Posted on

The End Of An Era; A Celebration of Hockey Podcasting Trailblazers

Written by; Tao MacLeod


Over the past six years there have been two blokes, based in Perth, Western Australia, providing the hockey world with entertainment on a weekly basis. English born Matt Allan (who claims that he’s actually from the Scottish Kingdom of Fife) and John Lee have been co-hosting The Reverse Stick; Global Hockey Podcast since 2017. They enjoy a rant, often record whilst drunk and don’t pay much attention to production values, these guys truly love the sport in which they have spent years promoting. Unfortunately, they have recently announced that the 300th episode will be their last, at least for the foreseeable future.


In the days after the announcement there has been an outpouring of support for these two podcasters from a committed base of fans. The Reverse Stick has become somewhat of a cult classic. In addition to the weekly shows, which included interviews with different personalities, guest hosts, as well as news and results from around the world, Matt and John produced a number of spin off series. This has included the Totally Pro League and Push Pass Pundits shows. Their World Cup Dailies in 2018 was, in fact, where I made my podcasting debut, whilst covering the Women’s World Cup in London. During the Coronavirus pandemic they even created a YouTube show entitled ‘The Fiscally Responsible Pro League”. This amounted to lego charactures, a type of fantasy hockey tournament and a broadly mocking tone towards the FIH Pro League tournament. 


The Fiscally Responsible Pro-League Grand Final 2020. Video copyright; The Reverse Stick.

The Reverse Stick; Global Hockey Podcast logo.

The Reverse Stick Podcast has had several recurring themes during their time on the air. Matt and John’s dislike of the Hockey 5’s format of the game has been a more recent one, as well as their lack of interest in the FIH Pro League. The Federation of International Hockey were, in fact, mentioned on a regular basis, from financial accounting, to that the administrators might actually have been listening to the show. The former head of the world governing body, Mr./Dr. Batra, was often mocked for not having a real higher degree. Nor where they fans of Dutch men’s hockey, often suggesting that the programme had been showing signs of recent decline. A golden oldie was John Lee’s smelly shirt. A superstitious man, he refused to wash, or change his playing top as long as his team kept winning titles. It was worn for several years, without a hint of soap. 


The most consistent theme of the show, though, was their desire to bring back the bully. This was a specific set piece, within the game, that was used to start the first and second halves of matches, but has been ditched in favour of a push-back, or centre pass similar to football. It involved two players challenging each other for the ball and became a bit of a specialised skill. The presenters of the Reverse Stick Podcast both started their hockey journeys when the game was played on grass and remember many of the rules from bygone years. They both maintain that it was a method of starting a fixture unique to hockey and that it is a shame that such a thing has been lost in time, when it could be used to help promote the sport to a media friendly fan base.


The Reverse Stick; Global Hockey Podcast co-presenters, Matt Allan (left) and John Lee (right). Click on the image to listen to John Lee’s interview with the Half Court Press Podcast.

There was some sporting controversy in the celebrations for show’s 100th episode. A running penalty shuffle contest was arranged between the two co-presenters at the grass pitches of their beloved club, Freemantle. An umpire was present, as well as ‘Smithy’ the goalkeeper, who was apparently neutral to both podcasters. In a best of five attempts, the podcasters took turns to dribble towards the goal to try and score. John Lee went first and missed, as did the Pomme Matt Allan on his initial go. Both lads scored on their second penalty shuffle and missed their third. However, Matt took the advantage on his fourth attack. Unfortunately for John he missed his fifth and final attempt to force a tie-breaker, as an attempted lob was sent high and wide towards the trees behind the pitch. However, it was the manner in which Smithy conceded the winning goal has been debated in the years since. John thought that the padded right foot stuck out towards the ball was done so rather tamely. Upon protest the supposedly non-partisan opponent called back, ‘he paid more than you did!’. The official score was John Lee 1 – 2 Matt Allan. The winner of the moral victory is up to you…


The Reverse Stick; Global Hockey Podcast 100th episode shoot out. Video copyright; The Reverse Stick.

The Revers Stick; Global Hockey Podcast with Matt Allan and John Lee was one of the earliest, longest lasting and most prolific hockey shows around. When compared to some of the other broadcasters that have come since they have shown themselves to be trailblazers. For such a long time nobody was doing what they were doing. As two normal blokes, who play, coach and umpire club hockey, simply because they love the game, they have helped to make the sport more accessible. The Reverse Stick Podcast has promoted a much more fun, enjoyable and non-elitist version of the sport, that I fear might now disappear from the hockey based media. They will be truly missed. 


The Reverse Stick; Global Hockey Podcast. Promotion material for the 300th episode. Image credit; The Reverse Stick.

Click on the image to listen to the Half Court Press Podcast.