Your Coach - an AFL podcast

It was a disappointing end to the 2025 campaign for the Adelaide Crows. After finishing the home and away season on top of the ladder, they failed to make any form of impact in September. Cal Twomey goes one on one with Crows coach Matthew Nicks reflecting on what went wrong in September. The suspension Izak Rankine faced to close out the year. And, what will be different about the line up leading into 2026. Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Essendon coach Brad Scott goes one on one with AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey. Zach Merrett wanted out of the club during the trade period but in the end the trade fell over and he came back to the Bombers. He and the club has put that behind them now and they're looking forward to a strong 2026.  The Bombers had an injury crisis through 2025, Scott explains what they've done to go about changing their injury fortunes in 2026. Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts.

In this edition of Your Coach, St Kilda coach Ross Lyon hits back at critics of the Saints' off-season recruiting raid that landed four stars from other clubs including former Carlton ruck Tom De Koning.  He also discusses injury-prone forward Max King's prospects in 2026, the perceived pressure that comes with headline-grabbing contracts, and the role that Saints great Lenny Hayes will play at the club in 2026.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Andrew McQualter heads into his second year in charge of the Eagles with a firmer grasp on his surroundings. In this edition, McQualter discusses how the Eagles are building out their list, what Harley Reid can learn from Dustin Martin and the player that has amazed the coach. Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

In this edition of Your Coach, GWS coach Adam Kingsley is confident that despite the past 4 finals losses, the Giants can take the step that's proven elusive during September in recent years. The addition of Clayton Oliver to the star-studded midfield, Aaron Cadman is coming on in leaps and bounds plus growing the game in Greater Western Sydney. Note this was recorded in the days before Tom Green's ACL injury Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Josh Carr enters his first season in charge of the Port Adelaide Football Club. In this episode of the Your Coach podcast series, Carr sits down with Cal Twomey to discuss the obvious differences in stepping up to the senior coaching role as opposed to an assistant coach. The discussions and attempts to keep Zak Butters at the club beyond this year, Jason Horne-Francis in a race against time to be ready for the clubs first game plus the return of club legend Stuart Dew to the coaching ranks. Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan is aiming for a three-peat in 2026.  On this edition of Your Coach, the back to back premiership coach discusses the acquisitions of Sam Draper and Oscar Allen to the club, while losing Cal Ah Chee to the Adelaide Crows. Zac Bailey is a free agent this year, he is hopeful of retaining the Lions forward/mid and makes comment about the current lay of the land when it comes to player contracts. Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts.

Dean Cox heads into his second season in charge of the Swans. The Swans are well-balanced, and well-placed to attack this year head on after facing unique challenges at this point 12 months ago.  Charlie Curnow has joined the club in a high-publicized trade. Callum Mills and Errol Gulden have themselves primed for a big 2026 plus the addition of premiership winning coach Simon Goodwin to the coaching box is only going to give Cox even more confidence going into the clubs season opener against Carlton.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

The Eagles enter 2025 under the guidance of new coach Andrew McQualter. "Mini" has spent the pre-season implementing his new set of expectations for the side that has struggled in the past few seasons.  The mix of youth coming through the ranks, plus the inclusion of dual Richmond premiership players sees the Eagles head into Round 1 with a nice mix of experience and youth.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Collingwood missed out on the finals after winning the premiership by % only in 2024.  Injuries to key players, off-field instability, the season only got going in fits and spurts for the Magpies. They're looking to hit the ground running in 2025.  Hear McRae go one-on-one with Damian Barrett.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Ken Hinkley will hand over the coaching role to senior assistant Josh Carr at the end of the 2025 bringing to a close his stint at the Power that began in 2013.  Conor Rozee, Jason Horne-Francis, and the forward line is all on the agenda as the Power strive to get back to going deep into September.  Hear Ken Hinkley in his one-on-one chat with AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

The Hawks went from 0-5 to reaching the semi-finals in 2024. The Hollywood Hawks, Hok-ball and the Tik-Tok Hawks all became nicknames synonymous with Sam Mitchell's side. He has used the off-season to further develop the playing list and add in both Tom Barrass and Josh Battle, plus being seated next to Harley Reid at his newest recruits wedding late last week raised a few eyebrows around the league.  Hear the coach in his one-on-one chat with AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Matthew Nicks is confident heading into season 2025 that he has the artillery to compete with the best in the competition.  Adding Alex Neal-Bullen, Isaac Cumming and James Peatling to the line up is a significant boost for the Crows who haven't reached September since 2017.  Another pre-season into Riley Thilthorpe presents as a scary prospect in the forward line, and a summer of hard conversations with small forward Josh Rachele has seen him put together his best pre-season to date. Hear the coach in his one-on-one chat with AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Last year was a baptism of fire for Adem Yze in his debut season in charge of the Tigers. An injury plagued campaign saw Richmond finish on the bottom of the table. A host of retirees and senior players traded out has seen a complete overhaul of the Tigers list heading into 2025.  The Richmond coach has gone one-on-one with Josh Gabelich ahead of the clubs season opener against Carlton in Round 1.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Alastair Clarkson is into year three at the Kangaroos leading into 2025. The Roos have had a tough time of it in recent years but the coach believes they're on the upward trajectory drawing inspiration from his time at Hawthorn, as well as the rise of the Brisbane Lions to the 2024 premiership. Clarkson believes the "indications" are that Luke Davies-Uniacke will stay at the club beyond this season, but has conceded he won't be totally confident "until they sign on the dotted line".  Hear Alastair Clarkson one-on-one with AFL.com.au's Riley Beveridge.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Essendon missed the finals after sitting inside the top 4 for most of the 2024 season. Season 2025 will be Brad Scott's third season at the helm and is confident the Dons have continued to go from strength to strength this off-season. The Bombers have got a new look forward line to contend with without Jake Stringer. Cal Twomey went one-on-one with the coach, Brad Scott.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

As they head into the 2025 AFL season Carlton are in search of their first premiership in 30 years.  The Blues are expected to have Sam Walsh and Charlie Curnow available for their season opener against the Tigers, with coach Michael Voss expected to name pick #3 Jagga Smith for his AFL debut.  Hear the coach of the Blues in a one-on-one interview with AFL.com.au's Riley Beveridge.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

The Brisbane Lions seemingly came from the clouds to achieve the ultimate in 2024, the 2023 runners up had a dream run during September culminating in the premiership. Replacing Joe Daniher, adding Levi Ashcroft amongst a host of young talent, bringing in the players that suffered season ending injuries, it's hard to see how Chris Fagan's side won't be genuinely contending again in 2025.  Hear his one-on-one interview with AFL.com.au's Michael Whiting.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

2024 was Damien Hardwick's first year in charge of the Gold Coast SUNS, while they made People First Stadium a fortress they were unable to breakthrough for their first ever finals campaign. With the additions of Daniel Rioli & John Noble to the mix the SUNS will be pushing for September action in 2025 with Dimma confident he has the arsenal in the toolkit that will see them get there.  Hear his one-on-one interview with AFL.com.au's Michael Whiting.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

The Swans took it all before them during the 2024 home and away season before falling again on Grand Final day. Over the off-season John Longmire made the decision to stand down as senior coach leaving his long-term assistant Dean Cox to step up and take the role.  Hear Cox with Cal Twomey discussing the transition from assistant to senior coach, handling his first full pre-season in charge, as well as the discussion around Chad Warner and his contract status.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

GWS stumbled throughout the 2024 finals series and fell at the semi-final hurdle after leading the Lions by 44 points.  During the Trade Period, Jake Stringer has joined the club to add another layer to their forward line working in tandem with 2024 Coleman Medallist, Jesse Hogan. Ahead of opening round against Collingwood, Riley Beveridge has gone one-on-one with Giants coach, Adam Kingsley. Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Brad Scott is deep into his second pre-season in charge of the Bombers, after a strong start in his debut season, the Bombers fell away in the back half of the year. Scott goes one on one with Cal Twomey just over 2 weeks out from Essendon's opening round match against Hawthorn, the recruits the club has brought in over the off-season as well as how he'd like to see his team attack 2024. Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

It's been a rough 2 years for the West Coast Eagles, 2023 saw the club finish on the bottom of the ladder. The club opted to back in coach Adam Simpson, in this one on one with Nathan Schmook, Simmo discusses the off-season, looking ahead to the new year, the hype around Harley Reid and plenty more.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Gold Coast finished in the bottom 4 last year and then pulled off the recruiting coup of the off-season with 3x premiership coach Damien Hardwick joining the club as their next senior coach.  Dimma joins Michael Whiting to discuss how the Suns wooed him to the club, the reason why Gold Coast has made him feel re-energised and reinvigorated plus some of the players that's going to help them strive towards September in 2024.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Despite finishing in the bottom 4 in 2023, the Hawks started to make headway under new coach Sam Mitchell. Another pre-season under the coach, a busy trade and draft period sees excitement from the team at Waverley Park.  Leading into Round 1 against the Bombers, Callum Twomey goes one on one with the coach of Hawthorn, Sam Mitchell.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

The Magpies achieved the ultimate in 2023, winning the Premiership in a heart-stopper over the Lions. Craig McRae arguably had the greatest day on earth with his wife giving birth the morning of the game, before coaching the Magpies to their 16th title. Damian Barrett goes one on one with the Magpies coach as they begin the campaign to go back to back, an achievement the club hasn't reached since 1935/1936. Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

Port Adelaide were on track for a top-two finish in 2023 before the season came to a grinding halt with a straight-sets exit in the finals. Despite the heartache, a 13-game consecutive winning streak during the year meant the home and away season wasn't completely lost and the Power took away plenty in 2023.  Ahead of the Power's season opener, Callum Twomey goes one on one with the coach of Port Adelaide, Ken Hinkley.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

The Blues came from seemingly nowhere in 2023 after the halfway point of the year to reach a Preliminary Final. With Charlie Curnow firing, Paddy Cripps continuing his dominance in the midfield and a mosquito fleet of speed, the Blues are hoping to take the next step in 2024. Ahead of opening round against the Lions, Callum Twomey goes one on one with the coach of Carlton, Michael Voss.  Subscribe to Your Coach wherever you get your podcasts. 

The Kangaroos are coming from a long way back in 2023. Riley Beveridge sat down with incoming coach Alastair Clarkson ahead of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership season to talk about the Roos off-season, Clarko's homecoming and bringing in 2 special talented juniors - Harry Sheezel and George Wardlaw. 

At the end of the 2022 season, St Kilda made the bold move to sack its coach Brett Ratten. Ratts was replaced by former coach Ross Lyon as the club moves into its 150th year.  'Ross the Boss' has unfinished business at St Kilda after Grand Finals in 2009, and 2010 before walking out and heading to Fremantle in 2011. Hear how he has mellowed ahead of the 2023 season with Damian Barrett. 

West Coast experienced the year from hell in 2022. It's not a year Adam Simpson was too keen to reflect on over the pre-season, moreso choosing to focus his eyes forward on what's in store in 2023. A new set of draftees have joined the club, and although Simmo won't use the term rebuild, he is resigned to the fact that the club is transitioning from where they were to where they are going. 

Fremantle's season looked all but gone at quarter time of its Elimination Final clash against the Bulldogs before producing a stellar comeback to win the game. It's the moment of the 2022 season that the coach has taken the most learnings from to pass onto his players throughout this pre-season in readiness for round 1. 

The Cats enter the 2023 AFL season as the reigning Premiers. Chris Scott has added a second Premiership to his CV, 11 years after his first.  Last year was a culmination of everything coming together. A plan that he has been tinkering with for the best part of a decade. 

Carlton's 2022 season ended in heartache as they lost the final four matches of the season to miss out on playing finals. Coach Michael Voss has taken so much from those games and used the lessons learned through the off-season in readiness for the 2023 AFL season. 

The Adelaide Crows come into season 2023 ranked #17 as the youngest side in the competition, it's not a stat that worries the coach, he still believes they can genuinely compete. Izak Rankine joined the club through the AFL trade period and last year's prized recruit Jordan Dawson has been elevated to the role of club-captain. 

Stuart Dew was the man under the most pressure leading into the 2022 AFL season. 12 months on, he has been re-signed and there's a sense of calmness about him and the Suns. The only team to not feature in an AFL finals series enters the year with no ceiling on how high they can go, plus the re-addition of power forward Ben King who missed all of last year with a knee injury. 

The Bombers enter the 2023 AFL season with a new President, CEO, Coach and Captain. Cal Twomey goes one-on-one with the new coach, Brad Scott.  What he's learnt in his first pre-season with the club, what progression looks like in 2023 for the red and black, the transition from Dyson Heppell as captain, and calling on a relatively young playing group this season. 

The Brisbane Lions fell at the Preliminary Final stage of the 2022 AFL season, coach Chris Fagan has taken plenty of learnings out of the finals series last year in preparation for 2023. The feel around the Gabba is the Lions are right in their window of opportunity. Joe Daniher, Cam Rayner, Josh Dunkley and Will Ashcroft are all on the agenda as Fages goes one-on-one with AFL.com.au reporter, Michael Whiting. 

Richmond still carries a lot of its Premiership stars into the 2023 season. The coach, Damien Hardwick firmly believes they're in the window of opportunity for further success. It's a fine-line balancing the stars with the incumbents and the next generation, but it's all positive news coming out of Tigerland. 

Hawthorn is moving into their second season under coach Sam Mitchell. Cal Twomey goes one-on-one to discuss the wholesale changes made during the 2022 trade and draft period. What progression looks like for Hawthorn in 2023, and some of the individual players who are putting their hand up for selection in Round 1. 

Fremantle fans, hear from Your Coach Justin Longmuir in the lead-up to the AFL season. Hear how Andrew Brayshaw has gone through this pre-season (4.05), the way he's gone about embedding a new gamestyle into the club (16.35) and where Nat Fyfe will spend most of his time on the field (21.30). 

Bomber fans, hear from Your Coach Ben Rutten in the lead up to the AFL season. Hear how the Bombers are preparing for the year after last years elimination final loss to the Bulldogs (5.50), celebrating the clubs 150th anniversary year (9.45) and the sky is the limit for the Dons in 2022 (25.00)

West Coast fans, hear from Your Coach, Adam Simpson in the lead-up to Round 1 of the 2022 AFL season. Hear Simmo chat about what they've been working on over the off-season, how the forward line will take shape in 2022 and what to expect from the new recruits coming into the club. 

Carlton fans, hear from Your Coach, Michael Voss in the lead-up to Round 1 of the 2022 AFL season. Hear Vossy chat about the direction the club is moving in (5.30), how the AFL can improve the stigma around coaches being given a second chance (9.00), and the need to move away from the reliance on being a "one player club" (11.15).

Swans fans, hear from Your Coach, John Longmiree in the lead-up to Round 1 of the 2022 AFL season. Hear John chat about the confidence he has in his young playing group (1.25), a fan favourite at Sydney, Isaac Heeney (10.40) and Lance Franklin on his way to 1,000 goals (18.40)

Adelaide fans, hear from Your Coach, Matthew Nicks in the lead-up to Round 1 of the 2022 AFL season. Hear Nicks discuss what the biggest focus is for the club on-field this season (2.45), the return of full fitness for Matt Crouch (8.50), and which greenshoots from 2021 has given them a great springboard to launch through the pre-season (14.50).

North Melbourne fans, hear from Your Coach, David Noble in the lead-up to Round 1 of the 2022 AFL season. Hear Nobes discuss bringing in Jason Horne-Francis, the #1 pick in the national draft (5.00), swooping in to take Hugh Greenwood from right under the nose of the Gold Coast Suns (14.40) and the expectations on Jaidyn Stephenson going into his 2nd year at the club (23.30).

Geelong fans, hear from Your Coach, Chris Scott in the lead-up to Round 1 of the 2022 AFL season. Hear Chris discuss his level of enthusiasm and appetite for the contest this upcoming season (1.00), take a reflective tone towards the 2021 Preliminary Final loss to the Demons (15.40) and he is categoric in the expectations on the Cats in 2022 (24.30). 

Bombers coach Ben Rutten joins Callum Twomey to discuss his plans for the Dons as he takes on the senior coaching reins, why he’s drawing on the club's past to build the next wave of success, and when he expects the group of young Bombers, including its top-10 picks, to feature in 2021.

Demons coach Simon Goodwin joins Riley Beveridge to discuss why just making the finals isn't enough for Melbourne, skipper Max Gawn's new role, Clayton Oliver's contract, and more.