What Could’ve Been

Cale Morton - Look mate, I don't rate you one bit

Could be one of our favourite episodes so far this one! Ex-Melbourne and West Coast utility Cale Morton joins Theo Doropoulos and Harrison Reid for episode six of What Could've Been.  By his own admission, Morts could've been anything, but struggled to continue the trajectory his career was on after his first few years.  Although it didn't help turning up to a club that had a crooked gym floor, no oval to train on with footy boots, and having his coach say 'I don't rate you' the minute he met him.  Morts takes us through all the ups and downs of his career, starting with a bizarre under-18s tour to South Africa, his turbulent time at Melbourne - including that infamous incident with Brendon Lade - the move to West Coast, and everything inbetween.  He also speaks candidly about the pride he felt for ex-teammate Mitch Brown, who recently game out as bisexual, and his memories of another former teammate Adam Selwood, who tragically died earlier this year.  Specifically, we covered:  2:10 - What is Morts up to now? 2:53 - That infamous incident with Brendon Lade 5:40 - Exploding in the under-18s national champs to get drafted at pick #4 9:00 - Beating South Africa by 300 points in a tour match 11:15 - Winning six of his first 40 games and the Demons' crooked gym floor 14:40 - Getting rested for the infamous tanking game against Richmond 15:53 - The grim Mark Neeld era and getting told 'I don't rate you'.  20:24 - Traded to West Coast for pick 88 22:22 - A career in two halves and being riddled by injuries 26:20 - Going back to local footy and struggling to get a kick 29:00 - Morts watching his brother play in a flag 31:45 - Happiness and pride for ex-teammate Mitch Brown coming out as bisexual 33:05 - Hearing the devastating news that another ex-teammate Adam Selwood had passed away 37:35 - Random teammates segment  50:30 - How niche can you go This episode was a heap of fun with some more random stories involving more niche footy names from yesteryear. If you want to support the show, hit follow or subscribe wherever you are listening, and share it with a mate! What Could've Been is a 7NEWS podcast produced by Malin Hagglund, Ben Gray and Eleanor Bailey. Follow What Could've Been here [https://www.instagram.com/whatcouldvebee.n/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Sam Blease - Bring your own footy to training

What an absolute pleasure this man was! Former Melbourne speedster Sam Blease joins Theo Doropoulos and Harrison Reid this week for episode four of What Could've Been.  Sam has a unique perspective on AFL footy after being drafted to the Demons at one of the worst times in the club's long history. Melbourne won their second consecutive wooden spoon in his first year at the club, a season for which they were later accused of tanking.  Sam takes us through it all: sitting in the stands during the infamous final-round game against Richmond, having to bring his own footy to training, living with Max Gawn, and breaking his leg playing kick to kick.  He has such an admirable and positive attitude on life, even after experiencing the horrific passing of his dad when he was a teenager, plus losing former coach Dean Bailey and former teammate Colin Sylvia.  This episode was a heap of fun with some more random stories involving more niche footy names from yesteryear. If you want to support the show, hit follow or subscribe wherever you are listening, and share it with a mate! What Could've Been is a 7NEWS podcast produced by Malin Hagglund and Ben Gray. Follow What Could've Been here [https://www.instagram.com/whatcouldvebee.n/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Alex Woodward - Casually responding to death wishes

Wowee what an episode! Former Hawthorn midfielder Alex Woodward joins Theo Doropoulos and Harrison Reid this week for episode four of What Could've Been.  Alex has had one of the most unique AFL journeys of anyone in the game's history.  Five devastating ACL injuries restricted him to just two games at the top level, derailing what could've been a great career. After five seasons at the Hawks, Alex found his way into Collingwood's VFL program and, while he didn't get back on an AFL list, it did lead him onto the path to become the Magpies' runner.  Unfortunately, he is maybe best remembered for his infamous blunder as Collingwood's runner in the 2018 grand final than for anything else. But he was so open and happy to talk about it, and we can't thank him enough for the amazing first-hand detail he went into on what is such a heavy topic.  Specifically, we covered:  0:50 - What Alex is doing now  4:30 - Injuring back-to-back ACLs to start his AFL career 12:07 - Getting to Hawthorn during their golden era 18:50 - Being content despite missing out on the three premierships 20:10 - The 2012 grand final cost Theo $3000! 23:45 - Rehabbing an ACL injury with EPL club Arsenal in London 26:45 - Membership to the world's worst and most expensive club 28:00 - Still chasing the AFL dream after getting delisted from Hawthorn 36:00 - How he became a runner for Collingwood 42:25 - The infamous 2018 grand final incident and Alex's amazing response to having hundreds of people telling him to unalive himself 56:08 - Mourning his former coach Dale Tapping 1:00:36 - Looking after a new puppy with a torn ACL 1:01:40 - Quickfire random teammates 1:06:20 - How niche can you go? This episode was a heap of fun with some more random stories involving more niche footy names from yesteryear. If you want to support the show, hit follow or subscribe wherever you are listening, and share it with a mate! What Could've Been is a 7NEWS podcast produced by Malin Hagglund and Ben Gray. Follow What Could've Been here [https://www.instagram.com/whatcouldvebee.n/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Jaidyn Stephenson - Swapping AFL for Fridgey Fridays

This one's exciting! Jaidyn Stephenson joins Pat Naish and Harrison Reid this week for episode three of What Could've Been. Less than 12 months after his shock retirement, the former AFL Rising Star winner sits down with the boys to chat through his rollercoaster career with Collingwood and then North Melbourne. Stevo had an electric start to his career at the top level, kicking 38 goals for Collingwood in their 2018 grand final year, but eventually fell out of love with the game and called it quits at 25. He goes into great depth about his infamous gambling scandal, his acrimonious exit from Collingwood, and life after footy. We also had a laugh about some hilarious stories with teammates from both clubs, funny mischief he got up to, and his new venture on TikTok. This episode was a heap of fun with some more random stories involving more niche footy names from yesteryear. If you want to support the show, hit follow or subscribe wherever you are listening, and share it with a mate! What Could've Been is a 7NEWS podcast produced by Malin Hagglund and Ben Gray. Follow What Could've Been here [https://www.instagram.com/whatcouldvebee.n/] Follow Stevo on TikTok here [https://www.tiktok.com/@thatfridgey] or on Instagram here See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Shane Biggs - Never forget being legally dead

Western Bulldogs premiership player Shane Biggs joins Pat Naish and Harrison Reid for episode two of What Could've Been.  Biggsy started his career at Sydney before moving to the Bulldogs at the perfect time, just before their drought-breaking 2016 flag.  He was one of the game's great characters and left a unique legacy that became an iconic trend within AFL social media; Shane Biggs never forget.  Biggsy takes us through how that started, his memories from the premiership and all of the shenanigans they got up to afterwards, the wild story of how a Bulldogs fan legally died and came back to life after the game, his special relationship with Tom Liberatore, and a whole lot more. This episode was a heap of fun with some more random stories involving more niche footy names from yesteryear.  If you want to support the show, hit follow or subscribe wherever you are listening, and share it with a mate! What Could've Been is a 7NEWS podcast produced by Malin Hagglund. Follow What Could've Been here [https://www.instagram.com/whatcouldvebee.n/] Follow Shane Biggs here  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.