. And the leadership of Tom Sparrow is the one speaking up in a lot of meetings. And wanting the best for the club. So yeah, they're ones, but a lot of a lot of the young defenders as well. Daniel turns there's a tough one to match up against in preseason. And yeah, he's he's surprised me. He just wants to wants to win the ball, be based. And yeah, he's definitely one to look out for in the future. But yeah, a good young call group of days and that will impress me.

1:11:31I did an interview with Stephen King and Paul Guerra and Stephen Smith at the start of the year for the AFL record. And one of the things that stuck out is that Stephen King said, and I'm just paraphrasing, but the broad context of the quote was that he's looking forward to when you guys have a bad loss so they can show everyone how important it is to be level and to be even. How's this week been because that losses come? How's Stephen King been behind the scenes and has he displayed those traits which you spoke of preseason? Yeah, I agree with what he says. It was sort of a new coach getting into our first game against Saints and there's no pressure behind you there. But yeah, after a few good wins and then you get a bad loss, you sort of get a bit humbled as well. So yeah, the best teams bounce back and want to improve and you do need those losses to keep you grounded and show you what's really important

1:12:32and what works to get those wins every week. So yeah, he's hasn't come in and put the spotlight on anyone. He's put the spotlight on the whole team and what we need to improve, which is good. But yeah, we had a little chat yesterday at the start of the week and said we just need to get back at it. It's focusing on our main trainings and what we need to do. But yeah, you just got to try and get better every week, no matter the opponent. Yeah, I'm sure we'll show our best on Sunday. But looking on the Melbourne website now, so Jim's game is this Sunday and on the D's website it says, an acknowledgement of the club legend, Jim Steins as well as broader celebration of Irish culture. The second iteration of this event, we'll see an Irish explosion through the precinct. The day will include a taste of Galic football in Yarra Park dancing Irish food and drinks, I presume, Guinness. And the return of popular Jim's jig after each goal. Tell us what's planned.

1:13:37Yeah, you've labelled it off a few, but we've got some green hats that have been sold. I think you've been told they're sold out online, but you can get them at the game. And then, yeah, the few donations going to the Jim Steins foundation, I believe. And yeah, after the few goals, there's an Irish due balance. I've heard that when off last year, so I'm excited to see what the fans do this year. But yeah, it's my first time experiencing. So yeah, there will definitely be a lot of green, a lot of excitement. And hopefully we provide the goods out on the field and make it an exciting game. And hopefully many, many people get there and it should be fun day. Hopefully have a win and have a Guinness afterwards. So for context, anyone who denates $11 or more to Jim's Steins foundation for the remainder of the week will go into the draw to win Max Gorns, Jim's game, Warn, Guernsey.

1:14:42Brody, really appreciate your time. Not Braden, brain gel team mate. Brody, really appreciate your time. Go well on the weekend and thanks for jumping on. Oh, it's Tuesday. That's Brody, my check, joining us from Melbourne Football Club ahead of Jim's game this Sunday against Brisbane at MCG. This is your town. This is your station. This is Wade Lee. Hope you enjoyed the show. Waitly for Radius Telematics, fleet managers and business owners. It's time to take back control. Get Radius GPS trackers plus integrated dash cams all live in your mobile app or desktop. Visit radius.com. The Hyundai Openline is always open. One three hundred seven three six seven three six. As is the 40 wings temper text zero four three three ninety eight eleven sixteen. One of the biggest sport stories in Australia at the moment and it has been for the best part of the last year is the potential sale of one or more big bash franchises Indian conglomerates, big rich US companies as well all throwing their hat in the ring. But no one has been more across it than the chief cricket rider for the age in the city morning.

1:15:45He's a Harold Dan Braddock and he's filed another piece in the last 24 hours, which just gives us an insight into how delicate delicately this situation is poised. Dan, thanks for having a chat. No, I don't. Can you bring us up to speed? What's the latest? Yes, so yesterday was the deadline, the cricket Australia set for states to come in or to respond to cricket Australia and say we're happy to continue with the next step in the privatisation float process, which will involve getting valuations for clubs and at the moment we've got four states. So that's five teams saying yes, we're happy to continue with the with the process, which at this point, by the way, is non-binding. So it doesn't mean that he clubs are necessarily going to get sold yet, but just that they'll get a valuation. New South Wales, who obviously have two teams at City Sixers and the City Thunder, have come out and said we don't want to continue with the with the process. We want to hit the pause button on all of this and we don't want a valuation for our teams in particular.

1:16:51And Queensland, the other state that have not yet responded have said a little bit less, I suppose, triumphantly. We need some more time to look at all this before we continue. So you've got four states that have come back and said let's keep going. You've got one that said we don't want to do it and you've got one that's saying we want all time. Okay, so the state that says they don't want to do it, how much of an issue is that for cricket Australia, understanding there doesn't need to be unanimous response, but surely there's like some sort of consensus before they push forward. It's a big deal when the City Sixers and the City Thunder in Australia and cricket's biggest state are not part of the process or not part of the next step in the process as it stands. It's anything but a united front, isn't it, to have the biggest state in Australia and cricket saying we're not happy with this process continuing. And in addition to that, not only just saying that to cricket Australia, but saying that very publicly yesterday in terms of the cricket NSW CEO, Lee Jermon.

1:17:54So there's obviously some discussions that have got to happen further between NSW and cricket Australia. And that's between Lee Jermon and Todd Greenberg, the CEOs and Mike Beard and John Knox, the two chairs. How much of the negativity or the apathy towards selling BBL franchises from NSW and Queensland is self-interest. And how much of it is trying to do what's best for the greater good and cricket in this country? How would you split those two elements? Well, I think they would both states would probably argue that they're one and the same. What's good for their state is good for Australian cricket. And the fact that if you think about the current Australian test team, how many players in there are from NSW, that provides a fair amount of heft to that argument.

1:19:00But by sort of putting the break on this process or trying to anyway, they're also saying things like, well, we don't necessarily think we need to privatise or to sell stakes in clubs right now. We think there are other ways to raise money and we think that going into the future there will be more other revenue streams coming into cricket where we won't need to sell assets to raise revenue or raise capital. So that's the position that they've got at the moment. And yeah, it's really a question of how they can work through those issues with cricket Australia in the next few weeks and months. We're talking to Dan Bredig, the chief cricket rider at the age in the Sydney Morning Herald who's been right across this particular issue and all cricket issues for a long time now. This one is particularly important for the future of cricket in this country. What is the rush? Is there a chance that the BBL and cricket Australia gets left behind unless they bite the boot at some stage in the short to midterm?

1:20:06That's certainly the opinion of a lot of people around the table that there's a network of franchise leagues that's growing. And those franchise leagues have private capital and a lot of them have common ownership, you know, big conglomerates like Mumbai Indians own, you know, multiple teams around the world. Crocodonite riders own multiple teams around the world. And that network is it continues to grow and you know might be growing in in New Zealand, for instance, in the next year or so. Right, right, right across the Tasman that growing network is going to increasingly, I guess, squeeze international cricket and squeeze the cricket boards. So, you know, that's a common view. But the count of you that, you know, is obviously prevalent in New South Wales in particular at the moment is that that network also comes with challenges for the Australian cricket system and the Australian cricket system has been unique in that you've got, as we know, every summer international cricket and the big bash league running alongside each other.

1:21:13And how does that work if you have private ownership and you have team owners who want the best players playing at the same time and not playing test cricket, for instance. So, all of that comes into it and, and yeah, and as you know, lead your more articulated yesterday, the loss of control, not knowing what a private owner is going to want to want to do and whether they're interested or aligned with Australian cricket. That's the thing that some, I suppose, New South Wales can't get past right now. Yeah, and that will always be a risk on it. There's no way you can safeguard against that completely like that. It will always be a little bit of a leap into the unknown if they do choose to sell off some of these franchises. Correct. And, you know, there are obviously checks and balances that can be put in place in terms of what team or what a team owner is entitled to ask for. But the other thing that I think is, is very key to this and also key, I think to New South Wales position is, you know, John Knox, the chair is involved through the,

1:22:16the fourth private equity, equity firm, Aries, they are a part, some part investor in the Trent Rockets, in the hundred competition. And that's a moving feast at the moment. There's private ownership in all of those teams and all of the teams and the counties that are aligned to those teams. They're discovering every day new things about that and new complexities and difficulties or new advantages. So I think there's an element of let's see how that competition in particular revolves a little bit more before we sell stakes. Dan, what's your opinion if I can venture into that space? What do you think should happen with the potential sale of BBL franchises? I think the outcome that probably will make my sense is that there's a partial sale. There's a sale of a couple of clubs and that in a way test the market without losing control in a way that too many parties feel uncomfortable with.

1:23:28And that in terms of the process over the last 12 months or eight months, I should say, since some BCG came to Cricket Australia with a report recommending selling stakes. That for a long time been the most likely option that there were a couple of clubs that would be sold and other clubs would not be. So I think that kind of hybrid situation is one that I think is most likely. And also that within that, there's also the option I should add of states buying the license that they currently have from Cricket Australia for I think it was a period of 30 years. So buying back that license so they own it wholly and that meaning that money from that state goes back into the coffers at Cricket Australia. Because that's obviously another part of this, the manner of improving the budgetary situation for Cricket Australia. Dan, terrific work as always. I love reading a stuff on the City Morning Herald and the Age and I look forward to the next iteration of wherever this goes, but it's certainly pretty hot in the kitchen right now.

1:24:30Much appreciate it, Tom. Dan, Braddock joining us from the City Morning Herald and the Age. He is the Chief Cricket writer. If you want to have your say on the potential sale of BBL clubs, what it would do for Cricket in this country, by all means get on board the Honda Open Line 13736736. All gives a call in any other issues we've discussed this morning, live golf, footy. We spoke to Rob Kerr, who is the AFL Umpires Association CEO and Richard from Nari Warren has jumped on to talk about that specific topic. Richard, welcome to Waitley. Yeah, Tom, thanks for that. Mate, I was interested in the interview, but I felt that toward the end there's some of the questioning you asked about. Is there a need for Nick Fort and about us to get together and shake hands if he does the next board out of the way? I think, if he had a reporting for striking, do they have to get together and shake hands after that? Would you have had the same view as butters who got off at the tribunal? It's just an emotive argument that you're putting forward. Are both professional people in their sport?

1:25:30They get on with a game, don't they? The following day? No, you're right, Richard. That's why I asked the question. I don't give my view. I think by asking the question, you're confusing that with actually giving my opinion. I've asked the question, and I think his answer probably articulated it pretty well. It would be good in an ideal world, but it won't necessarily happen. So, whatever you do, I appreciate your call. Don't confuse a question for an opinion, because I didn't actually give my opinion. Just ask the question, and he answered it pretty well. So, thanks for calling. Thanks for jumping on board. One, three hundred, seven, three, six, seven, three, six. Six, seven, three, six. Is the number? Enjoy early deals at Hyundai pre-o-face on now at participating Hyundai dealers. The 40-wings temper text is zero, four, three, three, nine, eight, eleven, sixteen. The difference is temper. Find a personalized bedtime solution with our friendly neighbourhood sleep advisers, 40-wings serious about sleep. I just want to read this other message that I had earlier from Ben. Morning, Tom. The fact that Nick foot works for a betting agency is beyond the pale, regardless if it's just racing.

1:26:31Sick of the argument from umpires, they don't want to be full-time and professional as well. The fact that this competition hasn't made umpiring a profession is plain embarrassing. Make it professional, open and clear pathways, and I'm almost certain more people, especially women, would be interested in a career. Constantly here that we're short of umpires at all levels, this isn't hard. Thanks to Ben for texting in. I'm not fast about the BBL, says this texture. Teams going private, moving offshore, and understand the need for evolution. However, if I was an investor, I would want some say in scheduling and competition. This is uh I'm aware of as it will impact and could undermine the first class system in this country. That is always the issue and it already has to be fair. The fact that you have big bash from uh December into January means at the best time of the year for cricket, there's no red ball cricket. And it's happened a few times where Australia has needed to replace a player for the Sydney Test Match in January. And they are bringing in someone that has just been playing white ball cricket for the last four or five weeks. And the same thing happens in England as well.

1:27:32They're not necessarily playing county cricket in July or August either. So that is something uh that cricket Australia has sacrificed in order to bring in the money the BBL. And it's a balance. I can see, I can see both arguments. Let's go to Ronda who wants to talk about Nick foot. Welcome to the show, Ronda. Good morning, Tom. I love your input. Uh really good. Uh yeah, just a thought about Nick foot. Um, I don't obviously have clear what sort of personality you have or anything. But I'm wondering which is uh sports bit connection with uh players of all people have um intimated to him sometimes about his maybe integrity being integrity. If that's the word. And maybe um the last weekend was that you know the last straw for him and he maybe reacted emotionally. Um, I'm, I'm an eagle supporter. So I don't have a dog in the race or anything like that or whatever. Yeah. But um, you know, and I'm wondering if he had his time again. Would he have acted differently or responded differently?

1:28:32Um, because life might be a bit more difficult for him now. Yeah, it's a good question. It's a good question. Yeah. If it had his time again, I think based on his own social media posting, um, the strength of the AFL umpires association statement yesterday. The fact that he was given time by the AFL to reconsider his position and he decided to push on harder. Uh, I think he is uh 100% resolute with the direction that he's taken. Um, and you can argue whether it's all been worth it for him in the end. You know, in 10 years time, will he look back and go. She's was that all worth it. But in the moment, he felt like his integrity was questioned. He, whether you think it was justified or not, he did behave in a way and act in a way that was professional. Um, and it's exactly what the umpires by the umpires boss wants from the umpires. So, um, it's probably more of a question for Nick foot, but I just get the impression that he would stand by. Um, the actions that he's taken appreciate you call Ronda and thanks for the thanks for jumping on board. Let's go to Todd in man juror. Welcome, Todd. Hey mate.

1:29:32How are you going? Well, thanks. Um, I just want to let you know, I've just been in a defamation case where he said he said and my lawyer. Um, we spoke about what's happened with Nick foot and Zack buzz. Right. I can give you the exact wording from the magistrate. It cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Now, when I spoke to my lawyer, he said the fact that they've got a three person tribunal. Means it has to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. He said, I would love to represent Zack buzzers in this case. Yeah. They were his exact words. Interesting. So the wording from the tribunal that I saw and the findings was it was on the balance of probabilities, which is a slightly lower threshold. I wonder, I'm clear not being illegal mind myself. I wonder whether the person used to speak to what they would say about that. Okay. So what he said was he's walked in guilty.

1:30:32Before he's even stepped inside the door. Because he's not guilty until they could actually prove it. There's no point having a tribunal. The MRO should have just gone right. That's a $1,500 fine. That's the opinion of the lawyer who is very, very prominent in WA. Yeah, interesting. Yeah. Yeah. I think. So why didn't the MRO just slap him with a fine straight up? They can do that. But when it's contested, they often just go to the tribunal and there is a fixed financial sanction that Liam Ryan got last year, which in the end was $1,500 as well. So there's various stages to this. I appreciate you called Todd. And it's a hard one for me to fully dive into, given I don't have a legal background. But I think what you've said certainly has validity. Let's go to STU in handoff. Stu. Stewie. Stewie, welcome. Hi. Hello, good boy. Good. Just a surprise. It's on Nick's foot. I'm really interested in how he reacted to Zack post game.

1:31:33And oh, perfectly. I'm a close supporter. So no dog in the race. Just very curious as I followed the events of the week. I want to know. Did he dismiss speaking to Zack because he was angry and didn't want to? Or did he dismiss him because the rules state that he don't? Now, before you answer, if it is the second, it really brings into question his ability to effectively communicate, which I would think is integral to the role of an umpire anyway. So regardless of the answer, I don't actually know which is worse. But either way, highlights a massive problem in my life and Nick's foot. Yeah. And that's certainly the sentiment coming through of the text message you've seen as well. Stu, I appreciate you jumping on. And I apologize for getting that wrong at the start. But no, I think you make a very valid point. Let's go to Lindsay in Somerville. Good day, Lindsay. Good day, Tom. Look, I just want to highlight the insanity of the AFL draw. It's a Brisbane supporter based in Melbourne.

1:32:33It doesn't affect me directly. But I got mates live up in Brisbane. They want to go to the footy every second week. They'd like to go to the footy every week. So what we've got, we played in opening rounds. A month later, we played against Hollywood. A month later, we played against Adelaide. In eight weeks, we've had two home games. They have filthy out there, mate. I mean, I could help the AFL out a little bit here. Boys, have Brisbane played every second week. And those alternate weeks have goalcas play home. And that way, people might sort of mix a match between the two. But this draw is insane. Yeah, I reckon this year, there's been more criticisms of the featuring than there has been at a long time. I think the AFL's got some tinkering to do. Hopefully they're getting hard to work now. So the next year, it makes a bit more sense. And they can start with opening round. I'm with you on that. But also, the Northern States need to be looked after as well. And I think there's probably a happy balance. I appreciate you calling Lindsay. Thanks for jumping on board. A text coming through from Brett. Any truth that you'll be buying a BBL franchise Tom Brett. I can knock that on the head right now. The answer is no. For City Power Melbourne's weather, Shell is developing a top of 25.

1:33:34City Power working in all conditions. To keep your power connected, essential as. Waitley on SEM. Liz Ellis not far away from joining us. She's the chair of Netball Australia. There's some big news in Netball today. We'll get to that in a few moments time. But we're still taking your calls if you want to jump on board. 1-300-736-736. The Hyundai Open Line. Daniel is in Lane Warren. Welcome, Daniel. Yeah, yeah. Tom, how are you, mate? Well, thanks, how are you? Good, thank you. I just want to change touch. It's what the over 35 masters as well. I truly understand the way. I just want to give a shout out. Plug to the Mordiali. Over 35. Supersteam. Both men and women. Women got the chocolates on the Sutney just gone. And then our ones won on Sunday. So really good to see you. Off to good start. But just the plug for the club, mate. They're a brilliant football club to be a part of. I've mentioned it there a couple of years ago. And it's an incredibly inclusive club. The women joined in, mate. Whether you played pretty for the first time. We're looking to do that.

1:34:34Or you're a bit of a season play. Wanting to put the push top again. At the ripe old age of over 35. But made the conference fantastic to be a part of. You're only going to get there and there. And meet the meet the first now. Yeah, the president will be out there. They haven't a key key. You still get the game. And it's, it's really good to say, mate. The club sister all about their people in footies. A bit more of our side note. It's all the uphill stuff that is where the real love comes from. And yeah, as a thirty nine interested in getting back into footy. Hit down the Mordiali soupers. And yeah, you won't use sort of one turn back from that. Love it, Daniel. Thirty over 35. So I'll be qualified in about four months time. And I look forward to trying it out then. Maybe a few injuries. Might be an issue. Daniel, appreciate your time. Thanks for jumping on board. Good on you. Our great friends at Metro Petroleum and Mr. Whippy are giving back to the community. We still have a few hundred dollar gift cards to be used at Metro Petroleum Outlets. Call one three hundred seven three six seven three six. And the first person to answer this simple question will win a hundred dollar gift card. This is the question.

1:35:35What is Wist? I'll start it again. What is Mr. Whippy's catchphrase? One three hundred seven three six. Seven three six. It's news time. Nathan, appreciate your time today. Great work. As always, no more calls. Please. Because Nick and Jolong has won. And the answer was Yippee. It's Mr. Whippy. Metro Petroleum and Mr. Whippy are giving back to the community. Bringing happiness and support to every stop. Well, big news in the netball world today. We're up to around six of the Super Netball season. Our own Mavericks. And I'm a Mavericks fan. Have a big game this Sunday afternoon against the fever. We're third on the ladder. A John Kane arena starts at 2 p.m. The Mavericks. Our Mavericks are currently fourth on that ladder. However, the Thunderbirds and the Vixen are both on fire. They're five and not. They're going to be hard to beat this year. But the big news in the netball world relates to the host broadcast. It's been Fox Sports since 2021. It was a report of $35 million TV deal. Propped up by federal government grant for coverage of women's sports.

1:36:35And the rights have shifted. It's been announced today. It's now gone to Channel 9 from 2027 to 2031. Nine will broadcast every SunCorp Super Netball match. And all Australian Diamonds matches across one or more of the nine network nine now. And Stan Sport plus the Netball World Cup in Sydney in 2027. Liz Ellis is the most cap diamond of all time. She's a member of the Netball Australia Hall of Fame. She's a sports Australia Hall of Fame member. And she's a legend in the New South Wales Netball Hall of Fame. But today she's with us because she's the chair of Netball Australia. Welcome, Liz. Oh, it's great to be here. Thanks for having me. Liz, what does this new deal mean for Netball Australia and the sport as a whole in this country? Oh, look at the enormous deal. It's the biggest freight away footprint that Netball has ever had in this country. And critically, you know, for next year, you'll be able to watch the World Cup live and free across the nine platforms. SunCorp Super Netball, all of the diamonds games. And essentially Netball will be wherever you watch your sport.

1:37:35So whether it's on freeway television, whether it's streaming through the free streaming service of nine now, or whether it's onstand. So we're wrapped that we're able to meet our fans where they are. And they can find us in a way that they haven't been able to do so in recent years. So it's a massive moment for our sport. The paywall has been a roadblock in many other sports across the last few years. I'm thinking of Eilig Socker. I'm thinking of one day international cricket. I'm thinking of baby ol' cricket, even football, men's and women's. How much of it was an issue for you in Netball not having great accessibility when it was on FOXTEL? Well, I think, and we asked it on FOXTEL this year. And I will say the partnership with FOXTEL has been fantastic. They've allowed us to grow the game. We've increased dealership new on new. We had record dealership last year, particularly through the SunCorp Super Netball finals. And into that great-grandfinal that was at Rod Labor Arena in Melbourne where the Vixen's got over the favor at the end. But the thing that I heard consistently when I stepped in as Chair of Netball Australia

1:38:38from our Netball community was that they wanted to access Netball free-to-air. And they wanted to be able to, you know, find the athletes, see the athletes. And, you know, we've got the best athletes playing the best Netball League in the world. So we want them to be out for the community just to find them. And so that's why this deal, I think, means so much. But we are very grateful for the work that FOX has done over the last five years. We're talking to Liz Ellis, who's the Chair of Netball Australia and an all-time great of the sport and an Australian sport in general, regarding the new five-year media rights partnership with Nine, which will go from 2027 to 2031. Expansion is on the cards, Liz. I see it's been delayed by a year. How real is that? And have you decided how many teams are likely going to come into the competition when that does take place? Yeah, no final decisions have been made yet. We really needed to see what the media deal or the broadcast deal looked like. Now we know that. Now it's locked in. We can go back and look at our modelling to understand how do we expand in a way that's fiscally responsible, that keeps the sport, you know,

1:39:40chugging along quite nicely, but also allows us to bring in some new teams. We had some really good potential team owners come through the door when we ran the expression of interest process. So that's, you know, the next thing for us to do is to go away and really have the management team make some recommendations to the board about what we do around expansion. Personally, I'd love to see expansion, but you've got to be able to afford it. So that's the next challenge risk to go back and cancel those numbers. I like to put two things together sometimes, Liz. So please let me know if I'm being a bit cheeky here. But your new EGM is Christine Finnegan, and she's well known down in Tasmania for helping set up the Jack Jumpers and the amazing success they've had. Are we a chance for a Tasmanian team when you do expand? Who are, well, you know, Finne does have, does have the Emerald Isle in her heart. So, but I think at the end of the day, it's just whatever the best decision is for Netball. And I think, you know, any chance that we get to have more athletes

1:40:43with more contracts playing in the best Netball League in the world in a market that will support them, that's really important. So I think Christine will put it all aside. Her history in Tasmania, and, you know, she's incredibly clear-eyed and incredibly focused on what she needs to do. So that will all form part of that. And what are your views on how the, how are Mavericks are going this season? Fourth on the ladder, still very much in the hunt, but a huge game this Sunday afternoon against the fever. Massive game. I mean, you talked about the fact that Vicson's the Thunderbirds are sitting top of the ladder. Well, they both play each other this weekend as well. So we should see that a little bit of movement in the ladder. I have to say, I was devastated for Tara Hitchleefe when she did a knee, but I still think that there is an enormous amount of talent in that Mavericks chain. And Jamie Lee Price is having, I think, one of the best news of her career. I think the move to Melbourne has really suited her. And just a linchpin that she is between, you know, that defense line and into, you know, Shimane and Nelson, Munich, Palavi,

1:41:43Riley, Bachelor of Dollar, that frontline. That's pretty good to watch. So if you haven't got tickets, get in there because the maps have the potential to be a bit of a surprise packet this year. So it's 1v2 and 3v4 this weekend, which is exciting. That's the top level at the local level. How much is the game growing? What are participation numbers like across the country? Yeah, so we're looking at our participation numbers now. And we know that we've got 1.6 million people playing the game across the country. We have set out now 10 years to change the plan to buy our next 10 years. We want to grow that to at least to me and people. So that's going to involve significant investment infrastructure in volunteers and ensuring that the clubs have got three and a half thousand clubs across Australia, most of them are thriving. So we've got to equip them for that growth. So growth is good. We've bounced back really well from those COVID years. But the next challenge is how do we ensure that our clubs can really work with us to make sure that they're ready for the influx

1:42:44that we hope will come from this year broadcast deal, but also from the World Cup next year. We know that these major events when you get the best athletes in the World Front and Center lead to people, little kids going, Mum, I want to play that game, but they also lead to, you know, a lot of people coming back into the game who might not have played it for a few years. And they might access it through social netball or mixed netball. So we've got to be ready for all of that. Liz, appreciate your time and congratulations on the new deal. My pleasure. Thank you. Liz Ellis joining us, the Chair of Netball Australia, the most capped netball player of all time in this country. You're listening to Weightly for Radius Telematics, Fleet Managers and Business Owners. It's time to take back control, get Radius GPS trackers, plus integrated dash cams all live in your mobile app or desktop, visit radius.com. Well, as concussion becomes a bigger issue in global sport, it does so to add the country, whether it's football, whether it's cricket, whether it's rugby, whether it's soccer, juniors, seniors, girls and boys. It's a big issue. Now, my concussion passport provides uniformity for schools,

1:43:44parents, clubs and clinicians. Dr David Munro is a co-founder and he joins me this morning. David, welcome to Weightly. Good morning, Tom. Thanks for having me on. David, tell us what my concussion passport is. Tom, it's basically, you know, sort of what it says on the packet, I suppose. We identified this gap in athlete well-being and care where athletes were being sort of, you know, concussed on a weekend sport, for example, and then turning up to school on the Monday. And the silos that exist between clubs, fought in schools, not talking to each other, and not transferring that really important information across on a real-time basis. So my concussion passport sits with the athlete, and it travels with the athlete. So it's a concussion history that allows the athlete and the clubs and schools involved to get real-time access to their concussion information to make sure that they're safe and able to return to play and training.

1:44:44Tell us when and how the idea was born. It's interesting. It's been asked for by a number of international and national organizations for a few years now. And there's a group of us that, I can also put my parent hat on as well as my clinician hat on it. And we saw it as a gap in the healthcare provision of three young athletes. So a group has got together and talked with no one's building this. So we thought this is a great idea to sort of fill that need as being asked for at various levels, national and internationally. In your experience, and clearly concussion is becoming more of an issue because, I guess, there's more awareness around it and more safety nets involved. How serious is concussion at a community level? And how much was it being ignored by, excuse me, coaches and parents and people around it? Look, when we think about who plays sports and we all love watching our internet, our elite sport, but the majority of sports played at that grassroots and community level.

1:45:46And that's what we're sort of addressing. The vast, vast majority of athletes are playing at that level. They play because they love playing. I think coaches and parents, I'm not sure they're necessarily ignoring it. They're just not sure what to do about it. It's a big, we all know it's a big problem we see it in the new cycle, just very recently with class actions and insurance clients and changes in that space as well. And I think people particularly at that grassroots and community level are really asking for a very simple solution. And a lot of this has been driven by some feedback from school nurses, for example, who, or the volunteer team managers at Junior Sports who spend Friday night chasing emails and medical clearances, you know, can this player play on the weekend? I haven't got my clearance form. How long have they been out for? So it's very much addressed at that that grassroots community level to make it easier for them to navigate the safe return of their players and just knowing instantly whether they're clear to play

1:46:47or whether they haven't been clear to play by their doctor at the start. Nothing is more simple than a traffic light system. Tell us about the traffic light system involved here. It is a traffic light system, Tom. And that we're trying to make it as simple as possible. It is sort of tech based in terms of it's all done. And we're trying to get rid of that paper trail. So it exists as a traffic light system. If all athletes are hopefully is green, so they're non-concast and they're safe to play. If something happens during a game or in another event it might be combat sports or horse riding or, you know, mountain biking. If something happens and there's a suspected concussion that athlete moves from green to amber. And at that point they're not diagnosed with concussion. They're just sort of sitting on the sideline, which follows the international guidelines of different doubts sit them out and wait for them to be assessed by someone who's appropriately trained. That athlete then attends their local doctor or who they need to see. And their average at this stage, we're not telling the healthcare practitioner how to complete their assessment. We're just asking for the doctor's complete assessment.

1:47:49Once they've made that decision, the micro-concussion passport athlete generates a single use QR code. The doctor uses that to then move the athlete from amber back to green. They might say, look, we're going to clear this plan. We don't think it was concussion or if it was, they move into the red. And that's instantly updated back to the dashboard of whichever club or school that athlete's involved in. And they're unable to be selected. Once that athlete's gone through the protocols, they return back to the doctor. Does their thing clear some from red back to green that's instantly updated on to the passport, updated on to the dashboard, and the volunteer team manager or the school nurse or whoever's involved, the trainer or the physios, whoever's involved in managing that athlete can see straight away that they've been cleared back to green and they're clear to play. And the big part about this is, you know, we're seeing it with insurance companies at the moment. It's reducing that liability and risk that we see. It was putting an athlete. Back onto the field or to the,

1:48:50wherever form they're going back into play and if they haven't been cleared properly. That organization are at risk. So we're really trying to reduce that risk profile and just make it simple. Nothing's more simple than traffic load system. Tell us about the confidentiality component to this as well. I'd imagine there'd be kids and, probably more so kids than adults who play sport for three, four, five different clubs, schools, maybe parents who are separated as well. How important is that component? It's probably the first thing we looked at. It's a confidentiality. And there's sort of, you know, where it's installed, who's looking at it. The simple thing about this and the beauty of it, I think is that we're not asking for any medical information at all. It's just a clearance. It's replacing the medical certificate that people walk out of a doctor's office with and then take a photo of and text it to their, you know, the trainer or the team manager. So the medical notes are very separate to this. It's purely a notification platform that allows people to see quickly the status of that athlete.

1:49:53I think it's an amazing initiative and something that parents and, and really all community athletes should be using around the country. How can they get access to it? Well, it's, um, it's absolutely free for parents and athletes at the moment. And it always will be. So when we set this up, and again, putting my parents hat on, we want to remove any barriers to this, you know, if you're managing community sport and, you know, a lot of people are volunteers in that space, no fear in that space myself. You know, we're busy during the week and then you're, you know, your mind turns to weekend sport with your kids or you might be managing a amateur football club or a motor cross club or combat sports club, for example. We're trying to remove all those barriers. So we'll always be free for parents and athletes and they can simply go to myconcussionpassport.com.au. Log on, we've got a great tech support that sits there that just makes it as easy as possible for people to develop their own digital passport. That then travels with them. And this is the other thing, Tom, that we really like about it. They're travels with them for life.

1:50:54So let's take a school-age person. They're playing club sport. They might then move, sorry, school sport. They might move to club. They might change clubs. They might change regions. They might change leagues. That information will travel with them. So if then, for example, if I put my clinician hat on, I have an athlete come to see me, I can pull up their passport and have a look at their concussion history. So we can sort of help them through that process as well to make sure that they're, you know, as safe as possible than looking after their brain health through myconcussionpassport.com.au. Such an important area. So significant now in the current landscape that we're in. And myconcussionpassport.com.au, as you said, is the website? David, really appreciate your time and well done on this. Tom, thanks for your interest. We've got a lot of people's solutions. We're just hoping people get on board and use it as we launch into the winter sport season, which we're all looking forward to. Awesome. Dr. David Munro joining us for a MyconcussionPassport. passport. Waitley on SEM. You can catch up on all the chats, Liz Ellis, Dan Bredig as well, Brody Meyercheck,

1:51:58how to chat to us. Golf writer Bob Harrig on Leave Golf's uncertain future, Adam Simpson as well, a little bit earlier. Good morning, Tom. You made a comment that Nick Foote acted professionally in the situation. How professional is an umpire that doesn't talk to a club captain and answer his question and just walks off saying I'm not talking to how professional is that, Alex? Well, it's in the laws of the game. When you get reported, the umpire is not allowed to talk to you in that moment. And Nick Foote followed the laws of the game and he was professional in that moment, regardless of what else you think about the situation. Dwayne Russell's up next, Midday Manners. Thanks for having me this week. I've enjoyed feeling Jared Whitely's shoes. He'll be back from Monday.