SACKED: AFL

Mal Michael played 238 games including the historic three-peat of premierships with the Brisbane Lions.

But it might never have happened in the first place.

PNG born Michael was brought from his hometown of Brisbane to Collingwood with no promises and very little money but was able to turn himself into the fearsome full-back of the Lions dynasty.

And yet, it is the one that got away - their chance of four in a row in 2004 - that stayed with Michael for years.

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 Alastair Lynch played over 300 games for Fitzroy, the Brisbane Bears and then the Brisbane Lions in a career that spanned 16 years.
It was a career that had incredible highs, devastating lows and one five minute brain fade right at the end.

A three time premiership player with the Lions, Lynch spent much of the mid to late 90s in bed with chronic fatigue having previously broken Roys fans hearts by signing a notorious 10 year contract to defect to the Brisbane Bears in 1993.

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Nathan Burke has been involved in elite football across five decades and was involved in some of the biggest stories in that time.

Towards the end of his playing career, Burke had a seat at the table for the incredible recruitment of Malcolm Blight as senior Saints coach and he was at the Saints through the tumult that was the Thomas and Lyon eras.

Burke was also at the business end of the early days of the AFLW as coach of the Western Bulldogs.

And don’t forget his role in helping Trent Cotchin to beat a suspension in the lead up to the 2017 Grand Final in his time on the  Match Review Panel.

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Nathan Burke played 323 games with St Kilda across three decades, and took the field with some of the best of the modern era - Lockett, Frawley, Harvey, Winmar, Loewe.
He captained the club and played in a heartbreaking Grand Final loss in 1997 but was in teams that finished in the bottom four as much as they spent in contention.

And when his playing career was over, it was a seat on the Saints board that brought him back to Moorabbin, and a front row seat to the turmoil that was the end of Ross Lyon’s first tenure as Saints coach.

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Daniel Harford was a top 10 draft pick and Vic Metro under 18 captain when he was taken by the Hawks.

Harford went on to play 153 games in the brown and gold (and nine in a single season with Carlton).

He was cocky and sure of himself with a good dose of self deprecation, that made Harford a favourite of the footy variety shows of the late 90s and early 2000s. 

The larrikin nature prepared him perfectly for a life as a breakfast radio host, but it was his footy smarts that gave Harford the edge as senior coach of the Blues AFLW team.

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Paul Roos played 356 AFL games for Fitzroy and Sydney as well as many in the Big V for Victoria across 17 years as a player.

And as a coach he delivered the Swans a 72 year drought-breaking premiership in 2005 and was instrumental in the rebuild of Melbourne that ultimately culminated in the 2021 flag.

In this episode, Roos details his journey from Fitzroy to the Swans and Ralphy’s part in his announcement as saviour of the Demons.

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David Noble played just two games of AFL footy with Fitzroy in the early ‘90s, but it was off the field that he truly made his mark as an assistant coach, recruiter and administrator and finally the monumental task of coaching cellar dwelling North Melbourne.

In this episode, Noble details his football and personal journey from Hobart to Brisbane and the challenges he and his family have faced along the way.

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Tony Jewell commenced his senior football career with Oakleigh, in 1963. He tried out with St Kilda but failed to impress and was turned away. Richmond, however, decided to take a punt on him and he went on to give them good service, mainly as a half back flanker or back pocket, in 80 VFL games between 1964 and 1970. 

After a two-year stint as coach of the Richmond reserves, which included overseeing a flag in 1977, he took over as senior coach of the Tigers in 1979. A year later he led them to an emphatic 81-point grand final defeat of Collingwood. Just one season later, however, Jewell was sacked with Francis Bourke being installed as coach in his place. Jewell later had unsuccessful stints as coach of St Kilda (1983-4) and Richmond once more (1986-7).

In this episode Jewell opens up about his brutal sacking at Richmond, recruiting Tony Lockett to St Kilda and how he almost became coach of Collingwood instead of Leigh Matthews.

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As Victorian opposition leader from 1982 to 1989 and then again from 1991 to 1992 before becoming the 43rd Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett has guided and divided many during his time in politics.

Post political life Kennett became the inaugural chairman of Beyond Blue and in December 2005, replaced Ian Dicker as president of Hawthorn.

In this episode Kennett opens about his relationship with 4-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson - and what really happened, his plans to hand the presidency over at the end of 2022 and his secrets to political success.

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Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore Tony Cochrane. As Chairman of the Board Tony Cochrane is best known in his role as boss of the Gold Coast Suns. 
A successful businessman who didn't bother to finish school, Cochrane has been involved in event promotion since the 1970s, and has promoted or produced tours for several international and local artists. In March 2014, Cochrane joined the board of the struggling Gold Coast Suns, and then became chairman in March 2016

In this episode Cochrane explains how he came to befriend Frank Sinatra and bring him out to Australia, he opens up on the sackings of Guy Mckenna and Rodney Eade, his aim to turn the Gold Coast Suns into a finals contender and why he thinks a 19th franchise in the AFL won't work.

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