Wayne Carey reveals the big step he’s taken to beat his mental demons – and how it’s helped him deal with his view of Welcome to Country

AFL champion Wayne Carey has shocked controversial footy identity Sam Newman by revealing the big change he has made to his life to avoid anger over issues such as Welcome to Country.

Newman has for years been an outspoken opponent of the Indigenous ceremony held before major footy matches across all codes and called on fans to shout the Welcome to Country before the 2023 AFL Grand Final.

And he didn’t hesitate to cover Welcome to Country on his podcast ‘Are you serious?‘ when former North Melbourne and Adelaide champion Carey appeared as special guest.

The podcast started off innocently enough, with the pair joking about their mutual dislike of players shaking hands and exchanging jokes on the field before and after games.

“That may be old-fashioned, but I think if you’ve just lost a final or a big match that cost you a final, you shouldn’t joke with people after the match,” Carey said.

“You should probably let it hurt a little before you take them out to dinner.”

Without warning, that led to another anti-Welcome to Country tirade from Newman.

Newman called on football fans to boo Uncle Colin Hunter ahead of the 2023 AFL Grand Final

Carey spoke on Newman’s podcast about the big step he took to improve his life and his views on things like Welcome to Country

‘If the AFL could just stop racing everyone at the start of games saying there they are and there we are, welcome to the ground and you’re lucky to be here, gee, aren’t we great and it’s great that you’re here but don’t get too far ahead of yourself,” Newman said angrily.

“If they could stop all that nonsense before the game, we could all play under one race of people, that would be fantastic. But that only seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

“Mind you, I feel like people are starting to get sick and tired of this nonsense going on.

‘Because we are only one people and we want to embrace everyone in the country, no matter where you are or what you look like.

“The AFL should be ashamed of themselves. They keep going on about it.’

AFL star Wayne Carey has been involved in several controversies throughout his career, including a 2002 affair with a teammate’s wife, which led to his departure from the North Melbourne Football Club.

Carey came to a controversial end to his time with the North Melbourne Kangaroos and has been in the news many times for the wrong reasons since.

He has also faced legal troubles, including assault charges and drug possession incidents, which have tarnished his public image.

But instead of joining Newman in getting angry about Welcome to Country, Carey — who previously said he may have Native ancestry — shocked the host and his listeners with a revelation.

“I know you’re very passionate about this Sam, and I’ve been listening to your comments about it,” Carey said.

“I’m kind of working with a lady, and I’ve been doing that for a while.

‘People may be surprised, but I’m constantly working on myself.

‘I’m speaking to a lady called Tess, Tess Mallett is her name and she’s a life coach. Not a psychologist, but there is psychology involved, I think.

‘It’s about working on yourself. And you know what? Things like, for example, for yourself it’s Welcome to Country and other things.

‘Do I think this should happen to me for everything, everywhere and always? Probably not.

‘But does it bother me? No, that’s not true.

‘There’s actually nothing in the world – and this is purely because I’ve been working on myself in this area – that really makes me angry.

“Whether it’s an individual or something like Welcome to Country, whatever it may be, I just let people have their own emotions about it.

“I’m not judging you based on your opinion of it, but I’m not going to let it upset me.”

Newman was a controversial member of the panel on Channel Nine’s Footy Show before it was axed and he moved into podcasts

However, that did little to extinguish Newman’s fire, who continued his tirade about the native ceremony.

“It annoys the hell out of me, buddy, I’m telling you,” Newman replied.

‘Because it is contrived virtuosity. There is no need to apologize for being here and for who we are. We want to move forward together.

“The point for me is that every time it happens, it shows that we are divided and I don’t know why we keep doing it. But I absolutely accept what you said.”

A measured Carey continued, saying it wasn’t worth the energy to get angry about things you can’t control, like Welcome to Country.

“It’s about working on yourself…not worrying about things you can’t control,” he said.

“It’s clear Sam you have no control over the AFL or anyone else who wants to do Welcome to Country.

‘Whether it’s Virgin Airlines, Qantas, the AFL or rugby or wherever it is, you can’t control it, so don’t let the emotion about that get to you.’

Carey is trying to better himself and doesn’t want to get angry about things he has no control over

“I would just argue, I would compete, Wayne,” Newman interrupted.

‘That I have some control over it. If enough people say this isn’t necessary, maybe we’ll respect everyone who’s here. Could you stop bugging us about why we are here and why we should be here and why we should be here at all.

“I think if enough people now please say, this is not anti-racism, this is anti-racism on the other side, I believe.

‘We simply shouldn’t be surprised about the country we live in. We live here, can we all get along?’

Carey urged Newman to stop letting the actions of others affect him so emotionally.

“What we are, and this is one of the things Tess talks about, is we are very judgmental people,” Carey said.

‘We were raised with judgment. Whether it’s how someone walks into a room, whether they are timid, how they dress, how they look, how they behave, we judge in a second.

‘Someone walks past you on Beaconsfield Parade and they smile at you, you walk past and you’re happy for the next hour because they smiled at you.

‘If they don’t smile at you, you’re in trouble.

‘We allow people to make us feel that way and yet we judge within milliseconds and that determines our mood or how we should think about ourselves.

“Those are things I’ve been dealing with for a while, so I don’t walk into a room anymore Sam, and I guess you’ve been like that for a long time, but I don’t care what people think anymore. ..I’m getting better at not giving anything.’