Garry Lyon lashes facilities that the new Fox Footy commentary team had to broadcast from at the SCG

After a summer of hype, both Fox Footy and Channel 7 had their own calls teams for the first time on Friday night. But one was given a ‘tiny stinking hot box’ to work from.

Fox Footy’s leading analyst Garry Lyon has lashed the facilities that the new standalone commentary team had to broadcast from at the SCG in the season opener on Thursday night.

For the Sydney and Hawthorn game at the SCG for the first time both Seven and Fox Footy had their own calling teams for the Thursday night clash as part of the AFL’s broadcast deal.

But Lyon said despite this being well known and publicised, the broadcast conditions he and the Fox Footy team were confronted with were not good enough.

Fox Footy’s Garry Lyon. Picture: Tony Gough

“I’m not sure whether I should launch about this or not,” he said on SEN.

“All I will say is this, if you are going to put your hand up for billions of dollars from a broadcaster of which one pays more than the other.

“And it is a new set-up with the two broadcasters but you have six months prepare, so one broadcaster in this case Seven has the original broadcast set-up.

“Then it is incumbent on you to provide a broadcasting set-up for the other one that is deemed to be adequate.”

Lyon said they were separate from their callers and the SCG’s facilities needed to be better.

“The one that we were provided with... two by three metres, we were separate to our callers,” he said.

“So you have this tiny stinking hot box, barely enough room to put your computer on the table.

“I could go on for this for another 10 minutes... but if Sydney want big games, big Friday and Thursday night games guess what you are now getting a huge wedge of money.”

Fox Footy weren’t the only team to face some issues on Thursday night.

Triple M’s call team had the air conditioner in their box break down.

Lyon said he won’t be commentating for Fox this weekend due to a wedding.

Originally published as Garry Lyon lashes facilities that the new Fox Footy commentary team had to broadcast from at the SCG