AFL legend lends helping hand to Aussie Boomers

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There were superstar athletes all over the place as many current and potential future Australian Boomers, including Ben Simmons, gathered for a recent players camp in Melbourne and one of them was AFL legend and premiership captain Max Gawn.

The 6'10" Melbourne Demons star wouldn't have been out of place with the likes of Jock Landale, Josh Giddey and Simmons on the court but it was off the court where the inspirational skipper lended a helping hand to the Boomers as they ramp up preparations for the 2027 FIBA World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Speaking on Triple M's popular Mick in the Morning show, where he does weekly appearances, Gawn spoke about hosting the green and gold stars at his Melbourne restaurant and sharing some leadership tips.

"My leadership mentor (Nick Haywood) is the mentor of the Boomers, so there's a bit of a cross there. He said 'they're all here for their camp'... Ben Simmons is in town, they're all in town and he said 'we need to do a dinner to start the camp off'," Gawn said on the show.

'I said I've got (my restaurant), it's closed Monday, Tuesday, so we'll bring the chefs in and that was the first time I think Ben Simmons has been back with the group and it was at my restaurant.

"I spoke at the start of the night, a little bit about my leadership journey and some stuff that I could share."

Despite being one of the biggest names in arguably Australia's most popular professional sporting competition, the eight-time All-Australian ruckman admitted to feeling a bit out of place when around Australia's NBA talents.

"I felt very under-qualified," Gawn said.

"Ben Simmons. Giddey, Dante (Exum) and (Dyson) Daniels (were all there). Bogut was there, David Anderson, who's a former player.

"Bogut (was taller than me), Jock Landale, I think was taller than me and I get a photo with Luc Longley.

"I look like a child, like ridiculously like a child. It's embarrassing in that sort of situation.

"I quickly worked out that I'm a bit of an introvert in an uncomfortable setting. So, I was quieter than what I normally am, even though it's my restaurant and I was speaking... I felt pretty under-qualified to talk to that group."

While the Boomers already have a history-making bronze medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to their name, Gawn said he was "all in" on the team as they try and go further and contend for a gold medal at future World Cups and Olympic Games.

"I'm all in on Boomers," he said.

"The disappointing thing is they're trying to get up for the 28 Olympics, which is the American home Olympics, so it's a tough one to try and win, but I'm all in on Boomers.

"I reckon there's a little cultural shift started by me, of course."

The other members of the panel on the show then joked when the Boomers win gold, they're going to look back and say it started with Max Gawn.

Gawn then went into detail on what he spoke about to the Boomers.

"I got interviewed by my leadership mentor, Nick Haywood, and we sort of spoke about what we wanted to get the vibe across. My big one was how do they keep the momentum for this two day camp and then they all go back to their own places," he said.

"I spoke about our AFL VFL combination and how the AFL boys get around the VFL boys when they play and make sure it's not fake.

"But actually like talking about what actually happened on the court (to each other) and say 'you guys played really well', that will land really well. Hopefully that landed with them."