Was there a specific moment when you realised Australian coaches needed a stronger collective voice?

From the moment I started coaching.

No, well, I mean, it's true.

You know, even, you know, and I was very lucky that I did my apprenticeship at Manly United, which was a club that did things the right way.

You know, there was a contract in place.

There was a committee that was rowing.

the same boat in the same direction, up the same stream.

How transferable are the lessons from elite sport into the corporate world?

At what point did you realize coaching was going to become more than simply the next step after playing?

Great question.

Funnily enough, it came when I was pushed down to the youth team at Northern Spirit to take them for a grand final and we lost 5-0 against Marconi at Marconi Stadium.

So long story short, Ian Crook was in charge of the youth team.

He'd just been signed by Newcastle United, I think they were back then in the National League, to take the senior job.

So he had to leave Marconi.

Northern Spirit immediately.

How different are they in reality?

At what point did you realize coaching was going to become more than simply the next step after playing?

Great question.

Funnily enough, it came when I was pushed down to the youth team at Northern Spirit to take them for a grand final and we lost 5-0 against Marconi at Marconi Stadium.

So long story short, Ian Crook was in charge of the youth team.

He'd just been signed by Newcastle United, I think they were back then in the National League, to take the senior job.

So he had to leave Marconi.

northern spirit immediately um and that was in the week i think that was on the monday of the grand final on the saturday so arnie basically uh was it arnie i think it was arnie or maybe mick hickman i can't remember who was in charge of that so i think it was arnie And he basically said, you know, you've been working with Crookie as a bit of an assistant.

How different are they in reality?

Former A-League coach Phil Moss says regardless of the commercial argument, football's greatest strength is its uninterrupted flow, and that's what risks being lost.

I'm not, not a fan because our game is all about fluency and, um, you know, as soon as you go into a break like that, it, it breaks the fluency of the game.

And, um, we've already got issues around fluency because of VAR and the time that it takes to, to make decisions.

So you add hydration breaks to, to VAR breaks and, um, you know, all of a sudden the, the, the beautiful flow of our football games has, has been adversely impacted.

And that's what risks being lost.

I'm not a fan because our game is all about fluency.

And, you know, as soon as you go into a break like that, it breaks the fluency of the game.

And we've already got issues around fluency because of VAR and the time that it takes to make decisions.

So you add hydration breaks to VAR breaks and... all of a sudden the beautiful flow of our football games has been adversely impacted.

Despite Norway's great run at the tournament, their dream at this World Cup ends today.

I think the takeaway for Norway is well done.

They hadn't been in a World Cup for a long time.

Haaland showed that he can do it on the world stage just like he does it in the English Premier League.

He was absolutely superb in this tournament.

A bit quieter today, you could see that he was quite fatigued and he actually was substituted in... during extra time.

But he's a big frame of a lad, isn't he? So, you know, the effort he's put into the tournament this far, I think, took its toll for this game against England.

Before the match, Phil Moss questioned whether Argentina had become a little too reliant on Lionel Messi.

Despite Norway's great run at the tournament, their dream at this World Cup ends today.

I think the takeaway for Norway is well done.

They hadn't been in a World Cup for a long time.

Haaland showed that he can do it on the world stage just like he does it in the English Premier League.

He was absolutely superb in this tournament.

A bit quieter today, you could see that he was quite fatigued and he actually was substituted in... during extra time.

But he's a big frame of a lad, isn't he? So, you know, the effort he's put into the tournament this far, I think, took its toll for this game against England.

Before the match, Phil Moss questioned whether Argentina had become a little too reliant on Lionel Messi.

Phil Moss, who worked closely with Australia's former head coach Graham Arnold, who's now Iraq's coach at the World Cup, says, "Big names bring legacy, but tournaments are often decided by the breakout stars."

It's a massive generational shift, isn't it? 17 debutants, uh, in the squad.

It's our sixth straight World Cup.

Um, Tony Popovic is targeting the quarterfinals, uh, which would be an historic first.

Of course, we saw what Graham Arnold did at the last World Cup with some fantastic results, and he took a side that on paper probably looked quite average compared to the teams that we played against.

But they got through their group into, um, into the knockout phases.

But Tony Popovic has been really bullish, and he's saying, "I'm not picking these players for the next World Cup and the one after that.

And that this is the first go at national team management in a World Cup for the US coach Mauricio Pochettino, so it'll be interesting to see how the former Tottenham Hotspur manager goes.