Sheezel inspires at Maccabi AFL GF breakfast event
Eddie McGuire and Harry Sheezel and were among the panellists at a Maccabi Victoria event at the MCG.
Maccabi Victoria marked its 100th year with a sold-out AFL Grand Final Breakfast at the MCG, drawing more than 250 guests into the AFL dining room last Friday morning.
The event was hosted by respected sports broadcaster Tiffany Cherry, who steered a lively panel featuring AFL CEO Andrew Dillon, St Kilda President Andrew Bassat, Collingwood President Barry Carp, media personality Eddie McGuire, and North Melbourne star Harry Sheezel.
Maccabi Victoria Co-President Dean Mohr opened the morning, reflecting on the organisation’s century of connecting the Jewish community through sport.
He noted that within hours of the breakfast, the MCG would be filled with 100,000 fans for the preliminary finals, a fitting backdrop to Maccabi’s milestone year.
Guests included Victorian acting Premier Ben Carroll, Shadow Minister David Southwick, Glen Eira Councillor Sam Parasol OAM, and President of Maccabi Australia Rod Rosmarin, along with other representatives from Maccabi NSW and Maccabi Australia.
The panel covered hot topics including the future of the father-son rule, AFL salary trends, and looming rule changes, with sharp insights, humour – McGuire’s cheeky quips keeping the room laughing – and debate that had the audience engaged from start to finish.
The session wrapped up with the panellists’ predictions. For that night’s prelim, McGuire tipped Geelong to edge out Hawthorn – a call that proved correct as the Cats got the job done.
When Tiffany turned to Barry Carp, he brushed it off, saying he couldn’t care less – his attention was firmly on Collingwood’s clash the next day – a line that had the room laughing for obvious reasons.
As it turned out, Brisbane spoiled the Magpies’ hopes with a preliminary final win – our commiserations to Barry and all the Collingwood faithful.
Two panellists also had direct ties to Maccabi: Barry Carp, a long-time Maccabi swimming champion who has represented Australia at multiple Maccabiah Games, and Harry Sheezel, who came through the AJAX Football Club before making his mark in the AFL.
The crowd celebrated Sheezel’s recent second Best and Fairest at North Melbourne, placing him among an elite group of players to achieve the honour before turning 21.
Sitting with his former AJAX teammates, he was applauded alongside the AJAX senior side, who were set to play in the Premier C Grand Final against Beaumaris that weekend.
While the result didn’t go their way, their run to the grand final was a proud moment for the club and community.
As the breakfast concluded, the energy in the room matched the anticipation outside the MCG – a fitting tribute to Maccabi Victoria’s century of uniting the Jewish community through sport, and a reminder of the strength of Jewish involvement in Australian football.