Half-time blow-up and post match reconciliation show former EPL star’s hunger and passion in latest episode of KEEPUP’s ground-breaking docu-series, write Tom Smithies and Matt Comito. Don’t miss the full episode when it drops, 7:30pm AEDT Thursday night, on KEEPUP.
It takes Charlie Austin five words to make his feelings known – but he’s not about to stop there.
“Game management? Well f*** me!” is just the start of a furious halftime argument between Austin and teammate Connor Chapman caught in all its excruciating detail in the latest episode of A-Leagues All Access.
Taking viewers into the Roar dressing room in compelling fashion, this is the emotion of the inner sanctum at its most blistering, shown in a way fans never get to see thanks to the ground-breaking docu-series.
WATCH NOW – A-LEAGUES ALL ACCESS EPISODE 2: ‘PANTOMIME VILLAIN‘
Two goals behind to Melbourne City last Friday night, Roar are rocking – as is the dressing room as Austin lays into defender Chapman for his performance, and gets an equal diatribe in response.
Chapman is taken to task for conceding a corner from which City score, and then giving away a cheap penalty to add insult to injury – defending that Austin tells him is like “the U12s… what the f*** are you doing man? Principles of defending!”
When Chapman launches back, loudly demanding better cover for the defence and that Austin concentrate on scoring, the former Southampton and QPR striker returns serve once more – “it’s not hard mate, just f****** defend.”
In fact Roar coach Warren Moon is’t unhappy that his side is angry and hurting at being behind, and Chapman and Austin are seen grinning together by the end of an episode by turns amusing, explosive and uncomfortable – especially when Austin and his wife talk at length of their loss of a child in late-term pregnancy, and how it has affected them since.
The scenes at half-time showed Austin’s passion for the game – and the post-match reconciliation displayed the softer side to the family man whose main desire becomes glaringly obvious throughout the All Access episode: to win.
This weekend’s episode – titled Pantomime Villain – follows the Austin family’s adjustment to life Down Under. They arrived in Queensland on July 8, amidst one of the longest pre-seasons in world football; Roar’s friendly fixtures against Premier League outfits Leeds United and Aston Villa later that month helped Austin feel at home.
The All Access crew then followed Austin and Roar on their run to the Australia Cup semi-finals, capturing the anguish felt after defeat in the final four to National Premier League outfit Sydney United 58.
The 33-year-old has completely bought into his multi-year deal at Brisbane Roar, and hopes to use his stint in the Isuzu UTE A-League to reach an ambitious milestone of 200 career goals. He’s currently on 167.
Big ambitions for a big-name player with a booming personality – a personality that comes to life in this week’s episode of A-Leagues All Access – and reaches melting point in the change-room blow-up.
“You can see that at half time – it just boiled over, that’s what happens,” Austin says later. “But I wouldn’t be like that if I didn’t care.”
Produced by KEEPUP Studios and JAMTV, each new episode of the docuseries will debut on Thursday at 7:30pm AEDT on 10 Play, KEEPUP.COM.AU, the KEEPUP app and KEEPUP on YouTube. It will be available on Australia’s fastest growing streaming service, Paramount+, and will then be broadcast on 10 Bold at 2:00pm AEDT on Saturday afternoons as an appetiser for the evening’s Isuzu UTE A-League Men game on the same channel.