The top 10 most surprising AFL celebrity interactions

This week, Josh Dunkley and Hayden Crozier made headlines in America after posting videos of their workout with ostracized NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown in Florida. The videos of a rather slow-footed Dunkley consistently being burned by the speedy Brown made their way onto Sportscenter's social media accounts, baffling teammates of the Bulldogs star. https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1184331130964709376 It got us thinking here at Zero Hanger...what have been some of the more surprising celebrity AFL interactions? Here is our Top 10: Francesco Molinari and the Brisbane Lions International golf star Francesco Molinari may not have the global mega-star status of some of the movie stars on this list, yet the 36-year-old Italian may be the most left-field inclusion on this list. Molinari - who has been ranked as high as 5th in the world - tweeted out in support for Lions coach Chris Fagan and the wider Brisbane team after their first win of the season in March. https://twitter.com/f_molinari/status/1109455524452421632?lang=en The 2018 British Open Champion is said to have a relationship with Fagan after the Lions coach got to know the Italian through his performance coach, who also was reportedly employed by the Lions to help fix the goalkicking of Daniel McStay. On Fagan's European travels last year, he also worked with Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club as well as Eddie Jones' English rugby side. Metro Boomin and Port Adelaide While this name may be unknown to some, Leland Wayne (professionally known as Metro Boomin or Metro) is an acclaimed music producer and DJ. Throughout his career, Metro has been associated with some of the biggest names in rap including Drake, Travis Scott and Big Sean. Metro also produced Drake and Future's single "Jumpman" as well as 21 Savage's chart success "Bank Account" and Future's single "Mask Off". Considering this, it may have come as a surprise to Port Adelaide fans to see Metro post a picture of himself in a Port Adelaide guernsey in March of 2017 with little explanation. https://twitter.com/metroboomin/status/844278779816132608 By all reports, Metro's choice of team is still a mystery to this day. Pond/Tame Impala and Fremantle Tame Impala has emerged as one of the biggest bands in psychedelic rock over the past few years, but the Perth-born band hasn't forgotten their roots. Although the face of Tame Impala is multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker, included in the group is fellow Australian musician Jay Watson. Watson also plays with a group known as 'Pond' and is known as a massive Dockers fan. Pond even recorded a cover of the Fremantle theme song back in 2013. What do you think of it Dockers fans? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwkTHDMVo9I Rubens Barrichello and Richmond Amongst the chaos of Richmond's preliminary final triumph over Geelong this year, former Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello was spotted in the Tigers rooms after the match. Barrichello was in Melbourne for a motorsport event in Sandown and went to the match on Friday night with friends. The Brazilian driver posted on his Instagram story during the match and even got the chance to catch up with Roaming Brian post-game. https://twitter.com/7AFL/status/1175030374251917312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1175030374251917312&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Fd75mf6%3Fresponsive%3Dtrue%26is_nightmode%3Dfalse Barack Obama and West Coast Ranking the President of the United States this low on the list is a risky move, but Obama's West Coast connection is reasonably understandable considering the circumstances. Obama was presented his West Coast Eagles guernsey by long-time Eagles fan and former Deputy Prime Minister Julie Bishop back in 2011, when the then-President was touring the country. https://www.facebook.com/WCEofficial/photos/happy-retirement-barack-obamahopefully-this-means-you-catch-a-few-more-eagles-ga/10154596489497224/ Shaquille O'Neal and Fremantle If you happened to be watching the Los Angeles Clippers take on the Dallas Mavericks back in 2015, you may have been a little shocked to see Shaq compare All-Star Blake Griffin to Hayden Crozier during the half-time break. "He reminds me of my good friend Hayden from the Fremantle Dockers Aussie football rules, he's playing tough," said O'Neal on TNT's Inside the NBA. Shaq may not have realised that Crozier had only played 34 games for the Dockers at that point, but none the less, seeing the Big Aristotle mention AFL during halftime of an NBA telecast was heartwarming for every footy fan. Crozier and then teammate Lachie Neale were in America for a training camp when they met O'Neal during the filming of Inside the NBA on TNT. Check out the footage on the link below! https://www.fremantlefc.com.au/video/2015-11-02/shaq-shows-love-for-freo Natalie Portman and Melbourne Seeing the world famous actor down at a Melbourne preseason training session was probably one of the more out-of-the-blue celebrity crossovers we have seen. Portman has most famously appeared in films such as Star Wars, Black Swan and V for Vendetta. The 38-year-old even talked about her experience with the Demons with Ellen DeGeneres on US daytime TV. Portman's son is apparently interested in Australian Rules football and was a fan of Melbourne. Everyone here at Zero Hanger would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the Portman family for this decision. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM4XJwidMQw Conan O'Brian and Sydney World-renowned talk show host Conan O'Brien has interviewed some of the most famous celebrities in the world during his run on NBC and more recently, American cable network TBS. Although for Swans fans, no celebrity would come close to the legend of Nick Davis who Conan got to hang out with as the Swans put the lanky American through his paces for his Australian TV special. During a post-production Facebook live Q&A producers also noted Davis' dry humor as adding to the comedy of the scene. Is there anything he can't do? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8VTSGLCa1M Jason Momoa and Port Adelaide Jason Momoa career has taken off in recent years as the Aquaman and Game of Thrones star is beginning to leave a big mark on the film industry. However the Hawaii-born Momoa never forgets his roots as the movie star actually lived in Adelaide for a number of years while dating McLeod’s Daughters star Simmone Jade McKinnon. Moama is even went back to the club a few years ago and still follows the team. https://www.facebook.com/PortAdelaideFC/photos/jason-momoa-aka-khal-drogo-from-game-of-thrones-is-a-port-adelaide-fanhe-was-sna/10152449785588882/ Gregg Popovich and Roaming Brian Yes we know...Coach Popovich is not the biggest celebrity on this list. But how could be not put the NBA Champion and Team USA coach on this list after how he dealt with Roaming Brian in Round 23 this year? Famously, Popovich is known for his blunt responses to questions from the media, which is something BT forgot when attempting to chat with the San Antonio Spurs coach. Unlucky Bristle. https://twitter.com/7afl/status/1164835989811937286?lang=en

The top 10 most surprising AFL celebrity interactions

What have some of the more surprising crossovers been?

1. Gregg Popovich and Roaming Brian

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		P	W	L	PTS	%
1	ADEL	23	18	5	72	139.3
2	GEEL	23	17	6	68	141.5
3	BL	23	16	6	66	114.2
4	COLL	23	16	7	64	122.4
5	GWS	23	16	7	64	115.3
6	FRE	23	16	7	64	109
7	GC	23	15	8	60	124.9
8	HAW	23	15	8	60	120.9