Dyl & Friends

Travis Cloke won a premiership with Collingwood and became one of the AFL's most recognisable key forwards. But after controversially leaving the Magpies for the Western Bulldogs in 2016, his career came to an end out of nowhere… at just age 30.

Big Trav joins Dyl to talk about the pressure and anxiety that shaped his career, why he struggled to enjoy his success at the biggest club in the land, and how the expectations he placed on himself ultimately took their toll. Trav opens up about losing his sense of identity outside the game, the circumstances surrounding the end of his career, and what he wishes he could tell his younger self.

They talk his father-son connection to Collingwood, the five-year deal Richmond offered him, and the sliding-doors decision that saw him choose the Magpies to play alongside his brothers.

Trav reflects on playing under Mick Malthouse, the challenges of his final years at Collingwood, and the moment he was dropped for Mason Cox after helping develop him as a player.

Now working in player development, Travis talks about the importance of honest conversations, helping young athletes navigate the mental side of football, and why he wants the next generation to enjoy the journey more than he did.

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YESSSSS the Minis are BACK!!

Dyl, Ruby & Mitch are in the studio for the return of the Mini, chatting everything that's been happening at Clubby Sports, Dyl's marathon downgrade and our recent month of guests with Audible.

We talk:

Here's our streaming recs:

Dyl – Furious (Disney+) / Street Kings (Stan)

Ruby – Last Seen (Apple TV+) / Slow Horses (Apple TV+) / The Rehearsal (HBO Max)

Mitch – Widow's Bay (Apple TV+) / Mountainhead (HBO Max) / Hell or High Water (Netflix, Stan, SBS On Demand)

If you want to support the show, please click follow or subscribe wherever you are listening. Also, if you loved the episode, please share it with your mum, dad, friend or dog. Appreciate you fam. ILY xx

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This episode has been brought to you by our good friends at Audible.

Claudia Hollingsworth went to the Olympics at just 19.

The Australian middle-distance runner joins Dyl to talk about her first Olympic experience, the mental challenges she wasn't prepared for, and why she's now making the difficult switch from the 800m to the 1500m as she builds towards LA 2028.

Claudia opens up about the brutal competition within Australian athletics, the controversy surrounding that race with Jess Hull, being disqualified and then reinstated, and eventually sharing a Commonwealth Games podium with Hull and Abbey Caldwell.

They also get into the realities of being a professional individual athlete, from sponsorship and money to building a personal brand, as well as Olympic Village life, meeting Simone Biles, training around Europe and why Claudia believes “pressure is a privilege”.

Plus, Claudia's love of footy, fishing and abalone diving, her fascination with sharks, whether she could ever play AFL, and the possibility of Brisbane 2032.

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Richard Baker, one of Australia's leading investigative journalists, returns to Dyl & Friends for a deep dive into cold cases, conspiracy theories and some of Australia's biggest unsolved mysteries.

Fresh off the release of ABC's Lies In Lismore and the success of Conspiracy Cabal, Richard joins Dyl to explain what happens when criminal investigations go wrong, why some murders remain unsolved for decades, and whether Australia's most notorious serial killer, Ivan Milat, may have been responsible for more deaths than the seven backpacker murders he was convicted of.

The conversation then takes a turn into some of the world's most enduring conspiracy theories and mysteries, including the JFK assassination, UFOs and UAPs, the moon landing, COVID vaccine conspiracies, ancient civilisations, the pyramids and whether we're really alone in the universe.

They also discuss the Maria James case, The Confession, investigative journalism, police investigations and why some of the biggest mysteries may be hiding in plain sight.

In this episode:
• Richard's work on Lies In Lismore and Conspiracy Cabal
• The disappearance of Simone Strobel
• How police investigations can develop tunnel vision
• Interviewing people accused of murder
• The Confession and an overturned murder conviction
• The Maria James case
• Why conspiracy theories fascinate us
• COVID vaccine conspiracies
• The moon landing and JFK assassination
• UFOs, UAPs and Area 51
• The Dark Forest Theory and whether we're alone
• Ancient civilisations and Graham Hancock
• The mystery of the pyramids
• The conspiracy theories Richard finds most convincing
• Whether Ivan Milat may have killed more people

Check out Richard's new podcast series:

Lies in Lismore

And Richard's Conspiracy Cabal podcast via the links below:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

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Adam Gotsis spent a decade in the NFL... one of the toughest achievements in professional sport.

Drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2016, the Melbourne product built a 10-year career across the Broncos, Jaguars, Colts and Buccaneers, surviving the constant cycle of training camps, roster cuts, injuries and one-week contracts that end most careers long before they begin.

Adam joins Dyl to explain what life in the NFL is really like: the pressure of fighting for a roster spot, how contracts and signing bonuses actually work, the reality of being cut, the teammates and quarterbacks who stood out, and the mental health challenges that came with living in one of the world's most ruthless sporting environments.

A rare insight into the NFL from an Australian who lived it for 10 seasons.

In this episode:

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Brett Ratten is one of the most respected figures in Australian football.

From playing over 250 games for Carlton to coaching the Blues, St Kilda and serving as a key architect behind Hawthorn's dynasty, Ratts has seen every side of the AFL.

In this episode, Brett opens up about one of the most talked-about moments of his career: Carlton's decision to sack him in 2012 after starting the season as flag favourites. He takes us inside the boardroom pressure, the injuries that derailed the season, the conversation that ended his tenure, and the lessons he learned from one of the toughest periods of his life.

We also dive into his relationship with Chris Judd, coaching Dylan Buckley, the Carlton teams of the late 2000s and early 2010s, the talent of players like Chris Yarran, Bryce Gibbs and Matthew Kreuzer, his time at Hawthorn alongside Alastair Clarkson, and what makes great leaders, coaches and teams.

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Nathan Chapman almost played for the Green Bay Packers.

Instead, he came home and built ProKick Australia... the program that's helped transform Australian footballers into college stars and NFL punters.

In this episode, Chappy joins Dyl to unpack his own journey from the Brisbane Bears, Brisbane Lions and Hawthorn, to chasing an NFL dream in America. He shares what really happened during his time with the Green Bay Packers, why his NFL career never quite materialised, and how that experience led him to create a pathway that has changed hundreds of lives.

The pair also dive into the rise of Australian punters in the NFL, Michael Dickson's incredible story, the ruthless reality of professional football in America, how college scholarships work, and why more young Australians than ever are now pursuing the NFL dream.

If you've ever wondered why Australians are suddenly everywhere in American football, the answer is Chappy.

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Scott Clayton is an AFL kingmaker.

A premiership architect, master recruiter and one of the game's most influential list managers, Scott has spent decades identifying talent, building lists and pulling off some of footy's biggest deals. From helping build the Brisbane Lions dynasty and reshaping the Western Bulldogs, to launching the Gold Coast Suns and landing Gary Ablett Jr., few people have had a bigger impact on the modern AFL landscape.

He joins Dyl & Friends to lift the lid on the deals, draft picks, negotiations and recruiting philosophies that shaped an era of football, sharing untold stories from inside AFL boardrooms and trade tables.

We talk:

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John Quinn has worked with some of the biggest names in Australian sport. We’re talking James Hird, Kevin Sheedy and Matthew Lloyd; Nathan Cleary and the Penrith Panthers; even Cathy Freeman as Australia’s sprints & relay coach at Sydney 2000.

But his most remarkable story isn't about the athletes he's coached.

After helping save Hird's career following a devastating foot injury, John would later face a battle of his own, surviving a rare brain disease that stole years of his memory and changed his life forever.

He joins Dyl & Friends to share lessons from a lifetime in high performance, leadership, resilience and finding out what people are truly capable of when they're pushed to their limits.

We talk:

Learn more about or contact John Quinn here.

You can check out John’s recommendations on Audible below:

Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics by Jesse Schaap

Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi

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Just 11 months after giving birth to her second child, Jess Stenson's 13th place at Paris 2024 clocked one of the fastest ever Olympic marathons by an Aussie woman. A year later in Valencia, she claimed the Australian record with a time of 2:21:24.

Jess is an athlete at the very peak of her powers, pausing her career to have baby number three!

She joins Dyl & Friends in Adelaide, some 37 weeks pregnant, to tell us not just if can do can it all again... but does she want to?

This is an awesome conversation with one of the best to ever do it.

We talk:

It’s a bloody good chat with an inspirational Aussie who just keeps getting better and better.

You can check out Neale Daniher's The Power of Choice on Audible.

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