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Chapter 1: What are the upcoming highlights for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow?
It's 50 days until the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games and you'll be able to catch every unmissable moment from Friday the 24th of July live and free on 7 and 7 Plus Sport. Central to that is going to be Bruce McIverney. It just felt like the right time to shoot the breeze with some of the sporting issues around and then zero in on the Comm Games as well.
Bruce, always a pleasure to have you on the program.
Good on you, Gerard.
Third day of winter. Just give us an idea, what's the sporting diet for Bruce McIverney right now?
Well, there's a lot on. Commonwealth Games obviously is looming, and we'll chat about that in a moment, 50 days away. So that's what I'm starting to get in my head right around, Gerard. World Cup's so close. French Open's right at the heart of it, so to speak, quarterfinal time, and what a tournament that's been.
Footy's at that, you know, sort of beautiful middle stage, and we know that we're going to have a remarkable weekend coming up, concluding on Monday and then next Wednesday when we say farewell to New Danaher. So there's a whole lot happening there. So, yeah, look, horse racing's going well. Queensland Cannibal gets stronger and stronger, and Waller and McDonald have been remarkable.
So there's so much on, isn't there?
There is, there is. Could we get a word on the Neil Danaher life and legacy from you, Bruce, as you've pondered it since his passing?
Incredible. Forever, his legacy. He could have easily, I think, probably bowed his head 11 years ago, all those years ago, and sort of thought, well, I'll suffer this privately with my family. But he decided very bravely that he would take the beast on and bring all of us with him. It's been a surge. It's been overwhelming. He is a genuinely national hero. He goes way beyond football.
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Chapter 2: How does Bruce McAvaney prepare for major sporting events?
He didn't play a lot of footy. What might have been a coach that got so close and a human being that left us with everything, really. So, yeah. And what about Beck and the family? Oh, boy. What a family they are.
Yeah, some emotion-charged days ahead, that's for sure, Monday, and then the state funeral, which is this day next week. What are you thinking of our AFL season?
I'm enjoying it. It's fresh. I think most people thought, Gerard, that the Swans would bounce back. They had a terrible start last year. Gordon got back into the team, and ironically, he's not there now. But once Gordon got back in the team, he found his stripes last year. I think one of the keys for them is Grundy.
You know, a couple of years ago, he was going almost as well as he is now and then faded. I think, you know, they rested him last week. So, look, there's a freshness. Sydney and Freo, for sure. I mean, they've won 11 straight games. You never quite feel like they're dominating and yet they're playing a style of footy that's pretty irresistible. Geelong have been a bit teasy. God, they're good.
And Brisbane's a bit queery. And suddenly the Giants have, you know, raised their hand again. I think it's down to five. And that's going to include Brisbane. With Hawthorne and Geelong following in Sydney and Fremantle's weight at the moment.
So you're not dismissing the Lions?
No, not just yet. Crucial on the weekend, of course, they play Gold Coast. And if they get to six and seven, it is unravelling a bit. Not completely, but this is the one thing I think, Joe. It's unreasonable to bank on a team playing in four consecutive Grand Finals. It's so difficult to do, and that's what they're faced with this year. They could easily have won that first one.
They've won the last two. So it's a lot to ask, and maybe we're just thinking about 2025 and 2024 and not 2026, but they're probably, the next month will be absolutely crucial. I know they've got to buy, but they have to start playing some good footy again.
I can't work out whether this question is impolite to ask of people these days, but could you see James Hurd back at Essendon as coach?
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of Neil Danaher's legacy in sports?
There's so much romance surrounding him. He's got the Midas touch. You know, we know there is that mark alongside of his name that won't go away, but he has got the Midas touch, and anyone that's met him and had anything to do with him, and you know this, There's a charisma about him that is irresistible in so many ways, but you can't appoint him because he's the golden boy.
You're not going to appoint Kevin Sheedy, and he's the other still golden boy in many ways at Essendon. So he would galvanise the club in many ways, but it would be a short-term thing. But if he can prove to the selection committee that he can bring the team around him and he is the right man for the job, then I wouldn't have a problem with that, but I don't want them to gift it to him.
Deeply intriguing times there. On a racing front, so we've got four Group 1s left in the season in Queensland. We've had these two historic markers, James McDonald first and then Chris Waller as they've reached landmark Group 1 thresholds. For Waller, as he reached the 200 and he was completely overcome by the idea of being in
Bart's company, which he found difficult in person and now in stature in the record books. What has this represented?
Well, before our very eyes, we've seen arguably the greatest horse trainer that we've ever had. Now, the legend of Bart doesn't diminish because Chris may surpass him. And it's not the 246, because it's an unlevel playing field. I mean, Waller will get over 300, you would think, unless something happens to him, and God forsake. But he... Bart...
Bart's Legion was around a lot of things, but the cornerstone of Bart's Legion is the Melbourne Cup, and Chris is not going to win 12 Melbourne Cups. And Tommy, it was just his incredible consistency. And Tommy had two horses probably better than Bart's best horse, Tulloch and Kingston Town. Better than, so you think, in Galilee. I think that's fair to say. But, you know, Chris has had Winx.
He's had Farlap. But what he's done, he just doesn't have any dibs. Gerard, I mean, Bart had big dips, and Tommy had the odd dip or two. Chris doesn't have it. I mean, he just never seems to be out of form, so to speak. He continues on this juggernaut. I love his affection for the animal, and the way that he absolutely, you know, tears up when he thinks about it.
We're in the presence of someone very special. He is a genius in so many ways, and he's leaving us a gift. I'm You know, I'm enjoying it so much. Who's the best horse in the country? That's a good question. And who's going to be horse of the year? Yes, yes. I had both of them for you. Well, you know, so who is the best horse in the country? Well, the performance of the year, I reckon, is easy.
She's an alibi in the Doncaster. I reckon that's singularly the breathtaking. And there's been others that have been very good. So let's say that. Now, is she the best horse in the country? She might be by the end of the spring. We talked about this last spring, and Via Sestina did, you know, she did stay as the horse of Australia at the end of the spring, no longer around.
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Chapter 4: How is the current AFL season shaping up according to Bruce?
I mean, I'm... I'm not sure what she can achieve. She's done so much. She's the greatest modern player. There's no doubt about that. She's the biggest female sports star of the last, well, probably ever in many ways. So, look, it's exciting. It's fraught with, look, her legacy won't change. But there's some danger attached. I'll be like you. I'll be fascinated to see what impact she might have.
Imagine if she won something. And it sort of doesn't quite matter what it would be is to add something that this stage of her life would be. So I'm with you. Don't get squeamish about this. Her legacy won't be impacted negatively. But imagine if she won something.
If Tiger Woods were to win the Masters again and Serena, that's the only other thing I could think of that would be
similar because you know we've probably given up on him you know he's not going to get to Jack but if he were to turn back the clock I mean that would be a celebration and he's got lots of other problems and we know that off the golf course but that's the only other thing off the top of my head that I could think would be similar to Serena coming back and winning as you say something now what could that something be?
And how high does she aim, Gerard? I mean, she's going to play Queen's doubles and then everyone's thinking now, you know, she'll probably apply for wildcard into Wimbledon. They'll give her that. You would think for sure and certain, of course they will. Um, so she's going to throw herself in the deep end, um, very, very quickly.
Um,
And we wait and see. So an incredible career that's had a twist that none of us, I think, really expected.
There's so much for us. Now, I know this one is an impolite question. Did you have a little glimpse of the enhanced games to see what was going on?
No. I really wanted to stay away from it. I didn't read anything about it. I saw the headlines. I believe it was unsuccessful. I haven't. got interested at all. I'm really upset and so disappointed in the individuals that took place and in particular I think the organisers that thought it was a good idea. I think it sends the wrong message to everybody. It's just awful.
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Chapter 5: What are Bruce's thoughts on James Hird's potential return to coaching?
Look, it's up there with the best of Commonwealth Games. It can produce moments that are as good as the Olympic Games, and that's what we're hoping can happen again in Glasgow.
So what happens in athletics, and hopefully we'll talk just beforehand, so I won't get you to preview it, but I was just thinking, the last time we spoke, you were about to do the Australian Championships, and what we've had, so the Hollingsworth-Hull controversy, Gout runs 19.67, which I see overnight has been ratified as the under-20 world record. Lockie Kennedy's gone to the Diamond League.
He ran 10.01 first up. Abby Caldwell has been dazzling in the Diamond League so far. Eddie Nketiah is challenging us, challenging the imagination and what's been going on in the U.S. It feels like, Bruce, and you've told us this for a couple of years, we're not only in a golden generation, but the storylines are developing almost week on week at the moment.
They are. Nina Kennedy on the weekend. Yes, yeah. Goes back to the Diamond League and wins. And now is going to be the favourite of the Commonwealth Games. And the pole vault's going to be very strong at the Commonwealth. So those stories are continuing. The next couple of weeks are really crucial, Gerard. I mean, we've got the Rome Diamond League in a day's time.
Oslo is not far away where Gaut makes his debut in Europe this season. The American Collegiate Trials will take place next weekend, and Nketiah will be involved there. And so will Hayley Kitching, who's a young 800-meter runner who may not get as well into the team.
Nketiah's interesting because, look, I think they'll select him in the 100 along with Kennedy, and it means the Browning will probably miss out. Because as a party, he beat Rowan for second place behind Lockie in Sydney and then went up to the Oceanies when Rowan was sick and couldn't go and won. So I'm not sure whether Rowan will be picked, which is going to be, you know, stunning in a way.
Our relay teams are amazing. Aidan Murphy's been, you know, maybe the story of the summer in some ways. The son of Tanya Van Heer, who won, you know, three medals at the Commonwealth Games in 1998, suffers running sprinters. So... Yeah, there's so many stories going on. I think maybe, maybe the most exciting, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, with Gowt is Cam Myers.
He might picture it right there with Gowt, a different distance. But he ran 144.05 in Germany on Saturday, and he felt like it was easy. It's the third fastest ever Australian, under 23 Australian record. He will... He's running a stock home in the next few days. He's very special. He really is. So it's a long list.
It is. It is. If you were going to take stocks in one team, would you take stocks in the men's 4x100 metre relay for LA? And can you get them to be a team that tap into the old swimming idea in Australian sport and go and do something truly remarkable?
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Chapter 6: What recent achievements have been made in horse racing?
And, you know, people like Al Nicholson get their chance to step up and do the swimming. And we've got a very, very good team. I'm going to be working with Hans and Manu and Dave Colbert, the two people you worked alongside, you know, in Paris. I mean, and you know what they bring to the coverage. So, look, I'm already proud of the way
the network's gone about it, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can do.
Bruce, hopefully we'll chat just beforehand. Very much appreciate your time as ever. Good luck with all the prep. Enjoy the early phases of winter.
Thanks, Gerard. All the best, mate. Bye-bye.