What Made Luke Breust & Jack Gunston the PERFECT Duo? | Full Podcast

Jack Gunston and Luke Breust talk all things, life, football and everything in between ahead of his 250th game this weekend.

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good day Hawks fans uh welcome to this oneoff feature podcast U with the man himself Jack Gunston I’m Luke Bruce hopefully we can have a bit of an insight into Jack’s Journey his career what he’s been able to achieve he’s the second favorite forward at the Hawks at the moment a three-time Premiership player three-time Hawks leading goal kicker who’s the favorite Don’t Know Jack ginan uh all Australian Peter kerman’s medalist uh our number 19 jack gun and welcome Jack thank you Luke thanks for having me congratulations 250 games um how are you feeling about the weekend and yeah are you looking forward to it yeah I am um I think I said after the game on the weekend um when I was talking to Fox that um it’s it was a pretty smooth sailing 200 games I got there um without too many hiccups and um and had a pretty pretty unreal journey to get to 200 and um and then obviously celebrated my 200th in the hub so I couldn’t have any family and friends there and and then the next 50 has probably been a little bit Rocky for many reasons so uh I’m really looking forward to getting a hiap of family and friends at the game and um obviously having a probably a beer afterwards and enjoying it which I don’t nor make plans after a game because I can be a bit Moody if I don’t play well so um either way I’m looking forward to everyone being there and um enjoying the day and will have one or two people to teer you off you’re not very big you know Tom Hawkins but I’m not very heavy am I um I’ll go with two but um hopefully I’ll uh hopefully yourself and and sis can can hold me up yeah nice okay so we are the two oldest bols at the club at the moment how’s it feel to be a senior player have you embraced that role um and who are you helping out at the moment yeah it happens pretty quick doesn’t it mate um does it does at uh one minute you’re you’re that young guy and I always felt like I was the really young guy in the team especially at Hawthorne I think um for a while it was maybe Brad Hill was the youngest and then I was the younger one of our sort of crew um and then yeah the the guy start retiring and going and then next minute you’re you’re one of the older ones and um I’m absolutely loving it it’s uh you you’ve definitely got to change your mindset I think as you get older and and um and I think we’ve both really been able to do that and we really get a lot more up the same amount of Thrill is kicking a goal and watching someone working with kick a goal so um look obviously it’s um it’s been publicized a little bit on working pretty close with kelshire and um and not just K I work off the field with with w and a couple other guys up forward and um it’s not necessarily footy it might be about life as well so um obviously kch has been a great one to work with he came in he’s pretty raw kid when he first walked in the door and um it’s credit to credit to him he wants to learn and wants to get better and um he’s got that inner Drive about him that that makes trying to help him um that I guess that much more enjoyable and that much easier so uh yeah look loving loving doing that side of things at the moment and um yeah it’s sort of Preparing Me For Life After footy as well it it is pretty special I know when buty and mor and the sort of guys that I’ve worked with when they step on the field and then do something you’ve been teaching or uh do something that you’ve been sort of working on on for weeks I know when I used to collapse the field or whatever when I was younger I’m sure those older guys that continued to teach me and um sort of hone my skills were got a bit of a kick out of it and we surely are um getting that at the moment from our some of our young guys so anyone at the crows that helped you or it was probably more once you got to the Hawks and you had a couple of more senior guys that put you under their wing yeah I I remember at the crows um I remember two moments at the crows and um one Scott stens who um I mentioned to a lot of kids now no one has no idea who he is which makes me laugh even more but um he was sort of a utility at the crows and um an older guy then and just a really nice guy and took me sort of under his wing I had Nathan B who was my mentor but Scott Stevens taught me a lot of um just little things in footy and we’d have a goal King comp after the training um every week and it was five shots but he got to pick the first spot so we always and then if I always missed he’ always then go to the goal square and then I’d never be able to win so I owed him coffees nearly every single week um and that’s something now that I do back here and um these kids are kicking straighter than me at the moment which sucks but um yeah it’s little things like that they create a laugh CR I don’t know you practice Under Pressure you you you just never know what you’re going to learn I think when you’ve got a footy in your hand um and yeah and another time when I was at the crows I had Andy otton who was an assistant coach here for a little bit um and it was my first preseason and we’re doing contested marking and I lost 10 straight I lost all 10 and I walked off the field I was like oh my God I’m so far away from this um o would be that pumped with that that little shout out absolutely um and Yeah you sort of walk away and I was like oh I don’t know like how am I going to get better I’m so I’m I’m a skinny guy as it is but when I first walked into that club I was 73 kilos and um and from there you just learn you develop you watch other people um and that’s the stuff that I think we just keep trying to harp on these young kids to do is is not always ask questions but just watch um and that’s the best thing that I did there and that’s the best thing I I learned from I guess buddy and Ru just being able to watch them and um and see how they go about it and see what things I can take out of their game and put into mine yeah 100% I had a similar story with Sam Mitchell here he took me under his wing a little bit and I think I was similar I probably owed him 50 coffees in the first uh year and then um after that as soon as I started beating beating him in goal kicking he uh moved on to his next Target but you do you learn got a good story about bringing your weapons yeah 100% you keep popping on the young guys yeah he um I’ll never forget that tackling session when it was probably the first time that I felt like I could make it at the AFL level because you’ve got one of the best um to overd do it in a tackling session and he couldn’t lay a hand on me so um certainly filled me with with great confidence and we still joke about it today but yeah definitely the goal kicking side um he taught me a few lessons early days but um I couldn’t kick on my left foot so all of a sudden now I can use my left foot he taught me so much about shaping the ball and obviously what he could do with the footy so um yeah it’s a pretty special bond you sort of create um when you first get into footy clubs and help these young guys out uh so yeah Draft Day G to the crows that sort of whole journey lasted what two years yeah I seem to leave Melbourne and come back pretty quick don’t I um a little Gap years here and there yeah it was it was in a way it was so exciting like my draft Journey um happened really late in the year and um it wasn’t until the last three games that I’d started even talking to AFL clubs and thinking it might be possible so yeah so take us through that so who I I vaguely remember two games was it one against one against I played three three games late in the year um I think it was Jake Carly who was a center half forward for Vic Metro that year and I played center half back played all right back then yeah no Luke you know I’m an all right backman you’re not a backman when I don’t have to man up I go all right like Sicily yes correct um and then went forward the next week kick six and like footy life just changed from there I got home from school one day and dad had this smile on his face and mom was standing there and um I remember like oh you got a couple of voicemails on the um um The Voice machine I know we used to have home phones back then I don’t know that’s how old we are yeah I don’t even know what what it’s called These Days um and then listen to him and then it was yeah Adelaide in North melin I think and and it probably helped me that it was at the end of the season um and then over the next sort of two months uh where there’s no footy sort of Word of Mouth just put pumped me up a little bit and um ended up going second round to Adelaide which was awesome it was daunting I didn’t know anyone over there um yeah I guess contrary to what some people might think I was a pretty shy guy back then and um believe it I was pretty reserved like I don’t Reon I spoke for a couple of months over in Adelaide like I just didn’t know who didn’t want spoke to hend yeah just spoke to R and Daniel tler a couple of guys that have got drafted with and um I was pretty in awe of the Andrew mcclouds the Tyson Edwards the Simon Goodwin was my captain um yeah and there was some really good players so um yeah it was it was an awesome experience it was great to live out at home and I think it helped me grow up a lot quicker than what I would have if I stayed here and um yeah I played 4 games there and um across the hathor we came a few good memories with hendo and T are they still you sort of two good mates from that that period yeah definitely um obviously uh this weekend coming up against Taylor Walker who’s um someone I learned of from the very start um he was he was a good guy to me and um he’s been a superstar player and he’s um I think he’s uh he’s resurrected his career very very well and he’s just still going very strong so um it’s awesome to see so be it’ll be pretty cool to play it against um Adela this weekend and um yeah obviously got some some close mates from the Adela days still any life lessons from Ricky he taught me two things he taught me to order mushrooms with your breakfast when that’s a funy isn’t it and and about red wine so yeah at least he bought something pretty he’s pretty good with the shares used to kick the ball running back backwards Rick he did remember he did on on the wing yeah he came sing to the BNF one year yeah jeez that’s surprising all right first year at Hawthorne um I saw I saw a photo someone sent me a photo yourself me Ando standing in front of the John Kennedy statue and the kit that I was wearing my hairstyle you still have the tips back then no wonder no one spoke to me for a let start I didn’t have the tips I got rid of the tips before I came here how long did the tips last it was a couple of months into Adelaide and then um it s of got bullied out of me so I definitely didn’t bring it back here but ruffy just got stuck in me straight away from my haircut I had a helmet head and um just this big like which probably still do now really I had a big helmet yeah little comparison it still use hair product though every day every day hair product your hair is out of play I do I do I haven’t grown up from that stage yet um yeah so first season I remember having a conversation with you when you first got here I’d been dropped for the 2011 finals you were then a bit apprehensive about coming across cuz you were like why are they dropping a forward and remember Strat came back into the team because swans had a a tall forward line um yeah talk talk me through all all that sort of that process in your thinking yeah I think when you’re making a decision to go to another club you’re you’re analyzing everything and you’re watching everything and uh I remember sitting there was it the preim uh no second I remember um cuz I was always um thinking how much room is there in that forward line obviously that ha were Keen to to get me and um I was Keen to come but uh I didn’t yeah I didn’t want to not be able to crack into that forward line um and come over and not be able to crack in so and then I saw yourself get dropped Str come in and um was a little red flag at the time but uh in the end it um it didn’t stop me from coming across and um yeah that I think they things you just you look at when you’re coming coming over but um yeah made the decision to come over and um it wasn’t smooth sailing straight away I think I’ll sub for the first two games let’s go back before that though let’s go go to Box Hill talk to me about Box Hill and no no that was we’re not there yet really what year was that no that was same year same year when I got dropped so you played sub for a few games so I played round one yeah round two as a sub then I reckon I fell fell out of the side okay or I played a full game and then oh no we went to Perth y was when cam Bruce was tagging Shannon Hearn I remember that yeah and then I think I had four touches I was pathetic that day um so you went back to boxill went I think I was I had few groin issues so I missed a few weeks yeah and then came back through Box Hill played the first game I know where you’re going with this I played the first game um I think I had 10 touches maybe a goal not even I wasn’t great and then went back to boxill the next week um and got on the end of a few yeah I think I kicked seven seven seven that day is that the highest ever y yep and how many tackles for the day uh zero can you elaborate on on that story and you each time you got to the bench yeah yeah went to the bench once a quarter or something and uh I think I kicked a couple and starting to feel pretty good about myself maybe kicked three came to the bench and there’s the bench coach I’m sitting next to me he’s like how many he’s like going one mate I said yeah yeah going right he’s like how many tackles you had I said what he goes how many tackles you had I like oh I don’t know none I’ve kicked three goals I’ve KCK three he’s like we’ll go back out there have t anyway kicked a couple more came back think I’d kick six and then come back to the bench feeling feeling it I’m feeling good you’re in flow yeah and then he asked me again he’s like how many tackles you is this guy serious I’ve kicked seven one us the game um yeah it’s a pretty prettyy funny little story that I’ve never forgotten and now I’ve tried to make sure if I’m kicking goals I’m getting tackles as well yeah I like it first year at the hawk so you kick 39 goals um obviously back end of the year after all that must have been pretty good you f sort of found your feet um playing a playing a significant role for us then we go on to playing a grand final talk us through that back end of the year and um what changed or yeah why did you why did you sort of start to play an important role for us yeah I think role was a key word I think I just found my role in the side I came back in and um for me it was all about I was pretty Keen to get between the arcs and and get some marks and be that lead up forward um I didn’t need to be the Deep forward we had some pretty Superstar deep forwards and it was pretty hard to get a mark inside the 50 so for me it was it was about being a connecting type player and getting up high U being a release kick out of the backline and uh it might have only been sort of like 10 to 15 touches a game and maybe one to two shots and and that’s probably where I started um to think well if I’m only having one to two shots a game um I’ve got to be reliable and I’ve got to work on my goal kicking and and be an accurate kick so um that’s where sort of that side of my game starting I put a lot of work into that to like if you’re having 12 touches and two points it’s like it’s okay game but you’re having 12 touches two goals in a side that’s playing pretty good footy it’s like you’re doing your role so um yeah for me that was that was my role and I just tried to nail that role and um look I didn’t need to do anything flashy cuz we had buddy sirel Ru yourself poppy we could just we could just kick it anywhere and Ki at their feet and they make us look good um I’ll never forget the day I kicked it inside 5502 to serial against freem Manel and it wasn’t a great kick I popped it up a little bit serial sits sits on someone’s head lands steps and then kicks a snap like it’s just like from a nothing kick for me and just makes it look they made us look so much better those guys um we’re not that good at footballers but they made us look pretty good just put it in anywhere in their vicinity and they get get their hands on it um but yeah I think going on that sort of goal kicking I I remember in the Grand Final obviously we talk about the 2012 Grand Final bids that year was probably our best year and maybe even our best team and we played some unbelievable footy and that was the year we lost the Grand Final yeah um but yeah on the goaling side um that was I think it was about 5 minutes to go and Bud takes a mark 50 out and I’ve come off the bench streamed in the pocket and taken a mark in the pocket and then had a shot and it’s hit the post and um I think with five minutes to go we oh four points down and then meski goes to the other end sort of kicks a goal and um and for me that was just a moment of in the offseason it’s like all right goal kicking got to work on it like I there only just miss to hit the post but for me that was like okay that’s my RFI area and I want to be good at goal kick and I want to make the most of my opportunity and um you never know how many going to get in a game so um for me in my career that was that was one big lesson and and um and learning point to to work on going forward you’ve changed over the journey so back then like that year you would have had Hand high thumb back of back of the footy like you can sort of go back and watch Vision to now now what it’s like how’s te your Technique changed with goal kicking and how has the mental side of it like how much have you worked on it um you obviously like that’s a big big moment like that’s probably the biggest moment you’re going to get Grand final day trying to convert um yeah what work have you put in to make sure that your head’s in the right spot when you you need to kick goals yeah look I watch a lot of players in their goal kick in and um take bits from the best and um there’s some guys that are really accurate with really simple routines but um obviously we’ve all always had our own routines and my steps and um sort of run up has never really changed but the way I hold the ball um the way I grip it um whether I kick it high or kick it low um has probably changed over a few years and um looking at my accuracy right now probably should probably go back to the 13 14 um routine but um yeah it’s just it’s sort of naturally changed sometimes you’re a bit sore in parts of your body and um you need to change it you need to keepi it lower or you need to get more power and um it’s not an easy thing you obviously the fatigue side of things um I’ve never been W to worry about whether there’s 90,000 there there or 10,000 there that’s never really um messed with my mindset of a game or or moments of a game but um I think that’s where the our routines are so important like you don’t even know there’s 990,000 there or 20,000 down at where whatever ground it is it’s like being able to lock into that routine yeah as long as we’ve executed our routine whether you miss or kick the goal then that’s that’s all you can do just come back to that for me it’s always gone back to I’ve either kick through it or I’ve tried to guide it and St it stab at it and I can do that in front of one person I can do it in front of 90,000 people so um yeah it’s something obviously we’ve worked on we have a lot of competitions we have a lot of dinners and coffees and um you never you never pay up though either what do you mean so You’ mentioned about being dropped and the transition and in in and out of the side how did you cope with that mentally and any advice to young guys who sort of in and out of the side and and what you can do yeah I think especially when like I came across from Adelaide and um You probably assume that you’re just going to be playing ones and um you find yourself back in the two like probably first did I make the right call here or um do that actually have a role for me inside and um in the end I think at the time it’s just go back and and play good footy embrace the vfl level and um know that uh you got to do you got to do and play your role in that side you don’t have to do anything that is amazing like yes I went back kick seven but that was then like I’ve since gone back this year and it’s just you don’t have to do anything amazing just play your role embrace the vfl level as I said and um you never know when you’ll be back in the AFL side and and back then I I I guess I knew um as I said there was a role for me in the side and I’ve just got to go back and and I guess sometimes you got to buy your time sometimes the team’s going too well and you just can’t get back in or other times it’s it’s a matter of um just trying to play Play Your Role and play some good footy and catch a break and then when you do get to AFL level make it hard for them to drop you yeah exactly and when we probably speak to young guys now coming in and they probably look at our record and just think that oh you were high draft pick or yeah you were you were drafted and then you your journey was pretty pretty smooth from there you sort of playing round one like we both played twos twos yeah we yeah I played obviously sful reserves yeah so I played box development when it was back in so I probably played or six games in the boxill development side I remember playing some preseason games for Hawthorne and then round one of bfl I’m in two’s two so it just felt like I was miles away from it and I think that’s the beauty of where we are now it’s I think all the kids look at everyone else at the other teams go he’s playing I’ve got to be playing it’s like no you’ve got your own Journey you’ve got your own path and sometimes it’s even more special to from where you to where you are now to say that yeah I actually played two twos and I had to learn and develop and buy your time and then sometimes it’s worth it I know I talked to one of our teammates and best mates Taylor J like yeah he did three or four years just playing Box Hill and um just played his 200th on the weekend and um even someone like a James sicle right he took five years really to establish himself and why’ he take five years had a few things to sort out you can probably elaborate on failed forward wasn’t he failed forward didn’t get any Targets inside 506 he hated playing forward with us there was too many too many other guys that were taking his he’ win that no one would kick it to him he didn’t have the repeat efforts in him to be a forward he just wants to Mark the footy and then get rid of ity good Defender though gun Gunners on the weekend was so I got in trouble early in my career for not celebrating enough I was like one of the young guys like you’re kicking a few goals like you need like this is a good chance to generate some energy and get the crowd behind us and get some momentum and all this sort of stuff like the best pressure in footy scoreboard pressure and all this sort of stuff I was getting told but I just couldn’t bring myself to get out of myself I guess it’s just not me as a person um I slowly started to get a little bit better as my as my career but your one on the weekend was nothing literally nothing you kicked it and just turned more it’s like you’d either bow a strike and you got the strike face turn turned around everyone or drain like a 10ft pot at a the weekend was a little bit different we’ll scratch the weekend it was we mixed emotions um but yeah I’ve never been one to fully celebrate um I don’t know I think I’ve always had in my head I’m forward I’m expected to kick goals and that’s my job so um look internally I’m pumped and but I always I’m one to always go back to the person that’s kicked the ball um I always look for on my point um or try and get him a high five and um appreciate them passing me the ball um I learned that early days from from rough and um that’s something that just stuck with me and um look I love the photos that people get of celebrating with the the crowd I think they look awesome but for me um yeah it’s more towards my teammates and um but I think I’m just trying now I’m just trying to do a balanced wave like some of the celebrations in our team crazy at the moment yeah I’ve got to I’ve got to ask questions of what they actually mean I don’t know what half these kids are doing um I can’t keep up but look it’s pretty cool and if they keep playing good footy and goals so B it if the form continues and and I’ll be the grumpy one to say have you celebrated with the other guy that gave you the ball but that’s all right we’ve got to be there somewhere yeah we can they can do that after they celebrate the guinea in cj1 was pretty cool yeah um bit of carry on but me and you aren’t going to do that no no definitely not we don’t like to group them together they’re sitting behind us but 13 14 15 it’s hard to believe that it’s a 10-year reunion this weekend for the 2014 one which will be awesome to catch up with um a few of the older guys but yeah it feels like yesterday that we were running out onto the MCG and and winning these cups um sitting here but what are your memories um let’s start with 13 the year and then obviously the final Series so I’ll read out some stats for you just because sure you did I prepare them for you yeah exactly prepared these earlier so 11 goals in three games across the final series four goals W in the Grand Final um unlucky to not get the norm Smith do you think I tend to agree hopefully Brian brings it this weekend yeah he gives it back to you uh and your named best finals player for this Series so I think you still wear that watch a little bit as well don’t you is that your favorite watch you got a little watch for it that’s nice that’s nice from the club so yeah talk talk us through 2013 and um how your year was how was your in season how did let’s start there well I think it’s sort of similar to 2012 pretty sure I got dropped early in the year um for a game over in wa um I think I went over and um so obviously didn’t start the year amazing but um I think sort of early on in that season sort of felt really comfortable and I think we just had a strong system going up forward um from memory and it was it turned into probably a more team orientated for line I felt I felt like we were starting to get a few more shots between us and it wasn’t so heav heavily relied on bud and rough and um we’ obviously started to develop our own games and um we didn’t have to rely on the leaders to perform each week and um had a really selfless forward line which was awesome to be part of and um we wanted to be the most dangerous forward line in the league and I think we were sort of through that period so um yeah that year was it was awesome but it was obviously a tough year cuz I think when you’re playing a grand final and you’re lose you go through the next year I think nothing other than winning the Grand Final suffices so um it was it was a hard journey and you always think am I ever going to make another grand final we going to get there so I think getting to the prelim was the start almost like of our year it was like all right we got ourselves to a prelim this is the first game that means something like if we lose we’re out yeah um yeah the weight seemed to take forever didn’t it like between getting back there then going through a whole another preseason then you got to get through a whole Home and Away season to then give yourself a chance um and then yeah before you know you sort of back into a prelim against dong who and that goes that’s my favorite game ever um the grand finals are awesome but that that prelim was it just sticks in my mind like I just remember everyone’s faces at 34 time I was staring at a rough his eyes and I didn’t know if it was like are we going to do this are we not like there’s just so many thoughts we’re down by 20 points I’m pretty sure y they’ been an awesome team we hadn’t beaten from so long and um like it wasn’t all our way in that last quarter I reckon they kicked the goal we kicked the goal they kicked the goal and then yeah we got a couple and and the crowd was just that’s the loudest I’ve ever heard a crowd obviously we couldn’t hear the final siren which was that’s pretty cool like s and bud just kept playing yeah um that’s when you know it’s loud yeah and to win that was I guess that was the huge relief I reckon to make to know that we got to the Grand Final and um and I think like it we might have been underdogs in nearly every Grand Final I think from memory I think we were because then Sydney played 3o then following night that was must have been a Friday night then they played on the Saturday and freo’s pressure was just getting pumped up in the media about how good it was and our kicking and our game style back then it was like other the Hawks going to be able to handle it how are they going to pick their way through um and things like that so we I think we did go in as underdogs um into that 23rd and Grand Final take us back to that day can you remember I didn’t sleep the night before I just remember laying in bed till 1: in the morning just staring at the roof um excited but also nervous about the the following day how did how did you go yeah I think I slept pretty well before but it’s like that time from maybe like 4:00 to when you go on a bed I reckon I played I remember playing the 2012 Grand Final like thinking okay maybe got Dane rampy on me and got do this go do this go do this and then the next year um I just played over in my head and think how I’m going to do it and um I was probably drained for bed so it was great um but I slept really well and um something through I think just my career I try as best and I think I’ve done it pretty well to treat every game the same um and I just know that what I’ve done and how I I think how I play doesn’t change whether it’s a grand final or not and that’s sort of the philosophy I took into the 2013 final series I think I guess the beauty for us was there’s so much focus on bud rough seral um that we can go out and play our game under the radar the radar and um and that probably happened that final series a little bit especially for me um ended up having a pretty good final series and um and yeah and Grand final day was awesome I kicked the first goal and I think a lot of family members were pretty happy that day they had me for first goal as well so um it was a great day um great day for all but yeah it was um got on the end of a few in the first three quarters and couldn’t quite I don’t I think I had one touch in the last quarter i’ gone hard early and probably just needed one or two more and kick another goal but um I remember Matt suckling a couple of guys running on the field and screaming oh Normie norie afterwards I was like oh yeah like people have called me Norman Gunston before this is weird and no no you’re going to get it you’re going to get it I like I wasn’t even in my thinking like I hadn’t even processed that like you just assume Sam Mitchell’s had 35 or hodg dominated or someone um not like he not like he sitting on heads and not Brian Lake where Matthew P kicked three on him and had about 15 touches but anyway um yeah it was just it was just awesome to get a medal to be honest like did did you get any opportunities in the last like did you have any one-on ones or yeah I missed another one late in the third sna from the boundary and then in the last I did have one inside 50 and I I didn’t know how to do the high free kick and I’ve actually Shrugged someone oh really I could have milked it got one in front of goal but breaking tackles yeah I know that’s unheard of for me but like in the end it was as I said it was a journey to get a Premiership medal and um and have reunions and now we’re up to that stage already which is pretty crazy and and I think 13 for me was my favorite 14 was one that um just you don’t think about going back to back like it it’s it was it was a weird weird year to look back on for me I was just like wow that was we played some good footy we got there bit of adversity through that year I’m pretty sure for the team I think we started the year four and four or well that might have been 15 and but obviously left that year as well um yeah so it was a bit of a process for us to then find what was going to work going forward especially in the Ford line step up a little bit yeah well we had that dangerous me Mantra um that had worked so well the year before um and then yeah how how was it going to work without Bud yeah can of be bit more bit more unpredictable for the opposition and get some different looks which yeah in the end sort of worked out for us yeah um and then 15 was probably the one for me that uh I got injured in the qualifying final um did my cmosis and sort of a tweak of the medle of my KNE and uh that was yeah in the qualifying final and to be honest I tried to get up for the next oh I didn’t even try and get up the next week we lost and then tried to get up for the prelim I couldn’t even run on the Monday so we got ruled out straight away um and I was in a moon boot still in the game in the while you guys were over in Perth I was still in the moon Boot and then you want like I was so nervous for the game cuz it was so close I was like oh we got to get there and then we won and then I was even more nervous cuz like oh my God I got to I got to get up for this I can’t even run or walk at the moment without the moon boot um I think that was a satday or Friday or a satday and then um I don’t know what happened I was running I was able to run on the Monday like so what talk me through that then so was it game day was it injection straing up nothing nothing we didn’t have to inject didn’t yeah just one of those Miracles mate um you just don’t use yours no was it on your right or left foot uh it was left okay so you don’t use that either anyway look if we go to the stats or can have kick more goals no no no no no um you didn’t learn how to kick around the corner on your left for a long time yeah well you got to learn somewhere you won on the weekend was pretty nice just got there uh After parties who was best on what can you remember from those those years one of one of the funniest memories I have is going to the security room of Eve Nightclub at about 3:00 or 4: in the morning with our jumpers on metal around our neck yeah that’s right um that’s right I just think that is such a weird weird memory like what what were we doing back there we just felt like we’re were a rock star we were just high on life living the dream you’ve achieved something you wanted to your whole career yeah and then it gets to about whole life really gets to about 500 a.m. or 6:00 a.m. and all you can think about is making sure you get to ruffies on time by n by nine yeah so every year you had to get to ruffies by nine so you sort of trying to plan okay is it going to be an all nighter yeah then I think there was some Channel N9 crosses yeah from kept coming and boys are hanging out the windows they’re just little things I think of the celebrations that you remember like we saw celebrated David Hal’s 40th birthday randomly the other day and um I was in the golf cart going around the MCG that Sam was driving and Dav was like just little things like that that you don’t normally do yeah um which is pretty one thing that I wish like it was cool to have the concert on the J afterwards but I feel like we never actually just got to go out on the G and say you know you see Team sing the song um and it’s just them in an empty Stadium yeah that’s probably one thing I would have loved to have done but yeah another memory singing horses Brent Guera yeah I reckon that was after 13 darl brawe on stage no no that was one of the time that was a crown I reckon yeah the one I’m talking about the one in the rooms so post game sung the song yeah down in the bottom of the MCG you had this amazing wi and then what remember everyone circling up singing horses it was pretty pretty special this probably shows how in a way shy we were remember clar sort of didn’t have a go at us but like we didn’t carry on with the trophy walking around he said something to you didn’t he yeah yeah yeah what did he say I think it was I can’t can you remember what year was after must have been 13 because I reckon 14 I carried on a little bit more yeah something along the lines of yeah it’s a pretty special moment you’ve worked your ass off to get to this this moment so let yourself go a little bit it’s it’s not a balanced wave anymore it’s not let yeah not keeping it nice and tight you can sort of Let Yourself Go so we probably enjoyed the 4 and 15 one a little bit you got like we got some nice photos yeah one of my favorite photos is when all us New South Wales boys are on um the City end behind the goals up on the fence um but yeah I think we definitely learn you learn along the journey even embracing the um parade the day before I feel like 13 uh 12 it was you were pretty stiff and yeah didn’t want to engage with the crowd too much and um things like that and then as you go on fortunately you get to play in four in a row so you you I think you learn those lessons and yeah get to embrace the week and from experience the got the team that Embraces the week the most and like how how are you pregame I hated pregame because it was so busy on the ground and I couldn’t do my normal yeah remember 2012 I watched everything I watched the Sprint I watched so much stuff and then the next year I just learned just do what you normally do I hardly watched anything went back in the rooms and just went about my own business and didn’t get caught up in the whole week of whole lot the whole day of the Grand Final so since you’ve arrived Jack I think we have literally competed for anything and everything so that is golf handicap goal kicking um all Australians games goals assists assists um if it’s shooting the basketball downstairs 10 Pin bowling I see you doing something and I go I can be better than look at this so I challenge you and more of than not either my stats or I’m not as good but I’ll keep going I’ll keep going out here I still say that even in the gym I feel like that was one of the best things for me was once you arrived and not that I didn’t have like close mates or anything before that but because it was a fellow forward um we weren’t exact same position but we were in the Ford line together developing together um pushing each other in the gym pushing each other in 150s um 1K is like all that sort of stuff it was okay where’s Jack like how how can how can I beat him um and it just sort of seem to it’s like this healthy rivalry rivalry that yeah like isn’t I don’t know isn’t a bad rivalry at all like it’s it’s funny in the end really everything we do that we’ll look at each other or look at each other’s that’ss I’ll see you done 110 on the bench press I got to do 111 yeah got to get that one kilo extra like it’s just little things that I always think and in the long run it probably helps but at the time we’re probably just joking around and and mucking around with it but um I think it goes from there and then it goes on field it’s like how can we make each other better it’s um we we look at each other’s running patterns we watch each other we know now where like we can just kick it and know that this is where Jack likes it or this is where Luke likes it and um it’s actually funny that we”re spoken about this that we don’t see each other much on the field random randomly our patterns are so different from a we have to ask each other qu time and half time how you going yeah how you going I’m going right yeah I’m going right not too bad K kicked a couple uh um and a lot of the time it’s either you’re kicking it to me cuz I’m deeper or I’m up further out the field kicking it to you we actually don’t cross over that that much just because our patterns are are vastly different I think we do scan the field really well and I can I the beauty of playing with someone for so long is I can watch your mannerisms like I know when you’re about to step I know when you’re about to turn on your right or your left or I know if you’re looking long but you’re about to pull it short and um and there the things that take time and that’s what we’re trying to I guess teach these other forwards as well um it’s not going to come naturally but constantly learn and and watch your your fellow forwards and um you’ll slowly develop a strong connection 100% the amount of times we’ve looked at each other and it literally takes a point and that as you said trying to teach these younger guys that you you have to be instruct in the ball carrier all the time and letting them know where you want it um and it makes it so much easier to be a forward in the AFL it’s hard enough when you got a really good defender on you um and the the ball carriers just going to kick it anywhere let let alone if they they know where they want to put it how did um I was always wondering last year obviously didn’t have that connection with you because I wasn’t here what were some of your comments to a couple of people around here that I struggle without you or I can’t play without Luke Bruce that said there was a few of them so Zan L can’t kick goals Without You Zan lenon and I had a little uh chuckle most weeks I had a jack on week no just didn’t quite get used on a couple of lead UPS I probably would have hit him you sent a couple of very funny photos though during the year of oh would you hit me here I was like well I was trying to look for ways to impact I was like probably would have Jack but um unfortunately weever work out who who’s given who more goal assists yeah we did and why was who was that you know the answer yeah and I I I strengthened my lead on the weekend as well gave you another one you did give me one but on my argument did we work this one out who gives who more score involvements cuz you miss when I give it to you you I put you in good spots you kick goals always kick goals whose stats are these you guys have to argue over it kicked six goals in the game five times in the career was it gunson or was it Bruce well he’s it’s me or it’s he’s equal Me Maybe I think I’ve kicked more six goals have you ever kicked seven I haven’t kicked seven I’ve never kicked seven I haven’t even had a chance so bad want to kick I haven’t even had a chance to kick it either like you know well I had one chance last year so You’ already kicked six and then you got another shot I’ve missed one I was thinking about it too really so I’ve missed ones ear the game playing for Brisbane already my text after the game that’s what I was thinking of and then kick six but I’ve never got another shot to then try and kick seven the answer is Bruce six goals four times and how many five got five five you have it the next one is kicked three goals and five behinds in the game that’s me I think that was a final too was it 3 five eight shots eight shots I think it was against Melbourne in a semi-final yeah think kick Five Points I reckon most be maybe three or four correct Gunston next one is laid 11 tackles in a game we’ve already spoken about this that that would take Jack a month I don’t think I’ve done that in a year yeah yes is Bruce um Round 19 versus jalon 2012 so 21 to me you know what they say about tackles L he’s taking 13 marks in the game no that’s definitely that takes me a month to get to get that many sorry it would have been 13 uncontested marks to by the way you might have had one contested in there gra the back of your head Gunston twice you’ve done it in 2015 round five and in 2023 round 10 twice 30 marks I’m happy with 1 I’m happy with 13 possessions let alone let alone 30 marks I was loosen the backline we chipping around last year who’s giving away five free kicks in a game that’ be me I reckon well yeah I’m not unless you playing like defend F or something and only that a couple times my and gave away fre kicks um probably both of us the answer is Punky 2016 round 16 versus PA wow that’s a bad day five3 kicks against who’s got the most disposals in a gag oh that’s Jack Jack has always held this one over my head I’ve never I’ve I’ve never had 30 in a game but this is one of the things I can go back to to rub it in a little bit how many how many times you 30 I think it’s only once oh is it I think about 28 a couple of times I think this was like 35 and one I think against Foo over there so i7 round 18 yeah David halil was actually the forward oh I again you’re playing back I did not man up I had no opponent that day so that’s when we played like eight Defenders remember the old days when you can have like eight people in the back line at Center bounce and like four in the four line chipped it around all day and the last one to settle it who has the highest super coach score oh well if he’s having all those marks and everything it to be it has to be him and that’s my podcast so you got to finish on me you both tied exactly on 165 your High super oh that’s cute Jack wow set shot after the saen to win a game yep you or me who are you taking this year just overall overall I’m taking you Luke pains me to say thank you uh you or me six foot po just dead straight well you because you always hit them straight if there’s a bit of break on it it’s me you are your handicap says you’re a better golfer but if I’m I’m I got more potential I’m a better go you got Trent henchel and the final one I had was catching aari Cod you taking yourself or you taking me cuz you know how much you you are the worst you can’t sit still so you are the worst fisherman it would definitely be me but in saying that I’m a city boy and if I catch the Cod to be honest I don’t really want to touch it sorry I hope someone else is in the boat all right caught my first Mario cod in the offseason absolute thrill let’s go to so leading goal kicker 2016 oh that’s another thing we 2020 you’ve got more leading goal kers than me don’t you yeah you have three don’t you yeah what are the you 16 20 and a a oh yeah yeah well a you’re an all Australian as well so let’s talk about talk about that oh those years were that was a bit of like ad was one of my better years on field obviously um we made top four yeah I think we’re both Australians um how can we won the last five or six games for the year to then into the top four just got there so double chance and out in straight sets un that was that was a good year but like 17 and 19 for me i’ probably struggled I think those years up forward and that’s both of those I think I went back y um which was awesome because if Yeah the more swingers you can add to your bow the better and um I really enjoyed sometimes the freedom of going to the backline and just changing up my game and being a bit of a swing man and um yeah those years I think were tough on the field for us we had expectations of making finals and and we weren’t and um obviously 18 we did um and 2020 was uh yeah it was a it was a Peter km’s medal year for me which um was was pretty special yeah hadn’t sort of only started getting a few individual Awards in the back end of I think the 18 and the 20 and um uh yeah it was it was a weird year it was a lot of guys didn’t want to be in the hub didn’t want to be there and um I just embraced it I I um enjoyed the journey I didn’t love being over in South Australia where we were but um yeah it was I was just grateful that was still be able to play footy at the time and um it was it was a weird year and yeah um to I guess have the resilience in a way to to still be able to perform over there and and play my role for the side was was pleasing to get something out of that year and um I guess from 2020 last you know little bit Rocky exactly so that was yeah Hub year and then well in between all that you had 2017 where you went to International rules was that in Perth uh yeah Perth and AD that was pretty cool I think as a kid you look at those things you go oh that’d be cool to play and you never know if you get the opportunity and um got the opportunity to play so jumped at it and um loved every minute of playing a different sport and representing your country I think that’s something pretty rare so it’s pretty cool how’ your adapt to the round ball uh took a little bit loved it um were you a unique game inside of the foot or use the outside for goal kicking inside I think I played backline anyway so right um jeez you played more backline than I realized yeah I told you I’m versatile you just play forward pocket yeah I know I got no well I love to see you in the backline by the way I floody made me play backline when I was playing bfl development that’s why I went back there outside been playing obviously half forward forward pocket he’s like all right let’s go back find out what it’s like to be a Defender to see you play backline run off I’d have 30 no you wouldn’t you would have no idea what to do I might have five kicked on me but have you be a lock down Dow Defender no I would not um um so through to 2021 back injury y probably only played a handful of games for that year is that right one one yeah and then went to play the next week and H it back again in the warmup so wow um yeah we surgery surgery in the pre-season from memory or around Christmas time of 2020 and then took four months to get back um um obviously it still lingers now I got some nerve problems going down in sort of my leg and Cal and it’s never really come back so the cal um after the back delayed it a little bit so took four and a half months got back played a game was horrible against St hildo was really bad and then yeah hurt my back in the warmup doing a lot of pummeling which is probably why I don’t do a pregame anymore um and then yeah so and then heard it from there and ended up having another surgery so um yeah it was I think coming off a good year of um um winning the BNF and playing some good footy it was disappointing to miss that whole year but um I think as I said at the start my first sort of 200 games was pretty smooth sailing so um if you’re going to have a footy Journey that was was like that yeah it’s pretty rare I think yeah 100% And then we move on to 2022 so probably well not probably the hardest year of your life so um Ray passes away can you talk us through that period and what it was like I I’ll tell a story of my favorite story of R um post this but yeah how does how was that for you yeah it was um extremely difficult I think when it’s so sudden and it’s such a shocking you just don’t see it coming um I remember I was at the footy Club at the time in the morning and um mom had called a couple of times and and uh and yeah it’s something you just don’t even think of or picture happening at at the time and um I think looking back on it the the beauty for me and my family was the fact that I was at a footy Club and um had so much support and so many people around uh that we could just focus on what we needed to focus on and everyone else was is sort of looking after things for us so um in a way it’s a blessing that I was I guess still playing footy and had so much great support around we got great family at the time and um yeah they gave us all the time sort of we needed I think I missed sort of two weeks and I was away for two weeks of the club and and then after that it’s just like I want to be around the boys again and I want to be here and um I want to play footy cuz Dad come used to come to every game that’s that’s why I still wear um just a black armband each week just as a symbol that I know he’s there I know he’s watching so for me that’s something that I do and um yeah it’s just it’s as I said it’s great to to have that support of a footy club and get back to playing footy and um yeah I think you never uh you never forget but you just sort of learn to learn to move on and keep going about life so yeah it was really hard and he was someone that I bounced a lot of stuff off after a game and um he he’ sort of created that balance wave for me um it was never as bad as it seemed and it was Never As Good As it seemed so it was something that um has helped me through my career so uh yeah it was obviously a really tough year but um I think just another part of of I guess the back end of my career sort of learning I guess the resilience part of life yeah pretty special week the following week you came back and kick five on remember that first goal um nearly well pretty much tearing up on the ground when you kicked it and we got a pretty special photo celebrating together can you talk a little bit more about I remember you you’re saying Ray You’ sort of nearly prep with him is that right like before games you’d um work out who you’re playing on strengths weaknesses where you think you could get him and then obviously then debrief after the game with him as well he was always always down in the rooms and always up for a chat yeah he was always there he always I think what it was beauty of I guess playing that game in down in tazzy down in Lester or he was someone that he’d never sit next to Mom so he couldn’t sit next to Mom watch the game which I don’t blame him um but he’d always walk and he was always at the half forward flank of my end he likes to watch so in like he struggled through Co he couldn’t see behind the goals he couldn’t watch he didn’t know what was going on so um yeah he was he was always there and I think as a Ford you normally get the same matchups most weeks so he was really good to reference and um I don’t have to go back and watch a lot of vision cuz he obviously watch he’ know I’d know so he was a great board for me and then yeah after the game he was um obviously someone that I’d touch base with each week and um and we chat and yeah you you it was hard to lose that connection for a while but um in a way it made me start speaking to a lot of other people and like yourself I learn on you a lot more and a lot of others and um yeah and um life just just kept going and footy kept going and um that’s the way you would have wanted it my favorite race story is up at bundalong so one of your favorite places I’m sure it was one of rays as well um uh and we went to Squire the winery um so we went there for lunch and then I think we ended up back in town somewhere at one of those new yeah blacksmith that’s right and Liam Shield’s partner CLA at the time was pregnant um and anthy was with with me as well and we decided to head home early you went home and you guys stayed out in town to continue night but we were we were pretty cook so we um went back and thinking we were going to get a nice early night um to to go to bed and we walked into to your place on the river and um Ray was standing out there and just offer offered us a VB Lo loves his VB uh and obviously pup and I are um yes man we uh we we said yes straight away and went out the back of bundalong and I think looking back on it now and the questions he was asking and and what we sort of got talking about I think he just loved picking our brains on of on you and how you were around the footy club and and how you have been through your career and what sort of yeah I wouldn’t give away too much no you didn’t quite footy I didn’t never really talk about people so then be able to pick mine and Liam’s brain that night um and yeah just find out more about you and um yeah it was a pretty pretty special night for us I think you guys got home pretty late and we were still still sitting sitting at the back with drinking VB cans I remember the the table just being CH we were having one VB can and we’ve had six or seven each he love we love chatting to all the boys it was like 3:00 a.m. in the morning and you’re we’re still sitting there just chatting about you and um yeah still to this me still to this day is the best memory I’ve got of Ray and um it was a pretty special night to look back on so how was all that the move initially and then obviously moving back to hawthor and yeah obvious it was a big year as we just touched on um in personal life and uh at the time I just felt like I needed a change and um and I was really excited to to get out of Melbourne and go um up north and play for the Brisbane Lions and um an absolutely amazing bunch of guys um such a nice um nice football club to be around um everyone looks out for each other it’s like a big country footy Club it’s um it’s so different to get it’s a different experience to play for Melbourne football club and um look I enjoyed the challenge up there I found it it was pretty tough on the field obviously um with the game style and and the way they play football and um I tried to adapt as best as I could and um and it is challenging as well because you go like we obviously had built such a strong connection but you’d played with other guys in our for line as well so they like you mentioned before they knew your running pattern they knew where you wanted the footy versus you go to a completely new club new players it was it was it was good to experience a new style um and it was tough for my type of the type of player I am so it was great to Great to learn and and see new things in a new football club and a new environment um but yeah as I said the the uh The Lure of coming back home and back to horor um and being able to I think fully use my strengths here on and off the field um was something that I really wanted to do yeah good for your development if you’re staying footy you’ve seen a different program yeah seen a different program and and learned different ways and and to know that there’s different ways of Aden clubs doing different things so um yeah if I stay in football post career um I think being at three different football clubs um holds me in good stad so then coming back to Hawthorne so we were standing at Pebble Beach um about to play golf and you were getting phone calls left right in center to B rattled that round to golf wasn’t I you were which not ideal you’re playing one of the best courses in the world and you’ve got to try and deal with all that um so how did all that go yeah obviously um a a tough sort of week in that trade period you never know what’s going to happen but um look the trade got done and I was excited OB I was with you and sis at the time and and just left the big traveling party of the brzy guys as well so um yeah it it was it was an exciting time and um need so obviously a lot of logistics back home but uh yeah coming back to the club I think Sam sent me a you and Sam sent me a photo of a couple of steak knes in front of my locker which was a nice welcoming present um as part of the trade but um yeah like it it it for me it took a little bit of time I just felt like I need to earn a bit of respect back and um needed to prove myself again I didn’t have a great year of football um up in Brisbane so um I needed to have a good preseason and um I’d had a lot of conversations with Sam over the offseason um about what this year looks like for me and and whether it’s um playing and um whether it’s off field and um as I said before it’s been really good for um my mindset and how you go about sort of the later part of your career and um as I said I’m starting to get a lot more enjoyment um out of the younger kids playing some good fooy as as much as yourself playing good footy so um I’ve loved my my first half of the year at Hawthorne and um yeah just really enjoying being back at the footy Club nice and game 250 so what does that mean to you and can you sum that up for us yeah it’s it’s it’s pretty surreal I think to think about it to be honest I remember having a conversation um with a development coach at Adelaide um and I think i’ had a bad game and bad attitude you know I can have that from time to time um he said and he I remember K he said you can be a 20 game footballer AFL footballer if you apply yourself and stuff are H in school actually um Jack doesn’t apply himself very well if Jack distracts others distracts um yeah and he sort of mentioned that um and that’s something that at the time you haven’t even played a game you’re like yeah 200 games come on like yeah that’s a lot um and then yeah you just go through journey and you probably don’t really think about your games you’re so involved and invested in the season that it all keeps creeping up on you and um and I think for me it hit me it’s like 250 when yourself and Liam played it together I was like that’s that’s pretty special that that’s cool it’s a great memory it’s great celebration afterwards and um and as I said I I played my 200th in the hub with no one there so I’m actually really looking forward to this week and really looking forward to sharing it with um the people that have been on the journey with me there’s a lot of family and friends coming along so um yeah hopefully we can get the win and it’s a really enjoyable day but um it’s something that um is special to me but I think it’s special to the whole family as well yeah nice well congratulations outstanding career looking forward to sharing a beer this weekend with you um go well mate thank you mate thanks for the podcast