Sport & Life with Sam Kekovich and Leon Wiegard

We chat with Olympic pole volt gold medalist Steve Hooker. We chat with Steve about the unique sport and how he changed from a junior track career to pole vaulting. Steve talks about his journey to the summit winning gold in Beijing and the tough challenges he's faced throughout his career.

We chat with New Zealand superstar jockey Brent Thompson in light of his return to track work at the ripe old age of 66. We chat with Brent about his amazing career, some of his biggest rides and his journey post retiring the saddle.

We chat with former goal kicking champion Peter McKenna. Peter played 180 games for Collingwood and kicked 838 goals for the Magpies. We chat with Peter about his career both on and off the footy field, including the time he decided to release an album, hence the tag of being the 'original rockstar.'

As a tribute to our great mate Andrew Plympton, we decided to look back at his interview on the show from 2020. We chat with Andrew about his great sport passions in Sailing and the St.Kilda football club.

We chat with Sydney 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist Mark Turnbull. Mark won Gold in the Sailing 470 class with Tom King. We chat with Mark about his sailing career and his relationship with Andrew Plympton in the wake of his sad passing.

We chat with 2 x Premiership player and current AFL Media analyst David King. Kingy opens up about his time at the Kangaroos, his media career and the current state of football. We also chat about the newly announced Tasmania Devils and the issues around their proposed stadium build.

Alfie Langer is a household name in Australian Sport and regarded as one of the best NRL players of all time. We chat with Alfie about his playing career, which included four premierships with the Broncos, and the time he famously came back in 2001 for game three of State of Origin.

We go behind the scenes of one of the biggest football stories from the 1980s which was the recollection of the South Melbourne Swans to Sydney. John Keogh was the man leading the 'Keep South at South' movement. We chat with John about that pivotal time in history for the VFL.

We chat with Gillon McLachlan who was the CEO of the AFL from 2014 to 2023. We chat with Gill about his time in charge, and some of the tougher moments including navigating the league through COVID.

We chat with 1985 Brownlow Medalist Brad Hardie. Brad was a versatile and attacking player, completing 290 career games with four different clubs. We chat with Brad about his playing career including his big move from Footscray to Brisbane in the mid 80s.

We chat with the GM of Football at Melbourne Storm Frank Ponissi. Frank has been at the helm of the club since 2007 and has overseen over a decade of success at the club. We chat with Frank about his journey and try to unravel the keys to the Storms sustained success.

We chat with former VFL player and current St.Kilda coach Ross Lyon. We chat with Ross about his playing career which spanned 129 games (127 Fitzroy) and 2 games with Brisbane. Sam grills Ross on his coaching career, in particular his exit and then return again to St.Kilda.

We chat with horse trainer David Eustace who collectively with his colleague Ciaron Maher have prepared over 1600 winners. We chat with David about his career and his pending move to the mecca of racing, Hong Kong.

We chat with legendary lawyer Bernie Balmer who has reperesented many 'colourful' characters throughout his career, including the infamous Mark 'Chopper' Read. We chat with Bernie about his journey, his clients and his immense passion for the Sorrento Football Club.

We chat with the iconic voiceover man Craig Willis who's career has spanned over 45 years in the media / broadcast industry. Most people would know Craig for his voiceover work on the AFL, Tennis and Olympics. We chat with Craig about his career and some of his greatest sporting memories.

He chat with Herald Sun and 3aw sports journalist Jon Anderson. We chat with 'Ando' about some of his biggest sports stories across his career and his raise to popularity, including the time he addressed the Press Club in Canberra.

We chat with one of footballs greatest ever players John Nicholls, who played 328 games for the Navy Blues winning premierships in 1968, 1970 and 1972. We chat with Nicholls about his career, the Carlton Football club and his views on the current state of the game.

We chat with former kiwi jockey Gary Willetts who rode 490 winners throughout his career including 16 Group 1's. We chat with Gary about some of his famous rides including his journey aboard Mankato.

We chat with John Rothfield better known as 'Dr.Turf' who has been a prominent racing identity for over 35 years. We chat with Dr.Turf about the early days of the SP bookies and his thoughts on the current state of racing in Australia.

We chat with David Healy who was a longtime friend of American golfer Doug Sanders, who famously finished runner up in 5 major tournaments. We chat with David about Dougs legacy and some of the more interesting stories such as the 3 foot missed putt to win the 1970 Open tournament.

We catch up with one of Australia's most popular long distance runners Steve Moneghetti. We chat with Steve about his running career which included gold at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and his passions outside the sport.

We chat with one of Australia's greatest golfers Craig Parry. Since turning professional in 1985, Craig has had 23 career victories including two on the PGA tour. We chat with Craig about his fantastic career, and some of his near misses including the Masters at Augusta.

We chat with former professional wicket keeper and cricket coach Darren Berry. Darren played 153 first class matches and was considered unlucky not to have represented Australia given his high regard as a master gloveman. We chat with Darren about his career both as a wicket keeper and coach abroad in the IPL.

Sam and Leon give an unfiltered recap of the 2023 AFL season and give our prediction for the finals series.

We chat with one of Australia's greatest ever tennis players Neale Fraser. Neale chats about his amazing tennis career which included two US Open singles titles in 1959 and 1960 along with the 1960 Wimbledon singles title. Neale talks about his early beginnings in the sport, why was the era so dominant for the Australians, and what he thinks of the modern day era of tennis.

We chat with rising star in the jockey world Carleen Hefel. Carleen has ridden over 200 winners throughout her career and is regarded as one of the premier jockeys in Australia. We chat with Carleen about how she got into racing and what it's. like being a female jockey in Australia.

We chat with prominent horse trainer Manny Gelagotis. Manny chats about his early days in Gippsland and playing professional soccer for the Morwell Falcons. We then gather insights into how he and his brother Peter got into horse racing and how tough is Australian thoroughbred industry.

We chat with North Melbourne legend Glenn Archer who played 311 games for the club winning two premierships in 1996 and 1999. Glenn chats about the early days at North Melbourne and the battles he had with his football confidence. He then relives some of his fondest memories about his premiership wins and the tough period when Wayne Carey left the club.

We chat with former Collingwood President and popular Australian media personality Eddie McGuire. Eddie opens up about his early days in sports journalism and how he ended up becoming the president of the Collingwood football club, along with the various challenges he faced. Eddie also talks about some of the tougher moments throughout his time in media and sport, and gives an update on how his son is going in the USA as a punter in college football.

We chat with broadcaster and former Australian rules player Brian Taylor about his career on and off the field. BT played 140 games of league football, 43 with Richmond and 97 with Collingwood. BT chats about the various characters he met in his playing days and how he dealt with not playing in a premiership side with either the Tigers or the Pies. We then move into his media career with some entertaining stories, including the recent Logie Awards.

We chat with former VFL hard man Ricky McLean who played 58 league games across two clubs Carlton (19) and Richmond (39) from 1966 to 1976. We chat with Ricky about his career and some of the more colourful memories, most of which involved Ricky 'settling the score.'

We chat with a very special guest Craig Challen who is a technical diver and cave explorer who played a pivotal role in the rescue of 12 Thai children and an adult in 2018. We chat with Craig about the world famous rescue in the Tham Luang cave and his journey into cave exploration.

We chat with Ian Tate who is regarded as one of the best engine builders in the history of Australian Motorsport. Ian was a key player in the late 60s and 70s across many Bathurst campaigns and opens up about his illustrious motorsport career.

We chat with Channel 7 sports broadcaster Hamish McLachlan who has been a regular on Australian television sets since 2008. Hamish opens up about his career, how he got his start and what it was like growing up in the McLachlan household.

We catch up with former Australian fast bowler Carl Rackemann to chat about his career where he played 12 test for Australia and 52 ODI's. Carl also recaps the dramatic opening Ashes test in England.

We chat with the CEO of the AFL Players Association Paul Marsh. We chat with Paul about his role within the AFLPA which he has had for over 8 years, and the regular challenges the organisation look to tackle. We also chat with Paul about his time as CEO of the Australian Cricketers Association.

We chat with former hard and pacy defender Mark Zanotti who played 157 games with three clubs, West Coast, Brisbane and Fitzroy. Mark chats about his early days in the West and what lead to his relocation to QLD. Mark also chats about his time in the UK and how he started his own football club.

We chat with former Australian rules footballer Garry Baker who played from 1972 to 1983 with Footscray, Melbourne and Sydney. Post his VFL days Garry settled into a successful life in Tasmania and gives insights into how the apple isle is feeling about the pending AFL side. We chat with Garry about his career and the current and future state of Tasmanian football.

We chat with former Australian test captain Ian Chappell, who is one of Sam's favourite sportsman as he always 'called it as he saw it.' We chat with Chappelli about his test career and how he stood up for the rights of his fellow players throughout the 70s.

We chat with Australian director and producer of film and television Simon Wincer. Simon has had an amazing film career and calls the likes of Steven Spielberg

and George Lucas personal friends. We chat with Simon about his career and how he ended up creating some iconic films including 'Phar Lap' and 'The Cup.'

We chat with former Collingwood and Fitzroy footballer Brian Beers. Brian opens up about what it was like to win the 1958 flag for Collingwood and the jubilation the club felt after the final siren sounded. Brian also chats about his post football sporting exploits, notably in Tennis and his involvement in administration with Tennis W.A.

We chat with Scottish sprint legend George McNeill who has claimed tow of the biggest professional foot races in the world. The 1970 New Year Sprint in Scotland and the 1981 Stawell Gift in Australia. George tells the story about his gift win in 1981 and the massive betting plunge which saw his support network collect $40,000 in winnings.

We chat with fast bowler and raconteur Rodney Hogg who takes us through his colourful cricketing career during the late 70s and early 1980s.  Rodney shares with us some of his best yarns he has used at sportsman's nights over the decades.  

We chat with Kangaroo legend Wayne Schimmelbusch who played 306 games for North Melbourne from 1973 to 1987.  Schumma chats with us about his playing days and the influence of the great Ron Barassi.  We also chat about his not so successful venture into coaching North Melbourne from 1990 to 1992.

We chat with Keith Stackpole who played 43 tests for Australia and went onto a successful sports media career throughout the 1980s and 1990s.  Stacky opens up about his test playing days and what life was like travelling with the Australian cricket side in the 60s and 70s.  

We chat with Grant Thomas who played 83 games in the VFL and more famously coached the St.Kilda football club from 2001-2006.  Grant opens up about his playing days and coaching career, along with the role he played in signing some key figures at Moorabbin.  We also chat about Grant's media career and the business success he has had since leaving the coaching ranks.  

We chat with Jim Buckley who won three flags with Carlton in 1979, 1981 and 1982.  Jim opens up about the double page Herald-Sun article over the weekend where he talks about being sober for the past two years and the effect that has had on his life and family.  Jim also shares some colourful stories about his playing career as well as the time he famously organised the Fosters logo to be painted on the ground in London.  

We chat with Australian wicket keeping legend Ian Healy who played 119 test matches for Australia, leading to 395 dismissals behind the stumps.  We chat with Ian about his career both on and off the cricket pitch and his thoughts on the current Australian tour of India.  

We chat with All Australian and duel Premiership player Corey McKernan live from Boston where he is gearing up for the Super Bowl.  We chat with Corey about his time at the Kangaroos and what it was like playing under Denis Pegan.   We also find out why Corey left the Kangaroos for Carlton at the top of his game and his passion for sport outside of Australian rules.  

We kick off 2023 with our chat with 1970 Brownlow medalist and first class cricketer Peter Bedford.  Peter talks about his duel sporting achievements on the football field with South Melbourne and Carlton along with his cricket career with Victoria during the 60s and 70s.  We also talk about some of the great duel sports personalities who managed to excel on the football field and other codes.