Footy ‘spy’ plays another game

This article first appeared in the AFL Record magazine, and was written by Ben Guthrie.

Sam Hutchins leads a double life. One day he is introducing the game of Australian Football to the central west of Sydney; the next he is hunting for clues to track down a saboteur preventing him from claiming a significant bounty.

Hutchins, A NSW AFL development officer, applied to be a contestant on the Channel 7 show The Mole purely to have a laugh with friends.

But much to the 22-year-old’s surprise, he was chosen by the show’s producers as one of the 12 contestants competing for $250,000 in prize money.

“I thought, ‘I’ll just give this a crack and see what happens.’ I love to tell a story and I thought it would be hilarious to tell my mates that I applied for the show,” Hutchins told the AFL Record.

Hutchins said the show was full of challenging moments, but a worthwhile experience.

He faces challenges in his day-to-day occupation, too. In an area where AFL is not so recognisable in the central west of Sydney, Hutchins’ job is to promote our game.

He is in charge of running after-school football programs during the week and Auskick programs on the weekend to help youngsters become acquainted with the game.

“We’ve found that the young kids at our carnivals are absolutely loving playing AFL,” Hutchins said.

“That’s the great thing about AFL out in the central west. Every kid wants to have a good time, kicking around a footy and we’re finding they’re becoming a lot more aware of the game.”

Hutchins believes there is plenty of sporting talent and potential AFL players in the area.

“If the AFL can get as big as other sports in this region, there will certainly be some talent to come out of the central west,” he said.

While Hutchins was only too obliging when talking about the growth of Australian Football in NSW, he was less open when asked to reveal the identity of the ‘mole’.

“That’s the $250,000 question,” he said.

The Mole airs on Channel 7 on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m.

Photo from facebook.com/SamTheMole2013