Cricket
9 of the best Australian sports documentaries of all time
It's a case of quality over quantity when it comes to classic Aussie sports docos. And as this little lot proves: from the cricket ovals to the big waves, Australia makes for a pretty good stage.
Australians love a good documentary. Or as it’s known locally, a ‘doco’, But there’s been surprisingly few on our favourite subject – sport.
Luckily for you, it’s a case of quality over quantity. Which means if you’re an Australian sports fan, there’s no excuse for not having all of these classic sports docos ticked off your must-view list.
Year Of The Dogs
Released: 1997
Director: Michael Cordell
On paper, the game plan was perfect. The management of struggling AFL team Footscray would invite a film crew in for the 1997 season, giving fans insight into the inner workings of the club – and hopefully lifting ticket sales in the process.
Unfortunately for the team, those inner workings turned out to be narrowly avoiding financial ruin, sacking a coach mid-season and having a young draft pick diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
Beloved by AFL fans of its unflinching portrait of a club in crisis – and for Terry “Plough” Wallace’s legendary sprays – ‘Year Of The Dogs’ is more than a time-capsule of that calamitous season. It’s the soul of a sports team, and suburb, laid bare on VHS.
Why you should watch it: Because there’s now a fitting, far more uplifting sequel: the Bulldogs 2016 premiership.
The Test: A new era for Australia's team
Released: 2020
Director: Adrian Brown
Australia’s famously arrogant national cricket team has created plenty of unsavory byproducts over the years. Boozing. Sledging. Shane Warne.
But in 2018, a win-at-all costs culture produced something even more abhorrent: cheating.
To their credit, Cricket Australia chose not to smooth the scandal with sandpaper. They took to it with a sledgehammer, firing the coach, imposing mass suspensions and setting about rebuilding not just a team, but also the image of a nation.
This eight-part series is a candid account of the slow, often painful process of redemption – featuring some truly gut-wrenching moments that hit harder than a short ball to the head.
Why you should watch it: Post Traumatic Sports Disorder is a thing. And for Australian cricket fans, the name 'Ben Stokes' is both the trigger and the cause. If you can stomach it, ‘The Test’ devotes plenty of time to a brutal team meeting where the most unfathomable loss in cricket history is forensically analysed, and eventually accepted. Sitting through it may stop all the nightmares, but it’s a pretty effective form of exposure therapy.
November 16
Released: 2015
Directors: Richard Bayliss and Ben Coonan
Almost three quarters of November 16 is devoted to the events leading up to Australia’s drought-breaking qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. But it’s even more spine-tingling to watch it knowing what happens next.
Months later, Australia’s “Golden Generation” of round-ball talent stuns the world by advancing from their group and pushing eventual champions Italy to extra time. And Tim Cahill’s face ends up on the every Weet-Bix box in the country.
This momentum spawns a new national competition, The A-league, as well as Australia’s first Asian Cup win and three straight successful World Cup qualifications. Oh, and a nation that once used “go play soccer” as an insult decides they’ll bid to host the tournament itself.
Now go back to that warm spring night in Sydney. And imagine it’s you who’s chosen to take the penalty that would put an entire sport on this giddy trajectory. No pressure, mate.
Why you should watch it: The straight-from-a-movie plotlines. Like the cunning team officials who bought every single business class seat from Uruguay to Australia, forcing their opponents to make the 18-hour journey to Australia in economy. Or defender Tony Vidmar’s admission that he’d “never taken a penalty in his life”, after volunteering his boot in the most pressure-filled in the team’s history.
Nerves Of Steel
Released: 2006
Director: Andrea Ulbrick
Sometimes, the less you know about a sport, the more enthralling the documentary.
Unless you’re particularly well versed in Skeleton sledding, you’ll find that’s the case with Nerves of Steel
At first glance, the nuances seem simple enough – grab your luge, point it toward the finish line, and try to keep your lunch down.
But there's plenty of science behind all that speed, which is why in 2010, the Australian Institute of Sport had an idea: what if they took gifted athletes from other sports and, using advanced statistics, physics and data, sculpted one of them into Australia’s first skeleton gold medalist?
Nerves of Steel follows the three female athletes who were picked to be the backbone of Australia’s Skeleton team, as they plunge headfirst into the peculiar world of elite sledding – competing against fear, failure and a healthy amount of “ice-pionage” along the way.
Why you should watch it: It’s Moneyball on ice. OK maybe that’s a bit of a stretch. But if Australia are going to dip our suntanned toes into Winter Sports, we’re rarely going to outski or out-skate our opponents. But we may be able to outsmart them...
Collingwood: From The Inside Out
Released: 2019
Directors: Josh Cable and Marcus Cobbledick
Collingwood led the 2018 AFL Grand Final for 104 minutes before ultimately losing to the West Coast Eagles. In the history of the sport, no team has led for longer and not walked away with the cup.
Chronicling the team’s journey from pre-season optimism to coach Nathan Buckley’s tearful post-Grand Final address, ‘From The Inside Out’ could easily be another tragic tale of a team that missed their shot.
But surprisingly, the film decides to ask a deeper question – should a team be judged solely on silverware? Or is true success really more about the process than results?
Tackling everything from relationships, philosophy and the physical and mental toll of being an AFL footballer, ‘From the Inside Out’ is a thoughtful watch that has something for everyone. (Unless you’re looking for a fairytale ending).
Why you should watch it: Not every footballer’s career ends with a lap of honour: Jarryd Blair’s ended in a small, windowless meeting room on a Monday afternoon. Being brave enough to confront your sporting mortality head-on is one thing, but Blair’s decision to allow cameras to record his brutal delisting is as brave as any on-field act.
Salute
Released: 2008
Director: Matt Norman
When John Carlos and Tommie Smith stood on the podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and performed the now iconic Black Power salute, their courage inspired millions worldwide.
Peter Norman – a skinny P.E teacher from Melbourne – stood beside them that night. But to many of his countrymen watching back home, he inspired nothing but shame.
Narrated by his grandson, ‘Salute’ tragically recounts how Australia turned its back on Norman, choosing to forget or redefine his courageous act rather than face the country’s struggles with racism.
Norman passed away before its release, missing out on the long overdue public recognition that followed. But when asked whether he’d be prefer to remembered for something other than the protest, he was as defiant as ever:
“On the contrary” he said “I’m rather proud of it”.
Why you should watch it: Since ‘Salute’ premiered, Norman has received an official apology from the Australian government, acknowledging his contribution to human rights. He has also recently had a statue erected in his honor, perhaps the only runner in history to be immortalised for standing still.
The Final Quarter
Released: 2019
Director: Ian Darling
The Final Quarter is the story of Adam Goodes’ final years as an AFL footballer, and the inexplicable booing that drove the Australian of The Year away from the game.
One of two films on the subject (the other being ‘The Australian Dream’), this documentary takes a look at how the saga unfolded, and how Adam was consistently let down by the AFL, the media and the fans.
Both are essential viewing, but The Final Quarter’s decision to use only archived footage is particularly powerful – allowing the booing to speak for itself. Which really, it should have all along.
Why you should watch it: Fan behavior is a mystery at the best of times, but how so many people could be complicit in the merciless taunting of an Indigenous man, and how few came to his defense, is a question we must all ask ourselves.
Billabong Odyssey
Released: 2003
Director: Philip Boston
Forget the 20% Rotten Tomatoes score. Forget the cringe-worthy transitions and early noughties soundtrack. The opening two minutes of ‘Billabong Odyssey’ (yes, that Billabong) will get the wee trickling down the inside of your wetsuit.
In case you didn’t already think that big wave surfers were insane, this film will seal the deal. But the stars of ‘Billabong Odyssey’ – the self-proclaimed ‘”Delta Force Of Surfing” – are a far cry from your everyday beach bums carving up your local break. They mean business in every possible way, and are armed to the teeth with GPS tech and weather-tracking equipment (hell, the film itself is even shot in 4k – a technology that still isn’t properly mainstream even today).
Why you should watch it: On one hand, the amount of tech and money sunk into ‘Billabong Odyssey’ represents a high watermark in the commercialisation of surfing. But when you’re watching a tiny human-shaped speck disappear into a wall of whitewater, you’re not thinking about who’s picking up the bill. You’re thinking about who’s picking up the pieces.
The Dawn Fraser Story
Released: 1964
Director: Joy Cavill
Before Michael Phelps. Before Ussain Bolt. There was Dawn Fraser.
A competitive pirana in the pool, and party girl outside it, Dawn dominated three straight Olympics, putting Australian sport on the map internationally with her infectious personality.
Shot in the 60s by her friend and lover Joy Gavill (who was no stranger to icons – she also served as a screenwriter for Skippy The Bush Kangaroo). The Dawn Fraser Story might well be the first true Australian sports documentary, and certainly the first about a female athlete.
Unfortunately, the original film seems all but lost to history, or at least to the internet – despite not one, but two biopics being made on Dawn’s life since.
Why you should watch it: Because you can find it. Dawn has made some unfortunate comments in the last few years, so we could all use a reminder that she once made headlines for the right reasons.
