Footy Insider

For the Best Stories From the Wrold of AFL & AFLW

FOOTY INSIDER

AFL'S BIGGEST LOSER

VOL. 84 June 6th 2020

7 QUESTIONS WITH KENDA HEIL

FOOTY EMPOWERING WOMEN

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Page 12

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THE RISE OF

COXZILLA

HOW AN AMERICAN BASKETBALL PLAYER BECAME A STAR IN THE AFL

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KADE SIMPSON BECOMES FOOTY'S BIGGEST LOSER AS SAINTS EDGE CARLTON BY JAMES MCKERN

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A CARLTON STAR HAS CLAIMED A RECORD NO AFL PLAYER EVER WANTS ATTACHED TO THEIR NAME AFTER HIS TEAM WAS ONCE AGAIN TOPPLED ON THURSDAY. Kade Simpson has got his hands on an AFL The diminutive star defender has tasted Seprecord no player ever wants to be associated tember action on six occasions with the Blues with. only recording two wins.

The star Carlton defender on Thursday night became the league’s biggest loser as the Blues were swept aside by St Kilda under the roof at Marvel Stadium.

In 2011 they toppled Essendon before falling to West Coast the following week, in 2013 they took care of Richmond before Sydney sent them packing.

A late push wasn’t enough to help the Blues close the gap as the Saints claimed an 18-point victory and jumped to 3-2 and brought Carlton’s two-game winning streak to an end.

Simpson has endured more lows than highs throughout his 17-year career in the AFL with the Blues having finished on the bottom of the ladder five times over his span.

But in the loss was deeper pain for Simpson But he has remained a constant in the Blues who had hoped to avoid the unwanted record side since cracking the best 22 in 2005. Over a for as long as possible. period from 2006 through to 2019, Simpson’s most missed games in one season came last The loss makes it number 208 for Simpson year when he missed a total of four. who has played a grand total of 330 games since joining the Blues back in 2002, the third He put together a phenomenal run of 158 conmost games in the club’s history. secutive games between 2005 and 2012, the 13th longest streak in the history of the game.

For the stat nerds out there, that makes Simpson’s loss percentage a staggering 63 per Despite the unwanted record of being the cent.

AFL’s biggest loser, “Simmo” has become a fan favourite of the Blues faithful.

It sees him move alongside former Fitzroy legend Kevin Murray who had held the record Simpson can become the for a staggering 46 years after hanging up the AFL’s outright record-holdboots in 1974. er next week when the Blues take on Sydney at Since being selected by the Blues with the the MCG on Sunday.

45th pick in the 2002 National Draft, Simpson has only played in two seasons where the Blues have held a winning record. In two seasons (2012 and 2013) they finished with a 11-11 record.

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HOW AN AMERICAN BASKETBALL PLAYER BECAME A STAR IN AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL BY S.B. TANG MELBOURNE, Australia — As Mason Cox sprinted toward the football, one thought ran through his mind: attack it.

He leapt up onto the back of the defender in front of him, using him as a stepladder to bring himself closer to the dropping ball. He timed his leap to perfection, turning his 6-foot-11 body into a long crane, and plucked the yellow, oval-shaped ball out of the night sky.

It was a clean and pivotal mark, or catch, 25 meters (27 yards) out from goal in an Australian rules football match.

Cox would finish that game with eight contested marks — the second-highest ever in an Australian Football League playoff game — and three goals. His team, Collingwood Football Club of Melbourne, won that playoff game but lost in the grand final — Australia’s Super Bowl — the next week.

Yet Cox stood out for another reason: He is an American, from Highland Village north of Dallas. In the last five years, a handful of Americans, generally tall men performing a specialized role, have been contracted by A.F.L. clubs. By the beginning of the 2018 season in March, Cox was the only one still left in the league.

He has become a bit of a sensation in Australia, a fan favorite whose goals are often met with chants of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” He has been welcomed in part because Australians would love to see more global recognition for their homegrown sport. He has also shown a playful embrace of the country, wearing a

“Crocodile Dundee” outfit to a team party and joking on Instagram, “I think I qualify for citizenship now.” (Cox intends on beginning the process of becoming an Australian citizen in December.)

“Footy’s something I take very seriously in my life,” Cox said in an interview, using the Australian nickname for the sport. “I put a lot of effort and time into it and it’s something that this city is so crazy for. You can’t get away from it sometimes, because you go down the street and people want to talk about the last game you played.”

With the exception of Irishmen — Gaelic football is similar to Australian rules football — foreigners are a rare sight in the A.F.L. But Cox, 27, who now speaks with a healthy dose of Australian accent, could be the perfect brand builder, giving international cachet to a domestic sport that began as a means of keeping cricketers fit during their off-season in the winter.

Cox’s height has given him an advantage. Other tall Americans have been recruited for the league, but none have gotten as much notice as Cox. The A.F.L. has long craved international expansion and recognition — the league started playing an international rules series against Ireland in 1984 and, in the past decade, it has played exhibition games in Abu Dhabi, Shanghai and London.

Still, Cox may well be the last American to make it in the A.F.L. In March, the league announced that it would be shelving its combine in the United States — which it had been holding annually since 2012 — for at least a year as it made Ireland the priority in its search for international talent.

An earlier edition of that combine changed Cox’s life.

In the spring of 2014, a few months before graduating from Oklahoma State University, where he walked onto the basketball team, he received an invitation to attend a

6 combine for the A.F.L. in Los Angeles. He had never heard of the league.

of this season’s finals — the Australian term for playoffs — he had firmly established himself as a solid role player.

But the league had a shortage of people capable of performing the specialized role of ruckman/center-half-forward, which requires someone at least 6 feet 6 inches tall, mobile, athletic and well coordinated with both their hands and their feet.

But Cox’s breakout performance in the preliminary final two weeks ago suggested that he might be on the cusp of becoming a transcendent star. His strong performance — two goals and a deft assist — in Collingwood’s nail-biting grand final loss to the West Coast Eagles a week later reinforced that tantalizing notion.

In an island nation of about 25 million people, there just aren’t many who fit that bill. But there are plenty of American college basketball players who do.

Cox was one of them, and he killed it at the combine.

After a visit with several teams in Australia, he received four contract offers. Cox had already accepted a job as an engineer with Exxon Mobil in Houston, figuring his athletic career was over, but backed out of it to sign with Collingwood in Melbourne in 2014.

Initially, like many a novice, Cox dropped the Australian football onto his foot with two hands. This was problematic, McRae explained, because “the ball’s going to be dropped — particularly a 7-foot guy — the ball’s going to be dropped from a long way above the ground, so then there’s so much room for error.”

Therefore, “our game requires you to guide the ball” onto the boot with “one hand.”

Cox’s progression was rapid. Less than two weeks after he first picked up an A.F.L. ball at Collingwood’s facility, he hit McRae in stride with a laces-out, 45-meter, or 49-yard, low drop punt.

Upon arriving at the football club in late August 2014, he and Craig McRae, the club’s then head of development, went to work. “We just got into the everyday grind of getting it all done and really locked into it,” Cox recalled with a smile.

Though his team, Collingwood FC in Melbourne, lost in the playoffs, Cox has remained a fan favorite.

Four weeks later, Cox was consistently dropping the ball onto his foot with a one-handed guide.

For the specialized skill of contested marking, or catching the ball in a crowd, McRae took Cox to see Anthony Rocca, Collingwood’s then development coach, once a week.

“His hands were really clean,” McRae recalled, taking note of Cox’s big hands. “He just wouldn’t fumble.”

By the end of his three-month, intensive course in Australian rules football with McRae and Rocca, Cox was able to join the rest of Collingwood’s professional footballers in preseason training. He then played for Collingwood’s minor league team for just over a season before making his big league debut in April 2016.

He scored a goal with his very first kick. By the beginning

Rocca, who still coaches Cox, believes that the American has only just started scratching the surface of his enormous potential, saying that his scope for future improvement “is absolutely huge.”

Cox has embraced Australia’s culture, values, lifestyle and even language. He said that he especially likes Melbourne, his adopted hometown.

“Something that I’ve loved since I’ve been here is it’s a multicultural melting pot,” he said.

He eats pho on Victoria Street; he enjoys Greek and Italian food and culture in Melbourne’s northern suburbs; and he has befriended people from many different ethnic backgrounds: His best friends include a Vietnamese-Australian whose family came to Australia as refugees, a Filipino-Australian and a recently arrived Swede.

Cox’s speech is peppered with Australian vernacular. He speaks of “university,” not “college,” and expresses his full agreement with something another person says with the ubiquitous Australianism “a hundred percent.”

7 What does wellness mean to you?

Wellness to me is an overall feeling of stability and vitality that encompasses my physical, mental, and social states. More simply, I’m in tune with my body, mind and my daily responsibilities. This doesn’t necessarily mean I have to look good and feel good all the time – sometimes just understanding you are sore post-match and need a day off, or taking time for myself when I feel mentally overwhelmed can lend to my overall wellbeing.

How do you incorporate mindfulness during a game?

Pre-games I usually practice mindfulness with an app like Calm or Smiling Mind. I take 5-10 minutes to settle my breathing while focusing my concentration. This has helped over the last year when I was experiencing anxiety regarding returning to sport after 34 months out of footy (two back-to-back ACL reconstructions). I have used some of the sports training sessions from Smiling Mind to incorporate grounding myself as part of my in-game refocusing strategies. Thinking of how the ground feels beneath my feet or whether my weight is pushing through my toes or heels helps me to focus on the ‘now’ of the game rather than what has been or what might be. For example, rather than thinking of the kick I missed, or the possibility of missing another in the future, I focus on kicking the footy in that current moment.

Away from playing and training, how do you practice mindfulness?

Are there any activities you enjoy that help you to unwind?

Away from playing and training, I practice mindfulness in a less structured manner.

I’m a big fan of a good book, a hot chocolate, and a hot bath! I also work from home, so sometimes walking to a cafe to grab a coffee helps me reset.

7 QUESTIONS WITH VFLW STAR KENDRA HEIL

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What’s your favourite element of training?

I really enjoy learning new things at training. Whether it’s new lifts in the gym or a different drill on the track, it keeps me sharp and interested. Footy is a very dynamic sport – it’s always chopping and changing, nothing is set in stone – so it’s great to embrace and embody the unpredictable.

We all know recovery is key! What movement techniques do you use to recover after a big game?

Directly after a big game, we do some static stretching as a group. I know my limits well, so if I’m feeling extra stiff, I’ll go into the hot bath and do some walking stretches.

The day following a game, I’m either on the bike at the gym or going for a walk to roll the legs over and get the blood flowing.

What food would you typically consume on game day? What are the key nutrients to include?

My game day diet isn’t too structured. I make sure I have some complex carbs with my morning coffee. It can be anything from oats and real maple syrup (that my mum sends over from Canada) to a peanut butter and jam sandwich on nice bread. When I get to the game, I usually munch on a granola bar and banana to make sure I don’t run out of energy on field!

What’s your favourite go-to meal on your day off?

I am a food truck fiend. On my day off you can usually find me scarfing down a Toasta ‘Mac Daddy’ which is a cheese toasty that has mac and cheese, barbeque sauce, caramelized onion, and pulled pork on it. Either there or wherever I can find slow cooked brisket…

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HOW DO I GET DRAFTED BY AN AFL CLUB ? AM I ELIGIBLE ?

BY BEN COLLINS

LAST YEAR, in the most recent figures to hand, more than 25,000 draft-aged boys were registered to play club footy around Australia.

Many of them were also among the almost 30,000 lads who played interschool football.

Only about 80 will be drafted – about 0.3 per cent of the club footballers – which only reinforces how tough it is to make it onto an AFL list.

But with the well-established talent pathways, if you are good enough you’ll get your chance. Here’s how ...

HOW DO I NOMINATE FOR THE DRAFT? AM I ELIGIBLE? The NAB AFL Draft, held each November, isn’t a free-for-all open to just anyone with a dream of playing AFL footy.

For example, a local or country footballer from Western Australia or South Australia can’t simply nominate himself hoping for a Hail Mary miracle.

There’s a criteria to fulfill.

Chief among the requirements, you must be 18 years of age by December 31 that year; and you need to have been registered and played at least one game that year in the WAFL or SANFL, or been registered with any recognised club or school competition in the other states or territories.

Simple. There’s no need to even leave your home.

In fact, you can nominate yourself for the draft from wherever you are, as long as you have internet access.

It’s as easy as completing the nomination form at nabafldraftnom.com.au.

If the player hasn’t yet turned 18, the nomination must be submitted by a parent or guardian.

The AFL will then review the submission and, when approval has been granted, an email alert will be sent.

Nominations are valid for only one year, so prospective draftees need to submit a new nomination form each year.

If hopefuls are overlooked in the national draft, their nomination automatically enters them in the AFL’s other drafts.

SPECIAL CASES Clubs and aspiring League players are granted draft concessions if they meet certain requirements relating to their family background or geographical zone.

Youngsters are eligible to be selected by the same club his father represented under the father-son rule if the father played at least 100 games for the club. Current examples include Essendon forward Joe Daniher and Melbourne co-captain Jack Viney.

There are additional rules for some non-Victorian clubs, with West Australian clubs West Coast or Fremantle able to snare players whose fathers played at least 150 games for certain WAFL clubs by the time the Eagles or Dockers entered the AFL/VFL; while South Australian clubs Adelaide and Port Adelaide can secure players whose fathers played at least 200 games for certain SANFL clubs by the It ain’t over yet – you still have several other avtime the Crows or the Power entered the League. enues to find your way onto an AFL list. They are the: The father-son process is subject to a bidding system in which other clubs can make plays for the Pre-Season and Rookie Drafts, which are held prospect. the next month, in December. In the rookie draft, clubs can also select players from overseas Clubs can also access players in their designated re- (Collingwood giant Mason Cox) or those who hagions as part of Northern Club or Next Generation ven’t played or been registered for three years Academies, the aim of which is to increase the tal- such (Crow-turned-Bulldog Alex Keath). A club ent pool and grow the game. can retain a player on its rookie list for a maximum of three years before it must decide whether Northern Club Academies provide the four AFL to promote the player to its primary list or delist clubs in the non-traditional AFL markets of New him.

South Wales and Queensland with the opportunity to groom local talent and access them at a draft Pre-Season Supplemental Selection Period, from discount.

December 1 to March 15, in which clubs can select a rookie if they have a spot vacant on its rookie Next Generation Academies enable clubs to devel- list after the rookie draft, or a player retired or op young players from Aboriginal (for instance, was injured and was to be sidelined for the seaNorth Melbourne’s Tarryn Thomas) and multicul- son. Richmond sensation Sydney Stack found his tural backgrounds (Collingwood’s Isaac Quaynor). way to Punt Road via this mechanism, which was introduced last year.

WHAT IF I'M OVERLOOKED IN THE NATIONAL DRAFT?

Mid-Season Rookie Draft, another new initiative, could also be accessed by clubs who had a list spot available. It will be difficult to top the effort of another Tiger, Marlion Pickett, who this year became a one-game premiership player.

11 Even the young one are encouraged to participate in the AFL drill provided by Garnduwa Program.

Holding a Sherrin ready to commence an exercise drill.

The Garnduwa Program encourages women to be leaders not only on the pitch but also off the pitch.

The Garnduwa Program in partnership with the West Coast Eagles at Halls Creek

The Garnduwa Program frequently holds scrimmiges between communities in some of the most remote parts of Australia.

Pro-player Cassie Davidson demonstrating the proper way to kick a Sherrin

12 The Garnduwa Program aims to reach out to the Australia outback to provide lessons and training to women of all ages West Coast recruit Cassie Davidson has been working with Garnduwa, an Aboriginal non-profit delivering sport and recreation programs to Indigenous people in remote communities in the Kimberley region.

“The Making Her Mark program is a pilot initiative that Garnduwa has put together, which they did a great job at delivering. It’s pretty much a program that helps and engages Indigenous women in the communities through women’s footy. We’re building leadership skills within the communities as well,” Davidson said.

Halls Creek, where these pictures were taken.

“I’ve worked in girls’ academies as well, and a lot of the work I do is in my community and helping Indigenous kids, it’s something I’m really passionate about. When Garnduwa approached me, I was all in for it.”

It’s been a tough year for Davidson on the footy field. After playing all 14 games for Fremantle in 2017 and 2018, a combination of issues meant she was unable to play in 2019.

“We’re engaging through leadership and AFLW. We’ll do a skills session of footy, give them some awareness afterwards into hygiene, preparation for games and training, things like that, what to eat and what not to.”

“I had some personal off-field issues off the backend of the year, so coming into 2019, it was a pretty difficult year to get into. I probably should have taken time away from footy. A few injuries going on there, and by the time I got up, I wasn’t in the right headspace to play.”

“We’ll get into some leadership workshops: what does leadership look like for women in the community and how can that be built into their own existing leadership.”

“Footy was my outlet when other things weren’t going right, and then when I got injured, I didn’t have any outlet, so I was trying to find the balance between it all.”

Off the footy field, Davidson, a Noongar woman from Mandurah, works for the Wirrpanda foundation and as a mentor for its Deadly Sista Girlz program, working with fellow young Indigenous girls.

She was traded to West Coast mid-year to be part of the club’s inaugural AFLW side for a fresh start and has now resumed training.

She’s now been on three “Making Her Mark” trips within the space of three or four months with Garnduwa, all across the Kimberley: Yiyili, Warmun, Wyndham, Fitzroy Crossing, Noonkanbha, Beagle Bay, Bidyadanga, and in November, Balgo and

“I hope the Making Her Mark program gets the support it needs and hopefully goes ahead, as it was a pilot program. They’re doing great things up in the Kimberley, and I think it’s a good exposure for women’s footy upthere.”

Words: Sarah Black.

Photos: Abby Morgan

Making Her Mark: The Program Making A Difference

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