[MUSIC PLAYING] Bring Glory Home in EA Sports College Football 25. Experience the decibel-shaking soundscape of college football, putting you inside the stadium, alongside iconic rituals and traditions, test your strategic decision-making with an all-new composure system, player wear and tear, and screen-shaking home field advantages. Learn more about the MVP bundle, which also includes EA Sports Madden NFL 25 and can't miss rewards at EA.com/collegebundle. Well, we're back to the show. Time to talk some footy now in a massive game coming up in Launceston tomorrow afternoon, where the home team, Hawthorne, will host third-placed Fremantle and joining us on the line to preview the big clash is Hawthorne, head of coaching performance and development. Brett Raton, welcome to the show, Brett. Yeah, great to be on. Big game, mate, isn't it? Fremantle, just cruising along nicely. You guys had a little hiccup last week up before that. Absolutely flying, so it's all set up for a huge game. Yeah, it should be nice to get back there. Launceston, and to Graham, we would play really well. And after last week, we probably learned a fair bit. You played your long, it's a very good team. And, yeah, we sort of just off the pace slightly. But as we know, we're a young group and we're still growing. So, yeah, we took a bit out of that game. Yeah, you certainly are, Brett, a young group. What do you take into tomorrow playing against a top four side who have been really impressive this year? Yeah, it's probably one of those ones when you sit back on the Monday and we review the game and you've had a look at the tape and all that. It just felt like we were just off the pace, you know, with a half a metre away, a metre away, just a bit re-active, not pro-active. And when you play, you know, you're long enough to go on with, you know, you can't do that. We just gave them a hit start. We gave him field position at the start of the game. And then we'll play and, you know, catch-up footy, which was challenging. Now, Brett, Utah Stadium traditionally made a fortress for Hawthorne. Does the club still consider it a pretty big advantage by coming down to Tassie, especially, I guess, when you're coming up Western Australian side that's got a fair bit of travel to get there? Yeah, I think, you know, this year, our record's been very good down there. You know, it's something that, you know, we want to create if we can and make it really challenging for teams to come to long-system and, you know, have a win against us. So we think it's an advantage for us. You know, we've played good footy this year and beat some good teams. So we're looking forward to it. Made in a new role of head of coaching and performance and development. How impressed with Sam Mitchell, have you been? And I guess when you look back to him as a player, did you see him as someone that would become a senior coach? Yeah, well, I was very fortunate to spend six years at Hawks as an assistant and Mitchell was playing. So I got to witness first-hand and I did all the stoppages and all the set plays in my first three years. And then I was in the field coach for a few years there. And he was one that was very proactive as a player, trying to get into that coaching space and help the team. And he liked to strategize and think about the game. I've just watched that first-hand transfer, you know, from the player and then now to witness him as a coach. He's been very impressive and he's still building as a young coach to give that game. He's been really impressive so far. Brett Ratton from the Hawthorne Footy Club's our guest on Essie and Tassie breakfast this morning. Brett, this week we saw Adam Simpson leave the Eagles, of course, and that's someone you briefly work with during your first in at Hawthorne. Is it a former head coach yourself? Do you think more needs to be done about how coaches are treated by the industry? We saw that pretty nasty front page from the West Australian a few days ago. And what do you think about that? Well, it's a nature of the game. We know what we're stepping into, but I think there is a duty of care to the person and the family. I think when sometimes it goes beyond the job and becomes personal, I think that can become a real issue for anyone dealing with that. So, it's a hard space, the media trying to do their job, the coach trying to, you know, coach the team to win and not everyone can win. That's a hard part about it. So, I just think it's a fine line, and, you know, I'll say to do what you want done to yourself, don't do it to others, sort of scenario. I don't think you need to just be a little bit careful in that space. Do you think with that media scrutiny and social media scrutiny and even just sort of the difference in how you have to coach young players coming through the system now, do you think it's become harder than ever right now to be a head coach in an AFL-40 team? I think the more that we broaden, I suppose, the competition, you know, that can make it hard. The talent pool maybe gets a little bit less. So, time to develop players might take a little bit longer and then that will probably challenge clubs patients, I suppose, at some point. So, yeah, it's probably more challenging than ever. You know, with the management of staff and everybody, it isn't a one-man job. I spoke to Neil Craig when I was coaching the Blues and he just finished up at Adelaide. And back then, that would have been in 2008, 2009. We just sat down there in a cup of tea and Neil was talking about, you know, it's not a one-man job and that was back then and that's 15 years ago, so, and it's only grown from, you know, with players on list and the requirements of a senior coach has just grown even more. Yeah, no doubt about that. Speaking of coaches, you've had a little bit to do with the Zane Littlejohn, of course. So, we love hearing in Tasmania. First question about him is, do you think he has the attributes to be a senior head coach one day in his own right? And secondly, how excited are you about Tasmania entering the AFL in a few years' time? Well, the first question is, I got asked this a couple of weeks ago down in Tasmania, I did a conference there with some people and yeah, they asked about Zane and he's going really well as a young coach and he chose all the skillsets of, you know, hopefully developing to become a senior coach, you need that opportunity to present in front of a, you know, a panel and get that, get the chance to showcase what you can do, but I think he's going really well in the coaching space and, you know, good communicator, knows the game, good with relationships. So, I think he's setting a good foundation to give himself a chance and then just probably got to wait for that opportunity. Hopefully it comes in, you know, five to 10 years. We'd go through sort of a career plan with him, sit down and work out the steps he needs to take and be prepared for some of these opportunities down the track if they can come. And the devil's coming up right there. I think it's fantastic for Tasmania, full stop, you know, just to have the team, when you think about some of the great players that have been, you know, that have come through Tasmania with the ball docs and the Richardson's and the hearts and all these, I'm going back a long way, but it's just great to see, you know, how's he having their own team? And, you know, that'll be interesting how it all plays out. I think, you know, we're, you know, Brendan taking the reins there as a CEO. I think they'll have a look at the models of two WS and Velco's sons, how they came into the competition and maybe go back a little bit further, we poured Adelaide and Fremantle. How they stepped in to the competition. So, I think they've got some good taste studies here from maybe how to shape it, but it is a different team and a different part of Australia. But what I do know is bring free back to Tazee and an Avon team there. I think he's good for the go. Brett, do you think with that appointment of senior coach that's going to be coming with your experience in the industry, do you think it's important that they go for a tried and tested coach or would you be happy to take the pun on an up-and-comer? I think it depends what the philosophy of the club is about. Do they want to, you know, have somebody with the experience? I think the board and their board can go through that or do they want to have somebody that grows with the players? And that'll be important. And what if you do it one end? If you have an experienced coach, you've probably got to have a younger coaching group with him. And if you go the other way with a junior coach, you've probably got to have a bit more experience around to help him with some of the other things that he has to deal with as a senior coach. But I think both models work. I think with a senior coach, it doesn't matter who it is, it's the support you have around him that is so critical and helps make the coach what he does so well and allows him to play to his strengths. So I think that's really important. There's also the people around it. Hey, before we let you go, Brett, can you tell us about the walk for epilepsy that you're involved in? Yeah, well, it's going to kick off in Tassie. It's going to be all around Australia, but Tassie will be on October the 1st. It's in 25 days, you could walk a total number of 100 kilometers or run or ride up to you. It doesn't really matter, but one in 25 people will experience epilepsy in their life. So it's just about creating awareness and some more supports around that. My youngest daughter has an epilepsy. So that's where the connection comes and having seen it firsthand, there's different forms of epilepsy but just to deal with that is so it can be very challenging. But it's just a great awareness. It's people that have it and how we can support them is really critical. Megan was a mate, that's a great course. So well done for getting involved with that. And all the very best for tomorrow as well, as we said, a massive game Hawthorn versus Fremantle at Utah Stadium 145 bounce. You can catch the call here on SCN, Brett, right and good luck. And thanks for joining us this morning. - Yeah, thanks Tim and thanks Brent. - Breakfast powered by Kubota, take on any job with Kubota's range of tractors, mowers and utility vehicles, still loving your techs, coming through on the Hogwarts Open Line, Hogwarts results for you. You can get us on 0437 5552535 and a reminder, we've got a $100 KFC voucher to give away to our contributor of the day. But for now here come the news headlines.
