ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM, REPORTER:\u00a0In this year\u2019s AFL Grand Final it\u2019s a clash between the Kings of The Jungle and the Kings of Geelong …\u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s the first time both teams are meeting in a grand final.<\/p>\n
But today it was all about the d.o.g.g – Snoop Dogg.<\/p>\n
Off the back of commentating at the Olympics and performing at the super bowl, the American rapper will headline the AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment.<\/p>\n
SNOOP DOGG, RAPPER AND SONGWRITER:\u00a0 These are dreams come true for me, like I was a kid that dreamed of getting to meet athletes and now I\u2019m actually able to perform for the biggest sporting events in the world.<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0Today, selected journalists were invited to watch an interview with Snoop Dogg but not allowed to ask questions.<\/p>\n
SNOOP DOGG:\u00a0 I’ve been coming to this country for years, I understand what this game is, what it means, so I know it\u2019s not just a sport, it\u2019s a way of life. I know it\u2019s not just a team or a club, it\u2019s part of your DNA.<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0Jermey Cameron, Geelong\u2019s key forward, playing this Saturday is focused on the footy, not the noise.<\/p>\n
Do you have a favourite Snoop Dogg song?<\/p>\n
JEREMY CAMERON, GEELONG PLAYER:\u00a0 Nah I don\u2019t, I barely listen to music. I\u2019ll have to sneak out a half time and have a look.<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0 I think it\u2019s pre-game.<\/p>\n
JEREMY CAMERON:\u00a0 Pre-game, there you go. That\u2019s how much I know.<\/p>\n
DOUG HAWKINS, FORMER AFL PLAYER:\u00a0 We’ve got Snoop doggy daddy or Snoop, what is he? Daddy or doggy?<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0It\u2019s not immediately obvious but former bulldog great Doug Hawkins will be cheering the Lions on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After playing 329 games for Footscray, he went on to play 21 for Fitzroy, which merged with the Brisbane Bears to become the Brisbane Lions.<\/p>\n
DOUG HAWKINS:\u00a0 I think the thing with Brisbane Lions Aly, I think Chris Fagan, the Brisbane Lions players, they don’t like him. They actually love him. I think that takes you a long, long way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0According to Doug when it comes to grand final entertainment nothing beats\u2026<\/p>\n
DOUG HAWKINS:\u00a0 What’s his name? I forgot the guy. How well am I going? Who sings Up There Cazaly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Music)<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0His name is Mike Brady, and his song is \u2018Up There Cazaly\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
MIKE BRADY, MUSICIAN:\u00a0This will be 46 years since I first sang it this week in 1979. Isn’t that unbelievable? I was two at the time.<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0 He performs it every year at the grand final. The song is an AFL anthem.<\/p>\n
MIKE BRADY:\u00a0 It’s just a fabulous feeling, hearing it coming back at you from the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0And he has this advice for Snoop Dogg.<\/p>\n
MIKE BRADY:\u00a0 I think a lot of the big liners, the headliners, the big shots that have come here, male and female have made a mistake because they haven’t learned anything about the game.<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0The popular rapper showed earlier this week he\u2019s learnt a thing or two.<\/p>\n
JASON AKERMANIS:\u00a0 Snoop Doggg. I have Snoop Dogg on my playlist, I have Eminem, all the, what do they called? They’re probably not PC or they’re not for public consumption.<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0Snoop Dogg fan and former Brisbane player Jason Akermanis knows all about winning.<\/p>\n
He played with the Lions when they won three premierships and has been awarded the league\u2019s highest individual honour – the Brownlow Medal.<\/p>\n
JASON AKERMANIS:\u00a0 It’s going to be tough. Opposition’s tough. There’s no guarantees. And you just know watching a lot of footy and being part of footy my whole life, it could turn in a second.<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0The Lions are hunting back-to-back premierships.\u00a0<\/p>\n
JASON AKERMANIS This is the best week when you’re a player because you know it’s the finish, the end win or lose it, let’s get on with it. It’s pretty cool.<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0Geelong\u2019s last premiership was in 2022.<\/p>\n
STEVE HOCKING, GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB:\u00a0 There’s an afterglow that comes with it that lasts for quite a while.<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0Former player Steve Hocking is the CEO of Geelong. He played in the \u201880\u2019s and \u201890\u2019s and knows what it feels like to play in a losing a grand final.<\/p>\n
STEVE HOCKING:\u00a0 Oh, it’s not pleasant. It lives with you for a long time, and I’ve been very fortunate to come back in as an administrator and be able to be involved in successful days.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:\u00a0This week, the final touches were being made to the MCG to make it pitch perfect for the Cats, the Lions and Snoop Dogg.<\/p>\n
STEVE HOCKING:\u00a0 I hope he does a good job. We’re not paying too much, are we?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM, REPORTER:\u00a0In this year\u2019s AFL Grand Final it\u2019s a clash between the Kings of The Jungle and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,651,2475,13658,4127,49334,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-169392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-brisbane","14":"tag-cats","15":"tag-geelong","16":"tag-lions","17":"tag-snoop-dogg","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}