The National Curriculum

School is back in session. Join a rotating collection of some of Australian football’s finest brain thinkers in Joey Lynch, Nick Stoll, Nick D'Urbano, and Josh Parish -- as well as some special guests along the way -- for The National Curriculum.

Every week, the TNC crew will look back at the week that was in Australian football and bring you the best analysis and opinion in Australian football. No cow is too sacred, no topic too taboo, or figure too untouchable to be spared the wrath of Good Football Takes™

Sports
Soccer
51
Now is the Milos of our discontent | Ninkovic, ...
Ninkovic to WSW, Matildas, ALW expansion and more.
132 min
52
We've made our bed - but should we sleep in it?...
The TNC crew are joined by Taryn Heddo to try and find sense or logic in the Matildas' 7-0 loss to Spain.
135 min
53
Reaction to the Socceroos qualifying reaction, ...
Reaction to the Socceroos qualifying reaction, Matildas, Marquees
112 min
54
It's a huge pod! It's as big as we've ever seen...
Full analysis of Australia's penalty shootout victory over Peru.
131 min
55
THE MEGA POWERS | 12 June 2022
TNC previews the Socceroos do or die clash with Peru as well as running down the Olyroos form and some major A-League signings
119 min
56
Emergency Bonus Pod: Socceroos vs UAE Review | ...
Josh, Joey, Ante and (eventually) Nick join forces at the ungodly hour of 2pm to review the Socceroos' win over the UAE in the World Cup qualification playoffs.
84 min
57
TNC's on the Beach | 5 June 2022
The A-Liga offseason is here, but we've still got plenty to discuss: Socceroos, scorpion kicks, Ninkovic fleeing the job share, NSD models, and our End of Season Awards!
120 min
58
Wow, What A Season! | 29 May 2022
TNC's massive wrap-up of the A-League Grand Final and reflections on where the league stands.
125 min
59
TNC Sells Out | 22 May 2022
It's a brave new era for Australia as ESPN and TNC form a coalition that has 110% approval.
129 min
60
Human Error | 15 May 2022
<p>It's election season on TNC and Nick D'Urbano has won the popular vote - but will his internet hold out long enough for him to host the pod? <br> <br> Joey Lynch, Josh Parish, Ante Jukic and Lachie 'Yung Boi' Flannigan are also in attendance to discuss elimination finals, commercial breaks, Dwight Yorke getting the Macarthur gig, and the APL's marquee list.<br> <br> Strap in - it's a big one.&nbsp;</p>
127 min
61
A Lovely Island Named Hvar | 1 May 2022
<p>Josh Parish, Joey Lynch, Nick D'Urbano and Ante Jukic discuss Ante Milicic's impending A-Liga detox on the Dalmatian Coast, and where it's all gone wrong for Macarthur.<br> <br> There's Garang Kuol's second late winner in two weeks, Sturridge's less than Glorious return, Adelaide wrapping up a finals berth in less than inspiring fashion, reflections on the Bakrie Group's ownership of Brisbane Roar, VAR being slower than Nick's internet, and whether the APL should be crowing about match minutes for young players.<br> <br> And not to get too deep for everyone, but the boys end with a conversation surrounding negativity against positivity in football coverage, the glass being half full vs half empty, when to take a win against when to dive a little deeper, and other matters of analysis, criticism, feelings and emotions.&nbsp;</p>
110 min
62
Nerds FC for A-Liga | 30 April 2022
<p>Nick D'Urbano, Nick Stoll and debutant Lachie 'Yung Boy' Flanagan are eventually joined by Joey Lynch and then later Josh Parish to answer the people's questions (3:00), discuss a brilliant F3 derby (16:00), break-down Daniel De Silva's play of the game (35:30) in Macarthur's 4-1 loss to Melbourne Victory - who are starting to look like one of the favourites to win the Grand Final. Adelaide v Perth (47:30), Wellington v Wanderers (1:16:30), and the potential of Brazil v Argentina at the MCG (1:27:30).&nbsp;</p>
110 min
63
The Following Footballers Have Been Abducted By...
<p>Yes, your ears do not deceive you, Nick D'Urbano has taken over hosting duties this week - gallantly fending off Joey Lynch and Nick Stoll's attempts to derail his hosting debut before reinforcement arrives in the form of Ante Jukić.</p> <p>This week, the boys kick things off by looking at the Central Coast Mariners ruining Wellington Phoenix's homecoming. Is this Mariner team better than Alen Stajcic's side of a season ago? They then look at the Box Office Jets being grounded by Melbourne Victory, Western United's 6-0 win and Perth Glory's imploding season, and blaming the fans for the A-Liga's woes.&nbsp;</p> <p>Stoll then gives the boys a rundown on Sydney stereotypes so they can properly dive into Western Sydney Wanderers' woes and figure out if they're still a big club.&nbsp;</p> <p>Melbourne City and Sydney FC's opening Asian Champions League games come under the microscope before the boys run down the Sydney list to determine who should stay and who should go for the 2022/23 A-Liga Men's season. <br> <br> There's also some Tillies chat and Ante gives us an insight into <a href="https://www.espn.com.au/football/australia-ausw/story/4642459/katrina-gorry-transforms-matildas-and-their-capacity-to-play-in-possession" target="_blank">his conversation</a> with his new bestie Tony Gustavsson. &nbsp;<br> <br> But the big story comes from Stoll, and it threatens to bring the whole A-Liga down. Has Oliver Bozanic been abducted by aliens?&nbsp;</p> <p><br></p>
118 min
64
TNC: Fury Road | ft. Phillip Rollo & Taryn Hedd...
<p>Nick Stoll, Josh Parish and Nick D'Urbano are joined by the returning Taryn Heddo and stuff.co.nz journo Phillip Rollo to break down the Matildas' last-gasp win over the NZ Football Ferns (0:11:05). <br> <br> Phil gives us an insight into the Nix's recent fortunes, and whether their long absence from NZ's shores has had an impact on their popularity and relevance (0:44:24). There's also some All Whites chat (0:57:49) - including if Marco Rojas' recent purple patch will see him recalled to the squad for the playoff against Costa Rica (1:07:30).&nbsp;</p> <p>Finally, there's our Melbourne Derby review (1:15:12), Steve Corica seeing the light at the end of the jobshare (1:33:41), "the worst game of the season" in Wanderland (1:46:32), the A-Liga All-Stars (1:54:03), and a surprising amount of North Queensland Fury content.&nbsp;</p>
124 min
65
The International Curriculum | April 3 2022
<p>Josh Parish, Joey Lynch, Nick D'Urbano &amp; Ante Jukic have their guns drawn this week as they discuss Graham Arnold staying on as Socceroos boss until the end of the qualification cycle (0:01:23). <br> <br> They debate the latest Matildas' squad, Ante's invitation to call up Tony G for a tactics chat, and their preferred Australian XIs (0:39:49), before analysing the 2022 World Cup draw, and predicting who will progress from each group (1:04:21).&nbsp;</p> <p>Finally, there's another A-League speed round, talking Sydney Derby, allegations of continued homophobic abuse in the Adelaide vs Victory game, and CAPPING THE CUMDAWGGG! (1:33:57)</p> <p>Another week in Australian football, all in under two hours. What more could you ask?&nbsp;</p>
111 min
66
Is this a long podcast? Maybe, but it's from th...
<p>Don't worry, there are timestamps!</p> <p>Nick Stoll has reclaimed the hosting chair this week, and is joined by Ante Jukic, Josh Parish and Joey Lynch for a Socceroos deep dive (0:02:16), as Thursday's loss to Japan leaves Australia missing out on automatic World Cup Qualification. Should Arnie stay or go for the playoffs? Who could you possibly replace him with? And where should the blame for this failure ultimately lie?&nbsp;</p> <p>Plus, we have an A-League Women's Grand Final to discuss, as Melbourne Victory upset the odds to win their second successive championship, despite finishing the regular season in 4th place. How did they pull this off? Having lost 4 out of the last 5 Grand Finals, what ingredient is Sydney FC missing? And what does the Dub need to change and improve next season? We chat to Radio Dub's Pokuah Frimpong (1:07:40) and AAP/The Far Post Podcast's Anna Harrington (1:40:18) to find out.</p> <p>Plus, there's a quick aside on Nick D'Urbano's Italy missing out on the World Cup (1:36:50), and we speed through the weekend's A-League Men's games in record time (2:12:49).</p> <p>Thank you all for your questions, memes, and enthusiasm for the show - we couldn't do it without you.</p>
154 min
67
SokkahVision | March 20 2022
<p>Join Josh Parish, Joey Lynch, Ante Jukic, Nick D'Urbano and special guest Ben Smith for an emergency deep dive into Perth Glory!<br> <br> Ben gives us the view from WA as the Glory part ways with head coach Richard Garcia, and digs into the identity crisis at the club's core.&nbsp;</p> <p>Plus, our resident Cyberbully Pokuah Frimpong drops by to review Victory's dominant win in the Dub Derby Preliminary Final (0:42:38), Ante states his opposition to Bruno Fornaroli's Socceroos call-up (1:11:52), and we conduct a "lightning round" on the rest of the A-Liga Men's games (1:36:36), which of course means the podcast pushes well past the 2 hour mark. Sigh. <br> <br> Oh, and Joey discovers he's had a secret nickname all along.&nbsp;</p>
126 min
68
Somebody Once Told Me The A-Liga Is Gonna Roll ...
<p>The people have spoken and, with Josh Parish galivanting around Canberra, they have voted for Nick Stoll to host this week's show. So things predictably spiralled out of control.<br> <br> This week, Stoll, Ante Jukić, and Joey Lynch get things going with a discussion on the mooted return of the A-Liga Men's All-Stars to take on Futbol Club Barcelona (8:50) before they're joined by very special guests and criminally underrated members of the A-Liga Women's coverage scene Taryn Heddo and Pokuah Frimpong to talk Dub finals. How did Sydney's comeback win over City go down and is Cortnee Vine underrated or overrated? (20:20) What went wrong for Adelaide United in their first-ever ALW final, how good is Melina Ayres, and do Victory function better without Kyra Cooney-Cross in their team (37:55)? Taryn and Pokuah also give their verdicts on doubleheaders (55:50). &nbsp;</p> <p>The boys then discuss if Macarthur can still be crap even if they're winning games (59:47), if the Wanderers are still carrying passengers (1:07:08), Perth's form not turning around after going home (1:09:30), and ask if Max Burgess is a better player than Lionel Messi (1:11:42).</p> <p>Podcast victory cigar Nick D'Urbano then jumps to join in a discussion on Western United against Melbourne City and the validity of having fun at A-Liga games (1:21:53), Isuzu UTE Ante Brain favourite Brisbane Roar's win over the Phoenix (1:37:00), Sokkahroos BOLTAHS (1:43:50), and answer some of your questions (1:47:00).&nbsp;</p> <p>And hey, we're up to something. Don't sleep.&nbsp;</p>
123 min
69
Isuzu UTE AnteBrain Moments | March 6 2022
<p>We think the A-Liga might have finally broken Ante.<br> <br> Josh Parish, Nick D'Urbano, Joey Lynch, Ante Jukic, and Nick Stoll are back to break down - or indeed, have a breakdown - while analysing another week in Australian football.<br> <br> This week, the boys debate if Melbourne City should be held to a higher standard than the rest of the league (and if they're meeting these expectations), being gaslit in press conferences, Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC's rebuilds (are the fans abandoning ship on Corica?), Brisbane Roar struggles, the Box Office Jets, the curious case of Western United, and much more. &nbsp;<br> <br> There's also a dive into the coming Dub finals, and a few of the boys come in off long run&nbsp;ups.<br> <br> Language warning on this one!</p>
116 min
70
The Good Bloke Index | February 27 2022
<p>Nick Stoll's back in the hosting chair so things are loose on this week's TNC. <br> <br> This week, Stoll, Ante Jukic, Josh Parish, Nick D'Urbano, and Joey Lynch debate if Western United are actually for real or just real enough to beat the opposition that the A-Liga puts in front of them. Joey also goes full Australian Sokkah by unveiling a Good Bloke<img alt="™️" src="node_modules/emoji-datasource-apple/img/apple/64/2122-fe0f.png"/> theory.<br> <br> Melbourne City's predictability, Sydney FC being on the upswing, the Jets being box office (duh), and the A-League Women finals race are just some off this week's footy on the agenda, before the boys cast their eyes wide to discuss some of the big picture issues in Australian football such as the AAFC's National Second Division report and the APL's handling of the A-Leagues. <br> <br> Oh and D'Urbano made everyone talk about&nbsp;Bielsa.</p>
111 min
71
Staying Hydrated | February 20 2022
<p>Josh Parish, Joey Lynch &amp; Ante Jukic reflect on an existentially fraught week in Australian football. That is, more so than usual. <br> <br> With the patience of fans - and even players - beginning to run out with the APL, the streaming platform and the broadcaster, we ponder whether the new era of independence is really all it's cracked up to be (0:14:42). <br> <br> There's Ben Garuccio's scorpion kick (0:02:00), the box office Jets testing Melbourne City in "the best game of the season" (0:39:38), Victory's midfield scarcity and impactful substitutes (0:50:50), and other on-pitch A-League observations. <br> <br> Plus, Nick D'Urbano comes off the bench to discuss Cristian Volpato's first Roma goal (1:03:58), and Nick Stoll jumps on to review the podcast while it's in progress, ironically ensuring its 90+ minute runtime (1:11:11).&nbsp;</p>
95 min
72
Three Stooges Syndrome | February 13 2022
<p>The Jets remain box office, one job-share in replaced by another, and TNC is under 60 mins if you listen on 2.0x speed. Josh Parish, Ante Jukic, Teo Pellizzeri, Nick D'Urbano and an inappropriately dressed Joey Lynch get together to discuss the biggest and smallest talking points in Australian football, including the future of a National Second&nbsp;Division.</p> <p>Topics:<br> National Second Division (0:01:41)<br> <br> Victory 1-2 Jets (0:30:05) <br> Sydney 1-1 WU (0:54:54)<br> WSW 1-3 City (1:04:26)<br> Wellington 1-1 Adelaide (1:11:30)<br> Mariners 1-1 Glory (1:20:29)<br> Brisbane 3-1 Macarthur (1:33:40)<br> <br> A-League Women (1:39:46)</p>
111 min
73
You Reap What You Sow | February 6 2022
<p>And you thought last week was bad. As Australian football continued to come to grips with the Matildas disastrous early exit from the Asian Cup, it was hit by a fresh blow this week when the Socceroos were held to a 2-2 draw with Oman in Muscat - effectively ending their hopes of automatic qualification. But was that really a surprise? Or more of an inevitability that should have been seen coming?<br> <br> With a full TNC roster on hand, the Socceroos fate (21:25) was on the agenda this week, and brought in extra reinforcements in the form of Pokuah Frimpong to discuss the ongoing debate surrounding Tony Gustavsson’s tenure (38:20) - Operation: Narrative Shift and all - and one panellist makes their stance quite clear: #TonyOut!<br> <br> An entertaining FFA Cup Final (1:11), at least off the field, was also on the agenda, as well as a look at this week’s A-Liga men’s action (59:15) and, inspired by a certain high school drama being afforded space in a major newspaper, a look at the media landscape surrounding Australian football (1:27:37). Sokkah coverage has never been more open, but there have never been fewer people being paid to provide it. Is that a good&nbsp;thing?</p>
126 min
74
Non-Fungible Tony | January 30 2022
<p>Well... that could have gone better. At least the Sokkahroos won?<br> <br> With a 1-0 loss to South Korea, the Matildas have been bundled out of the Asian Cup. Wading through the discourse, The National Curriculum's Ante Jukic, Teo Pellizzeri, Josh Parish, and Joey Lynch are here to break to down what went wrong, why it went wrong, and what might come next. Can the Matildas' do damage in 2023? Are the right players being picked? Should Tony Gustavsson remain coach? (00:02:15)<br> <br> There's also talk about the Arnie-less Roos running over the top of Vietnam mid-week, a breakdown of Tom Rogic's monsterclass and why, despite that, Ante might drop him for the Oman game. (00:42:17)<br> <br> Though they tried to sneak it by us between the Roos and Tillies games, Western Sydney Wanderers decision to sack Carl Robinson and their continued air of calamity comes under the microscope (1:04:36), as does this week's A-Liga action and why Avondale's "bespoke" arbitration win over Football Victoria might have significant long-term ramifications around the&nbsp;country. (1:45:32)</p> <p><br></p> <p><em>Note: This episode was recorded on Sunday night, before the Western Sydney Wanderers announced Mark Rudan as their new head coach.&nbsp;</em></p>
125 min
75
Here comes the Kerrpow | January 23 2022
<p>Between A-League Men, A-League Women, The Matildas, the Socceroos and subtweeting, there’s a lot going on in Australian football, so The National Curriculum is bringing in reinforcements.<br> <br> Debutant Pokuah Frimpong joins Ante Jukic, Nick Stoll, Nick D’Urbano, and Joey Lynch to discuss Brisbane Roar’s continued struggles (7:00), Sydney FC’s plan going off the rails (43:15), Melbourne City playing their best game of the season (19:00) – and why it won’t happen again – what exactly Aleksandar Prijović brings to Western Untied (1:50:30), and the contrast between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers in ALW (1:28:50)<br> <br> The panel also debates the merits of crushing Indonesia 18-0 against playing the kids (59:35), discuss Sam Kerr’s legacy and future role in the Matildas, talk about who is in and out of the recently announced Socceroos squad (1:35:15), provide an #ArzaniWatch update, and much much more.<br> <br> And yes… there’s also #CUMDOG&nbsp;discussion.</p>
124 min