The Forward Line

40 | Emily Thompson from MLS to the AusGP

Hello & happy Thursday! 

On this next instalment of The Forward Line, Annie Poulton and Emilie van Baalen sit down with founding member and former TFL Co-Host, Emily Thompson.

In this conversation Em chats to us about her pathway from Melbourne Law School, to private practice, to landing her dream role as In-House Counsel at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation. Enjoy! 

37 | The Hawthorn Football Club

Hello everyone & happy Thursday!

The Pod Squad is back together again & the time has come to sit down and talk about The Hawthorn Football Club. 

Today on the show we are covering one of the biggest stories in Footy right now and answering the complex questions:

1. How did historical allegations of racism levelled against one of the biggest clubs in the competition, shake the footy community to its core & taint the reputation of a group of Premiership Greats?
2. What is the role of the AFL in this type of dispute, and do they have an active duty to protect all players from racism at work?
3. And most importantly, what is being done to rectify the hurt of the complainants? 

We also referenced a couple of articles in the show! Click here to read more about the Binmada Report and click over here to scrub up your legal knowledge of the concept of Procedural Fairness.

Okay bye! Thank you for listening! We hope you enjoyed the show! If you did, please like, subscribe, share on social media and scream it from the rooftops! Spreading the word helps us grow

36 | Tour de France Femmes | An Australian Preview with Bridie O’Donnell

Folks, in 2019 when we first launched The Forward Line, we sat down in a room at Melbourne Law School and wrote a “dream list” of guests we hoped to one day interview on the podcast.

 

Bridie O'Donnell was the first name on our list & it will be easy for you to see from this conversation, why that was. 

 

Bridie started her career in medicine! She is trained practitioner and worked as an Orthopaedic Surgical Assistant for 8 years before taking up cycling. Bridie then rode competitively from 2006 – 2017, with multiple pro-teams and carved our her speciality in the individual time trial.

 

She has represented Australia 3x at the UCI Road World Championships and in 2016, she broke the Women’s Hour World Record in Adelaide, riding an astonishing 46.882 kilometres

 

Since retiring from cycling, Bridie has excelled in all that she does – whether it is presenting on Radio or TV, working in Medicine or writing a Memoir. She has also held very senior positions in the Victorian State Government, both in the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, and in the Department of Health.

 

But you'll probably know Bridie best for her work on SBS as a Lead in the Tour de France Commentary Team and this was the hat she was wearing when we spoke to her on Friday night

 

Our interview took place at midnight on Bridie’s time, and she had a HUGE day inclusive of 6 hours of commentary and long drives. Despite these demands, Bridie looked fresh as a daisy and was ever-the professional

 

This was such a special interview to have been a part of – Bride speaks so well. Her remarks on professional women’s sport & the need for equal opportunity are insightful, and internally challenged me to think about my own biases and the way I use language.  

 

We talk about the supportive workplace culture at the SBS Commentary Team, surprise run ins with President Emmanuel Macron, the history of women’s the pro-peloton, the course and sportswomanship. 

 

To follow Bridie's TDFF journey, you can find her here on Instagram or here, on Twitter. 

We hope you enjoy the show!

 

35 | Tour de France Femmes | An Australian Preview with Grace Brown

It's here! Instalment #3 of Tour De France Femmes: An Australian Preview with Grace Brown.

 

To the Cycling World, Grace needs know introduction.

After starting cycling in 2015, Grace has achieved some remarkable results. Carving out her speciality in the Individual Time Trial, Grace is a 2x and the current Australian National Time Trial Champion, and she placed came 4^th at the Tokyo Olympics last year in this discipline.

 

But she’s also an all-rounder! With Stage wins, podiums at One Day Classics and a heart-breaking close second-place with her new Team FDJ at this year’s Women’s Tour of Britain, it’s easy to see why Gracie Elvin has named Grace as one of the best Women’s Cyclists in the World.

 

But above all else, Grace is an excellent person. We spoke to her less than 24 hours before she left for Paris, and she was relaxed in her home-base in Italy. There was smoothie making in the background, not a hint of nerves and she was one of the humblest people that I have met in sports.

 

You’ll see throughout this interview that Grace has a cracking sense of humour, a calm energy but behind all that, there’s also a fierce competitor. We talk FDJ, COVID, the Course and videography! Watch out for Grace on stages 3, 4 and 6 of this Bike Race – I heard she’s looking for a Race Win!

 

To follow Grace's TDFF Journey, you can find her on Instagram and Twitter.

Enjoy the show & here’s Grace...

34 | Tour de France Femmes | An Australian Preview with Nicole Frain

Howdy folks! Thanks for tuning in to Instalment #2 of our TDFF Coverage. Today on the show we are sitting down with pro-cyclist, Nicole Frain.


Nicole is the current Australian Elite Women's Road Race Champion and as such, she will get to the wear the Green & Gold jersey when she lines up in Paris tomorrow! 


In this conversation we discuss Nicole's win at Nationals, as well as the pressure that come with wearing such a highly-coveted jersey. We also delve into her recent mid-year transfer to Team Parkhotel Valkenburg in the Netherlands, their race strategy & what it means to ride the TDFF.


Nicole was a bundle of fun & her enthusiasm really shone through in this episode. We are so grateful that she found some time to speak with us only days out from the race.


To keep up with Nicole's TDFF journey, you can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

Thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy the show! 

33 | Tour de France Femmes | An Australian Preview with Gracie Elvin

Hellllo folks. Happy Friday!

Our team is so thrilled to be launching a mini-series today, The Forward Line's very own Tour De France Femmes: An Australian Preview.


In the lead up to the TDFF, we will be releasing daily episodes. We are speaking to a bunch of Australians who are currently in France including riders, commentators & spectators!

For our first instalment, we are sitting down with Grace Elvin **squeals**


Grace is a former pro-cyclist, an Olympian, a current SBS Tour Commentator and one of the Co Founders of The Cyclists Alliance; an independent union that represents & provides holistic support to women in the peleton.


This was a cracking episode to kick off our series and despite her demanding schedule and some touch-and-go French hotel wifi, Gracie was relaxed & ever the professional.


Her takes are insightful, very approachable if you are a new cycling fan and above all else, she was a total ray of sunshine to interview! 


To keep up with Gracie's TDFF adventures, make sure you are following her on Twitter and Instagram.


Remember to tag us too so we can see your comments & enjoy the show!

32 | Saturday Series | TFL TALKS to Anabelle Smith

Hello & Happy Saturday! Thank you for joining us for our third instalment of the Saturday Series.

Today we are speaking to Australian Diver and 3x Olympian, Anabelle Smith!

Anabelle holds multiple medals from various competitions across the years including the Rio Olympics, World Championships and the Commonwealth Games. But today she's here to talk to us about her journey to Tokyo.

During this conversation, Anabelle takes us right to the heart of the competition of the Women's Individual 3m Springboard. We talk the morning of, the wait in the call room and her individual performance. 

We then take the conversation a little more broad, as Anabelle discusses some of the challenges for up & coming divers including what its like having your body constantly on display.  

To keep up with Anabelle's latest news you can follow her on the Socials @anabellesmith and @beingbelle_ and via her website  https://www.anabellesmith.net 

Anabelle was so generous with her time and a delight to talk to! We hope you enjoy the show. 

31 | Saturday Series | TFL TALKS to Emma Jeffcoat

Hello & Happy Saturday! TFL is very excited to be back with another instalment of the Saturday Series.

Today we are speaking to triathlete, Emma Jeffcoat.

Emma is a former Surf Life Saver, who turned to international triathlons in 2015. Since then, she's had raging success. Emma was part of the team  who took home a Bronze Medal at the 2019 Hamburg ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships, and in 2021 she was crowned the Australian National Champion for the Elite Sprint Triathlon Championships held in Devonport. 

But on today's show, Emma is here to talk to us about her latest achievement as a member of the Tokyo 2020 Australian Olympic Team.

As you’ll hear throughout the episode, Emma competed in both the Women’s Individual Triathlon and the inaugural Mixed Team Relay. We discuss what it's like making your Olympic debut in a COVID year, handling a typhoon on race day and Emma’s life outside of sport, including her passion for Nursing.

Emma was a ray of sunshine to interview, so down-to earth and generous with her time! To keep up to date with her latest news, you can follow her on Instagram @emmajeffcoat. 

Enjoy the show! 

30 | TFL TALKS to Tiffany Cromwell

Hello & Happy Thursday! On today’s episode, we are sitting down with prominent road cyclist, Tiffany Cromwell.

Tiffany is one of Australia’s most experienced female cyclists, boasting a decade of professional riding experience, two Commonwealth Games appearances and several other impressive accolades.

Since 2016, Tiffany has been racing in the UCI Women’s World Tour with the Canyon//SRAM Racing Team, which sees her competing in road cycling races all over the world. She made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where she captained the Australian Team in the Women’s Cycling Road Race.

In this conversation, we discuss career pathways, the Australian Cycling Team’s Olympic campaign, and the challenges faced by the sport in 2021. We also touch on the 'Zwift movement' and how the Canyon//SRAM Racing Team are identifying new talent in a virtual world, as well as Tiffany’s creative side designing freelance cycling kits and other items.

Tiffany was a candid, open and wonderful person to sit down and talk to. We hope you enjoy the chat as much as we did.

To keep up to date with Tiffany and her latest news, you can follow her on Instagram - @tiffanycromwell or via her website. The Canyon//SRAM Racing Team’s website can be found over here. 

Enjoy the show!

29 | Saturday Series | TFL TALKS to Lucy Stephan

Hello & Happy Saturday! Welcome to the launch of TFL’s new segment, The Saturday Series.

Today on the show, we are sitting down with Australian Rower, Lucy Stephan.

Born and bred in Nhill, Victoria, Lucy learned to row as a boarder at Ballarat Grammar. She marked her presence on the international rowing stage in 2012 and since then, she has taken the rowing world by storm with an impressive list of achievements. She is a multiple-time Australian Champion, two-time World Champion, dual Olympian and Tokyo 2020 Olympic GOLD Medalist.

In this conversation, we discuss Lucy’s Tokyo 2020 journey, her fabulous crew consisting of Rosie Popa, Annabelle McIntyre and Jessica Morrison, what’s next for Lucy and the importance of a Mecca Face Mask on the eve of an Olympic Final.

Lucy is humble, candid and what we would describe as a force to be reckoned with! We hope you enjoy this chat as much as we did.

To keep up to date with Lucy and her latest news, you can follow her on Instagram - @loosey_stephan. You can also follow her incredible crew on Instagram, Rosie – @rosie.popa and Annabelle – @mcintyre.annabelle. Jess is not on social media, however, you can keep up to date with her via the Rowing Australia website – https://rowingaustralia.com.au

Enjoy the show!