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Chapter 1: What topics are covered in this episode?
It's Stuart Waitley. Thanks for listening to the podcast. In this episode, our leadership portfolio with Luke Hodge, Simon Hill from the World Cup, Malcolm Speed as privatisation plans for the BBL stall, Across the Divide with Andrew Voss, and Brad Blanks on the Knicks celebrations in New York. You can get in touch at any time. Waitley at sen.com.au. Thanks for listening. Enjoy.
Tuesday morning. This is your town.
This is your station. This is Waitley. Good morning. We live in a strange footy world at the moment. How can you separate Gold Coast's tailspin from the constant speculation key players are on the cusp of leaving the club? How do you create the ultimate buy-in and team sacrifice when you're not sure the guy at the next locker is committed to the cause?
Damien Hardwick is certain the dynamic is impeding Bailey Humphrey in the worst form slump of his young career. Craig McRae has declared his impatience to get busy securing players that can lift the team back into contention. He'll fight with every breath for the cause after the bye, but he already told anyone who was listening they don't have the list to contend.
So desperate of the Magpies, they'll offer Lachie Neal the biggest deal of his decorated career ā for essentially a two or maybe three-year run alongside Nick Dacos. The Brisbane Lions are trying to hang on in the face of adversity for their tilted history as it becomes clearer their dual Brownlow medalist is preparing for his departure along with Zach Bailey.
Lee Matthews says it's diabolical for team spirit. The Giants are in a tooth and nail struggle for a wildcard berth, while the real estate activity of their greatest ever player and captain has been examined as closely as his forward crafts. One week, Luke Beveridge waxes lyrical about Zach Butter's childhood love of the Bulldogs in a brazen courting of a rival player.
The next, it says his Rackman, Tim English, might not be a dog by the time the prize recruit arrives. And without English, the team has been rubbish. This is the modern reality of sport, but it's peculiar in AFL where the movement of players remains so immature and restricted. Adam Simpson has told us what makes this world distinct is the connection piece, and that takes time.
It partially explains why coaching tenures are longer in Aussie rules than in any other professional sports. But connection right now is being, if not eroded, then threatened. This is fun for us on the outside. Nothing drives engagement like trade speculation. But nothing can happen till October. And so it's jeopardising the run towards September.
And that makes for a strange footy world right now. The NFL have a zero policy until a certain point in time where then it becomes like an open market.
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Chapter 2: How does speculation affect team dynamics in AFL?
So, you know, I sort of feel it's something the AFL could implement and be very, very strong on player managers and clubs. And if you go and contact a contracted player, that's a free agent as well as a contract.
a player under contract there'll be significant consequences like at the end of the day let the players concentrate on playing the game you can make the decision what you want to do at the end of the year but give the clubs every right to look after their talent and more importantly put a
put an incredible performance on the park and then worry about it at the end of the season. We sit there and there's all these talk shows that talk about it now, yet we can't do anything to the end of the year. So here's an idea, either focus on the game or sit there and open up trade period right now. Because at the end of the day, we're talking about it like as if it's happening all the time.
Amen, brother. Damien Hardwick with us on AFL 360 last night. The 40 Wings temper text is 0-4-3-3-9-8-11-16. The difference is temper. And we'll take calls at various stages. 1-300-736-736. Our leadership portfolio is run by Luke Hodge. Hello to you, Hodgie. Morning, Gerard. Don't you love an angry Damien Hardwick? I know when he coaches at Hawthorne, he was so passionate.
You could sort of see when those eyes got angry. The eyes just sharpened up a little bit. The voice got a bit deeper. a bit firmer. But mind you, at the start of the show, he spoke to Swanee, and Swanee had calmed him down after his comments post Geelong, and he put his hand up and said that, look, it wasn't the right thing that he had said. And Swanee's a ripping guy. He loved it.
It was just a one-on-one conversation. He pumped up Swanee's leadership. But then when you got down to the back of it, what really got his blood boiling again. But he also put his hand up and said that my club are talking to other clubs as well.
So it was big, went round in circles of a nice placid, an angry finish, a little bit of open up saying that we're doing the same thing that we don't want other clubs to do to our players. But it is. This is what footy revolves around. It's who goes where, who's going to make their team better.
Gold Coast have successfully, the last couple of years, have gone out and brought players into their football club that have made them better players. But unfortunately, Gold Coast over the years have had a lot of quality high draft picks being taken away because they're lured to go to Victoria to play the MCG or back to other states.
It's funny, but what I do know from Dimmer last night, he's all over the shop. He's a bit angry, but also he sounds concerned as well. And he does have extreme cause for concern, I think, at the moment. I want to come back to that and do it properly. Just the overall, Lee Matthews said, you know, diabolical for team spirit last night.
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Chapter 3: What challenges are Gold Coast facing this season?
We don't have trade windows. There's not the possibility of these players being traded next week. It feels more acute now than it was in your leading days. We only had the one, in my opinion, he was the best player in the competition in Buddy. So he was the only run.
We had other blokes that got touted or their names were mentioned, but not to the probably extent as what we had or we have at the moment. And what we realised that it was affecting Bud's performance. You probably look at a Humphreys very similar. And we sat down with him as a leadership group and we had Clarko in the meeting as well.
But we run as a leadership group and just said to Bud, whatever happens at the end of the year, we want you to stay. Understand if you want to go, because he had that massive, it was $12 million for six years or something that was touted from Gold Coast. But we just pleaded to them and just saying, all we want from you this year is to commit to what we need to do. We just lost the grand final.
We've got an unreal list. We believe we can take that next step, but we need everyone pulling in the right direction. And from that, Bud was outstanding. It got to the last two games where he sacrificed his own role in the prelim against Geelong. And then in the grand final, playing on Luke McFarlane, dragging him out of the Ford 50. So he sacrificed because of the commitment that he made to us.
And at the end of the year, we got a premiership medal because of it. That's the only real experience that I've had where we've had to sit down with someone. I understand Gold Coast have a number of players and a lot of clubs do have a number of players. Brisbane have two as well. But I think the only way you can get on top of it is it's as simple as communication.
And I think that's one area that... It doesn't happen in the outside world in business, I can tell you that. But what players and what clubs need to do is actually sit down one-on-one and be honest. That is where it is. And I know sometimes for players, managers will say, don't be too honest because you still want to be getting a game.
But if it's a serious club who's pushing for a premiership or you look at Gold Coast who are pushing for a top eight, top four, and we all know their list can get there, sit down and have good old honest conversations to see, can we push through this?
And then when it gets to the end of the season, hopefully we've had the success that we know that we can and we can move on and you either stay or you go, but we do it as a team and as a group. So now's the buy for the Brisbane Lions, and they have two players who are right in this window now, Lockie Neal and Zach Bailey.
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Chapter 4: How can leadership improve team performance?
I think with the Lockie Neal one, when it comes to family side of things, and Chris Fagan's probably got two thoughts there. One is Lockie with his age, and he understands the list that's coming through. So he might think it could be the best for Lockie to either move closer to his family or a contract that's obviously might not be able to say no to at his age.
But Faggs is also sitting here thinking, we've got so many young guys that might be able to come through, even though Lockie Neal is leading their, I'd say personally that he's leading their best and fairest by a long way at this stage. But what's going to happen in the next five or six years if these young guys can develop and turn into the next Lockie Neal?
The Zach Bailey one's a little bit different because I think he's had the most impact over the last three grand finals. In big games, he stands up. He's speed, he's burst from a stoppage. He will add so much to that football club if he stays there just by he knows what to do on that turn of speed that we've seen him do it over the last three years.
And if Lockie does go, there's a void for him to go into that midfield as well. The question is the money side of things. And will the rest of the players be happy that he's on the touted 1.5, 1.6 over a seven-year contract? That's the biggest question for the football club.
I feel that the Lions can understand why this has taken Zach Bailey a long time to make a decision because, let's be honest, it could be $3 million difference between the Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions deal, and you sit back and go, where's loyalty? When you're finished football, it's a lot of money in football, but outside of football, what are you thinking of his future?
So I think the club can definitely understand why it's been such a hard decision for Zach. Do you think it's good shopping from Collingwood to go for Lockie Neal at a million a year for the first two years? Considering their list and where they've tried to move their list to get younger, I was scratching my head when I did hear that. The fact that they got Pendlebury, they got Sidebottom.
They couldn't commit to my check, even though their biggest weakness this year has been their forward line. And they couldn't commit to my check because of the funds that Melbourne were offering him. Whether they were leading some money there for King to come back to, Colin, because that was touted that he'd been speaking to them as well. So it did scratch my head at their age gap.
And where they are list-wise, as good as Lockie Neal is, I don't think he'll get them straight back into a top four contender. But who knows? Obviously, they like what he's seen. And everyone's liked what they've seen from Lockie this year. His season so far has been as good as any. Let's do Gold Coast then. What are you seeing at the moment? What worries you most?
What worries me the most for Gold Coast is the murmurings of the players are frustrated with the coaches, the coaches are frustrated with the players. And that happens, but obviously when you have losses, that's where the cracks really open up and it starts to get a little bit worse. And the worst part about it, people start to talk outside the football club.
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of the BBL's privatization discussions?
Let's join Nath in the newsroom. Nath, thank you. It's a midday start on Friday the 26th, so that allows a lot of working from the pub going on early knockoffs or middays early on a Friday, isn't it? You don't go in at all. Footy messages. I am struggling with my pies. I've been used to a 20-year patient Derek Hine build of teams to now Craig McRae impatient build he is currently undertaking.
I have to adapt to new times. Pies going after Neil and Butters does nothing to alleviate their most glaring concern. Kicking goals need a key forward or two, not more midfielders. Why would Hawthorne not go after Neil? I take Neil over merit every day of the week and the salaries would be similar. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me. We are linked to every other player. That makes no sense.
Chapter 6: How does Malcolm Speed assess Victoria's strategy in cricket?
Yet Neil makes the most sense. Tranter from Churnside Park. Your messages pouring through the 40 Wings temper text 0 4 3 3 98 11 16. The difference is temper. Malcolm Speed is joining me in the studio in a moment's time. This is Waitley for Hyundai. Enjoy great deals at Hyundai Airfis on now at participating Hyundai dealers, pay.com.au and Radius Telematics.
The meeting of state chairs with Cricket Australia yesterday notionally allowed the next step of the privatisation of the BBL to take place, but it put such conditions in place that it felt like actual... roadblocks. Anyway, we rely on Malcolm's speed in moments like this to help us understand precisely where we are. Malcolm, thanks for coming in.
Yes, good morning, Gerard. It did appear at first sight to be a breakthrough, but I think it's somewhat of a filibuster from New South Wales and Queensland. They've put the brakes on and the conditions that have been imposed while at first sight, they look to be quite moderate. There are some hurdles here to get over.
Chapter 7: What are the key conditions for the BBL's restructuring?
Just maybe a couple of questions before we get to those conditions. What are we to make of Victoria's manoeuvring at the moment, do you think?
It looks to me as though Victoria went too early and too hard and they've been pulled back into line. Now... We could liken it to a 15-round title fight. We're in about round four of this fight here. So Victoria, they've got a good whack in the nose, and they're taking a backward step. They'll make the most of that. Some of the media commentary has tried to turn it into a positive.
But yes, I think they've come out of it badly. And it's hard to see what happens with their teams now. Who's going to support the Renegades this year? Who'd want to play for them if they're only there for one year? Who'd want to be a member? Who'd want to be a sponsor?
Chapter 8: What challenges does Cricket Australia face in funding distribution?
So I think that's difficult for them.
In part of what I'd been told in the background, that the starting price for any license with the Renegades would be $130 million US. But that doesn't marry up with the way you're thinking about the business model, is it?
Well, Gerard, let's assume you and I are a couple of tech titans, and we've got a spare 130 million US, so 200 million Australian. That'd be lovely. And one of the things that comes across our radar is a BBL franchise. Now, we'd look at that. We're smart people. We've made this money.
We'd get our accountants and our consultants onto it, and we'd find that a BBL franchise was a business that turned over, I think, somewhere probably 10 to 15 million, so a small business. I think over the years, most of them have made losses. It's hard for a league team in Australia. We see it with AFL, NRL, NBL, soccer teams. It's very hard for them to make a profit.
It's hard for them to make a significant profit. So out of that 10 to 15 million, let's say they make a 10% profit, which is good. 1 million to $1.5 million profit per annum. You've got, at the moment, you've got a 14-year licence. It goes out to 2041, I think, so 14-year licence.
You're going to spend 200 million Australian to buy a business that turns over 10 to 15 million and makes a profit of 1 to 1.5 million and gets your money back in 14 years. It doesn't add up, Gerard. They're not worth that much. The only way they're worth that much is if it's a collector's item and someone else is going to come along and buy it from you at an inflated price.
But if you're paying... 130 US, 200 million Australian. My God, that's a lot of money. We throw the millions around these days as though they're nothing, but when you've got to stack them up $100 at a time, it's still a lot of money.
Yeah, yeah. All right, the four conditions that were imposed at yesterday's meeting, just explain to us. I mean, these are the biggest picture items in cricket, aren't they?
Well, the first one, Gerard, is to change the structure of the BBL. Now, at the moment, it's tucked away in Cricket Australia's operations. There's staff employed by Cricket Australia run the BBL. Cricket Australia sells the media rights as part of its package and sells the major sponsorships. And the states have a licence to run the teams and they run the games. Now, if you bring in...
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