Popular ex-Richmond great Matthew Richardson will replace Daisy Pearce in the upstairs commentary box for Seven’s coverage of Friday night football in 2023.
Pearce, who has taken up a coaching position under two-time premiership coach Chris Scott at Geelong, will move from special comments on Friday nights to the same role on Thursday night broadcasts, which the AFL has increased.
Daisy Pearce will call Thursday night games for Seven.Credit:Getty Images
Richardson will move from boundary riding duties to share the special comments role with ex-Hawthorn skipper Luke Hodge. Brian Taylor will continue to call the Friday night games with James Brayshaw.
Abbey Holmes, the former AFLW player, is likely to take up the boundary riding role for Friday nights in place of Richardson.
Television industry sources familiar with the line-ups also revealed:
- That there would be no direct replacement for Wayne Carey on Seven’s Saturday night broadcasts, in which Hamish McLachlan and ex-Bulldogs star Luke Darcy will continue to call the play. A rotation of various ex-players – former star Jobe Watson among them – will share the slot that Carey occupied before his contract with Seven was not renewed.
- Taylor will continue to be the primary caller on Sundays, supported by commentator Jason Bennett. The special comments for Sunday will also consist of a rotation of former players that includes Shaun Burgoyne, the four-time premiership hero, Watson and others. Hodge is expected to do special comments for Sunday games in Queensland, where he is based.
- McLachlan will host and call on Thursday nights, with Pearce – shifted due to her commitments with the Cats – providing the special comments for the increasingly important Thursdays. Foxtel shares Thursday nights with Seven in the current arrangement.
- Nick Riewoldt will not be directly replaced by Fox Footy/Foxtel in his role doing special comments for Fox’s broadcasts. Industry sources said Fox Footy – which has much larger contingent of callers and special comments people – would use a mix of ex-players/coaches to fill Riewoldt’s slots.
Riewoldt is spending 2023 in the United States with his family and has taken leave from Foxtel.
Riewoldt’s position on the light-hearted Saturday night post-game show Best On Ground will not be filled, either. Fox Footy will continue with the other four cast members – Mark Howard, ex-champions Nathan Buckley and Jonathan Brown and Kath Loughnan.
But Riewoldt will be replaced by a prominent former player for the long-running On the Couch on Monday nights, which ex-Melbourne skipper Garry Lyon will host again, alongside Brown. Buckley would be the logical replacement for Riewoldt.
Foxtel will continue to use longstanding callers Anthony Hudson, Dwayne Russell, Howard and Kelli Underwood and Perth-based Adam Papalia. Special commentary for games will be provided by Lyon, Buckley, Brown and a range of other decorated ex-players including Jason Dunstall, Gerard Healy, David King, Jordan Lewis, Nick Dal Santo, Mark Ricciuto (Adelaide), Matthew Pavlich (Perth), Brad Johnson and Cameron Mooney.
Foxtel, which broadcasts five-and-a-half games per round compared to free to air broadcaster Seven’s three and a half matches, will also use Collingwood AFLW stars Chloe Molloy and Ruby Schleicher to provide expert comments.
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