Martin Flanagan is a much loved Australian sportswriter, known for his lyrical phrase and passion for stories that intertwine sport and culture. In 2018 he delivered a monologue in praise of Melbourne Football Club legends, and also ordinary supporter and officials. It is a majestic piece, 'Thinking about you, Ron Barassi' and it first aired during Preliminary Final week, 2018 on radio station SEN. It's the feature speech of this episode, as Martin discusses his torn allegiances for Grand Final day, having spent lengthy periods as an 'embedded' writer at both Footscray (Western Bulldogs) and Melbourne. He also talks about key figures in the piece, Jim Stynes, Robbie Flower, Liam Jurrah, Sean White, Nathan Jones, and of course Ron Barassi. Because Flanagan wrote a book on the 2016 Bulldogs, 'A Wink from the Universe', he also has stories about Marcus Bontempelli, Tom Liberatore, Bob Murphy and Easton Wood. It's a great grand final episode, covering the Western Bulldogs and the Demons. 

Speakola has a Patreon page which you can join If you want to offer regular support for as little as $3/mth or as much as $20/mth. If it's easier, we also welcome donations in any format and any size, recurring or one off. If you're a regular listener, you can give Tony a financial kick along so he can keep making it!

Subscribe to our newsletter if you want a fortnightly email setting out great speeches by theme.

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at https://greenskinavocados.com.au/.

Our new sponsor is the Podcast Reader magazine. Email and mention Speakola for a free copy of the latest edition as pdf.

Tony's books are available at https://www.tonywilsonauthor.com/

Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.