Caroline Wilson thanks to Harvey Norman, Clearance Center, cooking appliances, washing machines, dishwashers, TVs and more. Nine to nineteen Marian Roade Marrion. Yes, for the last time, sadly, Caroline Wilson joins us.
Get a carrow. Hello Tim, Hello Stephen. Another year's gone.
Oh yeah, it's gone way too quick. But we had lots of things happened during this year, didn't we. And I believe you've put together a little ten to one list.
Yeah, it wouldn't be the end of some season, would it, Stephens our top ten footy stories for the year, We don't. We rarely agree on what they all are. Yeah, answer, but we'll start. We'll start with number ten. Just before I start him, if you don't mind, apologies to Angus Brayshaw and the concussion issue, because that's been a massive story, as has the bluing lead really by the Saint Kilda president Andrew Bett around father the sun rules and academies, which you know really came to its head after the Grand Final when the and Kilda president tipped a bucket on the rule and had a crack at Brinsbon, which I thought was very bad sportsmanship. Biggest surprise packet was clearly the Hawthorne Football Club, I reckon and where to start with the biggest disappointments. I think I've got to say Adelaide and I've got to throw in the Bulldog, Essenton, Fremantle and the Gold Coast and I really think Matthew Nicks will be under the pump next year unless you find some success.
The disappointment is that none of those made finals. Is that what you mean? Well, yeah, but I.
Mean I don't think. I mean, Richmond was dreadful, but I think I don't think anyone expected much more. I suppose Carlton capitulated. That was disappointing. But I really thought Adelaide was going to make the eighth this year, so that'd probably be my first. But anyway, the two biggest stories, I'll start with number ten. This has not been parochial a promise that justin Martin three hundreds games of the MCD where ninety thousand people turned up for a team that was headed for a wooden spoon to farewell or footballer. I thought it was a massive story and herald at the end of an era, At the end of an era, at Richmond where the CEO went to take over Tasmania. There was obviously a new coach. Four premiership players in their prime walked out of the club at the end of the year. They got some mighty draft picks, but being there at the crossroads number nine, I reckon has been and I never ever mentioned this, I promise I think I've ever said this before, but I really think the umpiring and the inconsistency in the AFL clumsy handling of it culminating. I think when Laura Kane struggled to explain that non fifty in the North Melbourne Ben Collinwood game in the middle of the year and then decided to no longer give Monday explanations, I think that.
Was and also the comment it's never been better I had that number one, so clearly I'm rubbing off on you. They were a joke this year.
And well Andrew Dillon exactly saying that number eight. Melbourne drug issues heralded I suppose by Joel Smith who's been suspended, and the focus on the AFL's illicited drugs policy and Clayton Alliver's issue. I mean they really permeated throughout the season. It was a big story at the start of the end of last year. It continued through the year and ended really when Joel Smith finally learned his faith at the end of the twenty twenty four season and we saw Simon Goodwin under pressure pirate lawyer, his own personal lawyer to deal with the fallout and be the sort of commentary he was getting. So I thought that was a massive story. Number seven political unrested. Colin Wood manager fell out with his old apprementiceship teammates, but Graham Right and Craig Kelly fell out with the CEO. He left and went to Carlton. He almost stayed. There was almost a reprieve for Graham Right about six weeks ago when Jeff Brown, the President handed over the reins to the new President, Barry carp who tried to keep Graham Right at the extense of Craig Kelly. Wow, this is not over boys. We've got Craig mccraye not wanting Graham Right to go. We've got Brendan Bolton who stepped in to be footy manager. He's gone, he's gone to security. You've got Justin Leppich running the list management and well he's fallen out with quite a few of the recruiting staff or vice versa, and the Prince ex sense wouldn't make the finals. So you can't tell me there wasn't political unrest of colin Wood. They continue to struggle with their women's program too. They got the Wooden spoon.
Now, well, hang on, you're moving on a bit quick for me. On Collingwood. God, they've got the Collie Wobbles fullball there. So you're saying to me there's unrest to the point where they're trying to get Graham right back and neddie out.
I think, I wow, the new president. I think the coach didn't want Graham right to go. I think Craig Kelly was under a lot of pressure. He's all right, he's going to be okay for the moment, but he goes into this next season under a cloud. There was a lot of hubris when they won that flag, as you remember from the speech at the start of the year when the flag was unfilled of the season launch in Sydney by you know Jeff Brown, who has done a brilliant job. Craig Kelly was giving interviews. I mean, look, they briefly behaved like they reinvented football and then things started to fall apart and then a sort of a move that there had been cracked anyway. Okay, but I don't think Craig with Pray was happy at all when we lost Graham right, So there's a bit of stuff going on there and it's not over yet. The reason Graham Wright didn't even consider coming back because he was already too far down the track in his new deal with the Carnton Football Player and who knows whether he'll make a CEO or not.
Okay.
Number six look coaches, footy players and footy bosses cleeking on the footing field and behaving badly. The biggest stories of those were of course Alistair Clarkson in the preseason with Tooth and Kilda players. He eventually lost it again during the season and was banned from coaching come down on the bench, which was a massive story really. Then of course you had the home of phobeg Splaurs and the biggest story there was Jeremy Findlsson during.
Gather rounds, and then you had Jacob McCarty during the final series rubbing shoulders some with the Sydney Footballer.
So he's of course the GWS for your boss. Now, I thought the AFL was inconsistent approached to these affairs were pretty interesting, But I think now I don't think any footballer will ever use the word, but Jeremy Finn was the news and I think coaches like Alistair Clarkson are going to have to really look at their language. So I'm amazed. And you know, I think that there are some coaches who've gone under the radar and things they said, things on the bench that have not come to the media or the commentator's attention, and so it's just going to be interesting to see where that ends up. Because Andrew Dillon and his team are really clamping down on this number four, number five I should say Greater Western Sydney and their horror into the season. This is a team that was what eight goals up against Brisbane in a semi finals and lost and then decided to drown their sorrows on Wacky Wednesday by dressing up as well and alleged rapists the Twin Towers of New York terrorist attack styles. Some pretty disgusting stuff went on Brickman. The GW decided to keep it in her up. They weren't able to and the AFL refuse to let them keep it in house. And we've seen players moving club with a suspense that not hanging over their heads. One player suspended for four weeks. You saw the captain Toby Green and one of his most respective co leaders, Tom Green, all fine for failing to stand up and stop this. So I think that's probably gone under the radar a bit. But I thought that was a massive story. Number four John Longmire's resignation last week. So big surprise really, John longmye was I don't think I was particularly happy with some of my comments, but I really felt him that it was going to be really hard to come back after that twenty twenty four Grand Final capitulation. He's been a brilliant coach and he's done a mighty job. But I just think that the failure of that team and that club over ground final week was the strophic and I think that it was probably time for a change. Doesn't mean that it wasn't a very big story for Sydney's longest serving coach and premiership coach to walk away from coaching. I'm not sure he will coach again. I said to you last week book that I thought he might be looked at by Tasmania. I think that's right. But if he is looked at by Tasmania, I think they're looking for a list manager or a footy boss. And maybe that's where John Longmi's headed. Will just happen about that one, number three and this was lineball with number two. This story captured the imagination and divided the football world and the wider community. And that was the contretemps of teams between the Port Adelaide coach Kings and Clee and the young Hawthorne upstarts checking event. This story up. This story just had everybody has an opinion about it. Tendinkley obviously flapping his wings at the end of that semi final win over Hawthorne and telling Jack Innovan that he wasn't going anywhere after Jack Innovan had posted on social media that he would see some former Collingwood teammates now playing for Sydney in two weeks. In other words, assuming that they were going to roll over, they were going to knock over Port Adelaide ken Hinckley received a very heavy fine. He was devastated by what he'd done. He apologized profusely. He well he was heavily criticized by a very emotional Hawthorne coach in Sam Mitchell, and of course he saw the Hawthorn captain and James sicily respond as well, I don't know about you guys that I think the effect it had on Ken Hinckley and his concern for his legacy, the effect of the AOFLS very very heavy had the treatment of Ken Hinckley, and Jack Innovan's stupid decision to post that comment on social media, which I think fired up for Adelaide and could have crossed Hawthorne. The game they only lost narrowly was just a massive story and had been collective.
The collective of all those parts good.
I didn't have that in my top ten. I mean, the only thing that was FuMB about that Kenley got a twenty grand fine.
Come on, I mean, when have you last seen a player publicly say see you in two weeks?
Oh lose?
Another team responded the way they.
Ye can put his arms out and made a plain noise Wood.
The do.
Your nose for news is not what it was in my season, all right? Number two Christian Petrarca and what happened on the King's Birthday will continue to have ramifications for the game. That incident is still being investigated by the MCC ground operators, by the ASL Players Association, by the hospitals involved, and the stuff up that happened when no one's fault really, but the failure of a few processes that saw Christian Petrago almost lose his life. He obviously didn't play again. He fell out with teammates, he fell out with his football club. He tried to leave his football club. So disappointed was he allegedly at the club's handling of his situation. The AFL two was investigating what went on that day. It also emerged that well Clayton all of them might have had some missings with his teammates. So Christian Petraca did too, even before that incident. But to think, if he'd said to me at the start of the year, Tim and Stephen and Christian Petrarca would try and get a phrase from the Melbourne Football Club, if he'd go to LUSA on a holiday and post COF thousand social media and have his teammates turning against him, you wouldn't or you wouldn't have believed it. Is it there a parable this one all It's not great and then of course you know it also led to the end of the president. Kate rothis if he went on Melbourne Radio and admitted he hadn't spoken to Petraca or his family and did a made a very poor, poor fixed of that interview. So yeah, that was that. That story It continues and I think we'll see Stephen Smith, the former Melbourne fullback, end up president, end up being president of the Melbourne Putty Club. By the end of last year, the CEO is gone in Gary Purth. It's going to be really interesting to see where Simon Goodwin goes from here because it's been a year.
Okay, we could he be at the Crows Carroll?
Oh well yeah, and speaking of Whichel, I'm disappointed Rory's phone's not going to have a crack at coaching. I really would have liked to see how he went. Another one that looks like he's going to the media. But anyway, that.
All right, drum roll please Caroline Wilson for Harvey Norman's number one ten biggest forting stories of twenty twenty.
Four is se well, it often is, but you don't often see Premiership like this one day year a club that was thirty midway through the season, the Brisbane Lions lost by listening a goal. Last year, Chris Fagan swed his heartened in early June and late May that he thought about quitting the club and only didn't after an hour after a win against the Gold Coast in which they lost a lot of players and he felt he had to stick around. He also had a healthcare at that time thought he might have had cancer. He didn't quit, He stuck around. They climbed their way back up. Only one team has won the premiership from outside the top four, and that was the Western Boordogs. Famously in twenty sixteen, Brisbane did it. They came back from I said earlier was seven eight, nine goals down against some obviously against GWS. They were three goals down against the long during the culiminary final and then days after the Grand Final, after one of the more extraordinary September journeys was seen by a full forward Joe Danaher quit the game and walked away from a million dollar contract. Now, I think that's that culminating against him was just the five far biggest story of the year. And I'll flow in the fact that three time premiership player Marcus Ashcroft has now two sons playing for the club, but one of them came back from an a c L and won the norm.
That's number one.
Yeah, that's a great story.
And shot that shot was it just after the siren or just before? It was just after the embraced between Lee Matthews.
Yeah, that was beauty.
It was just and and I think Lee said to him, well you're already a premiership coach in my eyes or something, but you are a premiership coach. I mean, you know, Chris Fagan's journey is pretty amazing from the guy who went to Melbourne from Tasmania to help Bill Danna who was a sort of a footy boss coaching director type person who really wanted to coach. An extraordinary story. And I reckon Brisbane's premiership is definitely it's a happy story and my story.
Of the year, Carrow. Another massive year of footy stories, covered stories. You're even in a few stories. I think we got on famously again thanks to Harvey Norman got a good nick of them. Now have we got your back next year? Were guys speaking to your guys.
I'll get your can your people talk to my people and we'll love to see if we can break read.
Well, Caro, we're declaring Whe're in Harvey Norman's in.
Job done.
It's it's been wonderful and I look forward to it a wonderful Christmas here and to everybody who listens to this segment. I just it's so nice coming to Adelaide and meeting so many lovely people. I don't know why they all listen to you too, but they do, and they're always very nice to me. I'm looking forward together around I'll be not before, I'll be there, enjoyed the cricket, let's hope, the ausies, lips and happy business to you both.
Well when you come over the gather round, start a couple of nights and get up the Brosser. It's up the Barrossa this year, so you'll have a marvelous time up there.
I think the targets might be playing.
The good cool even better.
There you go.
I'm here from Wednesday on Monday.
Well done.
I'll try the veal.
Merry Christmas to you and your family, Caro, Thank.
You, carrolan all thanks of the Harvey Norman Clearance Center. From cooking appliances, the washing machines, dishwashers, TVs are more. There's always new stock arriving or with manufacturers warranty, Harvey Norman Clearance Center nine one nine Marion Road. Marion brings US Caroline Wilson for the last time this year