CAREER TRIBUTE: Ray Chamberlain

Mason Cox revisits his podcast with "Razor" Ray Chamberlain, reflecting on Ray's storied career as an AFL umpire as he now hangs up the whistle.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey Lisens, Welcome back to the Amazon Cox Show.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Now this week we're doing a bit of a look
back at the best interviews, and this one is an
absolute Jim Yes, Razor Ray the umpire who just recently retired.
He talks about footy and everything that goes with it.
You will respect umpire, Yes, I said it. You will
respect umpires after this. So I hope you absolutely enjoy
this one.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
It is a great one. I'm super proud of and
he is an incredible man. So listen in. It's gonna
be a great one.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Starting now, I want to actually start off with a
quote of yours. Now, I did a bit of research
on you right as to do it. I'm my guests, and.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
I've read this quote and I'm really vibe with this.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
This is a really good one. And the quote is
elite performance is a sum of all the micro moments.
It's a craft and it's what underpins the most special moments. Now,
is that a quote from you?

Speaker 1 (00:57):
It is? Yeah, that is that is good good research.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
I'll do I'll do my best. I'll do my best
work for people. Come on, and then it kind of
goes downhill once again a mine, No, but it kind
of I guess gives you a bit of an idea
the kind of personality you are. There's so many little
things that probably happened in your life to lead you
to where you are today. And yeah, we'll just jump
into it. Because you're born an act. You're not a
Melbourne man, not of Melbourne man.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
And thank you for that. Man, that's really kind of you.
I think one of the first lessons I learned here
in Melbourne. I was in the VFL and mate, you
won't this way vibe, but you will not have seen
this stuff. I'm as old as dirt, right, And so
what would happen is they would play curtain raisers yep,
before the big dogs rolled out, right, So Richmond may

(01:44):
be playing Essendon at the MCG and so there'll be
a curtain raiser at like nine to thirty am core right,
like proper early. Yeah. And you know, so this whole
notion of kicking the jew off is legit, right, So
you'd be drying the ground for when the big show started.
And I remember one day I was walking across the
MCG and one of our coaches was there and he

(02:07):
said to me, he goes, you know, mate, he goes
I think you're a horrible Hayden Kennedy. Now, Hayden Kennedy
was the games record holder, he was our coach. He's
a legend. I have always just held Hayden on a pedestal.
He's a legend, right in what we do. He goes,
you'll be a worse Darren Goldspink. So Darren goldspin compied
are Besquilian Grand Finals and whatever. Right, he goes, you're

(02:30):
a dog shit Matthew James, who was the it guys, right,
and he goes but you know, he goes on that
you maker bloody good Ray Chamberlain. And it was really
funny because this guy only observed me in like three
or four games ever so early doors like I'm talking
two thousand you two. But I remember this conversation so vividly,

(02:54):
like it resonated with me and the kind of thing
what I kind of came to an understanding because I
was only packed it in and went home. I trial,
you're trying to make the AFL list, missed out again,
missed out on trialing again. I was like, you know what,
shove it. I'm out. And my now wife said to me,
you regret it, you regret Stop being a silk have

(03:15):
another dig. You will regret this if you go now.
And it was midway through the following season that I
got a phone call and got promoted onto the AFL.
And the thing that resonated with me back then was,
you know, if you're authentically who you are, you've got
no evil to anyone, You're not trying to treat anyone poorly,

(03:35):
You're not doing anything wrong per se, and you're just
being authentically yourself and you fall short. I can. I
can live with that, That will be okay with me.
But if you're trying to put yourself forward to something
that you just it's just not who you are and
you fail, I don't think. I don't think that would old.

(03:57):
It'd be very restless, would I would not forgive myself
for that. So I just I don't know when it
stopped being cool to treat people well right and just
for you right, like what is del buckleyy? Everyone else
has taken right, So like, just just be yourself and
I don't know any other way, mate. Yeah, And it's

(04:20):
it is a creat too.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
I mean, I don't think there's anyone that's ever done
it even remotely close to what you do like you.
You're very unique and you've got such a good relationship
I feel like with the industry itself and players and
coaches and everyone else, and you're so well respected within
the AFL, and it's it is a credit to you,
and it's yeah, I look at it and at some
point I guess we're somewhat similar stories. That's probably really

(04:42):
going after it. That's a really stular question, attle bit,
But yeah, I don't. I don't think you you grew
up probably wanting to be an umpire because you originally
were cricket players. What I've looked up, it's just did
a little bit of a little.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
Bit of creating. You're a part of a national championship,
is what I actually read. I love my cricket and
I and it was something that I considered myself to
be good at. I'm okay, I'm a wicket keeper and
I could bat a little bit, and I loved the
game and the sides I played in. We won premierships
and all that sort of stuff when we weren't meant to.

(05:16):
So I played, uh well from a kid, but I
played senior cricket for Tagronong in the in the act
that's in camera, mate, don't ask me how to say that.
And we played against guys like so Brad Hadden who
was a wicket keeper for Australia and is now a
coach at the level. There were guys like there's there's

(05:38):
a big West Indian guy I used to play. There's
lots of names that won't resonate with you at all. Right,
we're nearly on. It was. She really just tested my knowledge.
But it was really competitive, and we like all these
young guys because we were out I think of south
of the city and then go further south that, like
as far south as that's where I grew up right

(05:59):
and that, and so we were like in a nappy valley.
So we're all these young guys and I remember the
paper said, oh, you know they had us finishing last
young lots of potential too soon.

Speaker 4 (06:10):
Sounds familiar, right, you heard this song And we won
the comp, right, we won the comp and so you
know that was off the back of lots of people contributing.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
But I loved cricket and I played national championships and
got offers to go and play in Sydney and overseas
and stuff like that for little bits and Bobs. But
I wasn't ever going to be like elite. I wasn't
that like you look at guys like. I remember coming
down and I played at Melbourne. I got invited down

(06:41):
to play from a friend and I remember seeing Brad
Hodge hit the cricket ball and it just sounds different,
like they just like the guys who are the best, Yeah,
like they just do it different. Hads was the same.
He'd hit a ball I need a seven nine, he
like he hit a cricket ball, right, So the guy
I was never that level ever. But I was a

(07:01):
good clubby right, and I loved it. But umpiring I
got into by chance. So you know this whole thing
about six thousand umpires short and you know, like I
was gonna ask you about that's fair? God keep going, Well,
we haven't discovered fire, because you know, twenty odd years
ago when I umpired my first game by accident, I

(07:25):
went down to watch my youngest brother play. So my
mum and dad were a bit worried about him. Come
and take an interest in him. So I went down
to watch him play and no umpire turned up. Yeah,
And so then the club president comes over and I'm
playing in the under eighteen's that day goes ray. If
you umpire, the game will fill your cart with petrol, right,
and we won't let anyone hang any shit on you,

(07:45):
right Like that's literally it by college of us my career.
So I can't see Marma, you still giving me twenty
bucks for petrol. She's like yep. So I pocketed that
bit of commerce and then I went back and I said,
all right, nah, I'm in. And it got to halftime
and this old skinny I come over. His name is
Bob Stacey, ripping human being. I learned more about umpiring

(08:06):
in the three years that Bob was my coach and mentor.
Then I've probably learned technically since he was just brilliant.
This man's huge loan, right, and he is incredible. And
he says to me, oh, how long you how long
you been doing this for? And I said forty five
minutes and he has no, no, not today, like like how long?
I said, no one. I understood the question forty five minutes,

(08:30):
face like, and he goes, you know, you can earn
six figures part time doing this. And I think at
the time, because I was in college, like I was
in year eleven, I think I was working at Eagle
Boys Pizza. Shout out to Eagle Boys Pizza. Let's go, mate,
pink Pole. And the bonus structure at Eagle Boys was

(08:54):
how many garlic breads you could knock off in a shifts,
so huge, So six figures part time. I'm like, mate,
I'm in. And I loved footy. I've always loved DFEL
footy and I played two hundred and fifty games for
my club. Guys like Aaron Hamil who is now coach
at Carlton, oh yeah yeah, and Craig Bolton who played

(09:14):
for Brisbane and Sydney. Yeah. Justin Bloomfield's a premiership player
at Essendon. So these those lads were all in the
same age group and now are a year younger than me.
But that was sort of where I grew up. But
I was no good and they were awesome. So anyway,
I ended up umpiring and I loved it, mate, I
loved it because it's anyway. But the point being is
that there was shortage of umpires thirty years ago.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
Yeah yeah, So it's been a consistent like headline for
thirty years.

Speaker 1 (09:40):
You yeah, And there's lots of reasons for that.

Speaker 3 (09:43):
I think it's just the fear of not having someone
like and there's always constant scrutiny around it where everyone goes, oh, well,
you know, like we need to get better at this,
we need to get better in this, and the reason
is because we don't have enough resources. We don't have
this with that, you know, And it's like it's like
an easy excuse maybe.

Speaker 1 (09:57):
I think also like there's lots of input, there's lots
of simple things we could do, I think to help it.
But I know lots of people are genuinely invested in
trying to help recruit, retain, and make empiring something that's
more appealing to broader community, so you know what, all
power to them.

Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, it's interesting, you've kind of died on a few
things and we're going to talk about definitely, but we'll
go back to so I guess you talked about recently
or sorry, just a second ago, about going and starting
I guess a bit of school and then getting into
umpiring and then from there having those kind of mentors
and everything else. Now you're a man who's got a
lot of experience in AFL and you've had a lot

(10:40):
of mentors along the way, and you're probably now on
the other side of the spectrum, where you're actually mentoring
young kids along the way, what is some of your
best advice Because you've had a successful career and it's
not even done, Like, yes, you're I need to actually
ask you this. How are you feeling? You've been injured,
so I need to actually get an update here.

Speaker 1 (10:53):
So I've gone through the sorry, off the top of denial, denial,
and I'll be fine, right, I'll be fine. Right, It's
only a torn tendon in the hip, You'll be fine.
I mean we've run a bit, but I'll be fine.
To trying to rehab and realizing that potentially I won't
be fine, right, So then anger, right, and then you know,

(11:16):
you get your The office sook for a few days,
and I'm at acceptance, acceptance, acceptance. So I've been I've
done my rest. I've been in the gym, building the
serreena and and just trying to yeah, get the strength
and everything back, and I tomorrow I'll do my fifth
run back. So I'm where we're working back in towards direction.

(11:41):
You know what I do. I love the game, as
I said, and I have such incredible regard for those
who you know, the coaches, the players, and the fans.
I mean you know that yourself, Like a couple of
years where we didn't have fans there, like it was
a different So I genuinely really highly value the game
and everyone who's involved in it. And so yeah, I'm

(12:03):
filthy when you watch these games that kicks after the
sire and draws and rarah, and you're like, it's the
last ten games of rus there just watching on the couch,
going man. But but yeah, so I'll get there, I'll
get back. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (12:19):
Well, with all the experience you have, what is what's
some advice from maybe someone who's maybe listening, who doesn't
quite know what they're going to do with her life,
maybe doesn't have a thirty year plan. I mean, obviously
you're probably life in general. You weren't probably planning to
be an mPire. You're probably you know, as a kid,
wishing to be a cricket player and play for Australia
and all that and maybe playing the AFL. And then
now you can't take a bit of a left turn,

(12:40):
you're kind of doing something different. Like, what is your
advice to someone who may be a bit lost in
the sense of what the career is going to be
going forward.

Speaker 1 (12:45):
This is awesome. And I was speaking to a young
fellow only just last week actually and caught up with
him and his parents. And I don't think you don't
need to have a destination in mind. Really. I think
it's great to have be aspirational and have people that
are your heroes. I love George Gregan, he played for
the Wallabies, right, And this guy was just the most

(13:06):
fierce competitor and he was a cricket out and he
was from Canberra, right, so I love this dude, right, yeah, absolutely,
And then you know, so that's all cool, right, But
I think what it's about is just trying to understand
that being being happy, right, treating people well. So you
know we all at different times, Mason are We're givers

(13:30):
and takers at different times, right. And there's this saying
that I kind of like, which is, you know, takers
eat better, but give us sleep better. Right, And I
think if you can just go I'm not here to
be interesting. I'm actually wanting to be interested. Yeah that's
really hard. And I think I've learned some of this
stuff since being a dad actually to be fair, right, yeah, well,

(13:53):
you know, we get caught up and I'll be doing
this today because it's the nature of what we're doing, right.
I will listen to your question and my intentions to respond, right,
But when you're a dad, you actually you need to
listen to hear them. Yeah, is actually more important. So

(14:13):
then when you come back to your question, young person
not sure what they want to be, you don't need
to know the outcome. And you can have dreams and
goals and aspirations and all that bullshit, but really what
it is just bringing the best version of yourself every
day feet hit the ground and the world goes. Look out,
old mates into it and enjoy your life. So treat
people well, find the joy, right, and then follow your nose.

(14:36):
And I just you know, we're learning all the time.
My mom is a great example. Hey, we love moms
on the show. Right, My mum's a great example of
the answer to this question, or just trying to give
an illustration as to what I'm trying to say, Right,
my mom went to typing school mate, Right, I still
give a shit about that, Patricia Ellen Chamberlain, do you

(14:58):
realize you're that old type in school? Raymond John? Right,
it's madness. Right, So the point being is the world
just evolves so rapidly, right, and all these different bits
and pieces and you're zigging and zagging. So you we're learning.
Nothing's done. Every day is a school day, all that gear, right,

(15:20):
So don't fret about the outcome, right, Immerse yourself in
what you're doing by all means, as I said, have
aspirations and goals, but immerse yourself in the day and
the people you're with.

Speaker 3 (15:32):
That's sharing the experience with those such a massive part
of like actually being happy.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
I feel like totally and I don't want to get
all number stay on people or whatever, but it is
it's like, don't worry about where you land, right, it's
that whole travel piece, and you know, winning and losing
together the cool, the results whatever. I can think of
some of our games we're we come up. I remember
coming off a game with the SCG, I thought we
were going to get crap beat out of it. So
well so the security guards there I've known since I

(16:00):
was a kid, right because I was doing with scurity.
Those boys tight right, So AFL reserves and that, and
I'd always you get the AFL would bring out these
The broadcasters have a tie every year that have a
broadcaster's tie, and I'd get one and I'd always give
it to the security guard. He loved it, and he
still looks after me today, this bloke, he's a legend
in Citney. Anyway, we do this game and there'd been

(16:22):
an error and this is back before your time. There's
only one boundary on pire on each side, right, so
those boys had to shammer mate. And if the ball
got rebounded out of deep fifty, there's no way they
could see it on the half of a flank, like
it's physically impossible. And this ball on the replay it
looked like the ball almost hit the fence, it was
that far out right and got the goal results on that.

(16:45):
Now they're up by two points. Fans are cutting losing
it anyway, Essendon win and we're like Jesus, now I'm
in the field, so I'm washing my hands clear of
this has got nothing to do with me. Right where
we're about to make our way off and you've got
to walk with the crowd in Sydney and the security
guards come barreling out, now they don't normally do that.

(17:06):
They meet us about five meters off the ground and
he's come running out Jesus and he just looked at me.
He goes, keep your mouth shut and your head down. Right. Wow. Anyway,
it was a pretty ordinary reception this day, right, But
we still talk about that night. Yeah, Like Scott McLaren
and Chris Donlin and myself we were the three umpires

(17:28):
right as forever ago. But I remember that like it
was last night. So it wasn't a great night for it.
Off the field, no, no, we walked off. Yeah, it
would have been dead spread, no chance. Yeah, it wasn't great.
And I remember I learned a lot because so we
were the embryos, right and Scottie he was like the
old boy who was responsible. Now, it had nothing to

(17:50):
do with him that because it was a boundary on Pire,
but he knew he was going to be held accountable
boy our coaches that things didn't go the way they
meant to write. He was so flat after the game
because we had this umpiring issue, right, And I learned
the responsibility actually that is accompanied in the role. Up

(18:11):
until that, I just thought it was really cool to
be doing these games. I didn't realize for the big
dogs back and ending of it, what comes with it, right,
because I'm still too new to understand. So even in
the losses, you've got these great stories and memories and
it's because of the people that you're with. So really, mate,
that's a long way for us getting to answer your question,
but quite frankly that you get on with your day.

Speaker 3 (18:33):
It's about the people you were with and the experiences
you have, memories you create, agreed numbers, stake numbers. Numbers correct,
We'll go back to your university. Now, your teacher, that's
what they're in teaching?

Speaker 1 (18:45):
Is that right now?

Speaker 3 (18:47):
I feel like teaching and the way a lot of
people know you is you. Someone might have a crack
at you and you kind of go, oh, that's inappropriate. Now,
it put you to know, don't say those kind of words.
We're not about that. You know, like you very you
like a teacher to the too.

Speaker 1 (19:00):
Players.

Speaker 3 (19:00):
I feel like sometimes there's a bit on that. Now,
what lessons have you learned in teaching that you apply
to your life now? Because teaching is something that we
I think undervalue as a society. Teachers have the hardest
job that you will ever find anyone else in this world.

Speaker 1 (19:16):
To have you spent four years doing your Bachelor of education, right,
come out, you get a job. If you're any good,
they load up with every other responsibility that you can
think of because they're so underresourced. Right, this is within
the system. And then so what happens then the very
last thing that you get to is actually the pedagogy, right,

(19:37):
the science of teaching and learning. It's the last You
don't even get to it because you're doing every other
thing within the system and your three steps from the door,
and it's like, what lesson is this? Who's here? What
are we doing today? And I found that really hard
to actually accept. I was, actually I meant to be
engaging with each of these individuals and understanding them and

(19:58):
then conveying things in a way that you understand versus
they understand versus. And I'm not doing any of that
because I'm doing administering all these other programs and whatever, right,
So that I found that really really quite frustrating. So, yeah,
teaching is a challenge. What I mean, I think one
of the cool things like if I talk to you

(20:18):
in a certain and we've got an issue to discuss
or whatever, I can talk in a certain way. But
if I'm talking with Dustin Martin, as an example, it
will be far more succinct and it'll be just move on, right,
Versus if I talk to somebody over here where they
don't even want to be spoken to. Have you taken
personalities of players before you tike to on, so you
absolutely understand that you've got to have the whole golf

(20:42):
set right. You can't just bring a driver to everyone
every event, you know, maybe just laying up with a
seven nine I'll be fine, right, And that's the craft
of what we do. So it's not necessarily an athletic
event that we do. It's not it. I don't think
it's a young dude's game at the elite level. Actually, yeah,
because you haven't learned enough, failed enough as a human

(21:02):
rights life experiences drying and go. Actually, and so as
much as you want to, I think you're challenged. It's
challenging to have the empathy that's required and then also understanding, well, yeah,
that's fine, but this is my job, especially in the
heat of the moment. So the other part to it
is we're in a really weird time right where we

(21:24):
want everything to be perfect and see that you know,
it's got to be right or wrong. Yeah, well that's actual,
that's not what happens in our game, mate, But we're
dealing in things like reasonable time, prior opportunity, genuine attempt.
So it's subjective in nature, right with the AFL see right,
drop it. This is where you got to You got

(21:45):
to just get just sip on the tea for sip
on the tea for a minute and just consider this. Right.
So one hundred thousand at the g right, you're taking
hangers against the tigers and it's going nuts, right, and
there's a tackle on center wing. Okay, one hundred thousand people,
they're fifty right, and fifty thousand go back, and then

(22:08):
this little dude in the green shirt goes play on
and then one hundred thousand people Mason come together and
they agree on one thing. I don't know what I'm doing,
But then they talk about it all week, and it's
TV shows and it's coffees, and it's newspapers and it's podcasts. Right,
And that's actually the beauty of the game, mate, So

(22:30):
it's not a black and white game. You want that,
go to the tennis. They'll have a seat, lots of
empty seats. Okay, we'll tell you right, boring, you can
do that. If that's your stick, but that's not what
we trade in here, okay, right, and so and the
whole game itself is predicated around this ambiguity but also
this management piece. So we run around with this whole

(22:52):
idea that we've got to be right all the time,
just get it right. And they're different. They're different, and
we have trouble with that. We have trouble selling that,
and we have trouble understanding that. I think, yeah, and
I think that's where we get some of the the fights.

Speaker 3 (23:07):
Yeah, because I've always had a thing with IFL is
very There is a lot of ambiguity around stuff, and
rules change every year, which is a wild thing to
say about a sport. It's like it might be that
one year, that might might not be. You were telling
me a story about bouncing the ball in the middle
of the games, not in the center bounce, and I
was just like, oh, that actually happened.

Speaker 1 (23:27):
I had no idea sorted out.

Speaker 3 (23:30):
Which people are wondering whether bounces are going to be
in the IFL in five years and it was like
that was everywhere.

Speaker 1 (23:34):
So it is changing quite a bit.

Speaker 3 (23:36):
But we all will dive into more of you on
paring because I've got you here and I can talk
to you forever to be honest.

Speaker 1 (23:41):
But all fast forward a bit.

Speaker 3 (23:43):
Now you have done what is probably some of my
supporters have remembered and one of the most unique experiences
that's ever happened.

Speaker 1 (23:50):
It's a Grand Final rematch. Yes, now, can you talk
to that day?

Speaker 3 (23:55):
Maybe some smaller stories that happened kind of in there
that maybe some people don't know about. It was just
because that day is iconic and not just for that
fan of Saint Kilda and Collingwood and all that, But
I think just as for the sport itself, to have
a Grand Final rematch is something that's just you'll never
maybe see again.

Speaker 1 (24:10):
No you won't. They've changed the rules, so they won't.
They'll finish it on that day, no matter what overtime
blah blah blah. They might change it. I reckon they won't.
There's a couple of really cool things, and I've got
to say I was blessed in that the support that
I had with my colleagues. So I had two of
our umpires who, apart from being fabulous umpires like in

(24:32):
what we do, they're our greats. Okay, they're ripping humans
and they're different. They're different guys. They're really smart, they're
that they and they're bloody brilliant at what they do,
and so they they I knew I was so well
protected and surrounded. Right. So I'm forever indebted to Sean

(24:53):
Ryan and Brett Rosebery in terms of how they treated
me for the whole week and then and then the
ensuing week because it's massive. It's a different experience. It's massive.
You get hundreds of text messages and there's media, and
there's training eventually, and then there's bluddy parades and all
this stuff that you've never done before and you're naked, mate,

(25:14):
Like Friday, I've got home from the Grand Final parade.
Whole war was knackered mate. When I said to my said, honestly,
we'll pick this up right. So it's a huge week.
And so they did all the heavy lifting, Sean and Brett,
and I just had to try and manage myself. So
I owe them massively. But a couple of really I

(25:37):
think interesting stories. Well, certainly for us, we had not
had a draw. Yeah. I remember at the end Nick
Maxwell and Nick Rewelt were here and Nickreewelt said to me,
what happens now, right, and I said, well, if that's
if that's accurate, we have to come back next week.

(25:58):
Oh jeesus. So he dropped a few, so he gave
me some feedback, the big fella. And then I remember
walking off and Adrian Anderson was walking onto the ground
with Peter Material and they were going to present the
Norm Smith Medal for the best player on the ground.

(26:19):
And Adrian's a really disciplined straight you workface bang right,
and he's walking on and obviously realizes it's they're going
to sell it out again next week, you know that
sort of stuff. I ever heard him swear, right, He's like,
great job. And I said the boys, I said, I reckon,

(26:42):
we're sweet for next week. Another break, let's do it again.
But we come off the ground and like normally, what
happens is there's a bath and it's full of champagne, right,
and that quickly got emptied, right, and and all the
hierarchy came in and like very much, get ready for it,

(27:02):
well done, pull your heads in, get ready for next week.
You've got a week to go. And like we have
all like you guys, do you know we have our
silly Sundays and all those sorts of things, and you've
bought the outfit and you couldn't go couldn't go right,
so all of those things spilled out of it. I
remember different different parts of the game. I remember going

(27:25):
out there and Brett took the first bounce and they
said just get it in an end zone and just
get into the vibe of the game. Relax, you know,
And Darren Jolly kicks a goal twenty three seconds in.
I'm standing in the middle of the MCG with go
up straight, you mustard right, So that was cool, and

(27:47):
I just remember how hot it was, so you know
your umpire. So back then the way you got appointed
to games was different to now. So if you're going well,
you got the bigger games, deemed the more high profile
games Friday, Friday night, Saturday night, and so for the
last eight weeks of the season, I unpied at nighttime

(28:09):
in Melbourne every week. So it's like four degrees right,
different Grand Final day it's twenty six degrees. I just
remember and I could run right. I remember going she's hot.
So it was just all those little nuances. I remember
seeing the screen at one stage and there's they've cut
Eric Banner and Michael klymm go on, geez, all the

(28:30):
big dogs are in town, you know. So it was
it was a really unique experience and I got to say, yeah,
one of the coolest, so of the coolest two weeks
of my sporting career for sure. Do you know how
many guys and at this stage it's only been men
in the field. Do you know how many umpires in
one hundred and eighty years have unpired an AFL Grand

(28:53):
Final as a field umpire? So one hundred eighty years
of foot.

Speaker 5 (28:57):
Year year, that's unpack it he on hundred years, so
you've got one umpire for a while, and then they
went to two and for like twenty five or plus years.

Speaker 1 (29:07):
It might be longer than that, might be closer to thirty.
Actually now we've had three in the field. So one
hundred and eighty years, how many people have had the
opportunity to umpire an AFL Grand Final? Like one fifty
less than sixty what less than sixty fifty? Yeah, one
hundred percent in the field, right, So they don't just

(29:28):
hand these out. Yeah, like people always go, oh, you're
doing the Grand Final this year? Mate, walk through this
with me, I know. So it's really hard it's a
special club to be afforded the chance. And so yeah too,
Like I've did two in one year, which was super cool,
And I've sat on the bench three times. That's the
worst seat in the world. You're the first loser. And

(29:51):
then I got to do another one in twenty and nineteen.
So to be involved six times and three times on
the field, Yeah, it's just it's just the best. It's
so cool.

Speaker 3 (30:02):
I were in twenty eighteen. Sorry, yeah, twenty eighteen and
we played. I walked out on the ground before the
game and you were there and you were filthy. You
were not you were not in a good meet this
trap to be there. You were rupp to be there.
But I mean like you wanted to be on the field.
You were the subsects of the day. And I was like,
I remember talking and you were just like I was
all like happy, excited about the Grand Final, like just
locked in.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
You're like, oh, I just want to be on phone today.
And the hardest thing about it is that the three
people who have the spot that you jealously want to
be in yeah there mates, Oh exactly, And you were
trained with them all the time, all the time, right,
and like those three people who unpighted in that game.
We don't pied together, and we've known each other since

(30:44):
we're like in our early twenties. Yeah, we've gone out
to get weddings and birthdays and children being born and
all that stuff. So they're your mates, right, and you
only want them to succeed because the group is being
presented by and the game is being represented by those
three people on the field at that time, and we

(31:06):
all just we're just waiting to exhale, right, we don't win,
all lose, right, we don't want to breathe out and
be able to get on with life. Right, So you
want them to do super well. But at the same time,
you've got this thing where you go, man, that close
come on, you know? So yeah, one hundred percent and
what a great game, Like I know you guys would
be a result whatever, but brilliant match and like incredible day.

(31:29):
What'd you have called it? I got a better idea
first quarter, first quarter when Langdon didn't want to rush
the ball? Would have you rushed it? I remember that
because there's there's two hours. We can go back to
any moment you want. It's a foot off the line.
You just got to rush over all of us. It's

(31:51):
just implanted in my head.

Speaker 3 (31:54):
Okay on grand finals though, because as players, I don't understand.
It's my first one to a grand final. People told
me I said Grandfather was unpired totally different. I didn't
get it. I didn't. I didn't think I, Oh, you know,
it's a game. Everyone does the same thing. You know,
you get umpired the same way you would on a
regular match day, and it is unpired differently. Now I
want to ask you why.

Speaker 1 (32:12):
Why is that? Had a curiousity and a fan of it.
I'll answer that openly and honestly, but I'm going to
start with a question. So you've made it, You've made
an assertion. You've said that it's umpired differently. Right, So
I'm going to say, how, tell me how in your eyes? Right,
because this is cool, you've played in them. Yeah, how
is it unpied different? It is not. It's not ticky

(32:35):
tack It is loose.

Speaker 3 (32:36):
It is that can be too many high tackles or
holding the balls or holding the man or anything like that.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
It is just play on and just it is. It's
really just an arm wrestle.

Speaker 3 (32:46):
I feel like at times trying to get like the
ball are trying to get past them one whoever it is,
because you realize that like you're not going to get
you really have to actually get a disposal off and
do it correctly because it's no gifts.

Speaker 1 (32:55):
There's no gifts. That's fine, So I get that, understand
where you're coming from with that. I'd ask you to
consider this, right, So, of the twenty four players that
took the field in twenty eighteen, yep, for you guys,
were they You're considered your best twenty four players that

(33:16):
we had available. So yeah, yeah, it'd have to be. Yeah. Great.
So we have thirty four umpires on our list. Yeah,
some have just debuted, some have umpired four hundred and
fifty games, right, So we've whittled them down, and there
are three left standing. Four four. Well I've been there
three times, No, and I was I was sitting, was standing.

(33:41):
There are three left standing, trust me, right, and and
they are the best. They are the best, and that
doesn't make them infallible. We're human and we will make errors,
et cetera. But they are pretty damn good and have
demonstrated at it at that time they are flying. And

(34:03):
so what happens is everything gels right. So on field
you'll have system at structure, at stoppage and behind the ball,
and when you turn it over, you know you know
where you've got to fall back to and what you've
got to do and whatever we have same, we've got
system and structure and what happens for you. If someone
doesn't fall back and do their job in the matter
in which they are meant to, you get picked apart.

(34:26):
You can see to goal right. If we don't have
somebody doing what they're meant to do, we get picked apart,
and free kickout error occurs, and set kick control is
a cock up, and there's a miss fifty or a
fifty paid that shouldn't have been or whatever's things start
to just you start picking at the pulling it and
next thing go a big hole in you jump right,

(34:48):
it's the same thing. But what you've got is the
three best. They do everything right and it's not sexy talk.
It's just disciplined every time getting it right, and you
know they're going to do it. You don't even have
to look. So why are we umpire differently? We don't.
We've just got three dudes who are killing it. Yeah,
right with the best players who aren't prepared to take

(35:09):
the piss because games are so tight. I'm not going
to be the dude that does something with ill discipline
cost fifty costs a goal and we get twidded by
a point. I can't live with myself. I'm not doing it.
So it's all these inputs that result in the overall product.
It's not done differently, mate, It's just done well. It's
a good way to put it, very good way to

(35:31):
put it.

Speaker 3 (35:31):
I ask this because there's you're told abally the three
and you have to have gel between three people, and
that do you kind of travel as umpire as groups
we do?

Speaker 4 (35:38):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (35:38):
And is there kind of like some that you guess
like are more experienced with each other therefore they kind
of travel more often together, if that makes sense?

Speaker 1 (35:46):
Because I remember back.

Speaker 3 (35:47):
To COVID days and this is probably where I really
gained I think, an enormous amount of respect for empires
because you never really think of all the I guess
things people give up to do their job, and then
whenever that happened and the world's got turned upside down,
you realize, like everyone gave up everything to do this
career of AFL and to go and travel the world
and travel the country and do all quarantine everything else.

(36:09):
I remember being in quarantine Perth, and I remember like
traveling on planes with you guys, and you're doing hotels
with you guys and everything else, and it was like
these guys are doing the exact guys and girls are
doing the exact same that we're having to do, and
don't get like the you know, the praise and the
glory and all this other stuff, like they just get
bashed like twenty four to seven, and they're doing all

(36:30):
the same, like you know, they're giving up as much
as we are, and they're having to travel around all
these crazy things, and these governments are making everyone do
and it's not even like reported on and it's like
this is just expected.

Speaker 1 (36:41):
From the IFL. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to play
a game. There was a game where the three umpires
flew in on a charter to Adelaide, and this is
when things were really on the move and we'd all
been essentially in New South Wales and then they dispersed
us to Queensland, Perth depending on different border issues. Anyway,

(37:05):
two of the three, I think, but certainly at least two,
if not all three, had been in New South Wales
within a certain time period, which meant South Australia wouldn't
let him in. So they've arrived, they've landed, and the
coppers are there and they've gone they can do bro
and you're gonna go to the hotel for two weeks
and park yourself there? What now? Fortunately one of them
was a barrister and he goes, I don't think that's

(37:25):
how it's going to unfold. A conversation ensued anyway, So
they weren't going umpire. The game end off. They can
get back on a plane. They went back to the
Gold Coast, right, but they weren't going to So now
we've got no umpires there. So phones are going berserk. Right,
dudes are on the on the golf course where and
they're looking for people who have not been in Sydney

(37:47):
in the last fourteen days? Right and again they go
get to the airport now, so dudes are just grabbing
their staff hoofing it to the airport. They've got a
private jet is going to private make this up huge
hook it in land. They're in their kit there's no
change of clothes whatever they are ready to roll into

(38:08):
the car. Copper's wolf on to the ground. Everyone's out
there warming up the broadcast as a talk and Mark
Raschudo has got his thing gun whatever, right, and then
like two minutes before they're meant to start the game,
these umpires come barreling out the barreling out the race
and start paying away to go right. So it was
just madness. It was madness. And you know, in the

(38:29):
two seasons that we had in twenty twenty one, and
I'm only representative of everyone else on the list. I'm
not special, right, I spent eight months out of my house. Yeah,
like so, and you know, you've got a young one
and a wife, and you've got a small business that
you're trying to run and all those things, and we're
all impacted differently. We're everyone globally. It's a pandemic, right,

(38:52):
But yeah, it was pretty full on. Our group knew
that it was so important that we fronted because it's
not about us. But unfortunately, if we don't lob there's
no game doesn't happen. And that I remember initial conversations
and there was all this concern about, you know, because
we didn't know about anything going to get paid, you know,

(39:12):
how we're going to see our family, what will happen,
But we just had to have faith that the AFL
would do everything they could to support us. I remember
having this conversation with the group at some point we
actually just need to put out faith in that we're
going to get treated the right way. Yeah, and we
were and we were in space right. So I will

(39:34):
look back on it if it's a twenty chapter book,
right that twenty twenty and twenty twenty one, they will
probably be the best read to hold that.

Speaker 3 (39:45):
Yeah, because you had the Wirbnb with a few other
on fires release that I remember we had a.

Speaker 1 (39:52):
Scarborough beach pad for a period of time. That was
that was like I think Kanye had been there before,
Like it was pretty good, and that was that was
just a lucky sort of thing, but the best you know,
and you know, hanging with hanging with your colleagues and
actually hearing about and meeting their families and all those

(40:13):
things when they came in for a period. So true,
it was really cool, Like it was a unique experience
out of the twenty year chapter twenty chapter career. Yeah,
so it was. It was fun. But I've got to
be honest, I really loved it.

Speaker 3 (40:28):
Yeah, I think one of the coolest things. Like we
because we were up in twin Widers and we had
two other teams that are always up there with us,
and like you talk about all the other families, like
everyone's kids became friends and they're like, you go playing
against these guys on the weekend. You know, I don't
really know each other because like you just kind of
maybe you played against each other growing up, whoever it is,
but like you actually really got to know like people
and their families and like hung out together and stuff

(40:49):
like that, which is really cool. Like that doesn't really
happen anywhere else or any other experience.

Speaker 1 (40:54):
And I remember, I remember so all the families come
from period, right, and that was a bit controversy on
that going or quarantine, and there was all the AFL
and a few of the officials that have to come up,
and I remember going, Okay, who do I know? It
probably really matters, and like so I took I would
get on their LinkedIn page or whatever and takes a greenshot.

(41:16):
I sent them to my wife and go show some
respect across this person, just to say hello, right, for
God's sake, But no as I said, you know, we
were looked after incredibly well, and we always you will
have issues that bob up along the way and you

(41:38):
can have it be a bit aggrieved about something or whatever,
but in a time that was you know, really no
one Jesus right, we were looked after brilliantly. Yeah, you
talk about that with the AFL.

Speaker 3 (41:50):
And I guess the connection between the umpires and the
AFL because you're very reliant on them, they're relying on you.
It's a very very mutual I guess respect in that sense.
Now whenever it comes to I guess reviewing games like
AFL and yourself, like let's say AFI wants to adjudicate
something now or a change a rule or whatever it
may be, or look at things in a different light,
like I mean, obviously we'll probably dubble on it because

(42:12):
there's obviously quite I guess Top Court the MoMA is
guinea and had high tackles and all that.

Speaker 1 (42:18):
But how is the I guess.

Speaker 3 (42:20):
Like the stream of communication come from the AFL umpires
to I guess, change things when you need to change it,
or adjudicate things in different ways whenever they come up.

Speaker 1 (42:29):
Without getting too forensic, if a rule is going to
be changed, not an interpretation, is that's an actual rule.
It's going to come from the commission. Yeah, so they
have to sign off on all of that. Okay, so
there's due process there, and of course you've got the
executive and then Brad Scott and his team in that
part is a streamline there, and then they'll be having conversation.

(42:50):
It's driven by data, coaches, players, association, right, all of
that stuff's getting thrown around, and then ultimately what will
happen is there'll be a direction and that will be
afforded to the umpiring department. Yep, this is what we're seeking,
this is why, this is what underpins it, this is
what we're trying to change. These are the reasons for

(43:11):
the change rather right, And so then we will get
taken along on that journey with examples, questions, all really
important stuff when you're trying to contextualize this amendment that
you're not going to get two exact examples. They might
be similar, but no two are exactly the same, and
we have to and then make the right call. Right,

(43:34):
So you need to understand it to a depth that
will allow you to do that. So there's a lot
of that, but we get to see a whole heap
of vision, multiple examples plenty. As I said, all this
debate and not as though we're going to change anything.
That's not what it's about. It's about making sure that
it's cemented in our head. What am I looking for? Yeah?

(43:55):
And why so that we're very well supported in that
sense and ultimately our responsibility. So I'd say to people
all the time, my opportunity to have a like, to
have choice around decision making is at its highest when
I'm ordering off the room surface menu. Right, Like we're told, Hey,

(44:15):
these are the rules, these are the interpretations, this is
what we want, you want to get picked, this is
what you need to do. Right, So I need to
park whatever individual view of the game I may have,
which will be different to yours and the person at
the coffee shop. Right, My job is to implement the

(44:37):
instructions in accordance with what I've been given. Yeah, yeah,
your extension of the end of and so park your
fan hat and do your job. And that's actually really challenging, right,
because we're all passionate about it. You can't get involved
an elite level if you don't have a passion for it. Exactly,
you won't survive because it sucks, it whears you down

(44:58):
and you're at right. So we're all passion involved, and
so then you've got to park whatever emotional attachment you
might have to something and go, what's my job here.
I'm supposed to deliver on this. That's what I'm here
to do. So that's that's part of the lens through
which umpires view the game.

Speaker 3 (45:17):
Yeah, yeah, it's going to be such a tough thing
to to be. I guess like someone else's voice in
a sense, like very muchly makes sense, the ifl's voice
on what is the rules of the game? I heat
there's stuff to say like a paperworker for like you know,
this is this rule, this is this rule, But like
you're the one in the pressure of the moment that's

(45:37):
actually adjudicating and making those rules actually stand up correct.
And I feel like that that bit's actually just as
hard as actually making rules and understand like changing everything
else like that. I feel like it's almost the hardest
thing is to actually be the conduit of the A
f L and the players to say this is how
the game's going to be played.

Speaker 1 (45:54):
And I think it's actually really, I've not had it.
I don't think it's been I've never been in a
conversation with some one and who's articulated in that way.
And I think it's a really I think it's brilliantly
articulated and it's exactly what we do. And one thing
that's changed in my twenty years involvement is this understanding
and acceptance from the industry that a couple of things.

(46:15):
One is that umpires will make a mistake. So if
they've cocked one up, that's not the rule or the
interpretation they they were a human being, like you miss
a target, you double clutch a mark, whatever, right, you
make mistakes. And then there's the other bit where the game,
the industry, media even I think are much more empathetic

(46:36):
around this, where they go, actually, no, that's what they're
being asked to do. They don't pile on umpiring so much.
They'll talk more in reference to them, to individualize the pride,
and I think that's awesome. I think that's been a
really good progression and an understanding that, hey, like you've intimated,
you're just a conduit, so it's not don't blame here

(46:58):
if you got a problem with the rule upstream. If
there's a problem with the implementation, then yeah, that's on
the individual. Yeah, you make an error, it's a what
is it? It's wins and losses industries right where they're
saying right, get it right or get out. Yeah. Yeah,
so you know that's that's part of the challenge because
I feel like people don't realize that.

Speaker 3 (47:18):
I guess umpires are kind of they're similar in the
sense of like to players, as like you are reviewed
every week, and like if you're not going well, like
you get dropped and then you get moved up if
you are going well, and like it's kind of weird
because I think the AFI makes it seem as like
empires are supposed to be in the background. They're not
supposed to be seen. Really, They're not really supposed to

(47:39):
be part of necessarily like the highlights package of every day,
you know, like they want them to just you know,
maneuver things to make sure all works out. Everyone understands
they're in the same place, in the right places at
the right time, telling them in direction what they need
to do. But they don't want them to be in
front of like the camera per se yep, and I'll

(48:00):
talk back to a you did make a highlight recently,
this is this is a few a few years ago.
Now eron ball. Let's just say it was kicked. There's
a very iconic moment in your career. Probably not something
you want to have in your highlights.

Speaker 1 (48:13):
But.

Speaker 3 (48:15):
Let's say you hit your package. Let's just say that
for your highlights package of all. If someone kicks it
off side and hits you in the package and you
just you just take it, like some people would just
go kidding me that this ridiculous full You just take it.
Strike and you're like, there's the first time probably I
realized what this meant, and that means I'm bold, And

(48:36):
that was yeah, I'm out.

Speaker 1 (48:38):
Whatever it was for ten outs, whatever the hell is
that's right. And I couldn't stop the laughing.

Speaker 3 (48:43):
I think it was such like an iconic moment that
just described you so well. I was like, this man
just gets on with it. He just is himself, has
a laugh, enjoys life.

Speaker 1 (48:52):
And just moves on. You can come at me like
a month. I never apologized. I really didn't do it
on purpose. He doesn't know me an apology at all,
and he's volleyed this thing and it's come out of
it like a cannon and I couldn't go under it.
I couldn't go over it. I'm like, oh man, and
it hit me. And so you carry your spare whistle

(49:16):
like a pocket inside like like where you put your keys,
and a bruise. I got hit my cricket and you know,
the crowd went nuts and they loved it. Right, we
were never happier and I just remember that went that's
out right and they lost it. But I think again, right,

(49:39):
this is again coming down to understanding, like what's there
to fred about? Yeah, like it's okay, next, you know so,
but nah, a bit of a bit of fun.

Speaker 3 (49:52):
Now we'll move into well, actually we'll finish this foota
chatter off because a lot of people obviously it's very
top quarthor moment and I won't go to in depth
inn to becase I want to get to any means,
but I want to get your take.

Speaker 1 (50:02):
On high tackling at the moment.

Speaker 3 (50:04):
It's a lot of a lot of media around it,
a lot of media i'd like to get. I guess
your take on the ruling that is, and what's being
told from the umpire's side of things.

Speaker 1 (50:18):
If that makes sense. Yeah, absolutely. I spoke about this
publicly last week on a different like on a radio
thing I do. So that's not a problem. So what's
really important to understand this is what's underpinning it is
actually care, a duty of care for the players holistically
across the entire competition. Right, So what fundamentally underpins the

(50:41):
laws of Australian rules football. And it's in the very
first page of the role of the umpire. Okay, And
I know how much you've read the law book, huge
fan cover to cover baby, and it talks about the
role of the umpire and one of is there's sort
of three key factors in particular, and one of them
is to ensure that the game is played an affair
and safe manner. Okay, So protection of the ball player

(51:05):
is paramount. That is still the same. But the problem is,
right that broadly across the competition. This doesn't relate to
one player, right across the competition. And I'm going to
bang bang bang any game you like, any club you like,
I can show you examples the game and by extent
talking about players are taken the PI double five with

(51:27):
the laws of the game to induce free kick because
as you know, set shot and goal inside forward fifty
in particular. That's king. It's so hard, so you can
get a free kick tick right, you buy farms, guys
are take contestant market inside fifty by farms. Right, So

(51:48):
I understand what drives that behavior. That's okay, right, But
then the extension of it, if you pull back for
a moment, is that factions and those behaviors are inducing
the very thing that we're trying to minimize and remove.
So at some point, so let's say when you're raising

(52:09):
a child, or even for those without children, you got
a dog and you're training the dog. Right, if you
reward shitty behavior, what do you get? Same? You get
more shitty behavior made right. So it's the same with
this whole unpouring piece. Right, there's a carrot there being
dangled out. You'll keep doing it. Got to remove it.

(52:33):
So nah had a gupfull not happening anymore. Play actually
win the football so that the people will get in
these freeze. That's the first thing they're getting the ball first,
tick the box right now, run carry handball kick what
play not secure ball? Feign defender lower tilt, hook arm,

(52:56):
look for high contact, no no, no, don't do that play.
That's I think if we're trying to capture it, that's
how I would articulate it. So it is to ensure
that you can protect the players and what happens with you, guys,
because you are brave to a point where you need
protecting from yourselves. You're mad, You're bloody mad, right, and

(53:18):
I've got the most incredible respect, Holy shit, but what
do you do in son? Right? You need to be
protected from yourselves at times, and this is one of
those moments. And we've had it with contact below the knees, right,
go back a few years. You'd slide in and like Rugby,
clear the ruck. We'll knock them out. Teammate, come in, right,

(53:38):
needed protecting from yourself. You rule, can't slide in feet
and boots first, canniball behavior, right, you need protecting from yourselves.
And I truly believe, and this is just my opinion.
That's a in a nutshell. What's trying to be undertaken here.
It's a tough thing to I guess, try to be
correct on is very hard.

Speaker 3 (54:01):
I've never got a high tackle in my life, so
by the worst person to ask to be honest but
it is fair.

Speaker 1 (54:06):
There's a few weeks, there's a few key because someone's.

Speaker 3 (54:08):
Getting the high tackle. If it's me, you're getting a
heart tagle. For someone else, they're jumping of of their standards.
But yeah, it is such an interesting thing. It's great
to hear your your side of it because I feel
like you do articulate very well. I guess the We've
talked about being the voice of the IFL and how
to adjudicate rules, and it's it's not an easy thing
to do. It's not an easy thing to do, but
we'll move into it. I want to I want to

(54:30):
pump up what you're doing right now because you've got
so much going on outside of football. Now you've got
your founder and director of the Chamberlain and Co Mortgage
Broken Services.

Speaker 1 (54:39):
That's true. Yeah, so that's that's keeps me off the
main streets because every armpire has got a side gig. Yeah,
well we all, we all are either studying or working.
And you've started your own company, which is pretty cool. Yeah,
and I saw that was that that's eighteen years now
and I've been undertaking this and got a really awesome team.

(55:00):
So I get in their way. The more i'm away,
the better they go. So my job is really to
resource them effectively and then allow them to be the
best they can be. So I got a great team there.
And the thing I like about it is you get
to advocate for people. So like we write, we look

(55:20):
at budget and how many lanes we've got to write
and what our volume's got to be and what that
equals and really sort of just clunky ears with running business, right,
But what you're doing is like this person's able to
take their kids to Disneyland, or this lady is able
to buy her daughter her first car, or there's always

(55:43):
that under all of these things. I love those stories
and I love helping people obtain that reach their goals.
It's so cool, right, So that's the thing that actually
gets me fired up Monday through Friday with that Yeah.

Speaker 3 (56:00):
Yeah, and you shout out to the website.

Speaker 1 (56:04):
Yeah we'll get no, no, no, that's fine. It's a Chamberlain
and Co. Dot com. Get on it and yeah, reach
out and they can help you out with everything you
possibly Well, you won't speak to me, Its chill out,
all right, it won't get to me. There's a frontline there.
I don't see that it gets it gets filtered before
it gets to make money. That's so good.

Speaker 3 (56:21):
And the other thing you're doing Chamberlain Foundation, Now I
love this because this is something that you're passionate about.

Speaker 1 (56:28):
I've known you've done this for a while.

Speaker 3 (56:29):
And it raises funds to revide support for suicide prevention
and mental health awareness. Now can you speak a bit
to that, because I feel like that's something that in
today's society is so so so important.

Speaker 1 (56:39):
Yeah, so this this goes back six years now. And
I remember, so I grew up in Canberra with my
brothers and they still reside in Canberra, and they've got
families and businesses and jobs and all that sort of stuff.
And I would ring them and and it'd be have
you have you spoken to mom this week? Who's paying
for Christmas? That kind of game? And that was okay

(57:00):
when I first left home, but it got to a
point was like, hey, mate, who are you again? What
have you got?

Speaker 5 (57:07):
That?

Speaker 1 (57:07):
Role? Right? So I thought I wouldn't it be cool
if we all did something there was a bit challenging
and fun together And the boys went, no, that's as actually,
let's do that. And then life gets busy and I
was driving home one night down the Pena Highway and
I was getting towards Southland and the phone rang. It
was my brother, and I started giving him a bit

(57:28):
of stick, you know, as you do, and then I
realized he was actually quite upset, and he was emotional
and he said, he said, Robbie took his own life.
And I remember thinking he was referencing my cousin and
my best mate and my best man. But that's rob

(57:51):
and he said Robbie. So he was talking about his
best mate. And so now I'm feeling better, which was weird. Yeah,
And Robbie left behind two young kids and a whole
range of stuff. Now it's not we're not special, Sadly, sadly,
we're not special, like you know, this is this is
out there. Everyone's got a story around this, which is

(58:11):
kind of the point. But if nothing else, Robbie is passing.
Put a rocket up us and it gave us a purpose.
So that really narrowed our our scope in what we're
going to do. And so we created our foundation and
it's you know, it's legit. No one and by the way,
everyone who runs it is a volunteer. No one takes

(58:32):
into that out of it fully like deductible gift recipient
ordered the whole bag. So that's super good. And we've
been able to you know, raise and then move on
nearly four hundred grand, which is good right that we
feel great about it, right, And we get to fund

(58:53):
programs that support and where we like to really channel
into our return servicemen and women and our first responders.
Whenever things go to the ship, we're looking at them, right,
and yet I feel yeah, and I feel like they're
probably not as rewarded or as supported as they really

(59:13):
deserve to be. So our most recent donation was to
the Police Association of Victoria, which was all around stuff
pertaining to PTSD resources and training for their graduates. So
that's really cool. But that's what we do. So we
run events, we do things. Our first event was Boots
in the Water in Burmaghuwey which is on the New
Southwest South Coast, I know, you know the Burma guy,

(59:35):
well mate, and then hike hike to the top of
me Posiosco. Oh yeah. So those are the sorts of
things we do. These we do these bike tours, we
have luncheons and all that sort of stuff. So that's
what we do, and we've got my brothers and we've
got two sisters who have formed the board for the

(59:55):
most part of the time. People have come and gone,
like we get accountant and all that type of stuff
that resent and assist. But really, the the legends are
actually like our tribe, the kind of lunch every year
and participate and like they're the ones who drive it,
and they're the reason why we're able to donate the
money that we do and do the things that we do.
So they're the ones who make it cool.

Speaker 3 (01:00:18):
Yeah, to get you linked up with the charity I
do call life Changer. Okay, life change, I'm telling you,
and check them out. But that's awesome. Seriously, Now, I
love the people that look beyond themselves.

Speaker 1 (01:00:30):
Look beyond. It's it's a classic kind of quote.

Speaker 3 (01:00:32):
I'm probably gona butcher this, but it's plant the seeds
for trees, for trees you'll never never sit in the
shade of correct And it's such just.

Speaker 2 (01:00:42):
That.

Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
But that was the moment. But no, it's so true that.

Speaker 3 (01:00:45):
People that have the mindset to be able to look
past their lifetime, to be able to to create a
better future for someone else down the road and to
help people out that are outside of their inner circle.
It's a it's a credit to you, mate, it's an
absolute credit to you.

Speaker 1 (01:00:58):
Well, now, thank you. It helped me though, if I'm
really honest, you know, like so, I I'd love on point.
I love footy, but I had it. I had a
tough time myself with just dealing with all this sort
of media staff and whatever, which I embraced now. I'm like, right,
you can't take the cord the water, right, I'm into this.

(01:01:19):
There's no way I can dampen it or whatever. But
I didn't. I actually tried not to be part of
any of it. And I remember being I'm not going
to say bullied, because that's the wrong word, but I
was strongly encouraged. Okay, right, just pushed the dress right
to do an interview with Triple M and they were
really cool to me. Okay they were and BT and
James Brayshaw and carry lyon and all that. Demail on that,

(01:01:42):
and I dropped a silly line that they found humorous,
and I suggested that potentially the Dingo had taken the
wrong chamberlain. Right, so I don't know with you, so
and so then they were wosh and that was in
two two thousand and seven, right, And so then that

(01:02:04):
all and that all this rais of stuff had been happening.
And anyway, I got injured and I had to have
surgery and they and it didn't go great. And so
then I reinjured. I put my kneecup in half in
a game Collingwood Cartlein mcg and so I was like, okay,
you're cooked, and away again I lose his corner. Right,

(01:02:25):
So I took the family where Jeff Geieshon was our boss.
He goes, listen, get out of the country, going go
somewhere war, which was so kind of Jeff. Right, he's
a ripping human being. He really cares. He's such a
nice man. And so we went to Hawaii because I
was the only place you'd gather. It was a bank,
drop of a hat and we loved it. And I

(01:02:46):
read this book Robbie McEwen. I got told read this book.
It's a great autobiograph. I'm going mate, it's about a
dude in like on a bike. Like how exciting can
it be? Such a good read? Right? And in it
he had a pateell a tendernopathy injury that rocked his career.
His was a little more dramatic than mine. Came around
a blind corner and smashed his knee into a concrete pylon. Right.

(01:03:11):
And what smacked me in my fat head Mason, was
that this book, this autobiography, his challenge, his injury challenge.
It was one chapter, small bar of his whole fucking book, mate, Right.
And so what I realized was like, Man, I can
sit here and sook the house down, or I can
just write this chapter out actually and write it as

(01:03:31):
best I can. So I just threw myself into being
the best rehabit that ever dreary breath. Right. So i'ven
one hundred and fifty games since then. I was told
I was cooked, so I had to change a lot
of stuff and whatever. But what it did was I
went this whole raiser thing that I don't understand and
I get angry about because people are saying stuff about
me and I don't have a platform to talk back

(01:03:53):
or at least provide my view of it, which didn't
sit well with my personality. Right. And so the problem
was me. I knew that I wasn't handling it well.
I had to grow up and I had to become
more evolved and smarter and all that sort of shit.
This foundation, I went, if I get back and all
this brew hahas existing, I'm going to use it for

(01:04:13):
something good like that, so that I don't. I'm really
lucky that I've got that avenue, Like it keeps me
motivated and I get more out of it. I reckon
that I put in what I'm trying to say, And yeah,
so it's cool and we love it, and it's good
for our family, you know, the boys like it keeps
us something and we've met this beautiful these two sisters

(01:04:36):
who are just in legends and they sort of umpire
between us and stop us blowing each other and that.
So it's good.

Speaker 3 (01:04:44):
Yeah, it's good. Oh that's awesome. Man, It's it's cool,
like it's to have. It actually is like something your
whole family does too. Is quite unique. I feel like
everyone says, don't go into business with your family, but
I'm sure you've probably got stories right The Weekly Weekly
love that. Well, do you want to give a shadow
I guess to where you can donate for the foundation?

Speaker 1 (01:05:05):
Yes? I know you also do a motivation motivational speaking.
Is that great? Yeah? I know that's that's good fun. Actually,
I love getting out to commut like particularly like we
do like corporate stuff and all that, and that's good fun.
And you meet lots of people and it's always big
events and that's good fun. But the ones that are
really cool, like you know, I was at a chooker
your chew cut the other week, right, our producers from

(01:05:26):
a cheer gul God's country stories from a chew gu Yeah,
I bet and and I've got gotta go there. It
was brilliant, the best couple of days. It was so
much fun. Met some legends up there, and you know,
you get immersed in local football and nipall clubs, right,

(01:05:47):
and you just takes me back to again. You're gonna
you're never going to forget this place, the Tagnong Valley
where I grew up and playing for the Tugerong Lions,
and you know, just it's just all of that again
and you go, you remember why you love the game.
Actually I love those sorts of things. But yeah, Chamberlain
Foundation dot org is where you can go to and

(01:06:09):
find the donate. So yeah, we're it's on a big
build at the moment, we're on it. That's actually the
task that it's twenty twenty two is the creation of
our online platform. So we've generated we've got a corporate
partner who's helping fund that. So we're in the build there.
But yeah, Chamberlain Foundation dot org and you can find us.
We donate now and as I said, totally tax deductible. Huge.

(01:06:31):
You get your receipt and all that sort of gear.
And the money goes too directly to our partners. And
so we've had the Police Association of Victoria, are you okay,
Lifeline and grief Line. There've been our beneficiaries and yeah,
they're all really really reputable and brilliant organizations that are
making a difference in people's lives. Yeah, which is really cool.

(01:06:55):
That's awesome, man. Well, thank you, thank you, thank you
for doing that, and thank you for coming on the
pod mate. It is so good to chat to you.

Speaker 3 (01:07:01):
Man. Like there's so many different facets of your life.
I feel like they're so fascinating that I could. I mean,
we'll go to the USA at the end of the year.
We're going to go to the USI fell together in California, California,
big fan of LA.

Speaker 1 (01:07:13):
Here we come. The boys are back. The Boys, They're back,
we'll find a couple of just find it fun, a.

Speaker 3 (01:07:18):
Couple on the back end, we'll find that I'm sure
a few frothies for the first season. But honestly, thanks
so much for coming on, mate. I love your story.
I love the way you look at life. I love
your personality and the uniqueness of what you go about
and do them. It is so so cool to see
someone charismatically be themselves no matter what, and hearing some
more about your charity and your foundation and everything else

(01:07:39):
is just It adds to the story of the human
you are, mate, and it's it's a credit to you
for what you do and the way you go about it.
So massive. Thank you for coming on, mate, and can't
wait to see you running aund again. Hopefully you get
out of the injury and back out there.

Speaker 1 (01:07:52):
Twenty twenty three, good lucke for the rest of you, Mate,
You guys are flying and bringing joy to a lot
of people. And thanks for the opportunity.

Speaker 3 (01:07:57):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:07:57):
Now, thank you stand an expand stand surce