If you’re not familiar with the unique football and life story of Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne midfielder Jose Romero, you’re in for a treat in the latest episode of the Glory Days podcast.

Romero, who was born in Chile, came to Australia and later played 211 high-quality games in the AFL, sat down with former team-mate Bob Murphy this week to recount his footy journey.

Romero recounts his voyage to a new country when he was seven years old and struggling with the language barrier, going to school in Broadmeadows and encountering racism, and why he came to love the game of AFL. 

He remembers how he was zoned to play at North Melbourne as a teenager, why his time at the Kangaroos came to an end, and how he ended up a Bulldog in 1995 when he thought he might be drafted by Carlton. 

Romero describes how he came out of his shell and became more “aggressive and outspoken”, what it was like playing in a Bulldogs team which was a force in the competition in the late 90s, his memories of Murphy being ‘petrified’ before his first AFL game, the joy of watching the 2016 premiership, and his time spent as an AFL runner and Bulldogs Board member. 

Tune in to Glory Days on iTunes, TuneIn Radio, and Whooshkaa, including previous episodes featuring Nathan Brown and Patrick Bowden.

Or catch up on the Bulldogs’ weekly in-season podcast, Barkly Street, which was hosted in 2020 by Murphy and Bulldogs’ skipper Marcus Bontempelli.