Lincoln was part of the inaugural SportsGrad Method cohort, and during the time we worked together he continually impressed me with his ability to reflect, learn, and develop. He is incredibly switched on, asks insightful questions, and produces interesting and engaging content across multiple formats with a unique mix of humour, data, and storytelling ability. I'd highly encourage any publications and media outlets to consider Lincoln for their team.
What can Lincoln do?
Give a quick overview of your work experience (jobs, internships, volunteering)?
Freelance journalist and podcaster (2017 - present) As a freelance journalist and podcaster, I have regularly written and created content for various national and international outlets including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), The Roar, Pain Research Forum, STEMM Matters, and This Week in Football.
Administrator and podcaster, Useless AFL Stats (2024 - Present) Facebook sensation Useless AFL Stats is all about having a laugh while taking a deep dive into the most useless AFL stats you'll ever need to know. As an administrator, I am responsible for:
Generating social media content (including working with publicly available datasets to identify or unearth stats) that yields over 2 million social media views per month
Responding to fan queries and comments on social media
Appearing as the host or a panellist on the UAS podcast, which ran weekly during the 2023 and 2024 AFL seasons Reporter, Victorian Amateur Football Association (2025 - present) The VAFA is the largest community football competition in Australia, with 70 clubs fielding around 300 teams across 35 different sections. As the Division 2 Men's reporter, I am responsible for writing weekly round reviews (including interviewing 10 coaches) for The Amateur Footballer (VAFA Footy Record) and the VAFA website and contributing to the development of the VAFA Team of the Year. I have also acted as a boundary rider/commentator for live streamed matches.
Reporter, Australian Football League (2025 - Present) As a casual reporter with the AFL, I am responsible for writing match reports/news articles related to the 2025 AFLW season and interviewing coaches in post-match pressers.
Producer and Podcaster, Mojo Sports (2025) Mojo Sports is a sports network that aims to provide digital content through podcasting and social media. As a producer and podcaster, I was responsible for producing and hosting weekly episodes of The NFL Show during the playoffs in the lead up to Super Bowl LIX, as well as editing and distributing podcast episodes via Reaper and Acast, generating and promoting show clips on social media using Opus Clip.
Deputy Specialists Editor, The Medical Republic (2024 - present) The Medical Republic is a group of likeminded doctors, journos and ‘old world’ publishers who would like to jazz up communication for doctors as we move into a mobile social universe. As the Deputy Specialists Editor, I am responsible for: • Identifying, pitching, writing, and editing stories and podcasts for the range of titles under The Medical Republic and Health Services Daily banners • Editing and producing electronic and physical newsletters and magazines • Acting as a key liaison with the
Clinical Editor of Oncology Republic Senior Research Fellow, Monash University (2024 - present) Monash is a modern, global, research-intensive university, delivering education and research excellence.
As a Senior Research Fellow, I work with data from the Burns Registry of Australia and New Zealand (BRANZ), a clinical quality registry capturing epidemiological, quality of care, and outcome data for burn patients across Australian and New Zealand burn services. In this role I am responsible for:
Leading independent and collaborative research on burns, involving comprehensive analysis of large, national and international data sets
Managing and mentoring a team of research assistants, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and volunteers (~ 10 different individuals)
Do you have a track record of delivering measurable outcomes or KPIs?
A complete list of the 150+ pieces of medical and scientific freelance content I have produced can be found at https://lincolntracy.com/freelance A complete list of the 200+ stories I have written in this role can be found for The Medical Republic can be found at https://lincolntracy.com/tmr
The BRANZ has experienced a three-fold increase in publications and other outputs since 2017, a direct result of my substantial intellectual contribution to the registry. My work has resulted in changes to building policy and clinical practice, resulting in better outcomes for burns patients.
I have obtained > $120,000 in research funding, currently supervise one higher degree by research student, and have supervised one PhD student to completion.
My work has been featured in national and international media (see https://lincolntracy.com/media). A complete list of my > 50 publications (cited ~ 1400 times) can be found at https://lincolntracy.com/research.
What technical or industry-specific skills do you bring?
Writing - news, opinion, features
Identifying and pitching engaging story ideas
Interviewing Survey design and execution (REDCap, Google Forms, Qualtrics)
Data handling, analysis, and visualisation (R, Stata, Tableau, PowerBI) Audio/video editing and production (Audacity, Reaper, Descript, Clipchamp, Edits)
Web/newsletter design and publishing (Squarespace, Wordpress, Mailchimp)
What tools/platforms/software are they proficient in?
REDCap,
Google Forms,
Qualtrics R
Stata
Tableau
PowerBI
Audacity
Reaper
Descript
Clipchamp
Edits
Squarespace
Wordpress
Mailchimp
Buffer (social media scheduling)
What qualifications, certifications, or degrees do you hold?
Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honours, First Class) Specialist Certificate in Clinical Research (Neuroscience) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology Previous: Mental Health First Aid First Aid and Anaphylaxis Management
I'm passionate about using data to help tell engaging stories about sport.
I'm a researcher and journalist with a PhD in psychology and almost a decade of experience in working with data and telling stories across a variety of different formats. The findings and recommendations from my academic research have resulted in changes to policy and clinical practice – potentially resulting in fewer people getting burned and better, more consistent outcomes for the ones that do. My academic research has also helped sharpen my ability to quickly digest large amounts of complex information and relay this to audiences in written or spoken format, as evidenced by having the most read story on Migraine Science Collaborative for two years running. Now I’m at a point where I want to take the impact I’m having in academia and journalism, and apply it to something else I really care about - sport.
What steps has Lincoln taken to break into the sports industry?
Joined the SportsGrad community, and invested in my future by joining the the first intake of the SportsGrad Method program.
Joining the Melbourne Press Club to meet other people working in the local sports media scene and attend relevant events. I also applied (and was accepted) to take part in their mentorship program.
Volunteered with the VAFA after a competitive application process, writing weekly match reports over the course of the season.
Created a DIY internship at the Mojo Sports Network that filled a gap in their sports coverage and gave me further experience in podcasting and audio production/editing.
Pitched myself to Useless AFL Stats to solve their problem of not being able to create content while their main statistician was sick.
Sent cold/warm messages to 50+ people who work in the sports industry to gain a better understanding of the diverse range of jobs that exist in the sports media field and to establish where I would best be able to apply my diverse range of skills to have the greatest impact.
Self-publishing blog and social media content for the last four-five years.
Sending my work to people that may be interested in it, resulting in my work being spoken about on Triple M.
Lincoln’s interest in sport all started from playing in the backyard with his brother and sisters
Sport was a huge part of my childhood growing up in various parts of regional Victoria, whether it was playing in the backyard with my brother and sisters or competing for local club or school teams. I loved sport because it was an opportunity to be around people with a similar passion, whether that was playing, watching, or just talking about it. I want to use the unique set of skills I have developed to help share stories that people are passionate about.
I want to work in the sports industry because there is an infinite number of stories out there to tell, beyond what happens during the game or on the field. There are stories about those that play the game and those that watch it. More often than not it is these stories that people bond over and remember for years after the date. For example, the story of Logan Morris making his AFL debut after playing a full game in the reserves, eating McDonalds on the way home, and then getting such a late call up to play that he had to borrow boots off someone else is one that people will tell long after he retires.
Since then, Lincoln has gone on to work in Government, achieving things like
Writing medical and scientific content | Earned research funding | Published works in inter/national media |
|---|---|---|
Written over 350 pieces of medical and scientific content for various organisations | Earned <120,000 in research funding, currently supervise one higher degree by research student, and have supervised one PhD student to completion. | My work has been featured in national and international media (see https://lincolntracy.com/media) |
Where does Lincoln want to go?
Next six months | Next 12 months | Next 5-10 years |
|---|---|---|
Transitioning from working in medical research and journalism to working full time (or equivalent) as a sports journalist. | Successfully in a full time (or equivalent) role as a sports journalist. | Balancing a motivating and fulfilling career in sports journalism/media with being a loving and attentive husband and father. |
What sporting problem keeps Lincoln up at night?
How we can make data more accessible
What is Lincoln like?
What kind of environment do you thrive in?
Fast-paced, collaborative environments
When have you had to show resilience in your life or career?
After spending many months trying to conceive, my wife and I were thrilled when she eventually fell pregnant. The next nine months flew bye (moving house in the middle of things didn't help), and she gave birth to a healthy, beautiful baby girl. But our world was turned upside down when she was two weeks old, after she was diagnosed with cancer. In the months that have followed we have spent countless hours at the Royal Children's Hospital while she has undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy and had stem cells harvested for a later point of her treatment. This is well beyond anything of how we imagined the early stages of parenting would go, and we most likely still have another 12 months (minimum) of this journey ahead of us.
What about Lincoln’s interests outside of work?
What are your interests outside of work?
When I’m not watching or writing/talking about sport I love checking out stand-up comedy shows with my wife, enjoying a nice glass of red wine from the McLaren Vale, and spending time with our dogs Charlie (Bernese mountain dog) and Izzy (border collie). I'm also a new dad to a very cute little girl.
What is your favourite sporting moment?
Sitting in the back row of the Punt Road stand at the MCG for the 2013 elimination final between Richmond and Carlton. The Blues finished ninth but played finals due to Essendon being punished for the supplements saga, needing to beat Port Adelaide in Adelaide to get there. Hearing the Tigers run out was one of the loudest things I've every heard. Nick Duigan was a late in due to injury (he had been sitting in the stands eating a meatball sub and drinking a Coke prior to this) but his four goals and Chris Judd's 25 disposals were a key part of Carlton's 12 goal to four second half as they overran Richmond.
What’s your ideal holiday?
Sitting on a tropical beach with a book
If you had 30 minutes to pick the brain of anyone, who would it be and why?
I'd love the opportunity to chat with Alex Lim, a visual communicator with a background in computer science and graphic design who aims to educate and empower readers by providing context through innovative story formats. Alex was one of the team behind the award-winning piece "The mullet is alive and well in AFL", which was an engaging and informative data visualisation for the ABC that explored the popularity of the mullet in modern football. I would find it really interesting to find out more about how the idea for this story came about, as well as the techniques used to work with the data and create the clean visualisation.
What’s book or podcast that’s helped your career you recommend?
'Wild Courage' by Jenny Wood. The strategies in the book have helped shape how I promote myself to others, approach my work to get more meaningful things done, and overcome my fears about going after the things that I want.
Additional details
Where in the world are you located, and where are you open to work?
Living in Melbourne, open to working anywhere in Australia (or working remotely)
What is the most important consideration for you in your next role?
Competence (feeling good at what I do), relatedness (feeling connected to other like-minded people), salary, autonomy, flexible working arrangements (for childcare reasons)
What others say about Lincoln?
Ben McQueen (COO & Co-Owner, Mojo Sports Network): Lincoln took initiative and reached out to me after discussions with a mutual working at our podcast network. Following productive discussions and a positive show pitch, Lincoln came on board to our network to relaunch a new version of our weekly NFL Podcast Show. Lincoln was able to self source another panel member to join him while showing his understanding of the requirements of producing a show during his pitch to join the network. While only running across the NFL Playoffs, episodes were of a great standard and Lincoln immediately formed chemistry with his co-panellist, despite them not having previously worked together. Lincoln took on the responsibility of creating high quality social media content to complement and market the show, in addition to producing the episodes in a timely and consistent fashion. This platform allowed him to showcase his knowledge of the sport, confidence in speaking and planning ability as the show host in addition to being a panellist. Lincoln is highly professional, possesses initiative and is an excellent communicator. I would recommend him generally and believe these transferable skills place him well for most if not any role he seeks out.
Neil Andrews (Executive Editor, Migraine Science Collaborative): Lincoln and I first met back in 2017 when he participated in the science communications program at the North American Pain School. It has been amazing to see how quickly he developed the necessary skills to succeed as a multi-format journalist - he has a natural flair for storytelling and brings a personal touch to interviews and podcasts. He also has a winning sense of humour that enhances his work. When I moved to the Migraine Science Collaborative (MSC) and needed to build a new team of freelancers, Lincoln was one of the first people I reached out to. He constantly delivers high-quality work, and it’s no accident that he produced the most-read stories on MSC two years in a row. I recommend him wholeheartedly for any and all organizations with science journalism needs.
What questions does Lincoln have employers?
What are your biggest communication or marketing challenges right now that you feel aren't being adequately addressed?
How do you currently measure success in your marketing and engagement efforts, and what would you like to see improved?
What's your timeline for seeing results, and are there any major events or seasons I should be planning around?
How do you typically work with external consultants - do you prefer regular check-ins, project-based updates, or more hands-off management?
What's been your experience with freelancers or consultants in the past - what worked well and what didn't?
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