IT'S been 13 months since Dom Cassisi hung the boots up and it’s been an interesting year for the former Power skipper post-football.
Having led the club as captain across four seasons, Cassisi has ridden the ups and downs on the intense life in the AFL.
Now, he is managing director of his own business – Funding Options – and dabbles in football commentary on weekends.
Away from the workplace, he now has three girls (all avid Port fans) and has enjoyed slipping back into life as a supporter.
In our first Life After Footy, portadelaidefc.com.au sat down with Dom to talk about life after footy…
Matthew Agius: What’s it been like in the last year being on the outside of footy observing the AFL and the Port Adelaide Football Club?
Dom Cassisi: It’s been weird, I’ve actually been able to realise the intense bubble you live in as an AFL footballer. It’s just so consuming. You don’t realise how much energy and effort you’re putting into your job and how consuming it is, until you’ve left and stepped away. In the day-to-day it’s simply what you do, but when you leave you realise how full-on it is.
Now that I’m away from it, I appreciate being an AFL footballer even more, and what it is they do.
So, now I’m a spectator. I just love watching footy, and when you leave you always have a connection to the club. You still feel protective of the club, even though you’re not there day in, day out. You’re protective of the boys, and hope they go well.
Cassisi celebrates in his final game of AFL football [pic: AFL Media]
MA: Have you had thoughts on the year the club had had?
Cassisi: It’s too hard to tell from the outside. I think Kenny summed it up perfectly when he said it was one thing, one week, and the another thing the next week. There’s no doubt Port Adelaide has become the ‘hunted’ this year – which is a totally different mindset to handle as a club and playing group – but I thought against Hawthorn and GWS, it’s looked like we’ve become the hunters again. The boys got on the front foot, were aggressive at the oppo and the footy. Port has such a great group of players, they’re the hardest working group I’ve seen, and they’ll come out of this year better for the experience they’ve had.
MA: In the immediate aftermath of your retirement, what did you set yourself to do? Had you put much thought into life post-football before your final game?
Cassisi: It’s funny, I think your last three years in the game are the ones where you start to wonder what you’ll do next. You realise it’s going to come to an end, and you need to start setting yourself up for life after footy: you’ve got kids and you’ve got to have an income to get by.
I set up Funding Options a few years ago, and that was a definite option for me, but did I want to stay in footy and see if there was an opportunity for me in the industry? When I’d finished playing, there was a bit of angst about which path to take, but I took a long-term view and went down the path of the business.
MA: So you set the business up three years ago, while you were still playing?
Cassisi: Yeah I did. It’s been operating for 3.5 years. While I was playing, I studied an advanced diploma in financial services and marketing as well. During that time I had the opportunity to get it up-and-running, get some staff in there and lay a foundation. Having that foundation was a big help, but there was definitely some self-doubt going into it, for sure.
Dom Cassisi has a new team in 2015... his own [pic: Funding Options]
MA: What’s your role in the business?
Cassisi: I am the managing director, but I’m full-time in doing that. If someone rings into the office, it will be one of the staff or myself answering the call. It’s not as if I’m the face of the business but not involved in operations; I’m there day in, day out and working with clients to get their finance sorted.
MA: You were the captain of Port Adelaide, now you’re captaining your own team, have you found some similarities from the footy field to the business world?
I’ve definitely been able to draw on my experiences from footy, but also what I learnt from everyone I’ve been involved with in footy – the little pieces of gold offered up by Choco [Mark Williams], Ken [Hinkley], Walshy [Phil Walsh], Keith Thomas. You extract so much from life in football to use in later life. The team is much smaller than when I was playing with 40 blokes, but the principles are similar.
The pressure is also there, but it’s a different pressure. You’re not getting judged by 50,000 people every week on how you played, but you are still expected to deliver your best for your client.
MA: Tell us about your award. What is it for, but what does it also mean for you personally, and professionally.
Cassisi: AFG are the biggest finance aggregator in Australia, and I was fortunate enough to take the Rising Star award at their annual awards night. It recognises someone who’s new in the industry and the number of loans they’ve written. It was totally unexpected, but really welcome, because I’d had a fair bit of self-doubt about 12 months ago. When you go into something new, you do have a bit of anxiety, so to get that little bit of recognition was really good for telling me that I’m on the right track. There’s a long way to go, but it’s a nice start.
I think anyone who works full-time knows the value and the good feeling you get from recognition, and that doesn’t necessarily mean recognition from winning an award. That positive recognition just reinforces that I’m committed to the business and in for the long haul with what I’m doing.
MA: What does the future look like for Dom Cassisi?
Cassisi: For work, I’d like to grow the business, but I’m a big believer in the hare and tortoise, so I don’t want to get too big overnight. I’d like things to just happen organically – slow and steady. We do the whole range of finance. The home loan industry is so competitive, so our point of difference is that we do home loans, commercial, automotive, construction.
If someone comes for a home loan, or to purchase a piece of commercial property, or civil construction equipment – we can do it all. Our model is a little bit different, I think it offers us a point of difference, and it keeps things a little more interesting.
MA: Have you found yourself sliding back into supporter mode now that you are sitting on the outer? Do you get the joys and frustrations of supporter life nowadays?
Cassisi: Yeah sometimes! It’s so easy to criticise when you’re sitting on the couch at home though. When you’re out on the ground, in the heat of the moment, you see a totally different game. Even sitting in the crowd and hearing some of the comments, a lot of it is positive, but some I still feel show how many people don’t understand the difficulty of playing in the AFL.
MA: And you’ve been doing media work too. How have you found that that?
Cassisi: It’s been good fun. Triple M is a light-hearted station, so I can be myself without the need to drop hard-hitting bombshells or anything like that. It’s been a steady entry into doing it – special comments for the games and a show on Sunday. It’s been good to interact with the people who call in to vent their frustration or joy or opinion. I enjoy talking to people about footy.
MA: And family life – a new Cassisi in the house – how have you found having the three kids?
Cassisi: Really good. Maiya and I have got three girls now – all under the age of four – so we’re outnumbered! It’s great fun, and any parent knows they bring a lot of joy. They’re all Port supporters too and the older girls are starting to love their footy.
Dom and Maiya welcomed Clementine - their third daughter - earlier in 2015
MA: A few father-daughter picks for us too...
Cassisi: Yeah! I watched that game between Melbourne and the Bulldogs though, and thought the women go too hard at it for my liking!
MA: Lastly, have you got to the point in your life where you’ve got a favourite player?
Cassisi: A player that I love who doesn’t get much recognition is Tommy Logan. He hasn’t played AFL this year, but I loved playing alongside him and he’s so good for the playing group. It’s hard to pick a favourite though, because I’m still so close to the boys. Chad Wingard has obviously had a great season, but I’m also a big fan of Robbie and Boaky because of the time we had together.
I’ve enjoyed seeing how Brendon Ah Chee and Sam Gray have gone this year. ‘Arch’ has always been such a great kid, but he’s probably had some doubt about whether he could make it at the level. With Sammy, I love the fact that the natural footballer is still alive. He doesn’t have the height like the best on-ballers, but he knows where to go, and how to use it – he’s a natural footballer.
