Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Monday 11 September
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
By any standards, Paul Roos is a towering figure in the AFL. He played 356 games for Fitzroy and Sydney in the 1980s and 1990s and was named an All-Australian player seven times. In his coaching career, he led the Sydney Swans to their 2005 premiership, breaking a 72-year drought. More recently, he’s been credited with turning the Melbourne Demons from AFL punchline to serious finals contenders.
As a player, Roos was known for his dignity and decency on the field. In 17 seasons he was reported only once (for bad language) and found not guilty. As a coach he’s profoundly altered the fortunes of two clubs, and is associated with a new style of AFL leadership that incorporates a ‘no dickheads policy’ and encourages mindfulness and meditation among players.
In his new book, Here It Is, Roos reflects on more than 30 years in football, recounting tales from the coaching box and the club room. In conversation with Karen Lyon, he’ll talk leadership, club culture and life after footy.
This event will be Auslan interpreted.
Featuring
Paul Roos
Paul Roos is a former AFL footballer and senior coach. He played 269 games for Fitzroy and 87 for Sydney. He was a two-time All-Australian captain and has been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
He coached the Sydney Swans from 2002–2010 and led them to the AFL premiership in 2005. He coached Melbourne Football Club from 2014–2016. He lives in Melbourne with his wife and two sons.
Karen Lyon
For more than two decades, Karen Lyon has covered Melbourne and its sports-obsessed culture. She was a political reporter before crossing the boundary line to sport in 1999, and has been covering the world of sport ever since.
Karen has witnessed some of the world’s biggest sporting events for the Age newspaper, and has been a regular contributor the ABC’s sports coverage over the journey. Football, netball, tennis and cricket are her main sporting loves, but she will watch any contest that brings people together.
As well as continuing to freelance as a journalist, Karen teaches Sport Education and Media at the University of Melbourne – a subject that looks at the influences of commerce and media on sport, and asks: does sport drive equality in our society?