Sandgroper Sports

Trent is a legend in West Aussie footy culture. His influence stretched across Amo's and WAFL, but he is best known as the most successful Western Australian coach of the AFLW. Playing in the WAFL for Peel and Swans, he made his biggest mark as a coach, taking the Swans colts from wooden spooners to a premiership in one year. He moved on to coaching the Freo AFLW team, taking them from second...

Peter Menaglio is a name that is synonymous with the West Perth Football Club. Multiple fairest and best winner, life member, named in their team of the century and recently inducted in the hall of fame for the club. He was a star player in the 70s and 80s when the WAFL was at its peak.  Peter shares some fabulous recollections of life growing up in Perth and how he made his way to becoming an eli...

Jye Bolton is a highly decorated and big game football player who has been awarded two Sandover Medals (and a runner up) as the best player in the WA Football League as well as a record four Simpson medals as the best player for WA in State Games and in a Grand Final. But above all Jye is driven to achieve team success, with his greatest memories always involving his teammates. Achieving an elusiv...

Darren Harris is the reigning WAFL premiership coach of West Perth Football Club – who has a very interesting story to tell about life inside and outside of WAFL and AFL football. Darren is WAFL royalty having won WAFL premierships with West Perth as a player, captain and coach. He is a fairest and best winner, Simpson Medallist and State Captain. He is also a very successful coach having worked a...

Matthew Jupp is a leader who has learnt a lot during his football and life journey. We hear of his fondness of growing up in Port Hedland being surrounded by family, sport and weekly adventures like boating, fishing and diving, as well as playing Friday night football due to the extreme heat. Matthew made his way to Perth to complete high school, where he was noticed by the East Fremantle Football...

Perth Wildcats legend Trevor Torrance gives a unique insight into the world of an elite basketballer who has also had a successful business career, while discussing with raw emotion the lasting impact of being bullied as a young boy and not being able to come out as a gay man in the 80s and 90s when intolerance and prejudice was rife in our community and the world of sport. Trevor, a 300+ game pla...

Listen to one of Western Australia’s greatest cricketers who excelled at both state and national levels – Graeme Wood. He shares some very interesting stories of his experiences playing for WA and Australia from a very early age, in numerous tests and one day internationals, including regularly facing the fearsome West Indies bowling attack of the late 70s and 80s. His Test debut came against in 1...

Sam Harding is a proud West Australian Paralympian that has put in the hard yards to get to where he is today. Early in life, Sam was diagnosed Choroideremia. A vision impairment that effects his peripheral vision. He explains how that effects his day to day actives as well daily training and events.  Sam discusses his early sporting choices in rowing and athletics, before taking a liking tandem c...

Michael Veletta is renowned in Western Australian cricket circles as one of the finest opening batsmen our state has produced. Born to an Italian family, and brought up on soccer, Mike broke the mould at an early age and took like a duck to water to cricket, soon showing talent as a batsman, fielder and wicket keeper. He made his debut with the WA Sheffield Shield and One Day side at the young age...

Mike Ellis is one of the most recognisable sportsmen in Western Australia, being captain of the Perth Wildcats in the 80s and 90s (formerly the Westate Wildcats) when they were the biggest show in town with their games played in prime time TV across WA.  As a member of Western Australia’s most famous basketball family, he is a dual championship captain, playing over 300 games for the Wildcats, was...

Grant Schubert reached the pinnacle of his chosen sport of Hockey, being a two Time Olympian for the Australian Kookaburras Hockey team, an Olympic gold medallist at Athens, a gold Medallist at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and a bronze medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2003 he was awarded the world young hockey player of the year – receiving a very unique prize! Grant shares with us w...

Our guest is a national treasure who is Australia’s most renowned gymnast. A proud West Australian, she shares her amazing and challenging experiences in starting in elite sport from a very early age. We hear about the incredible dedication it took to be a world class gymnast including the amount training, managing serious injuries and the pressure of performing on the world stage. Lauren also sha...

Our guest is one of a select group of WAFL players who have reached the pinnacle of the league by leading their team to a WAFL premiership. He describes his career journey from early life in football to the ups and downs he has experienced along his football journey. Dylan shares the elation of being drafted by West Coast Eagles and then the disappointment of being released by the club before play...

Subiaco’s league coach Beau Wardman has had a different pathway to the norm to get where he is today.   We have all heard of some WAFL/AFL players becoming umpires, but Beau is unique in being an elite umpire that became a successful WAFL league coach, despite only playing football at a junior level.   We got a great insight into Beau’s early interest in sports as a participant before being guided...

Richard - A.K.A Bulldog shares some fabulous anecdotes of growing up in rural Tasmania, and progressing to representing his state in cricket and football at junior level – then out of the blue he is approached to come to WA to play for South Fremantle, and his world completely changed. Richard shares some great anecdotes of playing WAFL in the glory days prior to the Eagles and Dockers entering th...

Craig has some hilarious stories about his time in football and the antics of his team-mates. A country boy from Williams, Craig outlines the pathway he took to becoming a multiple premiership player with South Fremantle, captain of the club and proud life member of the Bulldogs. Hugely respected by his team-mates and opponents alike, Craig shares his views of how football should be trained &...

This episode is a must for any AFL and WAFL followers and particularly fans of the Fremantle Dockers and Claremont supporters - where our guest holds legendary status.    We hear about Dale’s football journey growing up in his beloved WA Wheatbelt town of Tammin to the dislocation of coming to Perth and then rising above the challenges to progressing to being a premiership player and multiple Simp...

Jonathan Marsh is a proud Sandgroper who plays football with vigour and aggression. Off the field he is focused on supporting young people on life’s journey. Even if you are not into footy - this is a great human story and an episode not to miss.    In this episode Jonathan shares his unique and challenging experience of playing with two AFL clubs, his battle to maintain his mental health, as well...

In this episode we sit down with Claremont Football Club legend and born and bred Sandgroper Mark Hann. Mark played in 6 WAFL Grand Finals, winner of a reserves premiership, winner of four league premierships, captained the club to a premiership in 1991. captained his state and is now on the WA Football Commission.  All this despite nearly walking away from football five years into his career.  Wh...

We had the privilege of sitting down with one of the loyalist East Perth Football Club players in 2x time F.D book Medallist - George Giannakis George gives us an insight into what life was like growing up down south in Manjimup . His desire to play for the Royals from an early age.  Playing in a great Teal Cup side in 1984.  Being apart of the  initial West Coast Eagles training squad only to get...

Welcome to the Sandgroper Sport Podcast,    Where we, Watty & Scotty talk to West Australian sports stars.   We never made to elite level sports - but we speak to those who did and hear about their journeys towards their elite careers, while hearing about what it means to them to be a Sandgroper.  By listening in you will get an insight at what it takes to make it at an elite level, whilst hea...