Time On: Lloyd suffers facial paralysis, Eddie not lost to TV and Wakelin’s catwalk moves

Former Bombers star Matthew Lloyd is recovering after a bout of Bell’s Palsy left him with restricted movement in half his face.

Time On is your Monday wrap up of all the footy gossip from the weekend.

AFL great Matthew Lloyd has revealed he’s battled a health condition called Bell’s Palsy.

The former Bombers star and media commentator said he contracted the condition about five weeks ago and still has restricted movement in his face.

“I had visited my parents and my right eye wouldn’t stop watering,’’ Lloyd said.

“It was about 6pm and I said (to wife) Lisa I’m not feeling too well. I couldn’t control the spitting and I lost control of my mouth and could sense my right side dropped. My smile wasn’t even and my cheekbone wasn’t even.”

Lloyd said the doctors checked him for a stroke but he was aware of the condition after his mother-in-law and former teammate, Adam Ramanauskas, had it.

Matthew Lloyd says he is rapidly improving after a bout of Bell’s Palsy. Picture: David Caird

Bell’s Palsy is a sudden weakness in the muscles on one half of the face and it can develop as a reaction to a viral infection.

For most people Bell’s Palsy is temporary.

“I can’t blink, the eye might shut about 40-50 per cent and it dries out so I have to lubricate the eyes every hour,’’ Lloyd said.

“The most noticeable is laughing as only half my face moves. I made a joke that people pay a lot of money for that with Botox.”

Lloyd, 43, has been doing some work on 3AW radio over the past fortnight and is returning to television on Footy Classified and as a panellist on the Sunday Footy Show.

“I’m comfortable to go on air and the network is comfortable,’’ Lloyd said.

“The last week has been the best week in terms of improvement.”

Lloyd joins Craig Hutchison, Caroline Wilson and Kane Cornes on Footy Classified, which will also be airing on Tuesday instead of its usual Wednesday timeslot due to the season opener being played between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.

EDDIE WON’T BE LOST TO FOX FOOTY

EDDIE McGuire is no longer part of Fox Footy but he won’t be lost to our screens.

Steve Crawley, executive director of Fox Sports, said the association with McGuire would continue “forever”.

“Eddie has called time and we respect that. He’s been absolutely fantastic with us and he’s been the face of our place for a decade and we hope that our association with Eddie is forever,’’ Crawley said.

“Eddie will be doing special projects for the next 50 years, he’ll do them for a lot of different people and he’ll do them well.”

The Fox Footy family look forward to Eddie McGuire’s continued involvement away from the screen. Picture: Michael Klein

As it’s happened, McGuire is out and Buckley is in. Former Pies coach and player Nathan Buckley will officially make his debut with the commentary team on Wednesday night.

“We didn’t set out to replace Collingwood with Collingwood, it just happened that way,’’ Crawley said.

“(Buckley) is amazing, he’s not going half-hearted with this, he’s full on. He did a shoot the other day for our new show Best On Ground and he’s a complete lunatic but he’s the straightest man in the world as well. He’s a performer, that’s what we’re looking forward to.”

Fox Footy’s new show Best On Ground will start in Round 3 while On The Couch will return tonight in its new 6.30pm timeslot.

WAKELIN KICKING FASHION GOALS

CHARLEY Wakelin, daughter of former Collingwood defender Shane Wakelin, is a model on the rise.

Fresh from her appearance on the catwalk for Emporio Armani in Milan, Wakelin walked in the Melbourne Fashion Festival for the Vogue runway last Monday and the closing runway on Saturday night.

Model Charley Wakelin and dad, former Collingwood defender Shane. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Wakelin walking for Cappellazzo Couture at the Melbourne Fashion Festival. Picture: Lucas Dawson

“I was not expecting it all to go to Milan but it was amazing,’’ Wakelin, 18, said.

“I met Giorgio Armani and there were like 90 models in the show. I had fittings for the Festival here the day after I got back.

“I really love it and hope to do more.”

Wakelin walked for brands such as Arnsdorf and Cappellazzo Couture and hopes to be part of Sydney fashion week in a few months. She will return to Milan in September.

She finished year 12 last year and is taking a gap year to focus on modelling.

She has been represented by Chadwick Models since 2019.

BROWNLESS IS IRREPLACEABLE

BILLY Brownless won’t be replaced on the Sunday Footy Show panel this year.

The loveable larrikin announced in September he’d had enough after 27 years.

The Geelong great started his television career in 1994, and was a stalwart of the Thursday Footy Show until its demise in 2019.

The team at the Sunday Footy Show won’t look to replace Billy Brownless.

“The time has come to hang up the boots and microphone and to have Sundays off,” he said at the time.

Sunday Footy Show host Tony Jones said Brownless was “irreplaceable” and the panel would stay as is without Brownless.

“We didn’t even think about it,” Jones said. “He’s just irreplaceable.”

The panel consists of Jones alongside Matthew Lloyd, Nathan Brown, Kane Cornes and Damian Barrett, with Nine News sports reporter and host Alicia Muling joining this season to provide sport updates.