Freedom In A Cage: The Official Western Bulldogs Podcast

2: Freedom In A Cage | Matt Suckling

1: Freedom In A Cage | Jason Johannisen

Bulldogs royalty Bob Murphy, Katie Brennan and Chris Grant came together this week to discuss Saturday night’s highly-anticipated AFLW premiership flag unfurling.  The trio discusses the enormity of the 2018 AFLW premiership, the history of the Bulldogs’ women’s team, the pathway it has created for the next generation of women’s football stars, and the Club’s strong connection to family.

Ruckman Ben Hudons, 'The People's Beard,'  is the fourth guest on the Western Bulldogs’ brand-new off-season podcast, Glory Days. Following the success of the debut season of Freedom in a Cage, Bob Murphy is back behind the microphone for a series of podcasts for the NAB Trade and Draft hub on westernbulldogs.com.au, powered by Mercedes-Benz Vans. Weekly during the October and November player movement period, Bob will welcome a current or past great of the Club for a chat about their career, the influence the Bulldogs had on them, the characters they played with and against, and everything in between.

Brad Wira is the third guest on the Western Bulldogs’ brand-new off-season podcast, Glory Days. Following the success of the debut season of Freedom in a Cage, Bob Murphy is back behind the microphone for a series of podcasts for the NAB Trade and Draft hub on westernbulldogs.com.au, powered by Mercedes-Benz Vans. Weekly during the October and November player movement period, Bob will welcome a current or past great of the Club for a chat about their career, the influence the Bulldogs had on them, the characters they played with and against, and everything in between.

Ben Harrison is the second guest on the Western Bulldogs’ brand-new off-season podcast, Glory Days. Following the success of the debut season of Freedom in a Cage, Bob Murphy is back behind the microphone for a series of podcasts for the NAB Trade and Draft hub on westernbulldogs.com.au, powered by Mercedes-Benz Vans. Weekly during the October and November player movement period, Bob will welcome a current or past great of the Club for a chat about their career, the influence the Bulldogs had on them, the characters they played with and against, and everything in between.

Goalkicking machine Simon Minton-Connell is the first guest on the Western Bulldogs’ brand-new podcast, Glory Days. Following the success of the debut season of Freedom in a Cage, Bob Murphy is back behind the microphone for a series of podcasts for the NAB Trade and Draft hub on westernbulldogs.com.au, powered by Mercedes-Benz Vans. Weekly during the October and November player movement period, Bob will welcome a current or past great of the Club for a chat about their career, the influence the Bulldogs had on them, the characters they played with and against, and everything in between. Minton-Connell had a storied league career in the 1980s and 90s, which began at Carlton and saw him transfer to Sydney then Hawthorn, before playing out his final two years at Whitten Oval. Episode one of Glory Days explores his fearsome debut against Collingwood, the superstar team-mates he called his best mates, the opposition he respected and feared, his uncle Peter Hudson, and the momentum of Terry Wallace’s Dogs in the 1997 season.

To celebrate the 23rd and final episode of the season, co-hosts Adrian Brown and Bob Murphy reminisce about Simon Atkins and the great Werribee team of 2000 01:19; discover the real meaning of 'fill your boots' and 'Joe the goose' 04:34; 1990: the first year you could handball from a free kick 07:05; the Freedom in a Cage awards 08:21; the first thing Bob bought after signing an AFL contract 15:43; and the incredible Yarra Glen v Thornton Eildon clash from last weekend 16:16\. Tiger great Matthew Richardson then joins the boys to discuss his memories of playing at VU Whitten Oval 19:21; including kicking 8.1 in 1994 and his great lost mark of the year 22:19; his toughest Dogs' opponents 24:59; why Barry Hall calls Bob 'Butch' 26:11; memories of the Liberatore/Knights altercation 27:09; "surely they're not sending you down, Darce." The day Richo was disrespected by the Dogs 31:31; memories of Gary Ablett Snr & Tony Lockett 35:30; Richo's tall goal post theory 40:31; more boundary rider tales 43:56; And Bob's work experience at Richmond as a teenager 49:13\. The boys then crown the two greatest marks of all time. 56:54

In the latest episode of the Freedom in a Cage podcast the boys discuss Bob's transition from the number 22 to 2 01:08; the Dogs' late season form 04:24; Morris v Riewoldt in the Fox Footy Green Room 05:59; Sunny Boys and Bob's weekend return to Warragul 07:51; shout-out to Scratcher and Puddles 12:04; watching Barry Round drink a beer 12:54; and behind the scenes at The Front Bar with Allen Jackovich 14:26\. Caleb Daniel then joins the podcast to talk his new haircut and barber etiquette 17:28; some footy talk 20:13; his move to the 'men's department' down back 22:24; joining the 40/40/40 club 23:11; Dale Morris's 250th 24:49; his North Queensland roots and rugby background 25:42; the last fortnight of the season 27:56 and Caleb's round 21 Brownlow predictions 28:51\. The boys then discuss Bob's one on one interview with Tom Boyd last week 29:40; the search for the greatest grab in Bulldogs history continues 31:26; did Easton vote for himself? 32:08; Rohan Smith's intervention 32:41 and next week's surprise guest 37:37.

In this week's episode of the Freedom in a Cage podcast, the boys discuss who has been the best player to switch between the Bulldogs and Kangaroos 00:17; peruse the Dogs' record books 06:35; the legend of Manny from Conway Fish Trading 07:58; classic/silky Bulldogs left-footers 08:32; stopping violence in footy 12:42; round the corner kicks v traditional drop punt 15:50; Derek Kickett and chaos theory 17:55; who is Joe the Goose? 20:57 the day Plugger kicked 16 straight at Whitten Oval 21:28; The Barassi conspiracy 22:12; Dunstall's seventeen at Waverley and Gia's fury 24:20\. Then the boys recommence the search for the greatest mark ever taken by a Bulldog 25:31; how to vote 30:00; and the return of 'enlighten me'. 30:58.

In a special edition of Freedom in a Cage Bob Murphy sits down with Bulldogs big man Tom Boyd for an exclusive interview. The boys discuss Tom's early days in Ringwood North and growing 27cm in prep 01:35; looking up to Dad and wanting to be an AFL player from a young age 03:38; growing up a Carlton fan 04:55; the build up to the draft as a 17-year-old 05:58; adjusting to the move away from home 07:40; football and his unique teen years 09:09; becoming a professional and the search for balance 11:43; the environment at GWS 12:14; the Bulldogs trade and the cultural impact it had on AFL player movement 14:30; the weight of expectations 17:42; a charmed childhood and building resilience 18:38; headspace and acknowledging his struggle 20:44; the signs and learning to cope 23:41; having the best job in the world 25:56; for the love of the game 26:59; the feedback after his headspace video 28:04; feeling stronger 30:02; and the major role Club psychologist Lisa Stevens has played.

In episode 19 of the Freedom in a Cage podcast, co-hosts Bob Murphy and Adi Brown discuss what the rest of the season looks like for the Dogs01:47 and playing and training during the winter months04:03\. Then Herald Sun photographer Michael Klein joins the podcast to talk his passion for the Bulldogs 07:44; his Bulldog heroes (shout out to Shane Loveless) 09:02; his path from the mail room to a three decade career behind the lens 09:46; the challenge of shooting football compared to other sports 10:59; who he's been drawn to over the years 12:54; breaking the rules for a good shot and his favourite snap 14:09; being a Bulldogs supporter during September/October 2016 15:24; waiting for a film to develop in the old days 16:44; the unseen pictorial documentary of the 2010 Bulldogs 19:16 and the Instagram effect 21:37\. The boys then discuss Bob's new book 'Leather Soul' and how he's found the book tour process 25:05; trying to write a different kind of football book 26:12; Martin Flanagan's advice 28:16; his famous third game 31:02; the great characters, including Jesse Wells 33:41; Jim Pavlidis' contribution 38:04; moving on from the footy experience 41:24; and being humbled in Borders 42:27.

The boys discus the controversy around Bernie Vince and Patrick Dangerfield's post match laugh 00:50; Luke Darcy's post-match rules 02:42; handshake protocol 05:15; have we reached peak footy media? 09:42; can goal of the year be a fluke? 12:22; and the return of Kev's Corner 13:57\. Tom Liberatore then joins the podcast to discuss the Krusty the Clown inspired hair cut 16:44; the progress of his rehab and the focus on his core 18:27; his European holiday 19:52; following the football while he was away 21:30; his view on the proposed rule changes 23:20; the one he would change 24:17; what he's been reading, watching and listening to over his break 27:33; applying Malcolm Gladwell to football 28:55; the time Bob sought professional help with the goal kicking yips 32:28; Tom talks the retirements of Clay Smith and Koby Stevens 33:16; Tom's connection with Instagram influencer Dim Sim King 38:20.

In episode 17 of the Freedom in a Cage podcast Bob Murphy and Adi Brown dissect Michael Cordell's legendary documentary of the Club's 1997 season, Year of the Dogs beginning with a list of the best ever football/sports documentaries (3:03); how post-match press conferences have changed over the years (6:53); Bob's memories of watching it after he was drafted (8:01); Richard Osbourne's fashion choices (9:13); when Solo got fazed out of post-match recovery (10:17); Danny Southern (12:42); a snapshot of yesteryear (13:56); memories of Pat Hodgson (16:23); the longest message to a runner in history (19:13); shout-out to Scott Wynd's epic corky (21:16); the famous "I'll spew up!" speech (22:54); and did he succeed in 'getting up them in a positive manner'? )25:53). Rohan Smith then joins the show to discuss his memories of the famous Terry Wallace speech (29:40); going from the bottom of the ladder to a preliminary final in a season (31:01); working as a bearings sales rep in 1996 (32:54); his own memories of Pat (34:25); what it was like having a documentary team around the Club (35:49); his famous turtleneck (37:32); Shaun Baxter's cancer diagnosis (38:39); winning in front of the faithful (40:15); the secrets of Whitten Oval (42:06); Rohan's experience as a runner (44:30) his tears after 300th game (and Toy Story 3) (46:30); and his time as a boundary rider (49:38). The boys then finish up with the second best speech of Year of the Dogs from 'rhythmic' Rick Kennedy (54:54).

In the 16th episode of Freedom in a Cage, the boys discuss Fish Creek's greatest ever players (00:43); Adi gets worked up over the rules (3:00); is it time for zones (9:03); forming a committee for a proper Retro Round, rules and all (11:50); Bobby Bonilla day (12:47);and Bob's favourite Marilyn Manson rumour (15:02). Clay Smith then joins the podcast to talk caravan parks (16:39);the day after announcing his retirement (17:31);the difficult last couple of months (18:00); how close he got to playing again (18:36); his last training session and announcing it to his teammates (19:25); reminiscing about the 2016 finals series (21:02); why he didn't play one last game (22:15); what's next (22:48); the loneliness of rehab (24:05); the debut, Jarrad Grant and the full body cramp (25:33) the highlights of the past seven years (27:44); telling Mum it was over (29:09) starting his own family (30:28) and the boys pay their own tribute to Clay's career (31:04). A tribute to Pat Hodgson (32:46); previewing the Demons and 100 games for JJ and Bonti (36:01); and then the boys crown Ballarat's best pie.38:55.