He lost his foot to a lawnmower at the age of 2. He wore a prosthetic that meant he could play footy until he was 12, wearing a blue and white hooped design inspired by his beloved Geelong Cats. Then he realised he was pretty good at butterfly. He's won Comm Games gold and won silver at the Glasgow Games last week.

He went viral for reminding us in a post-race interview to"talk to yourself like someone you love." This week on Two Good Sports Col Pearse explains the story behind the speech that resonated around the world (you won't believe where it came from), and the coaching advice that still drives him today.

Plus, we talk the realities of elite paraswimming and how much they're really paid, his lifelong AFL obsession, the influence of Joel Selwood, the road to LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032, and having to wait for a bus with the other Comm Games athletes after racing in front of the world.

Oh, and he said he'd give up his other leg to get Zak Butters to Geelong; that's a quote. He's an absolute delight and a legend.

Harvey Norman love sport. Supporting Australian athletes at all levels, from grassroots to the world stage for over thirty years. SHOP Furniture, Bedding, TVs, Fridges, Vacuums, Laptops, Mobiles and more instore or online!

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This week we're talking about the decisions sport should make...but probably never will. First though we celebrate the incredible Archie Goodburn and the impact of his brain cancer advocacy, shout out gold medal-winning doctor Mackenzie Little, and give Jess Hull her flowers for showcasing elite sportsmanship.

Then we get into our main debate: the sporting calls that make complete sense, yet somehow never happen. Should Carlton just hand Josh Fraser the job? Has Georgie finally come around to an NRL wild card round? Why does this year's NRL finals race feel so strange? And what exactly is going on at the West Tigers? Plus: Craig Bellamy's frustration, Nick Daicos' inevitable Brownlow count, Chad Warner's all-time celebration, and Rafa Nadal's documentary.

Harvey Norman love sport. Supporting Australian athletes at all levels, from grassroots to the world stage for over thirty years. SHOP Furniture, Bedding, TVs, Fridges, Vacuums, Laptops, Mobiles and more instore or online!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kezie Apps is one of rugby league’s most decorated female players: Tigers captain, co-captain of the Jillaroos and the most capped Blues player in State of Origin. Oh and she's a Dally M winner too. Where's the NRLW heading next? She joins us this week to chat it through.

She made it to the top after being forced to give up the game at 12 because there weren't any clubs for the girls. What's the pathway for young players now? She's been immortalised in portrait at the Museum of Contemporary Art. How did that come about and what does it mean for visibility for the league? And she's played in twenty State of Origin games, this year as an integral part of NSW's historic clean-sweep series win. How did the Blues manage it?

We also talk the rapid rise of the NRLW, why the standard of the game keeps getting scarier (in the best way possible), and the power of visibility in women's sport to the talent coming through the pathways system. Plus: club culture, mentoring young players, life after footy, commentary dreams, TikTok slang confusion, and a fiery debate about sporting dynasties.

Harvey Norman love sport. Supporting Australian athletes at all levels, from grassroots to the world stage for over thirty years. SHOP Furniture, Bedding, TVs, Fridges, Vacuums, Laptops, Mobiles and more instore or online!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We try to make sense of an avalanche of gold medals, record-breaking performances and some remarkable athlete stories coming out of the Comm Games. A week ago we were wondering where the hype is, now it's everywhere. Lachie Kennedy broke the national 100-metre record with a time of 9.85 seconds. Torrie Lewis won Bronze and broke her own record with a time of 10.99. In the pool Australia’s swim team closed out Glasgow 2026 with 76 medals in total, a haul that eclipses the previous record set in 2018 on the Gold Coast.

Plus, we unpack the county cricket controversy that has the whole internet talking, with a fielder now dubbed "Clicky Ponting" accused of snapping his fingers to help sell a wicketkeeper catch to the umpire. Plus, the Diamonds' uniform debate, Gina Rinehart's athlete bonuses, Col Pearse's powerful advocacy statement, and the bigger question hanging over the Games: if the Commonwealth Games continue with a reduced program, what does its future look like?

Harvey Norman love sport. Supporting Australian athletes at all levels, from grassroots to the world stage for over thirty years. SHOP Furniture, Bedding, TVs, Fridges, Vacuums, Laptops, Mobiles and more instore or online!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The World Cup is over but the memes live on, and we're already counting down to the Women's World Cup in Brazil next year - what can we expect from our Matildas? The Commonwealth Games are underway; how are our athletes faring? And there are new rules around the TV coverage designed to stop the over-sexualisation of female athletes on broadcasts. What's happened exactly and why did it take this long?

Plus, a debate that lit up the comments section: is the AFLW being set up to fail? Why is the NRLW racing ahead, and is the AFL's approach to women's football helping or hurting the competition? And why isn't a sold-out stadium a success story? Also on the agenda:

• The sports stars making us believe in romance again
• Chloe Kim's very reasonable request for fans taking selfies
• Ninja Warrior is about to change forever - what's happening?

Harvey Norman love sport. Supporting Australian athletes at all levels, from grassroots to the world stage for over thirty years. SHOP Furniture, Bedding, TVs, Fridges, Vacuums, Laptops, Mobiles and more instore or online!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fresh off the side of a mountain somewhere in France, Australian cycling legend and SBS commentator Simon Gerrans (the only Aussie to win a stage at all three major tours) joins Two Good Sports to explain why Tour de France riders might just be the toughest (and most unhinged) athletes on the planet.

As the Tour De France wraps up this weekend, we get a crash-course (pun intended) on cycling and why it's actually more of a team sport than we think.

From winning the Tour Down Under a record four times, to wearing the iconic yellow jersey, Simon shares stories of racing with a broken collarbone, surviving three weeks in the peloton and what it's really like watching Tadej Pogačar rewrite cycling history.

Plus: Georgie admits she only learnt to ride a bike in her 30s, we discuss the great Australian divide of MAMIL's (Middle-Aged Men In Lycra) vs everyone else, and Simon reveals the one thing every Tour de France rider dreams about after 21 days of racing. Spoiler: it's not a croissant.

The Tour de France is on SBS and SBS On Demand.

Harvey Norman love sport. Supporting Australian athletes at all levels, from grassroots to the world stage for over thirty years. SHOP Furniture, Bedding, TVs, Fridges, Vacuums, Laptops, Mobiles and more instore or online!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abbey and Georgie are off this week but will return on Friday the 24th of July after a much needed rest. In this episode we look back at some of our favourite moments from the past few months to keep you going.

• Surfing icon Layne Beachley tells us how over a decade of campaigning led to finally achieving equal pay for women.
• The Wiggles Simon and John joined us earlier in the year, to talk resilience as an Eels fan, fatherhood and their love of sport.
• Luke Bateman, former NRL star and current BookTok hearthrob shared how it was growing up in Queensland as a lover of books.
• And Niav Owens, friend of the pod and host of SBS' World Cup coverage, told Abbey how she dealt with 1:30am wake up calls and hosting with Harry Kewell.

We'll be back soon with regular programming.

Harvey Norman love sport. Supporting Australian athletes at all levels, from grassroots to the world stage for over thirty years. SHOP Furniture, Bedding, TVs, Fridges, Vacuums, Laptops, Mobiles and more instore or online!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Layne Beachley has a list of achievements as long as the beach at Manly. She was inducted into the Sport Australia hall of fame in 2011, and elevated to legend in 2023. She won seven world surfing championships, including a record six in a row. She was a game changer in so many ways that her legacy goes well beyond the silverware.

From fighting for pay equity in surfing to learning how to detach self-worth from achievements, Layne drops so many life lessons that Abbey immediately starts planning a wall of Post-it notes.

We discuss:

• Why women’s surfing was a “misogynistic shit show” for much of her career and how it changed
• The battle to achieve equal prize money and how it was done
• The difference between dream team members and dream thieves
• The one breathing technique that can change your day for the better
• How to find purpose after retiring from the very top
• What really happens when a giant wave wipes you out
• Why Kelly Slater still blows Layne’s mind
• The surprisingly small amount of prize money Layne earned across 19 years on tour, and why it's not unusual

Harvey Norman love sport. Supporting Australian athletes at all levels, from grassroots to the world stage for over thirty years. SHOP Furniture, Bedding, TVs, Fridges, Vacuums, Laptops, Mobiles and more instore or online!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.