Emergence

Ben McEvoy is an AFL player for the Hawthorn Football Club, and with the AFL season for 2020 just finishing, he has currently played 222 AFL games, is a 2x premiership player and a member of the Hawthorn leadership group, plus at 31 years of age, he is playing some of the best football of his career as he looks ahead to 2021.

He was originally drafted to the St Kilda Football Club with pick 9 of the 2007 draft, the same year Matthew Kreuzer was taken at number 1. At just 18 years of age, he made his debut for the Saints in his first year, Rd 13 of 2008 against Fremantle and an opposition ruckman by the name of Aaron Sandilands who just happens to be the tallest player to ever play Aussie Rules standing at 211cm tall.

He played 91 games at St Kilda before unexpectedly being traded to Hawthorn ahead of the 2014 season, however it turned out to be a blessing for him as Hawthorn would win the premiership in 2014 and 2015 in his first two seasons at the club, making him a 2x premiership player in the process.

While Ben has same great accolades attached to his name now, it hasn't all been smooth sailing or an easy journey for him as he discusses throughout the episode. He has had to deal with some pretty extradorinaiy situations as an AFL player, patricianly during grand final week. In 2010 when at St Kilda and after playing majority of that season, including then preliminary final, he was dropped for the grand final the following week which was of course a draw, and recalled to play in the grand final replay the following week.

In 2014 when at Hawthorn, he didn't play in the preliminary final, but was called into the side for the grand final and tells a great story about that situation including a call from Chris Fagan and a discussion with Alistair Clarkson as he was on his way to play in the VFL grand final.

Throughout the episode, Ben is honest and open as we discuss his initial move from the country to the city to start his career, his nativity as he puts it, his training habits and mindset and how that has evolved over his career, how he attacks the off season and pre season, the grand final years, some turning points an light bulb moments, the traits of some of his great coaches and why his family and farming are pivotal to giving him balance and perspective on his AFL career.

Please enjoy this genuine and thorough conversation with Ben McEvoy.

Daniel Currie is a former AFL player for the Sydney, North Melbourne and Gold Coast Football Club's. Daniel is one of my close friends, so it is really nice to share this with others and display his humility, genuineness and positive attitude.

As you'll come to learn from this chat if you don't already know Daniel's story, he endured an AFL career that didn't have much luck along the way, nor does it reflect the level of persistence, commitment and professionalism he displayed through his career that spanned 10 years and returned him 10 games in that time.

It is a great story and experience for others to learn a lot from about facing adversity, continuing to show up and be the best version of yourself regardless of the situation or circumstance, and that although you have big intentions and hopes of achieving great things, you don't always get to choose your story, but you can control your response and reactions to it which is exactly how Daniel approached it.

Daniel holds a record I'm sure he wishes he didn't, that being the longest to make his AFL debut after being drafted. It took Daniel eight years, two AFL clubs, a delisting and a stint in the SANFL and living in three different states to be selected for his first game. That in itself says something about his determination to chase his dream, to control what he could, to see situations as challenges to overcome rather than road blocks, to continue to move forward and not dwell and most importantly, his character and the regard he is held in within the AFL industry for his remarkable resilience.

Throughout this episode, we discuss his long and arduous journey, beginning his AFL career in Sydney whilst still completing his year 12 studies in Melbourne, being delisted, the frustrations of being 2nd in line to Todd Goldstein, one of the AFL's most durable ruckman and arguably the competitions best ruckman still today, the process of rehab and facing multiple stints on the sideline through injury and his mindset and positive attitude that remained throughout his career despite the outcomes and reward not reflecting the investment and effort he was putting in.

Please enjoy this open and insightful conversation with Daniel Currie.

Jack Grimes is a former AFL player for the Melbourne Football Club.

He was taken with pick 14 at the 2007 draft and would go on to play 100 AFL games across a nine year season, including co-captaining the side from 2012 - 2014 in what was a pretty challenging time both on and off field for the club.

Jack was just 22 years old when he and Jack Trengrove (20) were thrust into the position of co-captain of a club that was going through a rebuild. The appointment made him one of the youngest AFL captains in the history of the game of a club that, at the time, attracted plenty of external noise for the wrong reasons because of their lack of on field success during his tenure. Jack won just 24 of 100 games throughout his AFL career to paint a better picture.

On top of the lack of on-field success, Jack was unfortunately regularly plagued by soft-tissue injuries throughout his career and only twice played more than 15 games in a season with his best season coming in 2012 when he was appointed co-captain. He would play a career-high 21 games that year and finished runner-up in Melbourne's best and fairest award.

He stood down as co-captain heading into the 2015 season as he wanted to get back to focussing on his own game as he felt his form had suffered to some degree during his leadership tenure, but would be plagued by more injuries in 2015 and despite outstanding VFL form with the Casey Scorpions (Melbourne's reserves) in 2016, he managed just two senior games due to another rebuild and change of direction under new coach, Paul Roos, in what would ultimately be his last season at AFL level after being delisted at the end of that season.

At 27 years of age and with some other AFL interest circling, Jack decided against nominating for the draft and made himself unavailable to other clubs, subsequently putting an end to his career and exiting the AFL system. He instead chose to start the next phase of his life and transitioned into work running his PT studio JJ's Health and Fitness which is thriving and brings him joy.

Throughout this episode, we discuss all things leadership, how he approached it when he was appointed, how he felt throughout his tenure including the emotional ups and downs, what he would have liked to have known at the time and what he learnt about himself upon reflection. He talks openly and honestly about hard work, the process of tackling multiple injuries and how he lost some passion for the game and where and how he rediscovered it through 2016 as a VFL player.

Jack is also a long time personal friend of mine, so it was really nice to catch up and be able to share this with others. You will not meet a more caring and humble human.

Please enjoy this engaging conversation with Jack Grimes.

Dr Phil Jauncey is a widely respected and heavily sought after leading performance psychologist who has worked with some of the biggest corporates and sporting teams here in Australia and globally.

He has developed a reputation within the sporting industry as someone who makes teams better with his depth of knowledge, his understanding of people and performance, and his contagious passion for life as you'll come to realise during this episode.

He has worked with teams such as the Australian Cricket team, the Sri Lanka Cricket team, the Bangladesh Cricket team, the Queensland Bulls Cricket team, the Brisbane Broncos and the South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL teams, English Rugby League teams, the Brisbane Lions AFL team during their three premierships in a row, the Australian Davis Cup team as well as attending three Olympic Games as a performance psychologist for various competitions.

He has been described as Wayne Bennett's right hand man having worked with Wayne at the Bronco's and more recently, at South Sydney due to Wayne's trust in Dr Phil's work.

Dr Phil has a personality profiling system that I was really intrigued to learn more about and its use in a sporting or corporate environment, and how personal differences impact on our approaches to life and our interactions with others.

To give some context before listening to the episode, he classifies people under four categories - Mozzie, Enforcer, Thinker, Feeler. You will come to learn what these are throughout the episode.

In this episode, we discuss his personality profiling, understanding self and others, the psychology of performance, how coaches and leaders can apply his work in their own environment plus much more.

Word of warning - Dr Phil is a mozzie, which means he likes to buzz around, is animated and he loves to talk. There is so much in this episode to unpack, but you need to be on your game to keep up with Dr Phil.

Please enjoy this entertaining and informative discussion with Dr Phil Jauncey.

Mark Brayshaw is the current CEO of the AFL Coaches Association but has been involved in the AFL industry for many decades now and has held some pretty prominent roles in that time including marketing roles for Port Adelaide and Fremantle, board member of North Melbourne Football Club and CEO of Richmond Football Club.

Mark hails from Western Australia and comes from a strong sporting family with father, Ian, playing 101 first class cricket matches for Western Australia as well as State League football for WAFL club Claremont and brother James Brayshaw also represented Western Australia in cricket while Mark himself played 32 games for North Melbourne Football Club in the AFL and had a strong and distinguished career for Claremont in the WAFL also.

On top of all of what he has done both on and off the field, he now has the pleasure of watching three of his four sons run around at AFL clubs and support their journey.

Throughout our conversation, Mark discusses what it was like growing up in a strong sporting family and how that has now been passed down into his own family today, how he has managed and navigated his way through really uncertain times and mass job loss for coaches within the AFL industry, his growth and learnings from previous roles such as CEO of Richmond Football Club, where aspiring coaches should focus their development and the pillars that underpin coaching, plus his take on leadership.

Mark's passion and growth mindset shine through in this conversation and it is clear why he has continued to progress and evolve throughout the decades to be in the position he is now.

Please enjoy this enthusiastic and thorough conversation with Mark Brayshaw.

'Wild' Will Tomlinson is a former professional boxer, and a bloody good one at that, being the former IBO Super Featherweight World Champion.

Wild Will started his boxing journey at the age of twelve when he walked in walked in off the street to a boxing gym in his home town, Bairnsdale. He soon found his calling as the coaches noticed his natural rhythm and talent as he practiced on the pads and in sparring and because of this, at just twelve years old, he had his first amateur fight which he won by knockout.

He turned professional in 2008 after missing out on the Olympic Games and from his debut fight, which he won by TKO after scoring a stoppage, he would quickly rise up the ranks to become one of the best fighters for his weight class and ultimately became a World Champion at Super Featherweight class by winning the IBO Super Featherweight title.

That rise and dominance in Australia saw him sign with Oscar De La Hoya's famous Golden Boy Promotions at the end of 2013 and he would relocate to the US to fight over there before returning to Australia for his final few fights and retiring at the age of 30 after 29 fights with a record of 25 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw.

Post his fighting days he has started his own boxing promotion and gym, Wildfighter, which is aimed at giving boxers a better chance at forging a career of their own through better promotion and exposure.

Throughout our conversation, Wild Will discusses his career progression, the focus, mindset and discipline of a boxer, the sacrifices and approach he made to cut 10-12kg of weight during training camp just to get to the line to fight and his attitude to becoming a world champion.

Please enjoy this engaging and eye opening conversation with Wild Will Tomlinson.

Sam Lowson isn't an AFL player - yet. He is in fact someone I have had the pleasure of coaching at Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and someone who since debuting in 2017, has quickly risen to become one of the most highly touted prospects outside of the AFL.

Sammy was highly regarded to be taken with the first selection of the AFL mid season draft in 2019, but in the game just two days before the mid season draft, a game other draft hopefuls chose not to play in order to be fit for selection come Monday night's mid season draft, Sammy suffered a lisfranc and a torn MCL in the one incident, and was subsequently overlooked by clubs because of it.

While that moment was obviously heartbreaking for Sam, he continues to press his claims to be given a chance by an AFL club and due to the current situation in Victoria and the VFL being cancelled for season 2020, Sam has moved to South Australia and will make his debut for Woodville-West Torrens against Sturt in the SANFL this weekend.

Sam is now fit, powerful and achieving great things in both football and life, but he has a story, his story, that is remarkable to think about and hear about given where he is today.

From the age of 17, Sam was a regular ice user. He was introduced to the wrong crowd early on and got involved in some bad habits that led him to some really dark places. Sam now plays at 84kg, and at his lowest point when he broke down as he stared at himself in the mirror, he was just 65kg. It is his past, something he isn't proud of, but he owns it, it doesn't define him and now he uses his story to help other people in the situation he was in because he knows how dark and lonely a place it is.

Throughout our conversation, Sam opens up about how he got mixed up with the wrong crowd and wrong activities in great detail, he discusses some key turning points and moments, how he uses his story and experiences to be a role model for others, how football gave him a lifeline, his doubts of making it and how his belief has grown to now being so driven of making AFL his reality.

I want to thank Sam for having the courage to be vulnerable and tell his story. It would be easy for him to just be a good football player, not tell his story and not open himself up to criticism and people having the view that, like many ice users, it is his fault for getting himself there in the first place. In some aspects that is true, but not many people get out of the habit of using ice, go on to do something productive with their lives and become advocates for ensuring others don't go through the same experience.

Through Sam's story you can learn that, no matter how low a point you are at in your own life, you can turn it around.

Please enjoy this raw and open conversation with Sam Lowson.

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Richard Bowden is one of the most widely respected, decorated and accomplished business leaders within the healthcare system after a distinguished career for globally recognised healthcare brand, Bupa.

Throughout a career spanning 37 years in the healthcare system, 17 of those years at Bupa, Richard held leadership positions such as Managing Director, CEO of Bupa Global and UK and CEO of Bupa Australia and New Zealand before retiring (even though he doesn't like to use that term) in April 2019.

He has a plethora of knowledge about leadership gathered through his experiences and, fortunately for me, Richard also happens to be my father in law and has shared many of his insights, thoughts and philosophies to me on a regular basis that he talks about throughout the podcast today.

Throughout our conversation, Richard discusses his humble beginnings, his evolution and pathway as a leader, what he has learnt along the way, how to manage change within organisations and how to make people the key focus of the way you operate as a leader.

Please enjoy this meaningful and thoughtful conversation with Richard Bowden.

Gary Moorcroft is a former AFL player for Essendon and Melbourne Football Club's and was a key member of the Essendon 2000 AFL premiership winning side. However, he is most famously remembered for taking one of, if not the best marks in the history of the game which you can check out using this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RpoTtudPck

Initially drafted out of the Northern Knights after being voted the Morrish Medal winner for the best player in the U/18 competition, he would then go on to forge a career that would see him compile 98 AFL games and kick 104 goals.

After his AFL career ended, Gary showed incredible durability and would piece together one of the greatest local footballing careers we've ever seen, playing on for another 17 incredible seasons which involved multiple premierships, over 1000 goals and many characteristic high flying marks.

I personally had the fortune of coaching Gary in his final season of football at the remarkable age of 44 and I don't think I've seen anybody who loves training, looking after their body and competing as much as he does.

Throughout our conversation, he discusses growing up in Keon Park with a tough and hard father, transitioning to the AFL, Kevin Sheedy and his early recollections of Essendon and what made them a great team, his approach to training and his mindset to improve and of course, that famous mark.

Please enjoy this brilliant story and conversation with Gary Moorcroft.

Nathan Williamson is a young man living out his dream. Growing up in country Western Australia, a strong and passionate football community, Nathan knew he wanted to be involved in the game at the elite level from a young age.

However, unlike his mates who wanted to grow up to be their idols playing the game, Nathan had a different idol - his Dad, an umpire in the local country competition. From as young as he can remember, Nathan knew he wanted to be an AFL umpire, and that is exactly what he does now.

Nathan's story isn't told on the same platform as a young kid who has a dream of growing up and playing the game at the highest level, but the message of having a dream, visualising, practicing, falling in love with what you do and belief are all commonalities Nathan shares with the young players that are now stars of the game.

Nathan is now widely regarded as one of the most composed, best decision makers and relatable umpires today. He is also a fantastic, down to earth human with great self awareness and family values that have attributed to his success.

During our conversation, we explore his story and focus on the themes and mindset that led him to achieve his dream, a mindset that is transferable to anyone across any industry. Nathan knew what he wanted to do and what his passion was. He knew who he was, he aligned his actions and behaviours with his intentions and created a life he is now grateful and appreciative for.

Join me for this engaging chat with AFL umpire, Nathan Williamson.