Time On: How Brian Taylor is handling the trolls ahead of new season

Brian Taylor says he’s trying to block out the haters as he prepares for a new season, but his toughest critic might be closer to home.

Time On is your wrap up of all the footy gossip and banter.

BT has no time for haters

One of footy’s most polarising commentators, Brian Taylor says he’s developed a thick skin as he prepares to call more footy than ever this season.

“Shit yeah, absolutely you do in this industry,’’ the former Collingwood forward says of the need to block out noise.

“You can only listen to the people that are in your group really. You can’t be listening to outside noises. A bit like the players, if I were to listen to what people thought about me I’d never get to the footy. All I’ve got to be sure of is I’m doing the right thing by everyone in my team and if that’s working then it’s full steam ahead.”

Brian Taylor says he will be calling more games than ever this season. Picture: Supplied

Taylor moves from Friday night to Thursday nights, plus Sundays on Seven and will call for radio Triple M on Friday nights and Saturdays. He says it’s wife Tania who is his most important critic.

“Football is such a subjective thing,’’ Taylor said.

“Bloody hell, I could sit here now and we all like 10 different commentators or we all like 10 different players, that’s what football is, it’s very subjective and there are no right or wrongs.

“We all cop it. We absolutely all cop it but I’ve got to the point now, I have a thick skin. I’ve seen other people do this in the same job that I’ve had and I’ve learnt from them that that’s the way to go.

“You have to have a thick skin, you can’t be reactive or emotional to it. I won’t say it’s all smooth sailing, it can get you down occasionally. That’s why the reassurance (comes) when you go home and your wife’s there giving you an honest opinion of how you went that day. And she’ll say to me, you were shithouse today or you were good today. I know I’m getting an honest opinion of where I was.”

Taylor’s Roaming Brian segment will move with him to Thursday nights on Seven. He is calling alongside Hamish McLachlan with special commentators Kane Cornes, Nick Riewoldt and Luke Hodge, plus Rebecca Maddern as host.

“We’ve got a team that is incredibly good and incredibly hungry to do well,” Taylor said.

“I love working and I love football so for me I can’t get enough of it, that’s why I’ve taken on an extra game this year. In a commentator’s position the more games you do, you get better at your job. To be seeing eight teams every weekend live at the games and then another couple on the TV as well. It gives you a really good feel of the players and what each team is up to.”

Ed takes a back seat to McClure

The new Channel 9 promo for its new look Footy Classified programs raised some eyebrows across the industry last week.

Most notably it was the front and centre positioning of the show’s Monday night host Sam McClure which grabbed all the attention ahead of its return tonight.

He’s flanked by the Tuesday night host Eddie McGuire, but it’s been labelled a “bloody Sam McClure promo” by Craig Hutchison, the former Monday night host, and now host of rival show, The Agenda Setters, on Channel 7.

“Sam dominates the promo,” Hutchison said on his podcast, The Sounding Board, alongside co-host Damian Barrett.

Barrett will be part of the Monday night program alongside Jimmy Bartel and Matthew Lloyd.

“You’ve got this amazing asset in Matthew Lloyd. You and Jimmy look like intruders in that promo, you look like you’re at the back going ‘I’m over here’. And Sam McClure has got all the hang time,” Hutchison told Barrett.

Not all Footy Classified hosts are created equal, according to Hutchy. Picture: Twitter

Hutchison joked that McGuire had taken his eye off the ball.

“In 30 years I haven’t seen him take his eye off a promo like that,’’ he said.

“It looked like Sam McClure actually took home the vision and cut the promo himself.”

On his Tradies Podcast, alongside Seven’s football reporter Mitch Cleary, McClure did admit slight embarrassment when it was put to him by Cleary that it was “a bit of me time”.

“Yeah I was, I was uncomfortable,’’ McClure said.

Funnily enough the promo was written by McGuire.

Huddle shuffle

Triple M’s Friday Huddle is making moves.

The show will still be the lead in to Friday night footy, featuring Mark Howard, Nathan Brown, Damian Barrett and Jason Dunstall, but it will only be heard from 4-7pm before the footy commentary team comes on, led by Brian Taylor and Jack Heverin.

The program which last year included Luke Darcy, now retired, previously featured Chris Judd.

Footy fans will get a sneak peek inside the Hawks this week. Picture: Getty

Peek inside the nest

Hawthorn captain James Sicily says we’ll be seeing a “raw and authentic” snapshot of the club’s pre-season this week.

Full Sweat, a 90 minute doco produced by Seven, will air on Wednesday night after The Front Bar.

“We are used to having cameras on all of the time so nothing has really changed from what we would normally do in the pre-season. I’m sure what you will see is a raw and authentic snapshot of our club and the personalities within it,’’ Sicily said.

“We see this doco as an opportunity give something back to our members and fans. We play to make them proud and hope the behind-the-scenes access can only strengthen their connection to what we do as we look forward to a big season ahead.”