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See which AFL teams will be exposed in a new documentary series by the makers of the smash-hit Drive to Survive
See which AFL teams will be exposed in a new documentary series by the makers of the smash-hit Drive to Survive

Daily Mail​

time17 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • Daily Mail​

See which AFL teams will be exposed in a new documentary series by the makers of the smash-hit Drive to Survive

AFL fans are in for a treat, as it has been revealed that a new all-access docu-series about footy's top-flight is coming to our screens. According to SEN, the production company, Box to Box Films, behind the smash-hit Netflix series 'Drive to Survive' has already commenced work on a brand new AFL series that will be aired on Amazon Prime Video. Box to Box Films are an Emmy-winning producer based in London. They are reportedly in Australia and are working with five footy clubs. As of March 2025, 'Drive to Survive', Netflix's viewing data report suggests that Series Five of the show has gained over 90,000,000 viewing hours since it was launched in 2019. And as the AFL looks to innovate on how it can broaden its audiences globally, footy chiefs will be hoping that they can drive up some big numbers. SEN has also revealed the footy clubs that producers will be working with, and only one Victorian club is included in the roster. Fremantle, GWS Giants, Gold Coast and the reigning premiers, Brisbane will all feature in the documentary, alongside the Western Bulldogs. It is also understood that the series will revolve around the star players in each team. Marcus Bontempelli is being rumoured to have a spotlight in the series, alongside GWS star Toby Greene. Instead of focusing on the clubs, the new programme, which is yet to be named, will delve into the lives of the players and how they have risen to the top of professional footy. The AFL has previously engaged producers and streaming giants, like Amazon, to produce a series delving into the lives of players in the league. Back in 2021, the 'Making Their Mark' docu-series was released on Amazon and featured Eddie Betts and Nic Naitanui, while also going behind the scenes at the Crows and GWS. While we wait for more details to drop on which players will be involved in the show, one Freo star has revealed he will not be participating. 'I can't say it will involve me too much,' Sam Switkowski told the West Australian. 'I haven't noticed any extra cameras or anything like that, so I'm not too sure who will be in it. 'It will be good for the club, good for the sport as a whole, to be able to see a little bit more of what goes on for our fans and members.'

AFL 2025: Carlton champion Sam Docherty's parting hope for superstar captain Patrick Cripps
AFL 2025: Carlton champion Sam Docherty's parting hope for superstar captain Patrick Cripps

News.com.au

timea day ago

  • Sport
  • News.com.au

AFL 2025: Carlton champion Sam Docherty's parting hope for superstar captain Patrick Cripps

Carlton champion Sam Docherty will retire with a parting apology and hope for superstar Blues captain Patrick Cripps. Docherty announced his retirement on Tuesday morning, drawing a curtain on one of footy's most motivating careers. He will play his 184th and final game this Thursday against Hawthorn at the MCG. Docherty moved from Brisbane to Carlton ahead of the 2014 season just days before the Blues drafted their now dual Brownlow Medal champion out of Western Australia. They arrived at Princes Park together and would eventually captain the club together in 2021. In a brilliant retirement speech in front of family, friends and teammates, Docherty detailed a decade-long dream he and Cripps shared. He apologised for calling time prematurely but hoped Cripps would carry on to live out their dream of premiership success. 'I have already made the big fella cry today but to 'Crip', a bit more prepared this time, mate,' Docherty said. 'Thanks, mate, again. We've had a solid dream together for the last 10 to 12 years about where we wanted to take this footy club. 'I am sorry we don't get that moment we've dreamed of, it's something I have chased with you and wanted to have with you for my whole time I've been at the club. 'Hopefully you get what you deserved and you get the success you deserve across your career, mate. 'Thanks for guidance, friendship, love, support, all of that across my career, mate, I've needed it more than you'll ever know.' Docherty said three games have stood out across his career. The milestone game of his good mate Kade Simpson, who will coach Hawthorn's back six in Docherty's last game, his first game back from his cancer battle and the final win over Melbourne in 2023. 'Three games that stick out to me the most,' he said. 'Simmo's 250th, the emotion playing in that, he was my idol, still was when he was here and still is now, to be honest. 'Playing his milestone moment, having a big win, my return game from cancer and kicking the goal with everything behind that and what that meant to other people. 'Then the semi-final win over Melbourne, three games, to be honest most of the other memories … the fun of being in a footy club, the people you meet, the highs and lows of it all – it's all just a big part of footy I have loved.'

‘I am sorry': Parting message to beloved Blue
‘I am sorry': Parting message to beloved Blue

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

‘I am sorry': Parting message to beloved Blue

Carlton champion Sam Docherty will retire with a parting apology and hope for superstar Blues captain Patrick Cripps. Docherty announced his retirement on Tuesday morning, drawing a curtain on one of footy's most motivating careers. He will play his 184th and final game this Thursday against Hawthorn at the MCG. Docherty moved from Brisbane to Carlton ahead of the 2014 season just days before the Blues drafted their now dual Brownlow Medal champion out of Western Australia. They arrived at Princes Park together and would eventually captain the club together in 2021. In a brilliant retirement speech in front of family, friends and teammates, Docherty detailed a decade-long dream he and Cripps shared. He apologised for calling time prematurely but hoped Cripps would carry on to live out their dream of premiership success. 'I have already made the big fella cry today but to 'Crip', a bit more prepared this time, mate,' Docherty said. 'Thanks, mate, again. We've had a solid dream together for the last 10 to 12 years about where we wanted to take this footy club. 'I am sorry we don't get that moment we've dreamed of, it's something I have chased with you and wanted to have with you for my whole time I've been at the club. 'Hopefully you get what you deserved and you get the success you deserve across your career, mate. 'Thanks for guidance, friendship, love, support, all of that across my career, mate, I've needed it more than you'll ever know.' Docherty said three games have stood out across his career. The milestone game of his good mate Kade Simpson, who will coach Hawthorn's back six in Docherty's last game, his first game back from his cancer battle and the final win over Melbourne in 2023. 'Three games that stick out to me the most,' he said. 'Simmo's 250th, the emotion playing in that, he was my idol, still was when he was here and still is now, to be honest. 'Playing his milestone moment, having a big win, my return game from cancer and kicking the goal with everything behind that and what that meant to other people. 'Then the semi-final win over Melbourne, three games, to be honest most of the other memories … the fun of being in a footy club, the people you meet, the highs and lows of it all – it's all just a big part of footy I have loved.'

AFL star writes a book about life in the big league featuring players who abuse drugs and get kicked out of clubs - and the VERY rude title says it all
AFL star writes a book about life in the big league featuring players who abuse drugs and get kicked out of clubs - and the VERY rude title says it all

Daily Mail​

time2 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • Daily Mail​

AFL star writes a book about life in the big league featuring players who abuse drugs and get kicked out of clubs - and the VERY rude title says it all

Former Sydney Swans star Brandon Jack has given footy fans a glimpse into the lives of what it's like to be a player on the fringe of an AFL side's first-grade team with his new fictional novel. Jack, 31, is an Australian author, journalist, and a former professional footy player. He played for the Swans between 2013 and 2017, making 28 appearances in footy's top flight, before being delisted by the club. Following the conclusion of his footy career, Jack turned to literature, winning an award after he published his memoirs, detailing what life is like playing pro footy back in 2021. Now, he has published his first novel, entitled 'Pissants'. The fictional book delves into the lives of AFL players contracted to a fictional and unnamed club, but are stuck on the outskirts of the first team. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brandon Jack (@brandonjackk) It is a crude and confronting tale about the inner workings of a club, with Jack revealing that even he did not like some of the themes included in the book, but included them to keep the authenticity of what life is like at the top level. 'There are things the characters say, and things that they do, that I disagree with. When I tried to change it, it felt really fake,' he told The Guardian. 'It felt like it lost energy. Because with my experience of the football world, I know that beneath what you see on the field and in the interviews, it's all a little bit dark.' Sport runs in the family for Jack, with his father, Garry, enjoying a distinguished career in rugby league's top flight, winning 22 caps for the Kangaroos between 1984 and 1988. He also made 244 appearances for the Balmain Tigers. The characters in 'Pissants' have nicknames like Fangs, Mud, Shaggers and Big Sexy. The book sheds a light on the extent these players will go to establish themselves as a key member of the squad, from lewd inside jokes, themes of loyalty and bizarre team rituals. The group don't play all that often, instead issuing their resentment to those playing in the first grade side. The bitter players make their own rules. They kidnap a team-mates dog, abuse painkillers during sponsor events and get chucked out of nightclubs. 'The Pissants group, that core group of players that we follow, are unknowingly staring out into the void searching for meaning,' Jack explains. 'They're at their footy club, and they're getting nothing back. They're not wanted, they're not needed. So they're experiencing a kind of existential dread of: 'What is my purpose?', which they funnel through their rituals and drinking games. 'They're creating and cultivating their own meaning in the universe. That's how a lot of us operate.' The unique and innovative book explores themes of masculinity and fragility, with many of the characters putting up a front to mask emotions of loneliness and alienation. Jack adds that the humour, which shines through the book, is something he is grateful for. He adds that the comedy elements in the book also 'capture what was for me a pretty dark place at times.' 'I'm at a point now where I realise there were things in [that experience] which were seriously funny,' he told ABC. 'The reason for all my searching was that I just wanted somebody else around, to be connected. 'To be able to write this in a way that conveys both of those things was important.' One other big theme he explores in the novel is the topic of bullying. The 'Pissants' bond by the abuse they subject members of the group to. From Kangaroo Courts to cruel pranks, the group is ruthless when it comes to their team-mates. Jack says that this is very strong in footy clubs, but adds that in-jokes are also a big deal. 'Sometimes, you really want to be in on the joke, even if it's at your expense, because the alternative is loneliness, and that's almost a worse fate,' he adds to ABC. 'That's why, in my mind, these players are engaging the way they are. I think they're looking for some sort of meaning and connection to other people, and that's the way they get it.' After hanging up his boots, Jack doesn't miss playing at the top level. Instead, he revealed he's moved on from the sport, revealing that it had taken him some time to get back into running. 'It took me a while post-footy to just enjoy going for a run,' Jack said to The Guardian. 'But I've found the joy in putting the runners on, putting headphones in and just going at a slow pace, far less intense than I used to. 'Sometimes I find myself creeping up when it's meant to be an easy 5km run, sometimes I end up flogging myself. There's something I still like about knowing what my mind and body can do.'

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