Gavin Wanganeen | Australian Football Hall Of Famer (29.07.2026)

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**Mark Duffield** (0:56)
Welcome back to the SNWA studio out here at Optus Stadium on this Wednesday morning. This is Duff and The Doctor thanks to Blackline. That's B-L-A-K Line, Aboriginal-owned business delivering signage, print, promotional products, and creative services with cultural integrity and impact. And our first guest today on Duff and The Doctor is an absolute legend. He was a 1993 Brownlow Medalist and Premiership player at Essendon. He was a 2004 Premiership captain at Port Adelaide. Gavin Wanganeen, he joins us on the show now. Gavin, welcome.

**Gavin Wanganeen** (1:33)
Thanks, fellas. Thanks for having me.

**Mark Duffield** (1:36)
Mate, Essendon 93, Port Adelaide 2004 What's your favourite Premiership memory?

**Gavin Wanganeen** (1:46)
From each of those games?

**Mark Duffield** (1:48)
Well, no.

**Gavin Wanganeen** (1:49)
Which games? Choose one over the other.

**Mark Duffield** (1:51)
Yeah, choose one over the other.

**Gavin Wanganeen** (1:53)
You're asking me to do that, like try and choose one child over the other.

**Mark Duffield** (1:56)
Yes, I am, Gavin.

**Gavin Wanganeen** (1:57)
Everyone has a favourite child.
I've often said, it's very hard to choose one child over the other. So they're both extremely special. If I can say anything, I just think I probably, as you get a bit older, I was 31 in my second primary shipment in 2004, you probably sit back for a bit longer and really let it sink in and appreciate it a bit more. Both very special.

**Mark Duffield** (2:27)
My favourite memory of 04, and this is why I remember that one more favourably than the other one, and obviously I don't barrack for either team, so I'm a neutral observer.
There were two things. One is that Brisbane had kind of become this powerhouse team and they developed, I would argue, a little bit of hubris and they'd sort of like strutted around in the back half of the 4 season and they were kind of pushing people around and bullying people and picking fights with people and sort of saying, you know, you can't go with us. And I love the fact at the start of the game, that Josh Carr and Damian Hardwick marched into the centre square and said, we're not waiting for you to start one, we're starting one and we're coming after you. I love that. And it's really set them back on the heels. And the other thing I loved about the game was the performances, of the Indigenous players, obviously yourself kicking four goals, Byron Pickett, one of the stars, and the two Burgoyne boys, both to the four and all of that. That to me makes that a very culturally significant day, I think, in the history of AFL football.

**Gavin Wanganeen** (3:29)
Yeah, you summed it up well there.
What can I say? Big banching question!
No, look, it was certainly a special day. To go up against the side that's going for their fourth Premiership in a row, the almighty, all-conquering Brisbane Lions, they were a big beast, they were a big body, they were hardened professionals and Premiership winning professionals from the three previous seasons. Yeah, they had their chests out and shoulders back, and probably were going into the game with a lot of confidence, but so too were we. We felt that from the three previous seasons, we'd won more games than any other team in the AFL. So, and we'd finished minor round Premiers. We'd just fallen over in September when it really counted. So we felt that we had the experience, and if anything, we were ready. So we just had to take it up to them. Yeah, so, you know, guys like Josh Carr and Damian Harbort, we're going to set the tone early. Obviously, they're physical guys. So if you can sort of let them make a statement early, it just sends a message to the opposition.