Collingwood’s new podcast, Common Thread, has paired media personalities and Magpie stars Ruby Schleicher and Brian Taylor together in the new product’s maiden episode.
While both traversing the media industry and four walls of Collingwood for multiple years, the duo had rarely met, with the 40-minute chat the first time they had properly explored each other’s journeys.
Initially bonding over having grown up in Western Australia, Schleicher and Taylor quickly discover their similarities despite there being more than 30 years between them.
After comparing their childhoods in the west, the pair’s initial love for basketball is discovered, before they chat about the respective home sickness they felt once moving to Victoria to play football.
Taylor, whose career spanned the majority of the 1980s, speaks about how he juggled full-time work with topflight football, just as Schleicher does in the modern day as the Club’s AFL Captain.
The pair also share stories about some of the best moments in their career, including both of their debut games which were held at Carlton’s IKON Park, and the day Taylor brought up 100 goals in the 1986 season.
The conversation largely focuses on their media pursuits as the episode goes on, with both expressing their initial surprise at getting behind the microphone.
Schleicher (Fox Footy) and Taylor (Channel 7) put their network allegiances aside to share their tips and tricks on getting into broadcasting.
The pair’s larger than life personalities are put on full display throughout the chat, as the new and old era of football comes together for a broad discussion.
The chat is available on both Collingwood’s YouTube channel and Club website, as well as wherever you listen to your podcasts for the audio-only version.
Common Thread: Ruby Schleicher and Brian Taylor
00:00: Intro
00:26: Ruby and Brian meet
01:06 Western Australia and childhood
02:59: Moving to Victoria and homesickness
09:10: Getting into the media
14:21: Arriving at Collingwood
19:11: The first game of AFLW
23:28: The evolution of AFLW
25:13: Brian’s 100th goal in 1986
27:29: Brian’s book in 1990
29:46: Injuries and motherhood for female athletes
33:26: The dynamics of footy clubs
35:21: The pair’s future in the media
