The Home Ground

South Melbourne have won the Australia Cup, beating Melbourne Victory in front of a record AAMI Park crowd. So do they belong in the A-League? Peter Kokotis, South Melbourne board member and senior football director, joins Max Shifman and David Basheer to talk about it.

Peter’s family has been tied to the club since its start in 1959, and he opens up on what the win meant to him personally. He then gets into the business of building a professional club outside the top flight, where the A-League conversation stands, and why he thinks the game needs to be built from the ground up.

Part 2 of our chat with AFL premiership coach Mark "Choco" Williams. Mark gets honest about being concussed seven times during his playing career and how player welfare has changed since then turns to what Tasmania's new AFL license needs to succeed and what a genuinely successful expansion club actually looks like.

His reaction after Port Adelaide's 2004 Grand Final siren is still ranked among the most iconic in AFL finals history, and on this episode of The Home Ground, David Basheer and Max Shifman get Mark Williams to relive it.

The conversation runs through growing up inside a football dynasty, with the Williams name attached to 22 of Port Adelaide's 36 SANFL premierships, building AFL clubs from nothing at the Brisbane Bears and GWS, and what he's doing now inside Hawthorn's AFLW program.

My MCG Mini Replica, created by Mark: https://mcgshop.com.au/mymcg-mini-replica-stadium/?srsltid=AfmBOoq-o61efZaeM_pV3OtVlaVWC4yTKX3D06BEAgC9sA3ZKntM8Gjl

Port Adelaide spent four years quietly buying up houses around Alberton Oval. No announcement, no big reveal, just one property at a time until they had enough to build something way bigger than a footy ground.On this episode of The Home Ground, Port Adelaide CEO Matthew Richardson explains why the club is done leaving its future up to whether the team wins or loses. Twenty-seven properties, a trust set up by die-hard supporters, and a loan from the AFL's own investment fund got the deal done, and the club is now sitting on zero AFL debt.The story also has a wild bit of timing buried in it. Weeks after Port's first-ever premiership in 2004, the club had to sell its last house for $180,000. Twenty years later, buying that same block back cost a whole lot more.

Max Shifman and David Basheer look back on their World Cup experiences, from the Socceroos' campaign and the incredible Australian fan presence to the atmosphere inside some of the tournament's biggest stadiums.Bash also gives a behind-the-scenes insight into what it's really like calling a World Cup from the commentary box.

As the Socceroos base themselves in Oakland during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Max and Bash sit down with Oakland Roots and Oakland Soul President Lindsay Barenz.

They discuss how the club has built one of the most community-focused models in world football, balancing commercial success with accessibility, investing in women's football, plans for a purpose-built stadium, promotion and relegation in the US, and what Australian football can learn from their approach.

Australia’s housing crisis continues to dominate headlines, but are current policies actually making things worse?

In this episode, Max and Bash break down what’s happening across housing approvals, planning reform, taxation, land release and infrastructure investment.

In one of the most candid conversations you'll hear from a sitting national coach, Matildas head coach Joe Montemurro joins David Basheer and Max Shifman on The Home Ground to open up on walking away from Arsenal, building the first truly professional women's football program in Australia at Melbourne City, and the Juventus project that helped change women's football in Europe forever.Joe also breaks down how he prepared the Matildas to navigate the Asian Cup, what he really thinks about the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, and why the Matildas' popularity goes far beyond marketing.

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Global shocks are already hitting Australia’s economy. Max and Bash unpack how war, rising fuel costs, and supply disruptions are driving up construction prices, housing costs, and everyday expenses, and what it means for affordability and the future of housing.

Housing is dominating state politics, but are the numbers realistic? We break down the promises, the policies, and why delivery is the real challenge ahead of the upcoming state elections.