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Sport Nation
“That was a real bull!”: Cooney reveals behind-the-scenes secrets from famous 2009 AFL ad
Lachlan Geleit, SEN • December 5th, 2024 4:13 pm
The AFL’s season launch ad in 2009 is remembered by all footy fans who were keen observers of the game in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
The ad involved plenty of the AFL’s stars at the time completing Aussie Rules skills while on-field in other major sports including rugby, NFL, soccer, four-wheel driving, horse racing and more!
Some of the big names involved included Gary Ablett Jr, Chris Judd, Adam Goodes, Jonathan Brown and Lance Franklin.
The previous year’s Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney was also featured in the advertisement, with the then-Bulldog shown fending off a bull in what was meant to be Valencia, Spain and kicking a drop punt over a Toyota Landcruiser that was in the midst of an off-road race, presumably the Dakar rally.
Speaking on SEN Breakfast, Cooney revealed that a live bull was actually used in the filming, but that a stuntman was used in his place for that split second.
“That was a real bull,” Cooney told SEN Breakfast.
“It was a real bull, a stunt man – a real guy – it was a real bull, but a fake Cooney.
“There was a farmer that came in who was of solid build, ripped to shreds (laughs), so it was perfect.
“They used a stunt man, and he actually did dance around the bull, he got the ball, waved him off and then off he went in the little arena.”
As for the four-wheel driving, Cooney says no CGI was used there either with the 4WD really flipping over before the ball was kicked to Ablett Jr.
Given they only had one take before the car would be effectively ruined, Cooney felt the pressure of making sure his drop punt was picture-perfect.
“I went down to the You Yangs for that,” Cooney said.
“The car flipped over and rolled and everything.
“They had to do that in one take. So that wasn't CGI either. The car actually rolled.
“They said, ‘Look, you've got to nail this because the car is coming over the top of Gary and it's going to flip … you've got to pierce this drop punt kick’.”
Check out Cooney speaking more about the famous ad here.
Watch the full ad below.
