All Sports All Maddie with Maddie Gothard-Fox

Speaker 2
[00.00.42]
And welcome to my next podcast. Oh, all about the the Freo Dockers, Perth Wildcats and and Erin’s
netball
Speaker 1
[00.00.53]
in the in
Speaker 2
[00.00.55]
the next episode. I’m chatting with uh, with a former Dockers player called Dylan Smith. Come with me
as I talk about AFL and the Freo Dockers. In the next episode and I’m chatting with, um, with a former
Dockers player called Dylan Smith. So how many games? Um. Um, what was it like playing? Playing at
home or away?
Speaker 1
[00.03.45]
That is a great question. I loved playing at Subiaco when, uh, which was the old ground before Perth
Stadium and that that was great to have, um, a big team, uh, sorry, a big crowd that were supporting,
supporting us. Um, and so I really enjoyed that. The times that I had that opportunity. But also it is fun
travelling. And when you go with the team travelling, there’s lots of fun that happens. Um, you know, on
the plane ride, you play cards or read magazines and, and just hang out as friends. And sometimes it gets
a bit boring, um, travelling a lot, but a lot of the time it’s actually really fun. So I, I did like that, just, um,
to have that experience as well. Uh.
Speaker 2
[00.04.39]
Um. Uh, how? How many years have you, um, have you played in played in football before?
Speaker 1
[00.04.50]
Yeah. Well, in the AFL, I had five years, so I had three years at North Melbourne Kangaroos and then
two years at the Fremantle Dockers. Uh, but I started when I was, I started playing football when I was
seven years old, and so and I finished I’m going to try and do the maths here, but I played until I was
about 25. So what’s that? I mean, years, and then I had a couple more seasons, um, at the local club here
called North Fremantle, um, Magpies. So I’m going to go with 18 years of football I’ve played across my
life.
Speaker 2
[00.05.30]
Oh that’s fine. Um, and what was it like being a midfielder?
Speaker 1
[00.05.39]
Well, that’s another good question because I love being a midfielder because you’re always in the game
and it’s never boring. Oh, so you can go anywhere? Just about. Sometimes you get in trouble if you get in
the way of the forwards, particularly the big forwards. They say, particularly the little players like me,
they they tell you to shut you away and get out of their space or, you know, they they tell you off, but
most of the time you can go anywhere in the ground. And I love that because you’re always in the play
and you could always get a touch or get involved, have a tackle. Um, and, and particularly on cold days,
then you can always stay warm because you’re just running around all of the time. Oh, yeah. So I think
I’d get a little bit bored if I played at other parts of the ground, and I’d have to wait for the ball to come
into my area. Oh, so I’d like being a midfielder. Ah. Um. Uh. Uh. What was
Speaker 2
[00.06.37]
your most favorite game?
Speaker 1
[00.06.41]
Wow. That is a good question again. I think I would have to so to explain this one. I was a midfielder and
I was on the edge of the team, so sometimes when I got a game, I would start on the bench and I would
just get a little bit of, um, of game time. If someone was a little bit tired, then I would come and they
would have a rest and I would play. So a lot of the time I was, um, not playing a lot of the game. That
makes sense. So many of the games, I was coming on and off, but there was one game when we played at
the MCG and we played Melbourne, and on this this day, I did get a lot of game time and got to play
quite a lot of, of, um, of the game on the field, and it was a really exciting game. Uh, Luke McFarland
played really well, took all these amazing marks, and Jeff Farmer kicked about 7 or 8 goals. And and so
at the end of that game, I felt like I made a contribution and that I was out there for a long time, and I was
tired and I was satisfied, and we’d won the game. So that was one of my favorite memories. And also I’m
from Melbourne. Originally my family were in the stands watching, so that was a really, um, really
lovely memory. So I’m going to go with that one as my favourite game. Uh,
Speaker 2
[00.08.03]
um, it was it. I was a football. And your. Your favorite sport to play
Speaker 1
[00.08.14]
in? Absolutely. Um, very clearly I did play cricket. I did play basketball and tennis. Um, growing up in a
country town, we sort of just did everything, um, but it was football was clearly my favourite. And I
often wonder if I didn’t, you know, if I lived in another country, what else would I do? What other sport
would I do? And I’m not. I’m not really sure. Maybe. Maybe athletics. Maybe hockey. I’m not sure. But I
wasn’t as good as the other sports as I was at football. So it’s a very clear football as my favourite.
Speaker 2
[00.08.50]
Ah. Um, uh, who was the hardest team that the, that you’ve, you’ve played against?
Speaker 1
[00.09.04]
Well, I don’t like saying this, but I did play a practice match against. Uh, I played a few times, actually,
against the West Coast Eagles and and they were pretty tough there. Their midfielders were were very
quick and they ran a lot and they were hard players. So I’d have to say West Coast. And then also the
other team that comes to mind is Brisbane. Brisbane Lions were very strong in that time I played. They
won lots of premierships and so in about my second game I played against them and I couldn’t get a
touch. They were just very big and strong. I felt like a child playing against men. I was not strong enough
and so that was a very hard game. Oh,
Speaker 2
[00.09.54]
um, what was it like winning the best player in in 1999, and how did it change your life?
Speaker 1
[00.10.05]
It was, uh, it was a great experience because on the very same day, uh, we won the, the premiership for
under 19, so under 18 seconds for what’s called the. Paran dragons or Sandringham Dragons. Um, so that
was a very big occasion. And and then, uh, there was a few of us that had really good games. Uh, and,
and did well. And so only a few of us could have got the, the best on ground. But I was I was very happy
to, to be, uh, uh, best on ground on that day. So very, very happy. Um, I was younger, there was team
mates that were 18 and I was only 17. So, um, I couldn’t get into any of the nightclubs or the pubs. And
so everyone was celebrating, but I had to sneak in to a few things a few times, so that was also fun. Part
of the experience, because I was doing things I, um, I hadn’t done before. Um, and, and celebrating with,
with older, older friends, which
Speaker 2
[00.11.14]
I like to I, I thank Dylan Smith for, uh, listening to my podcast.
Speaker 1
[00.11.22]
Thank you Maddie. Wonderful questions. I’ve enjoyed the chat.
Speaker 2
[00.11.32]
You’ve been listening to unfiltered, another podcast supported by the Department of Communities