The Hard Yards: Recent Episodes
Matty Guyatt
As a professional golfer I have experienced first hand how tough it is to get to the top and the journey to get there. Along the way I have met a bunch of sportspeople who have made it to the top of their chosen fields.....this podcast is a chat with a few of them about how they did it!
Current Brisbane Broncos player David Mead joins me for a chat. David talks about his journey all the way from his village in Papua New Guinea, where as a little fella him and his mates played footy with bottles or whatever they could find. David went on to the NRL and also played Super League in the UK as well. It is a great story from a humble and great guy. I hope you enjoy listening in to his story as much as I did.
Brisbane Lions backman Darcy Gardiner joins me for a chat ahead of another finals campaign in the AFL. He certainly knows a thing or two about doing the "Hard Yards" as he has been out most of the year with a shoulder injury requiring surgery. A ripping fella with a great positive outlook, get around it and have a listen!!
Pro golfer Aaron Baddeley joins me for episode 1 of Season 2 of The Hard Yards. Aaron rose to fame winning the Australian Open Championship as an amateur before defending his crown a year later. 20 or so years on and with 4 PGA Tour titles to his name he is still doing battle on the PGA Tour and still known as one of the best putters on tour. I hope you enjoy episode one as I catch up with Badds and chat all things golf and life!!
This was one of my more challenging interviews.....purely as I knew very little about the sport of horse racing where this weeks guest Mark Du Plessis plies his trade as a jockey! With 19 group one wins and wins in multiple countries around the world to go with some cool Melbourne Cup stories, it ended up being one of my favourite episodes as I learnt so much about the sport and also now respect jockeys even more! Have a listen and don't forget to share it around. To get your discount golf tees from The Hards Yards sponsor, The Tour Tee, go to www.australiangolfsupplies.com.au and use the code "THY10" on check out!!
It is a fantastic story of perseverance and getting back up knock down after knock down. This guy probably sums up, The Hard Yards podcast perfectly. He has made it to the top now though however and is one of the excitement machines of the AFL where he captains the Brisbane Lions. If you have a kid who isn't quite getting selected and needs some inspiration to keep going, have a listen!!
The "Raging Bull" Gorden Tallis did it all, captaining the Broncos, the Maroons and the Australian Kangaroos! A glittering career but not without its challenges. We chat life in Townsville as a kid, and his St George debut right through to his current role working with the Titans to grow the game on the Gold Coast. I hope you enjoy episode 20 of The Hard Yards!!!
This week sees me spend some time with one of the up and coming AFL umpires, Alex Whetton. He may not be a household name or one of the elite sportsman I have had on the show so far but it is a fascinating chat with one of the critical players in our AFL season. Do yourself a favour and listen in to what these guys go through week in week out to try and get everything right in a high pressure atmosphere!! Respect!
He was the number 3 draft pick in the 2016 AFL draft and has since not only cemented himself in the Brisbane Lions side but is an integral part of the premiership push for them this year. It was fantastic to sit down and chat with Hugh, one of the young guns and hear about his journey from a dairy farm to playing AFL footy! Ripping fella!
One of the most respected cricket and rugby league writers for the Courier Mail as well as host of Cricket Legends and regular on The Back Page on Foxsports Robert Craddock joined me for an amazing chat about his career in sports journalism. Looking at sport from outside the playing field looking in and covering some of the big issues in a transitioning career from print media to the current digital world we live in!! Enjoy!!!
It's a term not loosely used, this weeks guest on The Hard Yards is a "Double Allblack!" Jeff Wilson represented New Zealand on the international stage in two different codes, Rugby Union and Cricket. Jeff is a phenomenal athlete and an even better guy. You can't help but have a smile on your face when you are around him. I hope you enjoy this one, an incredible story of representing your country!
One of Brisbane, Qld and Australia's favourite sons on the PGA Tour, John Senden, was kind enough to catch up from his other home in Dallas Texas for this weeks episode. We talk all things golf and also John openly shares about the challenges of their son Jacob's battle with a brain tumour. It is an episode you won't want to miss even if you are a non golfer! Enjoy.
Aussie cricketer Matt Renshaw shares some great stories about his journey from grade cricket to Test Cricket all in just over a week....at the same time he shares about his struggles and his desires to get back in the baggy green! A refreshing chat with the first Aussie test cricketer to score 500 test runs before 21 years of age!!
288 game NRL star and now a big part of the Foxsports NRL coverage Braith Anasta joins me for episode 13 on The Hard Yards. We chat all things from injuries to changing clubs, the wooden spoon and post sport career as well as his passion to help prepare our current players in a couple of sports for life after sport. He is a genuinely great fella and I loved having a chat, hope you enjoy it too!!
Superboot Daniel Rich joins me for a chat about his AFL journey which started with him moving from the west coast of Australia to the East coast to play for the Brisbane Lions as an 18yr old! We talk players, coaches, successes and also the challenge of a 3 game season due to an ACL injury. He has a refreshing view on adversity....one that I love!!
From 13 to 14 years of age this weeks guest Andy Maher wanted to be a journo and set about doing everything he could to make it happen. His is now a voice we have listened to watching AFL, Cricket, Golf and other sports over the years. Its a fascinating chat to a different side of sport here in Australia...with one of the truly nice guys in the media!
Aussie tennis legend and world number 43 John Millman joins me for episode 10 to chat all things tennis, from training during covid19, a possible restart to world tennis, his younger and much tougher years, beating the "Goat" in Roger Federer and his absolute passion, playing Davis Cup for Australia!
Aussie tennis legend and world number 43 John Millman joins me for episode 10 to chat all things tennis, from training during covid19, a possible restart to world tennis, his younger and much tougher years, beating the "Goat" in Roger Federer and his absolute passion, playing Davis Cup for Australia!
Australian golfer and world number 6 Adam Scott joins me for a chat from is hang out on the Sunshine Coast. We talk about his road to the top which culminated in his US Masters win and becoming the number 1 golfer in the world!! It's a two part episode so don't forget to listen to Part B as well!
Australian golfer and world number 6 Adam Scott joins me for a chat from is hang out on the Sunshine Coast. We talk about his road to the top which culminated in his US Masters win and becoming the number 1 golfer in the world!! It's a two part episode so don't forget to listen to Part B as well!
A fascinating listen as 3 time premiership player with the Brisbane Lions shares his story from a youngster born in Papua New Guinea to Grand Finals at the MCG!!!
Famous for leading our Wallabies to a glorious first ever win in the Rugby Union World Cup in 1991, Nick has had an amazing journey from the amateur days of Rugby Union all the way to meeting the Queen and also Nelson Mandela. In our chat he touches on all of that and more, enjoy the listen!
This lion hearted performer in the baggy green will long be remembered! Ryan Harris wore the baggy green with tremendous pride and would do it all again in a heartbeat if he could! Listen to one of our best bowlers to have played for Australia as he chats all things fast bowling and some tail end batting!!
Four time AFL Premiership winner with Hawthorne, 3 times as captain along with winning 2 Norm Smith Medals for best on ground in those Grand Finals, Luke Hodge joins me for a chat in episode 5 of The Hard Yards! Have a listen as he chats about everything from being an 11yr old at the MCG and falling in love with the game to moving his family to Brisbane to finish out his career at the Brisbane Lions!!
Episode 4 sees the youngest player in State of Origin history join me for a chat, Ben Ikin. Ben played in the NRL for 3 clubs as well as representing Qld in the toughest game of all at Origin level and suiting up for the Australian side too! Have a listen as we chat through all of that, the marriage to daughter of supercoach Wayne Bennett, injury and early retirement as well as his post football career which is blazing forth as the host of NRL360 on Foxsports.
Ben Dunk chats about his cricket journey and the chase for the Baggy Green that ended up in him being a T20 specialist plying his trade all around the world! It is a story of heart break and resilience that certainly inspired me just listening to his story!
New Zealand cricketing royalty Stephen Fleming joins me at the NZ Open golf tournament pre coronavirus for a chat about all things cricket and a little "mental game" magic!! I am sure you will enjoy all he has to say!
Socceroos and Brisbane Roar legend Matty McKay joins me for a chat to talk all things football and the journey he took to get to the top. Listen in as he talks us through the challenging times of his career and post career.....what a legend!