Time On: Garry Lyon rated Australia’s most popular breakfast sports broadcaster
Australia’s most likeable morning sports presenter has been revealed, with a big footy name climbing the rankings in a highly regarded industry list.
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Time On is your wrap-up of all the footy media gossip and banter.
One big footy name on a highly regarded industry list caught our eye this week.
Fifi Box was the top ranking radio personality on The Australian Talent Index’s results of most likeable — breakfast broadcast (TV and radio).
But trailing behind Sarah Abo, Matt Shirvington, Richard Wilkins, Box, Natalie Barr and Ben Fordham, was SEN host Garry Lyon in seventh position with 67 per cent likability.
Lyon came in as the top sports presenter in the list.
He even outranked Sydney duo Jackie O and Kyle Sandilands, and Karl Stefanovic who rounded out the top 10.
The former Melbourne captain has for years co-hosted SEN Breakfast alongside Tim Watson.
He is also key part of Fox Footy’s coverage.
Box said on her FOX FM show that she was chuffed by the result.
“Well, that’s very nice. Well, thank you. That’s lovely. I really appreciate that, and to the people that were part of that (survey).”
According to the Top Talent Report, Robert Irwin at just 20 is the top broadcast talent, overtaking last report’s winner Hamish Blake.
Saints’ Daicos social media burn backfires
They say the AFL is a copycat business, so it should come as no surprise that St Kilda has joined the trend of clubs throwing shade on social media.
The club’s X account picked up on AFL.com reporter Cal Twomey’s article ranking all 49 of Collingwood star Nick Daicos’ games ahead of his milestone match against the Saints on Thursday night.
“Here’s our list of things we’d rather do ahead of Spud’s Game on Thursday night …,” St Kilda wrote in reply.
Among the things they listed were watching grass grow for 49 minutes at the MCG, being cleaned up by the G-Train (Fraser Gehrig) 49 times and listening to 49 Kane Cornes takes.
But the gag backfired when X users teed off on the post. Here’s a couple of examples.
St Kilda FC - 2482 games for 1 Premiership
— Craig Robinson (@Crobbo309) March 19, 2024
Nick Daicos - 49 games for 1 Premiership.
Stay classy Saints.
Openly disrespecting a young opposition player on social media during “Spud’s Game†week is totally on-brand for this club.
— M J Kara (@mjkara35) March 19, 2024
After a flurry of comments, the club responded: “After seeing a few replies we thought it’d be good to clarify: this is a joke at how long it would take to get through that article, not at Nick (who is a star on and off the field). See you all at the G on Thursday night!”
But the Saints certainly aren’t the first club to experience backlash for a social media post.
GWS’ social media team has traded barbs with Collingwood’s Mason Cox and the Magpies attracted their own criticism when they posted a video of Jeremy Howe spruiking the club’s new facilities where the netball team used to train.
Larkey an artist on and off field
A chat between Nick Larkey and SEN’s breakfast hosts Garry Lyon and Tim Watson revealed the Kangaroos forward is an accomplished painter.
Larkey said he’s painting something for his former housemate and teammate Cam Zurhaar.
“What sort of rate we looking at,’’ Lyon said.
“It depends who’s asking Garry,” Larkey replied.
Watson then said he’d like to see a portrait of Lyon in the same sultry style of the Men for All Seasons calendar — in which former players posed as pin up models.
“Just with a little Sherrin football in front of his private parts,’’ Watson added.
Lyon interjected: “A big Sherrin.”
“It’d need to be a pretty big canvas,’’ Larkey said. “I’d do it for free mate.”
Carey cuts anti-inflammatories, booze
Wayne Carey has gone sober and is reaping the rewards.
The footy legend and former commentator says he’s gone 16 days without drinking and is back in the gym.
Alarmingly, he said he had started to forget things.
“I’m off the grog,’’ Carey said on his The Truth Hurts podcast with Tony Sheahan.
“Sixteen days today. I’m making myself accountable because there’s no end date to it.
“I was going into meetings on a Friday, and sitting down and having lunch, I’d have a couple of beers and (be at an) important lunch, whether it be work or other things that you’ve got going on.
“Wake up Saturday morning, and I’d have been home by dinner time, can’t remember lunch. I can’t remember conversations or details of that lunch. Time to just go bang and not have a drop for a little while.”
Carey says he feels “great” and “energised”, is sleeping better and feels like a better father.
He says he’s recovered from a shoulder replacement six weeks ago and is “not popping as many anti inflammatories these days”.
“Three times a week but not as often,” he said.
Carey found himself in hot water after a bag of white powder fell from his pocket at Crown casino in Perth in late 2022.
The former AFL champion said the bag contained crushed anti-inflammatory medication he used to control pain resulting from his playing days.
Western Australia police investigated the matter and did not file any charges against Carey.
Johnson opens up on knife accident
Steve Johnson has put to bed rumours about his life-threatening knife surgery, saying he’s still amazed he managed to pull through after the accident.
The Geelong legend was saved in January by a quick thinking passer by, who happened to be a nurse, when he punctured his abdomen requiring emergency surgery.
“I knew it was pretty serious, there was blood gushing out of me and it was all over my hands and I was in a bit of shock,’’ Johnson said on Triple M’s Sunday Rub.
“I yelled out ‘I’ve got to get to hospital’. (My wife) Erin was out at the letterbox, there was actually some people walking past and I’m in shock (saying) get me to the hospital. He came over, he said I’m a nurse what’s happened.”
The man named Jason took him to the Wangaratta Hospital after the deep gash from a butcher’s knife that pierced through a bag — it had just cut up Johnson’s son’s 12th birthday cake.
“It’s unbelievable because you don’t see anyone (where we live),’’ he said.
“There is a little laneway, you rarely see people walk past my house.
“It was seriously unbelievable how it all occurred to begin with, but then the luck I had to have someone walking past who was the head of the nursing group.
“I thought I was a chance (of dying), when they were about to put me under they said there were no guarantees.”
Johnson bought a Jason a nice bottle of white wine as a thank you gift.
Howie dead set angry
Broadcaster Mark Howard has hit back at a dig from SEN host and player agent Liam Pickering over a radio rivalry.
Last week, Pickering couldn’t resist a jibe at the number of hosts who had departed Triple M’s Dead Set Legends over the years — a show pitted against his Off The Bench program in the Saturday morning timeslot.
Dead Set Legends latest line-up has changed to Sarah Olle, Will Ralston and Ryan ‘Rabs’ Warren.
On the show he’s co-hosted with Craig Hutchison for 17 years, Pickering went through all the names — listing them as a footy team — that they’d seen off over the years and had sent to the “Dead Set Sickbay”.
Howard was one of them, and suggested Pickering’s comments were driven by bitterness.
“I did Dead Set Legends, I did it with Fev (Brendan Fevola) who’s now getting paid $1.5m on FOX FM, I did it with Nath (Nathan Brown) who’s got about 17 different media jobs. I did it with Campbell Brown who does what he wants and the Duck (Wayne Carey) is so big he’s moved out of media,” Howard said on Triple M.
“When you look at it, obviously the phone hasn’t been ringing for Pickers. He’s been whacking away there for 20 years doing the same thing.”
Howard went on to suggest Pickering was still doing Off The Bench all these years later because his career hadn’t progressed.
“It reminds me of … a bit like someone like Jamie Cox — fantastic cricketer, played 130 shield games, unfortunately didn’t get the call up to play for Australia,’’ Howard said.
“It’s a bit like Jamie Cox (saying) ‘Oh I’ve seen off Adam Gilchrist because he’s not playing shield cricket anymore’.
“Gilly has moved onto bigger and better things, he’s playing for Australia and I think the people (Pickering) mentioned have been given the opportunity to have all sorts of different media experience, but unfortunately for Pickers, maybe because he’s so negative, the phone just hasn’t rung for 20 years so he’s still whacking away with Hutchy.”
Pickering was surprised by the response, noting that they are all regular listeners of his show.
“Howie sounded like he took it really personally,’’ he said.
“He tried to do this show, this was his first choice show and it just didn’t work for him … I’m still going 17 years later.”
Can’t please them all
It was great to hear Finey’s Final Siren return to SEN on Friday night after a big game at the MCG.
The show with a cult following had the usual passionate callers and banter from 11pm.
Host and St Kilda fan Mark “Finey” Fine dealt with all the gripes from the frustrated Collingwood fans but there was one he couldn’t cop — a fan whinging about the premiership flag unfurling being too early.
“Mate I wish there was so much wrong with my club, what time we unfurled the premiership flag,’’ Finey said.
“Imagine that as a St Kilda supporter. Oh shit, look at that … they unfurled the flag early. I’ve never seen a flag mate, stop whinging.
“I wouldn’t be too upset and I wouldn’t worry too much about what time you unfurl your flag because you know what that means, you bloody well won one.”
Silvagni goes whack on Blues
Injured Carlton forward Jack Silvagni has made a promising start to his media career.
Silvagni joined 3AW’s footy coverage on Sunday and didn’t sugar coat what he thought of the team’s performance in the narrow win over Richmond.
“The game against the Lions I think that was the gutsiest win we’ve had in years … then Thursday just gone against the Tigers was a very different game,’’ he said.
“I think the way we moved the ball on Thursday was very different to the way we moved the ball against Brisbane. When we started to get going we played very straight, very slow, pretty boring footy. It was a different sort of game but you take the four points, a win’s a win. Sometimes you’ve just got to win ugly and take them and get out of there.”
As for himself, Silvagni said his progress from the ACL injury was picking up.
“It’s been slow, everyone’s experience with an ACL is different,’’ he said.
“So mine coming out of surgery has been a bit slower than others. Things are starting to take a turn, the swelling is starting to go down, I’m starting to get some more range and bend into it. But I’ve got to learn to be patient because I’m not typically.”
Old rivals reunite
Dermott Brereton reunited with Billy Duckworth on Saturday during a motorcade for the Bombers’ 1984 premiership team.
Amongst the pair’s colourful history was Brereton famously planting a kiss on Duckworth and running through the Essendon huddle.
In a chat for Fox Footy, Brereton brought up the infamous huddle incident.
“Why didn’t you punch me in the head when I ran through your huddle?” Brereton asked.
Duckworth gave an honest answer. “I didn’t see you coming, I wish I had have, I would have knocked the shit out of you.”
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