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Offsiders 2026 02 22 - Video
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00:22Hello and welcome to a special one-hour edition of Offsiders, I'm Abbey Jelmy.
00:27The program has been on air for 20 years this month and we're celebrating by getting together
00:32some of our original panellists and former hosts to take a look back.
00:36When Barry Cassidy founded the program in 2006, he wanted the panellists to examine
00:41the big stories and great moments in Australian sport.
00:44And when you go through the past two decades, haven't there been plenty?
00:49As evidence continues to mount of improper drug practices at Essendon,
00:53the coach and the players become increasingly defiant.
00:56When the truth comes out, I think I'll be in a very, very good position in Solis for Brooklyn.
01:02The honourable thing for him to do would be to stand down.
01:05They looked like a bunch of naughty schoolboys who'd been caught out and didn't like it.
01:09I think there will be handfuls of players that will be stood down for up to two years.
01:13The Melbourne Storm wanders the NRL landscape as the ghost team of Australian sport.
01:18The penalty will be the stripping of two premierships.
01:22We've got to open up the whole salary cap debate to make sure that we don't have cheats in any
01:28sport.
01:29Armstrong is the most cold-blooded, calculating cheat in the history of world sport.
01:34The reputation of Australian cricket is in tatters this morning.
01:37This is a deliberate, calculated attempt to cheat.
01:41I'll do everything I can to make up for my mistake and the damage it's caused.
01:47Australia is generally a very tolerant society until its minorities demonstrate that they don't know their place.
01:55I think it's an indictment on our game that Adam Goodes has ended his career as a great player,
02:00but that he has not been celebrated the way he should have been.
02:04Kawaguchi doesn't get to this, and the ball's going in.
02:07Australia score for the first time ever in the World Cup Finals, and the name is Tim Cahill.
02:15Adele Evans cannot be beaten now. He is over a minute to the good.
02:19He has absolutely slaughtered his opposition.
02:23The whole nation is watching.
02:29There it is! Adam Scott!
02:35Australian sport can't have known a week like us.
02:38The numbing shock, the desperate sadness, the heavy grief that has engulfed the nation since the death of Philip Hughes.
02:45We loved him, and always will.
02:50Rest in peace, brussy.
02:52We've never known a sports star quite like Shane Keith Warren.
02:56He kind of recast the whole idea of leg spin in his own image.
03:00He's very much aggressive and swaggering and fun.
03:03Got him! There it is!
03:05Wicked number 700!
03:08And they can't catch him!
03:12Prince of Penzance, it's history at Flemington, Michelle Payne.
03:15Prince of Penzance, it makes dynamite.
03:17Like me, did it make your heart swell with pride?
03:20It made me cry.
03:22Most Australian women on Tuesday night, they all walked a little bit taller.
03:25Welcome to AFL Women's.
03:33Menji Lee is finally a major champion.
03:37A magical moment in Australian sport.
03:40The AFL has moved to immediately suspend the 2020 AFL Premiership season.
03:46The whole survival of our game is at risk.
03:50You've been involved in sport for many, many decades.
03:52Have you ever seen anything like this?
03:54Never.
03:55Nothing like this.
03:56When the Panthers have done it again.
03:59Four premierships in a row.
04:02It will go down as one of the greatest lines in Australian sport.
04:06And Postacoglu always wins trophies in his second year.
04:10Glory! Glory!
04:12Tondam Hotspur!
04:14In the end, it all came down to Courtney Vine.
04:17Can she grab this game?
04:18Can she grab the Matilda's future?
04:22Cue the party!
04:41Cue the party, alright.
04:42We're about to take a look at what we've learned from those big stories.
04:45Remember some of those epic moments?
04:47And a little bit later, I'll be joined by former hosts,
04:50Gerard Waitley and Kelly Underwood,
04:51and original panellists, John Harms.
04:53But first, we have three originals to look at the big stories
04:56in our three most popular sports,
04:57the NRL, AFL and cricket.
05:00I'm joined by Roy Masters, Caroline Wilson and Gideon Haig.
05:03Team, wonderful to have you here for such a great celebration.
05:05But when we do look back over the 20 years,
05:08the biggest stories seem to be scandals and cheating.
05:10And Caro, no prizes for guessing what the biggest story has been
05:13for the AFL in that ilk.
05:15Yeah, it was definitely the Essendon drug scandal.
05:18It's worth mentioning, Abby, and thank you for having me,
05:21that the first big year of this great show was 2006,
05:26and there was a West Coast drug scandal
05:28that really haunted their premiership that year.
05:31The club has since admitted that that premiership was tainted,
05:34highlighted, of course, by the downfall of Ben Cousins
05:36and subsequent kicking him out of the game for the year.
05:40But in terms of collective disgrace,
05:43what Essendon did,
05:44what the leaders at that club allowed to happen
05:47to young men,
05:48many of them as young as 18 and 19,
05:51with an experimental drug program
05:53that they still, to this day,
05:55cannot tell us what was taken
05:58is the most shameful story
06:00I've ever covered in sport by so far.
06:03And you talk about the lessons.
06:06I mean, we sit here now in 2026,
06:08Essendon have had six different individual coaches
06:11for various games since then.
06:13They haven't played finals.
06:15Even the end of last year,
06:17the Zach Merritt captaincy scandal
06:20and attempt to leave and now demotion,
06:22I think bears its roots
06:24in what happened at that football club
06:26and its messiah complex
06:28that has haunted them
06:29really since the 19...
06:32since John Coleman, really.
06:33And I think James Heard
06:35and Kevin Chetty before him
06:37were big, big names there.
06:40And the lesson, really,
06:43is that they didn't put their hand up.
06:45And in Roy's sport,
06:47there was a similar story at a similar time.
06:50And the refusal to accept
06:52that they had done anything wrong
06:53ended up being so damaging
06:55for all concerned.
06:57The AFL spent two years
06:58navigating a landmine at every step.
07:01And, look, they didn't do it perfectly either.
07:03But I'm still so disgusted
07:06by the actual human story
07:08of what happened to those players.
07:09Nothing demonstrates the difference
07:11between the two major cities,
07:13which, of course, are Sydney and Melbourne,
07:15and they're two principal codes,
07:16more than this saga,
07:17which happened exactly at the same time,
07:19and involved the same guy,
07:21Stephen Dank.
07:25Basically, the Essendon players
07:27sort of were echoing the line from Othello,
07:29my reputation, my reputation,
07:31oh, my glorious reputation.
07:33They were more concerned
07:34about reputational damage,
07:35whereas up in Sydney,
07:37Cronulla were offered
07:38a token ban of about three weeks,
07:41and they basically said,
07:43what, we can serve this
07:44during the off-season?
07:45It's not going to cost us
07:46any money with lawyers?
07:48Here, all the people are going to do
07:49is call me a drug chief?
07:51Here, give me a piece of paper
07:52and I'll sign now.
07:53So they got over it straight away,
07:55and about two or three years later,
07:57they went to premiership.
07:58And we saw the clip
07:59of the Steve Smith
08:00versus the James Hurd.
08:02Essendon is still a very wealthy club.
08:04They've got unbelievable facilities.
08:06On every off-field level,
08:08in terms of money,
08:09they're completely rocketing,
08:11but their culture
08:11has never recovered,
08:13just as Carlton's,
08:14I don't think,
08:14has recovered
08:14from the salary cap scandal,
08:17just as Melbourne
08:17took so many years
08:19to get over the tanking scandal
08:21and the Adelaide Football Club
08:22with that disgraceful camp.
08:23So it's just interesting.
08:25If you don't admit
08:26you're wrong early on
08:27and accept what you've done
08:28is wrong,
08:29it seems the lesson
08:30I've learned in covering sport
08:31is that you can pay for decades.
08:34I think when we talk about cheating
08:36in terms of a national league
08:38and they're just relative teams,
08:40it feels a bit different
08:41than when Australia cheat, Gideon.
08:43And that was something
08:43with Sandpaper Gate
08:44that we saw
08:45that really rocked the foundations
08:46about how we felt
08:48about this beloved team.
08:49Yes.
08:50I think the important thing
08:51to say about Sandpaper Gate
08:52is that it was a slow burn.
08:54No one goes to bed straight
08:57and awakes corrupt.
08:59Australian cricketers
09:00convinced themselves
09:01that they played best
09:02in a scenario of antagonism,
09:04of pushing the line
09:05of acceptable behaviour,
09:06and they didn't realise
09:07how it had alienated them
09:09from the public.
09:10They thought that winning
09:11washed away all sins.
09:13So when they crossed the line
09:15into malpractice at Cape Town,
09:17the reaction from the public was,
09:18yeah, that'd be right.
09:20And, well, not in our name.
09:22The players ended up paying
09:24a very heavy price for that.
09:27Those who facilitated that slide,
09:29I have to say,
09:30have been much better
09:31at covering their tracks.
09:33You would say, though,
09:34the impact that it had
09:36gave an insight
09:37into how much this team
09:38and how important this team
09:39was to the Australian psyche
09:40and still is.
09:41Yeah, absolutely.
09:42And we'll talk a little bit later
09:43about the death of Philip Hughes.
09:46I think the two are complexly related
09:48in the sense
09:49that they both showed
09:50how strongly and emotionally
09:52we love cricket,
09:53how we regard it
09:54as part of our Australian birthright
09:56and how deeply we feel
09:57its representational nature.
09:59You know, Philip's death
10:01was felt as a personal loss,
10:03a loss of the boy next door,
10:06of innocence, of summer.
10:08And Sandpaper Gate
10:09was experienced
10:10as a very personal betrayal.
10:12At first they conspired
10:13and then they lied.
10:14The reactions were organic
10:17and unanimous.
10:18They weren't mandated.
10:19No one told us how to think.
10:20They were spontaneous.
10:21And we were, all of us,
10:23cut to the quick.
10:24And we were really upset,
10:26understandably,
10:26but I think if we're going
10:27to look back at cheating
10:28and scandals over the time,
10:29a club that have handled it
10:30remarkably well, Roy,
10:32would be The Storm
10:32and their success
10:33that they've had since.
10:34And the way they handled
10:35the salary cap scandal
10:36was really remarkable.
10:38The Storm basically
10:39were punished in a way
10:41that no club before
10:43or since has ever been punished.
10:44They were punished
10:45for the past,
10:46the present and the future.
10:47They lost premierships,
10:49two major premierships,
10:50three minor premierships.
10:51They were punished
10:52for the present
10:53by not being allowed
10:54to pay for points
10:55in that particular season.
10:56And they were punished
10:57by the future
10:57for losing stacks
10:58and stacks of players.
10:59Yet two years later,
11:01they won a premiership
11:01in 2012.
11:03Now, they did this
11:04because of the intrinsic fact
11:06that they did not adopt
11:07the siege mentality,
11:11you know,
11:11we're the victims,
11:13this is a Sydney conspiracy.
11:15They, in fact,
11:16had a lot of Victoria
11:17behind them
11:17who did see it
11:18as a Sydney conspiracy,
11:19but not within
11:20that club itself.
11:22They had a coach
11:23who said,
11:23OK, let us return
11:25to the things
11:25that has got us
11:26where we are today,
11:27which is hard work,
11:29which was commitment
11:29to each other,
11:31which is facing up
11:32to the fact
11:33that we have to
11:35confront these hurdles
11:36and they did so.
11:38And now, of course,
11:39they have played
11:39in 11 grand finals
11:41in that last 20-year period.
11:43So it's an amazing
11:45testament
11:45to what they've done
11:47and it will stand them
11:50instead for the years ahead.
11:52And I think looking back
11:53over the 20 years,
11:54we know that sport
11:54at its best
11:55can be a lens
11:56for the best
11:56and the worst in society.
11:58And I think the booing
11:59of Adam Goodes,
12:01which dominated
12:02the back pages
12:03about a decade ago,
12:04is really symbolic of that.
12:05The Sydney Swarm
12:06was a champion footballer,
12:07had won two brown lows
12:08and was even
12:09Australian of the Year.
12:10And the AFL's
12:11had several other
12:12racism dramas since,
12:13including the Collingwood
12:14Do Better report
12:15and the Hawthorne racism
12:17allegations only recently, Caro.
12:19It's a big question,
12:20but has the AFL
12:21made any progress
12:21in stamping out racism
12:23in the last two decades?
12:25Look, they have,
12:26but of course they have.
12:28But so many fewer
12:30Indigenous players
12:31are playing the game now
12:32than they were pre-COVID.
12:34We still don't see
12:36enough Indigenous men
12:37and women
12:38in positions of leadership
12:39in the AFL.
12:40And it's a great source
12:41of sadness to me
12:42that the code I cover,
12:44which invented
12:45the peak rule
12:46and racial vilification
12:47back in the 90s
12:48and led the way,
12:50was the club,
12:51was the code
12:52that handled
12:53Adam Goodes so badly.
12:55It was a,
12:55pardon the pun, Roy,
12:56but the perfect storm
12:57of a new sort of
12:59fledgling CEO
13:00in Gillan McLaughlin
13:01who wasn't prepared
13:02to stand up
13:02to the commission.
13:03There were clubs
13:04who did not cover
13:05themselves in glory,
13:06whose Indigenous footballers
13:08like Hawthorne
13:09begged their leaders
13:10to say something
13:11but didn't.
13:12And the lesson,
13:14well,
13:14it's not really a lesson,
13:15it's just a great tragedy
13:17in sporting terms
13:18that Adam Goodes
13:20won't accept admission
13:22into the Hall of Fame.
13:23He doesn't attend
13:24the Brownlow medal night
13:25of which he's won two.
13:27He occasionally
13:28goes to a Swans game
13:29when his charity
13:30is involved
13:30but he goes to no,
13:32he's lost to football.
13:35Now,
13:35there's no good way
13:37of glossing over that
13:39and when the AFL
13:40finally did apologise
13:41on paper,
13:42it was generic.
13:43They took about three months
13:45to negotiate an apology.
13:47It was pretty disgraceful,
13:49really,
13:49under Richard Goyder's
13:50leadership
13:51and Gillan McLaughlin's
13:52and I don't know why
13:53but they didn't
13:54on the,
13:55the code apologised.
13:57Now,
13:57I think an individual
13:58should have put his name
13:59to that
13:59and I'm still
14:00really disappointed.
14:02Again,
14:02if you say you're sorry
14:04in the proper way,
14:05I think things can be fixed
14:07but I still remember
14:08sitting at the MCG
14:10on the grand final day
14:11when Adam Goodes
14:13was booed
14:13and went on
14:15and it got worse
14:15and worse
14:16and the excuses,
14:18you know,
14:18that he,
14:19you know,
14:19stages for free kicks,
14:21just the lies
14:21that were told,
14:22it's really disappointing.
14:24And I think the inclusivity
14:25around race
14:25and religion
14:26is something
14:26that is only going
14:27to be a growing theme
14:28and a growing issue
14:29going forward in sport
14:30and one that we hope
14:30that we see a lot of progress
14:32in,
14:32in leaps and bounds
14:33but if we are going
14:33to talk about big stories,
14:35the tragic death
14:36of Philip Hughes,
14:37devastated Australian,
14:38sports fans or not.
14:39Gideon,
14:40I'll ask you about
14:40covering that story soon
14:42but first,
14:42here's what you had to say
14:43in 2014,
14:44a day or so
14:45after his death.
14:47Tears of laden ambush
14:49all week.
14:50It's the story
14:51that we never imagined writing.
14:53Certainly the hardest
14:53I've had to report
14:55in more than 30 years
14:56of journalism
14:57because the words
14:58have just felt so inadequate.
15:01At the same time,
15:02I think it is also
15:03a testament to the role
15:04of the place of cricket
15:05in the national imagination.
15:08It connected with people
15:09on all levels.
15:12Probably only A.E.
15:14Houseman
15:14who said it any better
15:15in that great poem
15:16The Athlete Dying Young.
15:18Yeah, yeah.
15:19It really cut us all
15:20because he was an athlete
15:22cut down in the prime
15:23of his life.
15:24And he was the embodiment
15:25of certain things
15:26that we believe fundamentally
15:27about Australian cricketers.
15:28You know,
15:28youthful,
15:29affable,
15:30self-taught,
15:31self-directed.
15:32I think no other
15:33cricketer could have
15:34occasioned
15:35such a sense of loss.
15:37In hindsight,
15:38it seems to be staggering
15:40that there were just
15:4112 days
15:41between Philip's death
15:43and Australia playing
15:44the Adelaide test match
15:45against India.
15:46The date of the first test
15:47was pushed back
15:48for five whole days.
15:50I mean,
15:50these were broken men
15:51playing with Philip
15:53and yet they're expected
15:54to go out
15:55and pick us up
15:56and render us whole again.
15:57I don't think any
15:58Australian sporting team
15:59has ever borne
16:00such a burden
16:01and then into a year
16:02in which they've played
16:03a Bordogavisgar Trophy,
16:04a World Cup
16:05and an Ashes.
16:07At the best of times,
16:08it's hard for players
16:10to let the game go.
16:11Instanced this summer
16:12with the protracted farewell
16:13to Usman Khawaja,
16:14but look at the players
16:15who gave it away
16:16in the year after
16:17Philip Hughes' death.
16:18You had Michael Clarke,
16:20Mitchell Johnson,
16:21Harris,
16:21Haddon,
16:22Rogers,
16:22Watson.
16:23Cricket became
16:24a lot harder
16:25to feel good about.
16:27And the environment
16:28of the Australian cricket team
16:30must have been
16:31a constant reminder
16:32of what had been lost.
16:34And that, I think,
16:35has had a long-term effect
16:36on the Australian team.
16:37It kind of left us
16:38with the axis
16:39of Smith and Warner,
16:40which I think was
16:41kind of a bit uneasy
16:42and probably a bit premature.
16:44And for the next few years,
16:45I think Australia played
16:46a little bit like angry men.
16:48They played like wounded men.
16:50And the Cape Town test,
16:52as a result,
16:52was a kind of a perfect storm
16:54to bring things to a head.
16:55The team were
16:55under acute pressure,
16:57away from home
16:58at the end of a long summer.
16:59They were being monstered
17:00by the crowds.
17:01They were let down
17:01by their elders
17:02who did nothing
17:03to address the obvious signs
17:05that that team
17:06was falling apart.
17:07And understandably so.
17:09And I think that's one
17:09of those things
17:10that when you look back
17:10in retrospect,
17:11and as you said,
17:12it was such a tight turnaround
17:12to the next time they played.
17:14Hopefully there's lessons learned
17:15in the way that you can
17:16support teams
17:17that go through
17:17this unexpected tragedy.
17:20But we will move on
17:21because it wouldn't be
17:22off-siders
17:22without a bit of code debate.
17:24The NRL is expanding
17:25to Perth and PNG.
17:26The AFL is getting
17:27a new team in Tassie.
17:29And cricket is contemplating
17:30private ownership
17:31in the Big Bash.
17:32Now all three
17:33have women's leagues
17:34and we are going to talk
17:35about their success
17:36and their challenges
17:37with our second panel.
17:38But for now,
17:39which sport is the biggest
17:41and best these days?
17:42Caro and Roy,
17:43you've been going
17:43at this debate
17:44for a long, long time.
17:46Two-thirds of all code income
17:48comes from television.
17:50Last year,
17:51the NRL smashed the AFL
17:53in the television ratings.
17:55Roy, that's here to go.
17:57Sport is increasingly
17:59becoming an international game.
18:01The rugby league
18:02is powering into the Pacific.
18:04We've had a team over
18:05in New Zealand for 30 years.
18:06We're moving up
18:07into the Polynesian Islands.
18:11The code is set
18:13for enormous expansion
18:14and we have those
18:17two great advantages
18:18over AFL.
18:20Number one,
18:21it's a better sport
18:21for television,
18:22which is the prime income source.
18:24And two,
18:25we are an international game.
18:27I have...
18:28Well, you're right
18:28about that last point,
18:29but pretty much
18:30everything is wrong.
18:32The AFL is now
18:33a billion-dollar industry.
18:35One in 20 Australians
18:36is a member
18:37of an AFL club.
18:381.2 million members now.
18:42I think more than
18:438 million people.
18:43I mean,
18:44in terms of
18:45bums on seats, Roy,
18:47attendances at AFL games,
18:48it is incomparable.
18:49And I think...
18:50Incomparable.
18:51I think that...
18:52Thank you for correcting me.
18:53I think that
18:54we have a new chairman
18:55of the AFL now
18:56and I reckon we'll probably
18:57have a Twilight Grand Final
18:58and that will mean
19:00that the AFL will again
19:01go ahead of the NRL
19:02in terms of numbers.
19:03I think what the AFL
19:04have done in the time
19:05that this show
19:06has been going
19:07is they have expanded.
19:09They've bought
19:09their own stadium
19:10and apart from Victoria
19:12where they bought
19:12Marble Stadium
19:13which has just been
19:14an unbelievable
19:15fillip for them
19:16is that in every other state
19:19they have built
19:19brilliant stadiums.
19:21South Australian football
19:22has been transformed
19:23by the Adelaide Oval.
19:24The AFL haven't built
19:25those stadiums.
19:27So they got out
19:28the cement mixers
19:30and the shovels
19:31and they actually
19:32put their own money
19:32If it wasn't for the AFL
19:33and the two AFL clubs
19:35in that state
19:35it wouldn't have happened.
19:37Ditto West Australia.
19:38Ditto Queensland
19:39where football now
19:40is the third biggest
19:43participation rate
19:45is Queensland.
19:46Roy, I know you're still
19:47upset about that bet
19:48you made with me
19:49back in 2009
19:50when I revealed
19:51that there were going
19:52to be, sorry, 2008,
19:53two new teams
19:55in Western Sydney
19:56and on the Gold Coast
19:57and it was an expensive bet Roy
20:00and I can still taste
20:01those beautiful prawns
20:02you paid for that night
20:03but listen
20:05in one area
20:06I will concede
20:07that NRL has done better
20:09and that is in
20:10their women's game.
20:11We haven't got it right
20:12let's be brutal
20:13and it loses a lot of money
20:16which is not a big deal
20:17because we gain
20:18in so many other areas
20:19in terms of stadiums
20:20government sponsorship
20:21we just don't do
20:23the big events
20:23well
20:24and NRL state of origin
20:26NRLW I should say
20:27has been a game changer
20:29and the other area
20:30that the AFL still
20:31hasn't got quite right
20:33is making the game
20:34big in Western Sydney
20:35even GWS admit
20:37that NRL is bigger now
20:39in Western Sydney
20:40than when the Giants
20:41who are a great footy club
20:43and have done very well
20:43on the field
20:44began
20:45but apart from that
20:46there is no doubt Roy
20:48that AFL is a better game
20:50to watch
20:50it is the biggest
20:52sporting code
20:52in the country
20:53and even AI
20:55will tell you that
20:55so
20:57well done
20:58on your women's game
20:59but apart from that
21:01we just had a world club challenge
21:02over there
21:03I mean you two
21:04this could take the rest
21:05of the program
21:06we do have another panel
21:07that are coming
21:07so we will continue
21:08this conversation later
21:09I'm sure
21:10but we'd like to have
21:11a moment
21:11we usually ask for observations
21:13but I'd like to ask
21:14for your biggest
21:14and best moments
21:15that you've had
21:16over the last 20 years
21:17what sticks out for you
21:19we might actually start
21:20with you Roy
21:21well I think that
21:23the Panthers
21:24fought four premierships
21:26in a row
21:27and to think back
21:28when the Panthers
21:29more than 30 years ago
21:30they'd won a couple
21:31of premierships
21:32but they'd always been
21:34importing a couple
21:34of big players
21:35from other clubs
21:36then they discovered
21:37that all the strength
21:38was in their own backyard
21:39they are an absolute template
21:41the Storm will be copying
21:42from them
21:43the Storm had
21:44four of their local juniors
21:45on the field last night
21:47in a game against the Titans
21:48but the pathways
21:50that that club
21:50has created
21:51the pride that they have
21:53created at the foot
21:54of the mountains
21:54I think is one of the
21:55big factors
21:56why the GWS
21:57is still slumbering
21:58and not able to get
21:59much recognition at all
22:01it's a great story
22:03and in terms of
22:04the person
22:04who I think
22:06has been the most
22:07significant fellow
22:08in the last 20 years
22:09it would have to be Bellamy
22:10for the reasons
22:11that I just said earlier
22:12to come back
22:13from that salary cap
22:15disaster
22:16and let's remember
22:17that the offence
22:18for which they were
22:19committed
22:19which were only
22:20three players
22:21and two or three years
22:23later they were going
22:23to suddenly give
22:24those three players
22:25marquee player
22:26allowances
22:26across the board
22:28so I just think
22:30that to be able
22:32to maintain relevance
22:33at one club
22:35for 24 years
22:36and still be able
22:38to produce champions
22:39the great skinny coach
22:41Wayne Bennett
22:42he's been to about
22:43seven or eight clubs
22:44in that same period
22:46of time
22:46he has been
22:47absolutely fantastic
22:48he's been a great coach
22:49but to still
22:51have the effect
22:52on players
22:52that Bellamy has
22:53now is incredible
22:55sensational
22:55Karu
22:56the great innovation
22:57has been
22:57gather round
22:58a footy festival
22:59like nothing
23:00I have ever witnessed
23:01where'd that come from
23:02yours is a booze fest
23:04up in Queensland
23:05gather rounds
23:05for families
23:06the other
23:07look
23:09being biased
23:10you know
23:11Richmond breaking
23:11a 37 year drought
23:13and then winning
23:14three flags
23:15in four years
23:15was extraordinary
23:16but the Bulldogs
23:172016 flag
23:19is no doubt
23:19the highlight
23:20of the last 20 years
23:21for me and my code
23:22I mean
23:22they hadn't won a flag
23:23since the early 50s
23:25they did it
23:26in the hardest
23:26possible way
23:27they did it
23:28from 7th or 8th
23:29on the ladder
23:30they had to go
23:31to the west
23:31they had to beat
23:32the reigning premiers
23:32and that game
23:34in GWS
23:35and the individual
23:37performer
23:37individual performer
23:39for me
23:39there's some moments
23:41from that unbelievable
23:42drought breaking game
23:43but the individual
23:44is Dustin Martin
23:45I mean
23:46I think that
23:47he even
23:48I'll defer to Lee Matthews
23:49a player of the 20th century
23:51who described 2017
23:52as the only perfect season
23:54he has ever witnessed
23:55from a player
23:56he did everything
23:57he then went on
23:58to win three
23:59Norm Smith medals
24:00and you'd have to say
24:01in 2020
24:02they don't win it
24:03without him
24:04the COVID flag
24:05so
24:06and then you drag
24:0793,000 people
24:08to your 300th game
24:10when you're pretty much
24:11finished
24:11and your club's got
24:12absolutely no hope
24:13so he's been the standout
24:15performer for me
24:15he absolutely will go down
24:17in history
24:18Gideon over to you
24:18Cricket
24:19very different issues
24:20from NFL and NRL
24:22who don't have global settings
24:24to necessarily worry about
24:25I think the big change
24:27over the last 20 years
24:28is that cricket here
24:28has been buffeted
24:29by much much bigger forces
24:31than itself
24:32the collapse of the global system
24:34that it's done nothing to arrest
24:35the emergence of the
24:37Indian hegemon
24:38the ascendancy of private capital
24:40and I think the infantilising
24:42of the audience
24:44in terms of the best cricketer
24:45the most important cricketer
24:46of the last 20 years
24:48I think Pat Cummins
24:49has a solid claim to that
24:51you know
24:51a fast bowling captain
24:52is unusual
24:53but one who presents
24:54with such suavity
24:55is an absolute unicorn
24:57and in a sense
24:59he's kind of bridging
24:59the contradictions
25:00of the game
25:01between
25:01he was missed over summer
25:02wasn't he?
25:03absolutely
25:03absolutely
25:03but he's making it
25:05he bridges the gaps
25:06between red and white ball cricket
25:07between international
25:08and franchise cricket
25:09and he makes it look
25:10much much easier
25:11than it actually is
25:12I would say that
25:14I think one of the most
25:15significant cricketers
25:16worldwide
25:17of the last 20 years
25:19has to be Virat Kohli
25:20because
25:22Kohli was
25:23and
25:24while Australians
25:25always esteemed
25:26Sashin Tendulka
25:27it was a kind of
25:28a rather distance reverence
25:30Kohli was
25:31became Virat
25:32in Australia
25:33he was a worthy rival
25:35who we addressed
25:36in these really intimate terms
25:37who we saluted in success
25:39but we also loved
25:40getting the better of
25:41and that also reflects
25:43I think
25:43over the last 20 years
25:44that India has become
25:45our definitive opponent
25:46because Ashes Cricket here
25:48has been so uncompetitive
25:49and he has been
25:49so definitive
25:50to that rivalry too
25:51but Gideon
25:51you've been so definitive
25:52to this program
25:53and we actually have
25:54you've been the best
25:55travelled out of everyone
25:56being able to go around the world
25:58certainly the best dressed
25:58very well
25:59speaking of which
26:00we're going to
26:00perfect
26:01let's roll the tape
26:03well the law
26:04of probability
26:04suggests that
26:05it'll be an English victory
26:07another fascinating day
26:08is Cricket
26:08in what's turning
26:09into a fascinating series
26:10well this was one
26:11for the true believers
26:12wasn't it
26:12it was a
26:13one way traffic
26:14today at the Oval
26:15to my surprise
26:16I did find the
26:18motorised shoe
26:19as it's been described
26:20it's been a great tour
26:21we've very much enjoyed
26:23making these dispatches
26:24for you
26:24looking forward
26:25to a fantastic climax
26:26to this test match
26:27in a couple of days time
26:29you started out
26:30with a button up shirt
26:30and by the end
26:31you've got the t-shirt
26:32on you
26:32quite leaned back
26:33it's been the first thing
26:34I've received
26:35every appearance
26:36for the last 20 years
26:37is an email
26:38from my mother
26:38saying can you please
26:40dress a little bit better
26:42I'm glad you listened
26:43to mum today
26:44yes
26:44very respectable
26:46we've just adored
26:47having you
26:48we've adored having you
26:48all on the program
26:49and thank you so much
26:50for your contributions
26:51in that time
26:51and you two
26:53just make sure
26:53happy Las Vegas game
26:55Carol
26:56when we
26:57when we take on
26:58America
26:58in a week's time
27:00it's going nowhere
27:00Roy
27:01it's going nowhere
27:02we will leave it there
27:03but thank you so much
27:04and Gerard Waitley
27:04Kelly Underwood
27:05and John Harms
27:06will join us
27:07in just a moment
27:08but first
27:09we're going to hear
27:09from our spiritual leader
27:10and founder
27:11Barry Cassidy
27:12who can't be with us
27:13this morning
27:13due to a prior commitment
27:14but he sent through
27:15this during the week
27:17a television program
27:19that lasts 10 years
27:20is considered a success
27:22by any measure
27:2220 years
27:23takes that
27:24to a whole new level
27:25it's a hell of an achievement
27:26for a program
27:27that started
27:28without much fanfare
27:29and with modest aims
27:30we didn't want to be
27:31just another results program
27:33we wanted off-siders
27:34to dig deeper
27:35and cover the issues
27:36in and around sport
27:37and we wanted to elevate
27:39women's sport
27:40and put more women
27:41on the panels
27:41and surprise surprise
27:43that approach
27:44not only address
27:44an imbalance
27:45but improve
27:46the product
27:46there have been
27:48some extraordinary changes
27:49in the Australian sporting landscape
27:51over the last two decades
27:52we now watch much
27:53of our sport
27:54on subscription platforms
27:56or on our mobile phones
27:57back in 2006
27:59who would have thought
28:00we'd have professional
28:01domestic leads
28:02for women
28:03in Aussie rules
28:04league
28:04football
28:05rugby
28:06and cricket
28:07and that the Matildas
28:08will be the nation's
28:09favourite sporting team
28:10no question
28:11so sorry
28:12I can't be there
28:13to reflect on all of this
28:14this morning
28:14but I want to congratulate
28:16the people
28:16who made this show work
28:17some of the best sports writers
28:19and commentators
28:20in the country
28:21and our producers
28:22and in Abby
28:23Kelly
28:23and Gerard
28:24three hosts
28:25who bring out the best
28:26in all of them
28:27and to you
28:28the audience
28:28thanks for 20 years
28:29of loyalty
28:31such a special message
28:32thank you to Barry
28:33and welcome to our final panel
28:35for the afternoon
28:35we've got some all stars here
28:36I'm joined by
28:38John Harms
28:38Kelly Underwood
28:39and Gerard Waitley
28:40Gerard a special message there
28:41Abby thank you for having us
28:43yes
28:43as I like to think
28:44Barry founded the show
28:45so good
28:45Collingwood won a premiership
28:47he would have somewhere
28:47to celebrate on television
28:49the following day
28:49and he wanted a proper preview
28:52of the Melbourne Cup
28:53I think for a few years
28:54he thought he should have
28:55named the show
28:55Outsiders
28:56because that's how
28:57it was referred to everywhere
28:58but he conceived a show
28:59that could have
29:00Thomas Keneally preview
29:01an NRL grand final
29:03and an Australian coach
29:05be a regular member
29:06of the panel
29:06and I did feel it
29:07driving here this morning
29:08collectively
29:09and very much individually
29:10a tremendous sense
29:11of gratitude
29:12towards Barry
29:14on behalf of us all
29:15you're right Gerard
29:16I mean it was always
29:17conceived
29:18and it was
29:19his little
29:19I came to him over dinner
29:21I think one night
29:22with his wife Heather
29:23in London
29:24and it was all about
29:25just wanting to talk
29:26about Collingwood
29:27and horse racing
29:27but he is definitely
29:30was back then
29:31a visionary
29:32because I think
29:32he probably believed
29:33in women
29:34before women believed
29:35in women
29:35and he could see
29:36what was happening
29:37obviously in the media side
29:39and I'm very thankful
29:39for him to give me
29:40my opportunity
29:41on this program
29:42but also women's sport
29:44and what he's just
29:45mentioned there
29:46I mean
29:46when he started
29:47this program
29:48Abby
29:48there was no A-League women
29:50there was no
29:51Women's Big Bash
29:51there was no NRLW
29:53there was no AFLW
29:54there was no Super W
29:55rugby
29:56and now
29:57arguably as he said
29:58the two most successful
30:00and adored national teams
30:01in Australia
30:02are the Matildas
30:03and the Australian
30:03women's cricket team
30:04so
30:05Offsiders has been
30:06I would say
30:07a major part of that
30:08progression
30:09for the last two decades
30:10and it's all thanks to him
30:12and it is time
30:13to have a look
30:13at some of those
30:14wider
30:14major themes
30:15that we've defined
30:16over the last two decades
30:17and of course
30:18remember those
30:18great moments
30:19but I think
30:20you have mentioned already
30:21women's sport
30:22has to be a central theme
30:23in terms of the largest
30:24growth that we've seen
30:25and who would have thought
30:2620 years ago
30:27that the Matildas
30:28would be our most popular side
30:29it's huge
30:30absolutely huge
30:32and you know
30:32there was a pre-history
30:33to women's sport
30:34but it really got that
30:36momentum going
30:37around the time
30:38of Michelle Payne's
30:39Melbourne Cup
30:40in 2015
30:41now there were a few
30:42other things happening
30:43around that time
30:44and since then
30:45it has just really
30:46taken off
30:47so the other few things
30:48were
30:48just remind me
30:49of the order
30:50I think in the lead up
30:51to this
30:52Australia always had
30:53heroic female
30:55sporting figures
30:56and Dawn Fraser
30:56Betty Cuthbert
30:57through to
30:58Cathy Freeman
30:58and Sally Pearson
31:00the Matildas
31:02win the Asian Cup
31:03in 2010
31:04and then go to the
31:05World Cup in 2011
31:06where at least
31:07Perry scores
31:08and that tidies up
31:09with Australia
31:09win four World Cups
31:11basically in a five
31:12year span in cricket
31:13and Perry's the
31:14joining figure
31:14then Michelle Payne
31:16wins the Melbourne Cup
31:17and that's the one
31:19platform where men
31:20and women do compete
31:22on an absolutely
31:23level scale
31:24and it opened the mind
31:25the country changed
31:26that day
31:27and I do think
31:28not only the willingness
31:29to watch mainstream
31:31women's sport
31:32but the willingness
31:32to stage it
31:33so the following year
31:34Kel
31:34Melbourne and the Bulldogs
31:36play in one of their
31:37exhibition games
31:38it features in the
31:39new pre-finals buy
31:40and it rates a million
31:41on Channel 7
31:42and it demands action
31:44in the aftermath
31:45absolutely
31:45and that's what
31:46happened
31:46that's when the
31:47introduction of the
31:48AFLW came
31:49so you know
31:51and when that
31:51Mo Hope became
31:52the face of women's
31:53footy back then
31:54this was the game
31:55that really just
31:55it arrived like
31:57a bolt out of the blue
31:58even though we know
31:59that women have been
31:59playing Australian
32:01rules football
32:01for a long time
32:02it was just this
32:03crack of thunder
32:03and suddenly arrived
32:05Gillian McLaughlin
32:06the AFL CEO
32:07had planned to bring
32:08it in in 2020
32:09and such was the impact
32:11he brought it forward
32:12by three years
32:13but I think
32:14let's give credit
32:15where credit's due
32:16cricket was the first
32:17sport to actually
32:18invest and believe
32:20in women's sport
32:21and I think all the
32:22others had to jump
32:23in line because
32:24you know it suddenly
32:26became this great
32:27big competition
32:27but due to
32:29definitely the credit
32:30goes to cricket
32:31and what they were
32:32able to do
32:32so with the AFL
32:34I think there was
32:36a financial imperative
32:37around that too
32:38I mean the AFL
32:39thinks in terms of
32:40finances a lot of
32:41the time
32:42so the gender issue
32:43is enormous of course
32:44but they could see
32:46that maybe there was
32:48a financial future
32:49in it
32:49to build a second
32:51competition
32:51and treat it like
32:53they do the men's
32:55competition
32:56in the long term
32:57it's going to take a
32:58while for it to happen
32:59but this was the
33:01first night
33:02at Princess Park
33:03I remember that week
33:04guys
33:05it was going to be
33:06at Olympic Park
33:07remember that
33:07and I actually rang
33:09and said
33:09hey I know
33:104,000 people
33:12who are going to go
33:12you know
33:14you've got to put it
33:15somewhere else
33:16and they've wound up
33:17putting it at
33:17Princess Park
33:18and then we took the
33:19kids and you know
33:20went and had a pizza
33:21and walked through
33:22the park
33:22and we were lucky
33:24to get in
33:24because there wound up
33:26being stacks of people
33:27outside
33:27so the popularity
33:28was there
33:29I mean even Abby
33:30just 10 years ago
33:31I remember
33:32and I still remember
33:33talking about this
33:34on various platforms
33:35but Black Caviar
33:37the Daily Telegraph
33:38one of Australia's
33:39biggest newspaper
33:39named Black Caviar
33:41the Sportswoman of the Year
33:42and I remember
33:44walking down the street
33:45and having a look
33:46at walking past
33:46the Rebel
33:47sport windows
33:48and I still remember
33:50this
33:50the only female attire
33:52or that you could go
33:53in and purchase
33:54as a woman
33:54was the then Australian
33:56cricket captain
33:56Michael Clark's wife
33:57Kylie Baldy
33:59so you couldn't actually
34:00I mean this is how far
34:01we've come
34:02now you can walk in there
34:03and you can't buy
34:04a Matilda's Guns
34:05because they're sold out
34:06that's right
34:06but you can buy
34:07and we know all these
34:09we didn't know
34:10female sports stars
34:12by their first name
34:13I mean I've got friends
34:14a producer is one of them
34:15he's got three boys
34:16they play in the backyard
34:17and you know
34:18I'm Sam Kerr
34:19I'm Elisa Healey
34:20I'm Erin Phillips
34:21yes
34:22I mean that just shows
34:23it's so good for sport
34:25but it's got to be good
34:26for the culture
34:27of this country
34:28it just highlights
34:30how far we've come
34:30you've just mentioned it
34:31but someone who
34:32definitely epitomises
34:33the growth of women's sport
34:35is Erin Phillips
34:36she's the daughter
34:36of a famous AFL player
34:38who with no footy pathway
34:39went away to basketball
34:41and won two WNBA titles
34:42if you don't mind
34:43before returning
34:44to dominate
34:45in the new AFLW competition
34:46and here she is
34:48being inducted
34:49into the Football Hall of Fame
34:51I can't imagine
34:52how hard
34:55it would have been
34:56to tell your
34:5613 year old daughter
34:59that she couldn't play
35:00the game that she loves
35:01anymore
35:03and
35:0527 years later
35:06she's standing next to you
35:07in the Hall of Fame
35:08it's just
35:13I think we all cried
35:15with him
35:15in that moment
35:16it's just one of those
35:16special moments
35:17I think there were tears
35:18for me around the
35:19Michelle Payne
35:20pain moment as well
35:21and I think it was
35:22part of the appeal
35:23was how she did it
35:24apart from the brilliant ride
35:26where she gets off the rail
35:27and waits and waits
35:29and then storms home
35:31the speech with Sam Highland
35:33was superb
35:34it won the crowd
35:35she then
35:36the TV audience certainly
35:38she then speaks to
35:39Peter Donegan
35:40I think
35:40at the lectern
35:42and then makes the speech
35:43at the presentation
35:44and all three of them
35:46were just from the heart
35:47we do have that go
35:48we actually have that go
35:49from Michelle
35:50after she'd just won
35:51the Melbourne Cup
35:53I know some of the owners
35:54were keen to kick me off
35:55for instance
35:56John Richards
35:57and Darren stuck
35:58really solid with me
35:59I just can't
36:00say how grateful
36:01I answer them
36:02and just want to say
36:03everyone else can get stuff
36:04because they think
36:05women aren't strong enough
36:06but we just beat the world
36:07and the first thing
36:08she went straight to Stevie
36:10you know
36:11who was strapped by a horse
36:12it was such a family moment
36:14and I think people
36:15just empathised
36:16so strongly with it
36:17I think it resonated
36:18with all women
36:19because you hear that
36:20don't you think Abby
36:21I wanted to get kicked off it
36:22well we've all been told
36:23at some point
36:24you know
36:24you sort of
36:25you get to a point
36:25and you know
36:26I've been told
36:27women don't like women
36:27on radio
36:28and then you hear that
36:29and it just
36:30Caro said it in the open
36:31it makes you walk taller
36:32because you go
36:33well hang on
36:33stuff them
36:34why not
36:34you know
36:35and so you're right
36:36she did start that
36:37and she told me
36:38she hadn't planned it
36:39you know
36:40she thought about
36:41what
36:41you can tell it's organic
36:42that's just how she feels
36:43and the way that she felt
36:44about the whole moment
36:45she's on a 100 to 1 shot
36:46Prince of Penzance
36:47but she was
36:49did she think about it
36:50the night before
36:51it was just her
36:52you know
36:52that was the thing
36:53we can't talk about
36:54Australian women in sport
36:56without touching on
36:56Ash Barty
36:57over the last 20 years
36:58too
36:58yeah look
36:59I was thinking
37:00my favourite
37:02sports person
37:02over the last 20 years
37:03I think it's a podium
37:04Elyse Perry would be
37:05on it
37:05because she has lived
37:06that women's story
37:08Sam Kerr
37:09obviously has gone
37:10from you know
37:11growing up
37:12growing up in Perth
37:13you know
37:13her favourite sport
37:14probably would have been
37:15to play for the West Coast Eagles
37:16and she became
37:17the world's best female footballer
37:19but to me
37:20it's Ash Barty
37:20the story is incredible
37:2215 year old prodigy
37:23when Barry was just
37:24starting this program
37:25won Wimbledon as a junior
37:26spoke then
37:28as a teenager
37:28about mental health
37:30battles
37:30when it was tough
37:32to talk about
37:32mental health issues
37:33she quit
37:34she went and played
37:36cricket in the inaugural
37:37Big Bash season
37:38the Brisbane heat
37:38never been to a training session
37:40had no training
37:40in cricket
37:41whatsoever
37:42and then Casey Delacqua
37:44talks her into
37:45coming back
37:45and she wins
37:46three Grand Slams
37:47the French
37:47the Wimbledon
37:49and then decides
37:50before the Australian Open
37:51you know what
37:52at 25
37:52I just want to go
37:53and be a mum
37:54and her last ever match
37:56was that
37:56that's iconic vision
37:57with Yvonne Goorlegon
37:58Corley
37:59who is arguably
38:00the best Australian
38:00sports story of all time
38:0125
38:02number one in the world
38:03just won your home
38:04Grand Slam
38:05and gone
38:05you know what
38:05my values actually are
38:06family
38:07and living it
38:08people can talk about
38:09the fact that
38:09what they value
38:10but she's such a great
38:11example of someone
38:12who actually
38:12number one for
38:13two years as well
38:14let's not forget
38:15so it's an extraordinary story
38:16and have you seen
38:17a swing of a golf club
38:18oh apparently
38:19she's immaculate
38:19she's been in the
38:20pro-celebrity sort of stuff
38:22she'll take up darts soon
38:24well she did just have
38:25her second
38:25so I don't know
38:26how much time she has
38:27for golf now
38:27but she seems to be
38:28enjoying her time
38:28and we do just love Ash
38:30but as much as we love
38:31to celebrate
38:31we also need to look back
38:33at some of the problems
38:33that we've seen
38:34over the last 20 years
38:35and unfortunately
38:36cheating has been one of them
38:38it's rocked the faith
38:39of many sports fans
38:40and more than a decade ago
38:42John you were on the panel
38:44discussing just what this involved
38:46there's a broader issue
38:47at the moment too
38:48in the public I think
38:49and that is the degree
38:50to which people
38:51are trusting sport
38:52you know that's the conversation
38:53that's being had
38:54and an old mate of mine
38:56from the North Fitzroy Arms
38:57is sort of coming
38:58saying what's going on
38:59at the moment
38:59you know how are these
39:01things happening
39:02Kelly and also
39:03Ange Poscoglu
39:03whatever happened to him
39:04also on the panel there
39:06but it was a massive
39:07talking point
39:08it was
39:08I mean sport
39:09we grow up with it
39:11we love it
39:11it's joyful
39:12we come to sort of
39:14believe in it as kids
39:15and then we get a little
39:16bit older
39:17and that belief
39:18is eroded
39:19to a degree
39:20because sports
39:21consistently
39:23we need that belief
39:24nourished
39:25and it is consistently
39:26nourished
39:26by great games
39:27and whatever else
39:28but it's eroded
39:29as well
39:30it's challenged
39:31and so the discussion
39:32is always there
39:33and the older you get
39:34perhaps the more cynical
39:35you do get
39:36I think it's tipped back
39:37in the balance
39:38of being able to believe
39:39what we watch
39:39and maybe that's in science
39:41and it's not to say
39:42we don't
39:43it can't be Pollyanna
39:44yeah
39:45and we've developed
39:46our calluses
39:47through Ben Johnson
39:49and Hansi Cronje
39:50and Lance Armstrong
39:51I do remember the phase
39:53when the Tour de France
39:54was happening
39:55and Floyd Landers
39:56produced an extraordinary ride
39:59on the Friday night
40:01and by the Sunday morning
40:02it had already been revealed
40:03to be cheating
40:04it was just so brazen
40:05so I do think
40:07the sciences played a role
40:09in imposing a level of
40:12authenticity
40:14and catching the cheats
40:17I'm not
40:18like Icarus taught us
40:19that we thought the age
40:20of state-sponsored cheating
40:22had passed
40:23but the Russians
40:24had gone back
40:24to the Cold War
40:25without anybody realising
40:26but I do think
40:28I'm more confident now
40:30in believing what we see
40:32than maybe
40:33at the start of 20 years ago
40:34I think Usain Bolt
40:35has played a huge role
40:37massive
40:37in that
40:38and then what followed
40:39so yeah
40:40I do think we're in a faith
40:41you can give your heart
40:42over to it
40:43and it's much more likely
40:44to be lasting
40:45than it was for a period
40:47and maybe cheating
40:48is too strong a word
40:49I think there's some cynicism
40:51around manipulation
40:52you know
40:53the capacity for a
40:54sporting organisation
40:55a league
40:56for example
40:58to manipulate the draw
40:59you know
41:00the AFL are ultimately
41:01king makers
41:02they can make it easy
41:03for North Melbourne
41:04or very difficult
41:04to North Melbourne
41:05if they're trying to push them
41:06up to the Gold Coast
41:07well you know
41:07that was the argument
41:0820-15 years ago
41:10but they're in a very
41:11powerful position
41:12and I think
41:14lots of
41:15there is a critical mind
41:17amongst
41:17in Australia
41:18amongst sports followers
41:20and I think
41:21if you lose that audience
41:22of the critically minded
41:23for the sake of
41:25an audience
41:25at the other end
41:26where mass marketing
41:27techniques
41:28are bringing those
41:29eyeballs in
41:30you sort of
41:31what are you doing
41:32you know
41:32you're losing the people
41:33who have most loved
41:34your sport
41:35so I think that's
41:36something for those
41:37administrators
41:37and organisers
41:39to keep in mind
41:40I do think
41:41by and large
41:41we now feel good
41:42watching sport
41:43and we feel good
41:44about our stars
41:45and there were times
41:45there with particular
41:46sports at one end
41:47of the pendulum
41:48where you thought
41:48how do I feel
41:49about what I'm watching
41:50and is it real
41:51whereas I feel like
41:52we've landed in a nice place
41:53but where there's sport
41:54and where there's money
41:55there's always going to be
41:56those that try to tip it
41:57one way or the other
41:58yeah
41:59yeah absolutely
42:00I mean you said it perfectly
42:01whenever there's
42:02big money around
42:03people are always
42:04going to try and cheat
42:05there'll always be
42:06people trying to cheat
42:07and people sense
42:08of themselves
42:08imagine if you've been
42:10on the path
42:10since four years old
42:12you know
42:13and there's an opportunity
42:14you wind up being
42:16a 78 kilogram second
42:18row of playing
42:18for your school
42:19and the coach
42:20comes along and says
42:21mate if you're 102 kilos
42:23we'd look at you
42:25where do you find
42:26those 24 kilos
42:27you know
42:29they're the sort
42:30of temptations
42:30but a big test
42:31for me Abby
42:32I'm lachrymose
42:33I will be brought
42:35to tears
42:35even on this show
42:36on occasions
42:37so sport can bring
42:39you to tears
42:40oh and at its best
42:41it could and it should
42:42and that's the beauty
42:43of sport
42:44and that's what we've seen
42:44over the last 20 years
42:45but if we are
42:46going to touch on
42:47a big part of this show
42:50Ange Postacoglu
42:51has been on this panel
42:52many a time
42:52he sat on the couch
42:53with you all
42:54and he showed his passion
42:55and his dream
42:56for Australian football
42:58and Gerard I know
42:58that you've watched
42:59his growth
42:59very closely
43:00I think he's the most
43:01significant figure
43:02in Australian sport
43:03over the past 20 years
43:04and we do have
43:06a stake in that
43:06he was unemployed
43:08on a football front
43:09and a panellist
43:10here on offsiders
43:10and we would call
43:11A-League games together
43:12he goes on to lead
43:14Brisbane Royal
43:15to two thrilling
43:16A-League titles
43:17takes Australia
43:18to an Asian Cup
43:19takes us to a World Cup
43:20in emergency circumstances
43:21qualifies for the next
43:23then goes to Japan
43:24and wins the J-League
43:25goes and does
43:26the Scottish Triple Crown
43:27with Celtic
43:28and then into the EPL
43:30as the first Australian
43:31to coach there
43:32he breaks the 17 year drought
43:34for Spurs
43:34and it's just so daft
43:36what happened
43:37and the passage of time
43:38you didn't need hindsight
43:39to realise how ridiculous
43:40it was that they sacked him
43:41but now we have the beauty
43:43of hindsight to see it
43:45and then he's back
43:46unemployed on a football front
43:48talking nothing but common sense
43:50in a sporting environment
43:51as we've heard in a podcast
43:52in the past week
43:53so that full circle
43:55I can't wait to see
43:56where he coaches again next
43:57because if you pay any attention
43:59if you spend any time with him
44:01if you listen to him
44:02you understand that there's
44:03a philosophical battle
44:05around codes
44:06a philosophical battle
44:07around tactics
44:08this is a man
44:09that lives and breathes
44:11his sport
44:11we do actually have
44:12a message from Ange
44:13thank you very much
44:14Kelly for lining this up
44:15here he is
44:16hi all
44:17I just want to congratulate
44:18the Offsiders
44:19on a 20 year anniversary
44:21I really love my time
44:22on the couch there
44:24in the studio
44:25with all the people
44:26I shared it with
44:27love talking about
44:28the game
44:29I'm passionate about
44:30but also
44:30my angst and suffering
44:32as a blue supporter
44:34my love of Victorian
44:35cricketers
44:36and getting sage advice
44:38from Roy
44:38particularly around
44:39the virtues of rugby league
44:40so really enjoyed my time
44:43some brilliant people
44:45love the fact that
44:46I was given the platform
44:47to talk about it myself
44:48so well done
44:50Offsiders
44:51and no doubt
44:51a fun 20 more years
44:53to come
44:53highlights how he's
44:55remanded grounded
44:55all the way through
44:56flicked him an email
44:57at his home in London
44:58this week
44:59and of course
44:59it came back straight away
45:01so I do remember
45:03Barry and the then
45:05executive producer
45:06of the program
45:06Georgia Spokes
45:07coming together
45:07and talking
45:08and recognising
45:10because he couldn't
45:10Gerard's right
45:11he was on the Australian
45:12soccer football
45:13Scrappy
45:14when this show started
45:15and he couldn't get
45:16an assistant coaching role
45:17in the A-League
45:18and they came together
45:20and saw that he'd spoken
45:21and they thought
45:21he was so articulate
45:22he got the job
45:23at Brisbane Raw
45:23he did crosses
45:25on a Sunday morning
45:26into this program
45:27when his team
45:28was playing in the
45:28A-League Grand Final
45:29that night
45:31that was just
45:31that exceptional
45:32he was
45:33so again
45:35credit to Barry
45:36he's a TV genius
45:37that pinpointed him
45:38and gave him the opportunity
45:40to show us how articulate
45:41he is
45:42and I think
45:43the philosophical element
45:44to him
45:45people matter to him
45:46you know
45:46and ultimately
45:47sport's about people
45:48not only that
45:50it's a particular way
45:51of playing the game
45:53like
45:53it's the Malcolm Blight way
45:55you know
45:55you score four
45:56we score five
45:57yes
45:57and so that's great to watch
45:59and it's wonderful
46:00to watch someone
46:01be Aussie Ange
46:02and how we own them
46:03on the world stage
46:04but obviously
46:05when we look back
46:06and you get a bit
46:06retrospective
46:07you think about
46:07where sport has always been
46:09in the Australian psyche
46:10and where it is now
46:12do you think sport
46:13is as important as ever
46:14I do
46:15absolutely
46:17you know
46:18it takes its hits
46:19but if I can use
46:21my local community
46:22as an example
46:23and this is a big thing
46:24in sport
46:24is the distance
46:26between big sport
46:27super sport
46:28and community sport
46:29so I'm living
46:30in the Barossa Valley
46:31we've got a population
46:32of 25,000
46:33of course we've got
46:34footy and netball
46:36we've got Barossa United
46:37football club
46:3832 teams
46:39wow
46:40you know
46:40six girls teams
46:43of women's and girls teams
46:44we have a rugby club
46:45the Barossa Rams
46:46you know
46:47we have the traditional sports
46:49as well
46:50and they're reported
46:51in the local paper
46:52and kids just
46:53that's what you do
46:54and it's kids
46:55it's the way that you can
46:56actually engage the kids
46:57and something that we've seen
46:58is the rise and rise
46:59of smartphones
47:00and also this push
47:01of social media
47:02and the way that we consume sport
47:04do we see social media
47:06and these sort of changes
47:07to paywalls and access
47:08as a positive thing
47:09or a negative thing
47:10I think both
47:11it's transformed the way
47:13that we watch our sport
47:14you watch sport on phones
47:15and then we watch sport
47:17or a generation
47:18will watch sport in clips
47:19rather than necessarily
47:20full games
47:21this iconic footage
47:22is such a great example
47:23on the plane
47:23when we started
47:24we'd read the newspaper
47:25in the morning
47:26we'd have the hourly radio
47:28news
47:28and then the 6pm news
47:29at night
47:30that's how we
47:31took in our sport
47:33so sport changes
47:34with its times
47:35and this is where I think
47:35it's more fundamental
47:37than ever before
47:38it remains our core
47:39and it remains our fabric
47:41it's how we measure
47:42our national worth
47:43and I think we've seen that
47:44over the days
47:45of the Winter Olympics
47:46and the soaring sense of pride
47:47the ingenuity
47:48and the commitment
47:49that goes
47:50to be Australian
47:51and succeed
47:52in those circumstances
47:53I've always
47:54sport has never been
47:55a distraction
47:56I think that is a depiction
47:57that has always been wrong
47:59it's intrinsic
47:59to who we are
48:00sometimes the sharpest prism
48:02with which we can view
48:04the issues of life
48:05are through sport
48:06and I do think
48:07the 20 years of conversations
48:08on this program
48:09would speak to that
48:10and when we have
48:11those singular moments
48:12this is a fractious world
48:13but sport binds us
48:15in a way that nothing else does
48:16so you used to belong
48:17to a church
48:18or a political party
48:19you belong to
48:20a sporting organisation
48:21now either locally
48:22or more broadly
48:23and when Adam Scott
48:25wins to the Masters
48:25or Cadel Evans
48:26wins to the Tour de France
48:27the capacity
48:28to draw us all together
48:30it remains the most
48:31binding force
48:32in our lives
48:33those moments
48:33are so important
48:34and we are unfortunately
48:35running out of time
48:36which is always going to happen
48:37when we have such
48:38wonderful panellists
48:38but I will ask you
48:39to quickly touch on
48:40what are those
48:41what is the pinnacle
48:41what's the one moment
48:42for you over the 20 years
48:43well I've just changed
48:44mine on the spot
48:45because responding
48:46to Gerard's comment
48:48we want to watch
48:49things collectively
48:49and nothing more
48:52attractive than
48:53the Matildas
48:54in that World Cup
48:56where the Barossa soccer club
48:57football club
48:58Barossa United
48:59rather than just watching it
49:00in our lounge rooms
49:01we all went to the clubhouse
49:03which is the local
49:04family pub there
49:05because we wanted
49:06to watch it together
49:07and even if you were
49:07watching at home
49:08you knew the neighbours
49:09were as well
49:09that was the beauty
49:10of it
49:10and there's a reason
49:11why it was the most
49:12popular show
49:13yeah and when you asked
49:14me that
49:14what was the best moment
49:15I thought I'm going to
49:16leave it up to the viewers
49:17to decide
49:17I went back to the
49:18highest rating program
49:19over the last 20 years
49:20surprise surprise
49:21it was that moment
49:22in this famous moment
49:24in Brisbane
49:25when the grandstand shook
49:27of course the Matildas
49:28penalty shootout
49:29Courtney Vine
49:29to get it through
49:31to the semi-finals
49:32that was a damn
49:34bustingly big moment
49:36I must put in there
49:38as well
49:38when COVID hit
49:39people were saying
49:40to me
49:40I was hosting the program
49:41at the time
49:41how are you going to do
49:41a show about nothing
49:42I thought
49:43well that's been done
49:43before by Seinfeld
49:44but what it showed me
49:46during that two year
49:47pandemic
49:48is that when life
49:49became really small
49:50and simple
49:52it became
49:53sport became even
49:54more powerful
49:54as Gerard said
49:55it binds us
49:56it connects us
49:56it enrages us
49:57it inspires us
49:58and it makes us happy
50:00Abbey
50:01Gerard
50:01well racing's always
50:03been a big part
50:03of the show
50:04by Barry's insistence
50:05so we lived through
50:05the age of black caviar
50:06and winks
50:07I always think
50:08in sport
50:09there's the tussle
50:09between what's
50:10enshrined forever
50:11carbine
50:12far lap
50:12tulloch
50:13what's untouchable
50:13and then recency bias
50:15but we did have
50:16two horses
50:17who take their place
50:18in the pillars
50:19of Australian racing
50:20black caviar
50:20with a triumphant
50:21royal ascot
50:22and winks
50:23who followed
50:23we lived through that
50:24in real time
50:25we appreciated the stories
50:26and they become
50:28the markers
50:28through which
50:29everything that follows
50:31will be
50:32will be made
50:33and I'll also say
50:34that
50:34what did we do
50:35that lasted
50:36on offsiders
50:37Geoff Kennett
50:38sat between
50:39John Harms and I
50:40one day after
50:41Hawthorne had won
50:42the 2008 grand final
50:43over Geelong
50:43and he cast
50:44the Kennett curse
50:44which lasted
50:45gloriously
50:46for years to come
50:47and sport is the poorer
50:49John
50:49for the fact
50:50that the Kennett curse
50:51is still not in operation
50:52today
50:52I'll never forget it
50:54Gerard and I
50:55are looking
50:55what's he saying
50:56and we just
50:57keep going Geoff
50:58keep going
50:58a show about sport
51:00and we finish with
51:01Geoff Kennett
51:01there you go
51:02but no it has been
51:03a wonderful 20 years
51:04hopefully 20 to come
51:05thank you for all of your
51:06work in building
51:07a wonderful show
51:08and it is a privilege
51:09to be a small part
51:10of the vehicle
51:11that you built
51:11so thank you so much
51:12and thank you
51:13of course to all the
51:14people behind the scenes
51:14and all the wonderful
51:15producers
51:16that make this show
51:17what it is
51:18it's an absolute joy
51:19and we couldn't decide
51:20if we wanted to
51:21close out the show
51:21by celebrating
51:22our most beloved
51:23national team
51:24in the Tillys
51:25or our most successful
51:26in the Australian
51:27women's cricket team
51:28so we thought
51:28why not choose a star
51:30who's played for both
51:31Elise Perry
51:32I mean imagine
51:33having scored
51:34a World Cup goal
51:35and a test double century
51:37and she's not done yet
51:38thanks for watching
51:39we'll see you next week
51:41short it is
51:42Perry
51:43with a shot
51:45brilliant goal
51:46what a moment
51:47for Elise Perry
51:49the three-lear
51:50and a level
51:51well in this game
51:52extraordinary
51:53a set piece
51:54it really works out well
51:57driven down
51:58she's taken up
52:00and she's done it
52:02Elise Perry
52:03bringing up her 200
52:04in style
52:09you
52:09you
52:09you
52:09you
52:09you
52:09you
52:11you
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