And I think that's the hardest.

Yeah.

I was just reflecting back into probably the first coaching job that I had at Brisbane.

Might even sound arrogant, but I just actually, I've become so used to winning.

I thought it was all about winning.

And, um, And that sort of probably took me down the wrong ego coming into that job.

So that was hugely humbling to learn that in the first 12, 18 months, two years.

So

And I was told that you struck up a bit of a rapport with Mikey Evans.

Well, he was incredible actually conversing with the public and sort of talking about his experience.

And it's sort of a bit of a space that I've learned not to bother people.

So I didn't really want to bother him.

But he mentioned that he played in a Super Bowl, and Mike Evans this is, and he said, you might not know him, but my quarterback was Tom Brady.

And I said, nah, mate, we might be in Australia, but we don't live under a rock.

I think we know who he is.

How are you getting on with Joey Montagna, Vossie? Oh,

So, yeah, I think I'll be back there, or I hope I am anyway, if the GMTV crew invite me to come on again.

What about yourself, Aussie? No, just unemployed and looking to see what I do next.

So, no, just sort of taking that time to be able to work out what that does actually look like.

So I'm starting to get a bit more pointy about what I'd like to do, but, yeah, happy to sort of also take my time.

Given the way the seasons are all playing out, it's not really until October when people start lifting their eyes, both from an off-field sense but also within club land.

So we'll take that time.

We'll

see.

The Sharon is a sacred object in Australian culture, not just sporting culture, but the Sharon is a culturally significant thing that we all grew up with and the pecking order always used to be

Sharon at the top.

Absolutely.

I remember really early on, you know, sort of talking about like five, six years of age and sort of go down to the back shed and I followed my dad down and I sort of had this old Sharon that was sort of like kicked, you know, bounced on the concrete.

And the only time I'd actually ever felt new was when he sort of grabbed the nugget and he'd sort of polished the nugget over it.

And you get that nice sort of almost feeling like a real fresh smell.

I got my first brand new Sharon ever, like the brand new one when I was 14.

what do you feel when you walk around the MCG and you're doing something like today? Do you cast your mind back like it's a quarter of a century ago, Vossy, when you were dominating the G on Grand Final Day of Skipper?

The Sharon is a sacred object in Australian culture, not just sporting culture, but the Sharon is a culturally significant thing that we all grew up with and the pecking order always used to be Sharon at the top.

Absolutely.

I remember really early on, talking about five, six years of age and sort of go down to the back shed and You know, I followed my dad down and I sort of had this old Sharon that was sort of like kicked, you know, bounced on the concrete.

And the only time I'd actually ever felt new was when he sort of grabbed the nugget and he'd sort of polish the nugget over it and you'd sort of get a...

You know, you get that nice sort of almost feeling like a real fresh smell.

And I got my first brand-new Sharon ever, like the brand-new one when I was 14, and it was just the best smell.

Oh, yeah.

Hey, well, what do you feel when you walk around the MCG and you're doing something like today? Do you cast your mind back like it's a quarter of a century ago, Vossie, when you were dominating the G on Grand Final Day Skipper?

Right.

Um, you know, you go to Port, um, you take over the midfield, and then sort of start going to a senior assistant role, and the role starts to change, and then all of a sudden Ken's really demanding something different from you, um, to put the faith in others, to put the trust in others, to, um, lead an environment.

And, um, and so when you go from that, from Brisbane then to, to Carlton, you, you take that as a very important piece because, you know, I was real- it was really important that the assistant coaches were up there teaching the game plan.

Um, you know, that, that I spent my time with players.

You know, like, my relationship was to be with the players and make sure they were really clear on what was expected and where they were at and why they were there and whether they were in the team or they weren't in the team.

So that, that was really important to me.

But to do that, you've gotta trust people to do their jobs.

Right.

Yeah.

Um, it really had nothing to do with us.

Um, we were part of the club that we were merging with, but it really had not much to do with us.

And the following year, um, that transition wasn't handled as well as it could have.

Um, we, we got through the 1997 season, um, but in 1998 is when it collided.

Um, we had, I think it was upwards of eight to 10 players that came over from, from Fitzroy to, to the Brisbane Bears.

Um, we sort of had almost been stuck together, um, put together.

Was it an immediate impact he had on the Lions when he arrived, or did it slowly permeate? Like, what are your early memories of Leigh arriving?

... does it sink in how the enormity of how amazing this is?

I...

Yeah, the first couple of times it happened, I didn't really know what was going... 'Cause we obviously don't really get briefed on-

Yeah

... like, during the game.

Um, and then after the game, [laughs] Brennan Cox came up to me and said that he went up to him after that and said, "Shut up, baldy." And then-

I don't think anyone's come up with the answer yet

... well, we've done both and, you know, I, again, I always put it down to, you know, there's the, there's a school of thought that you let the system take over, um, because he maneuvers through different roles.

He plays forward, he plays on ball, he can play halfback, he can go to wing, you know, they can flip.

Um, they've got that, so it's very hard.

It can dismantle your system.

Um, or you go the individual, um, and you might be able to impact it for a little bit.

Um, but, you know, will it get you the result in the end? I think teams have tried both.

Right

Who would you rather be for the rest of the season, Fremantle or Sydney?

That's a great question.

Um, I think just the way that the year has panned out, um, clearly Fremantle are Mr.

Consistent with the way that they've played.

Um, what is impressive about Fremantle across the whole year is they do play the three phases exceptionally well.

Um, we know they've probably built this on the back of contest and defense for such a long period of time.

That's what we've known them for.

What about Isaac Heinie? There'd be a few sleepless nights with him.

So you've been going okay, but how have you felt sitting back and watching the club win five straight?

Well, some of it's difficult to watch because you're not there because, I mean, the reality is that you've invested five years of your time, your effort, sweat, blood, tears, all those sorts of things into that particular group.

But on another level, it's hugely rewarding.

Yeah.

Again, making the call to make the decision when we did was the interest.

If it was sort of, I guess, about me and only about me, then you'd be sitting back going, oh, that's a bit disappointing.

But it wasn't.

But you also want to write a book.

So you've been going okay, but how have you felt sitting back and watching the club win five straight?

Well, some of it's difficult to watch because you're not there.

Because the reality is that you've invested five years of your time, your effort, sweat, blood, tears, all those sorts of things into that particular group.

But on another level, it's hugely rewarding.

Yeah.

Again, making the call to make the decision when we did was the interest.

If it was about me and only about me, then you'd be sitting back going, oh, that's a bit disappointing.

Yeah.

So you've been going okay, but how have you felt sitting back and watching the club win five straight?

Well, some of it's difficult to watch because you're not there.

Because the reality is that you've invested five years of your time, your effort, sweat, blood, tears, all those sorts of things into that particular group.

But on another level, it's hugely rewarding.

Yeah.

Again, making the call to make the decision when we did was the interest.

If it was about me and only about me, then you'd be sitting back going, oh, that's a bit disappointing.

Yeah.

So you've been going okay, but how have you felt sitting back and watching the club win five straights?

Well, some of it's difficult to watch because you're not there because, I mean, the reality is that you've invested five years of your time, your effort, sweat, blood, tears, all those sorts of things into that particular group.

But on another level, it's hugely rewarding.

Yeah.

And again, making the call to make the decision when we did was the interest.

If it was sort of, I guess, about me and only about me, then you'd be sitting back going, oh, that's a bit disappointing.

But it wasn't.

you think's changed?

So you've been going okay, but how have you felt sitting back and watching the club win five straights?

Well, some of it's difficult to watch because you're not there because, I mean, the reality is that you've invested five years of your time, your effort, sweat, blood, tears, all those sorts of things into that particular group.

But on another level, it's hugely rewarding.

Yeah.

And again, making the call to make the decision when we did was the interest.

If it was sort of, I guess, about me and only about me, then you'd be sitting back going, oh, that's a bit disappointing.

But it wasn't.

you think's changed?

D- did you seek to get further information on that particular matter? And-

No, I only deal, I only deal in facts, though.

Listen, my, my world's not hypotheticals.

Um, like, and, and so we, we can then tend to drift a lot into, you know, what may have happened or should, who should be traded, and I just deal in evidence.

Um, and, uh, the evidence was within the football club, is that they backed me in to be able to, you know, obviously, hopefully, get through a bit more than what we have now.

Um, but you know, like I think the wheels of change, though, um, effectively probably transpired more closely towards the end of 2024 than even 2025.

Um, you know, we had to make some, you know, tidy up some listings and, um, you know, we, we needed to become more durable as a group.

Mm