Media Street: Sunday Footy Show elects not to replace Billy Brownless and Ben Cousins lands weekly TV role

In the latest step on his road to redemption, troubled West Coast Eagles champion Ben Cousins has secured himself a gig in footy TV.

Ben Cousins has landed a weekly TV media slot on Channel 7 in Perth.

In the latest step on his road to redemption, the troubled West Coast Eagles champion will do a sports tipping segment on 7News.

He will co-host with another former Eagle, sports reporter Adrian Barich, as they “dissect the burning issues” in the AFL.

Cousins, 43, has turned his life around over the past two years after being jailed in 2020 – it was the sixth time in 13 years that he’d been incarcerated.

He now works in construction and has slowly easing himself back into the public arena, beginning with a red carpet appearance at last year’s Brownlow Medal in Perth.

The former Eagles skipper also played in a charity game in January, looking lean and ripped when he led an All-Stars team.

Ben Cousins plays for a suburban game for Queens Park Football Club in 2021. Picture: Simon Santi/The West Australian

SUNDAY FOOTY SHOW IN DARK AGES

The Sunday Footy Show has elected to shrink its panel rather than replace resident larrikin Billy Brownless.

But the decision to not fill the vacancy with a female presence has seen Channel 9’s flagship show come under fire.

While 9News reporter Alicia Muling is joining the footy show to report on breaking stories, the panel remains a lot of men in suits.

Tony Jones will again host alongside Matthew Lloyd, Nathan Brown, Kane Cornes and Damian Barrett

Brownless quit at the end of last season after 23 years on the Sunday Footy Show. The Cats great started his TV career in 1994 and was a stalwart of the Thursday Footy Show until its demise in 2019.

Issues surrounding the all-male line-up have been raised in recent times with the evolution of AFLW and the increase of quality female broadcasters but despite a vacancy coming up Nine has stuck with the same formula.

Comedian Em Rusciano replied to a tweet celebrating the show’s 30th anniversary saying: “#Diversity”.

As part of the celebrations, Lou’s Handball – in honour of former panellist Lou Richards – will make a triumphant return as current players and legends of the game go head-to-head to win money for home viewers.

Tony Jones and Nathan Brown on The Sunday Footy Show. Picture: Fiona Hamilton

NEWS BREAKING WARS HEAT UP

THE TV news breaking wars are set to get a little bit hotter with an outsider being brought in by Channel 9 to stir the pot.

Channel 7 loaded up midway through last season when they poached young gun Mitch Cleary from the AFL’s website and he immediately made his mark.

The pairing of Cleary and the station’s chief football reporter Tom Browne was a must-watch for many reasons, particularly as they tried to out-do one another on social media.

A young Mitch Cleary at a function with Janine Greaney and Tom Hawkins.

Now Channel 9 has turned to Sydney to get their own eager newshound luring Sydney Morning Herald reporter Sam Phillips to Melbourne.

He is understood to be keen to have a crack at AFL and Nine needed a replacement after Corey Norris returned to Adelaide.

There was a shuffling of seats in the City of Churches after AFL great Warren Tredrea was forced to quit as the nightly sports presenter because he refused to receive the Covid-19 vaccination.

Weekend presenter Tom Rehn was then elevated to Tredrea’s seat with Norris coming over to host Nine’s weekend sports bulletin.

Originally published as Media Street: Sunday Footy Show elects not to replace Billy Brownless and Ben Cousins lands weekly TV role