SACKED: AFL

In a North Melbourne team filled with stars such as Wayne Carey, Glenn Archer and Anthony Stevens in the 1990s, Corey McKernan has every right to lay claim to being up there with the best of them during that golden era. A dual Premiership player with North Melbourne and a best and fairest winner at Carlton, with a little more luck early in his career, McKernan might also have a rising star and a Brownlow medal to put around his neck. 

In this episode McKernan opens up about the heartbreak of missing out on both the Rising Star award and the Brownlow medal, his complicated relationship with Denis Pagan and his defection to Carlton.

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A talented utility whose career was struck down by injury, Robert Shaw managed only 51 games over 7 seasons for Essendon. An assistant under Kevin Sheedy at Essendon and then at Fitzroy, Shaw was appointed Fitzroy’s senior coach in 1991. After 3 seasons with the Lions, it was over to South Australia to take charge of the AFL’s newest team, Adelaide. Shaw’s time in Adelaide would be rocky with the axe swinging at the end of the 1996 season.In this episode Robert Shaw outlines his plan for a 19th team in Tasmania, he recounts the struggles behind Fitzroy in the club's final years and reveals the attacks and criticism  he encountered from fans as coach Adelaide Crows.

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In the 1990's North Melbourne were the rockstar team of the competition. Greg Miller is responsible for North's era of dominance during this period. Miller's footy nous, combined with his uncanny ability to identify talent, added in with some brazen recruiting heists helped the Kangaroos clinch two premierships. In this episode Miller details his attempt to recruit Nathan Buckley, his building of a formidable North Melbourne and his tumultuous Tiger years at Richmond.

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A full-back who toiled hard against the glamour full-forwards of the 1970s, Greg Miller's footy journey is as extensive as they come. Arriving at South Melbourne in 1972, Miller mustered 52 games for the Swans. For Miller his mark on football would be made in the office rather than the oval. In 1980 Miller became South Melbourne's recruiting officer, it was at this time that the VFL were looking to relocate the club to Sydney. In this episode Miller describes the struggles involved in moving South Melbourne to Sydney and details his bold recruiting heist which yielded Wayne Carey and John Longmire to North Melbourne.

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A gifted athlete with a tremendous leap, John Barnes landed at Essendon as a talented ruckman during the preseason of 1987. Hailing from Cobram in Victoria, Barnes, colourful and laidback, found it difficult to hold down a regular senior spot under Kevin Sheedy. By the end of 1991, Barnes was shown the door by the Bombers and his AFL career on the scrap heap. A lifeline from Geelong saw Barnes reach his full potential in the big time.

In this episode, Barnes takes us inside his complicated relationship with AFL legend Kevin Sheedy, his concussion claim against the AFL and the wizardry behind Gary Ablett Senior

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A member of Hawthorn's golden era during the 1980s, Peter Schwab was a vital cog in the Hawk's machine. After 171 games and 3 premierships, Schwab turned his hand to coaching - first as an assistant with Richmond and then finally as a senior coach back at Glenferrie Oval.

In this edition of Sacked, Schwab speaks out about the 2004 Line in the sand match between Hawthorn and Essendon, his playing journey with Hawthorn during the 80s and how two former team-mates ended his stint as senior coach.

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From his playing days with Richmond in the 1970's to coaching Melbourne in the 1990's and overseeing various footy departments throughout the 2000's, Neil Balme has seen and done it all. In this episode Balme reveals the formula to Richmond's golden era under Tom Hafey, his tumultuous sacking from Melbourne and how he became Football's Mr Fix-it.

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Brenton Sanderson's sacking as Adelaide senior coach at the end of 2014 blindsighted the competition. A third year coach with a winning percentage above fifty, who only two years prior had led the Crows to a preliminary final was shown the door. In this episode Sanderson reveals his sliding door experience during the Bali bombings, how Geelong built a dynasty and his embarrassment following his shock sacking. 

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At his time at AFL House, Andrew Demetriou presided over an era of enormous corporate growth and competition expansion. On the surface the Demetriou era was extraordinarily successful, but if you dig a little deeper scandals were never far from making headlines. In this episode Demetriou reflects on the drugs disgrace at Essendon, Jobe Watson's Brownlow Medal and the Melbourne tanking scandal. 

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Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Football League between 2003 and 2014, Andrew Demetriou's tenure as league boss was truly compelling. In this episode Demetriou opens up about the Carlton salary cap saga, the fall of Ben Cousins at West Coast and his remarkable ascent to power.

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