{"id":499832,"date":"2026-02-24T00:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T00:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/499832\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T00:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T00:10:11","slug":"drive-to-survive-team-drop-tv-show-about-afl-starring-toby-greene-max-gawn-and-marcus-bontempelli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/499832\/","title":{"rendered":"Drive to Survive team drop TV show about AFL starring Toby Greene, Max Gawn and Marcus Bontempelli"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Paul Martin, one of the executive producers behind Netflix\u2019s Formula One sensation Drive to Survive,<\/a> has been living the dream of every \u201csports guy\u201d for the better part of the past decade. Inspired by that show\u2019s phenomenal success, which is widely credited with revitalising the sport on a global scale<\/a>, he has since been invited inside some of the biggest competitions in the world.<\/p>\n

In Full Swing, Martin got a front-row seat at the PGA Tour. Break Point <\/a>took him inside the Australian Open. Unchained explored the Tour de France. Make or Break rode the highs and lows of the world surf championships. Any Given Saturday threw the soccer-loving Brit inside US college football; and in Faceoff he explored Canada\u2019s National Hockey League.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been approached by individuals, teams and leagues on an almost constant basis,\u201d Martin says, speaking about the post-pandemic boom enjoyed by his production company Box to Box Films. In fact, the AFL \u2013 the subject of his latest Amazon Prime Video series, Final Siren \u2013 has been chasing a partnership for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was down in Australia for the Melbourne Grand Prix filming Drive to Survive maybe four years ago, and Beth Wallis [recently promoted to director of original content and partnerships] at the AFL invited me to a game to see what it\u2019s all about. The AFL sat me almost on the grass at the MCG, between the two coaches, and I had such an elevated experience of the game. I remember being blown away by the sheer athleticism of the players.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAussie Rules had a bit of a moment in England, where I think it was on Channel Four. I remember all we knew was that they wore cut-off shorts and beat the hell out of each other \u2026 As I got to know the sport and spend some time in and around it, I was just blown away by the skill level and the personalities.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an experience the AFL \u2013 which has labelled the series \u201can important asset\u201d in growing its reach \u2013 clearly wants to replicate for viewers here and around the world. But in a streaming landscape now swamped with sporting documentaries, does it do enough to stand out?<\/p>\n

What to expect from Final Siren: Inside the AFL<\/p>\n

The four-part series follows a handful of big-name players during the tail end of the 2025 AFL season. And though it culminates in the Brisbane Lions going back-to-back to win the flag (told through the perspectives of Dayne Zorko and Cam Rayner), the story is more concerned with exploring individual controversies and vulnerabilities than great plays and ladder placings.<\/p>\n

Editor’s pick\"David<\/a><\/p>\n

That includes dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe<\/a> reflecting on the burden of injury and deciding to call time on his career; Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli reckoning with the prospect of contract extension; Max Gawn rallying his Melbourne teammates after the surprise sacking of their coach Simon Goodwin; and Toby Greene suffering the consequences of yet another suspension.<\/p>\n

The latter notably provides a rare snapshot into Greene\u2019s family life. The firebrand player, wildly controversial for his aggressive moves on the field, speaks about his relationship with his estranged father, and he is forced to answer to his partner and mother about the effect online abuse has on all of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a certain persona around the Australian male and AFL player,\u201d Martin says. \u201cWe had a slight fear that they were just going to f— around with us basically, and not give us [the authentic moments] we wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TobyToby Greene in Prime Video series Final Siren: Inside the AFL.Prime Video<\/p>\n

But he found that most players, reassured by the production company\u2019s track record, were eventually able to open up: \u201cIf you do these shows right, these moments can become cathartic for them. It\u2019s a way to talk about things in their own words [and] communicate a much fuller picture than just a back-page headline or scandal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a fan of Married At First Sight, so\u00a0I understand how cuts can work. But I don\u2019t have anything to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melbourne captain Max Gawn<\/p>\n

Speaking the week before the show\u2019s premiere and yet to see the complete final cut, Gawn said it\u2019s only natural to feel vulnerable about what\u2019s being put to screen. \u201cI\u2019m a fan of Married At First Sight<\/a>, so I understand how cuts can work,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I don\u2019t have anything to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gawn points out he was mic\u2019d up for all three games that were filmed, which is the kind of exclusive behind-the-scenes action he enjoyed in Drive to Survive. One notable moment involves a rousing speech during an on-ground huddle in which every sentence contains an F-bomb.<\/p>\n

\"MaxMax Gawn in the Amazon Prime Video series Final Siren: Inside the AFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt probably worked out better that Goody wasn\u2019t there,\u201d he goes on. (For the record, speaking broadly about Goodwin\u2019s departure, the captain tells me \u201cthe right call was made\u201d.)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very defensive of his own intel and what was happening behind our closed doors. Once we had no coach, it was a lot easier to walk around with a camera. As a group, we were keen to show what we thought we were doing well after a bit of adversity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps the AFL to share our story globally. And Melbourne Football Club\u2019s forever trying to gain more fans and more sponsors, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

A dealbreaker: \u2018You can\u2019t PR the story\u2019<\/p>\n

Martin is clear that each league, club or sportsperson comes to his projects for their own reasons. In fact, he encourages it. \u201cI always say to people: you have to find a reason to want to do it. And if you can\u2019t find that reason, don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he says he\u2019s uncompromising about the final product.<\/p>\n

\"NatNat Fyfe in the Dockers\u2019 rooms in a scene from Final Siren: Inside the AFL.Prime Video<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very clear with anybody that takes part,\u201d he says. \u201cWe say, \u2018In order to make these shows successful, you guys need to come with a layer of authenticity and not try to control or PR the story\u2019. Audiences see through that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Martin doesn\u2019t \u201cname and shame\u201d, he says plenty of AFL clubs knocked him back on requests to be involved.<\/p>\n

With just four episodes on offer, and with our big-name players complete unknowns on the world stage, it will be a tall order for this series to take off in the same way as Drive to Survive (which drops its eighth season on Netflix this Friday). But as an established footy fan, a series taking viewers inside the toughest moments of the season is something I\u2019d watch every year.<\/p>\n

Final Siren: Inside the AFL premieres on Amazon Prime February 27. <\/p>\n

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":499833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-499832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499832","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=499832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/499833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}