Time On: Tony Jones to miss Sunday Footy Show for Olympics, Wimbledon

Tony Jones will leave his Sunday Footy Show hosting seat for a big chunk of the footy season, but he has no fear his understudy will upstage him.

Tony Jones says he has no fear of being upstaged by Nathan Brown. Picture: Fiona Hamilton

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

TJ’s time out from Footy Show hot seat

TV presenter Tony Jones will head overseas on work duties for six weeks.

The Nine News sport and Sunday Footy Show host will again cover Wimbledon and will stay on in Europe for the Paris Olympics.

While the Olympics dominate our screens, all of Nine’s footy shows will be on hiatus.

Up until then Nathan Brown will fill Jones’ seat again on the Sunday Footy Show.

“I’m rapt it’s Nathan and not Kane (Cornes) — you don’t want anyone in the job who’s better than you,’’ Jones said.

Word is Jones won’t be anchoring coverage in Paris, rather hosting at specific events.

Jack’s back … in commentary

Injured Carlton forward/ruckman Jack Silvagni is moving into the commentary box.

He will join 3AW for select games this season, debuting on Sunday’s clash between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.

Silvagni ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in January and will miss the 2024 season.

Lethal’s fresh start

Leigh Matthews is ready for a new TV challenge after revealing his longtime employer Channel 7 thought he was winding down.

Matthews, 72, had been commentating on select footy matches on Channel 7 and is also part of radio 3AW.

But he has moved to co-host the new Footy Furnace show on Sunday nights alongside Tom Morris and Jimmy Bartel.

“It was interesting really, I guess I’ve been thinking I’m in the wind down phase — Channel 7 certainly thought that a few years ago,’’ he said at Nine’s Footy Launch.

“To be honest I’m also writing a column (online) so I picked up a couple of things that I didn’t think would be there a month ago.

“The TV part of it, I think in the new age Covid proved you don’t necessarily have to all be in the same location to have a good television show. So the fact I’ll be able to do this quite often from the Nine studio (where I live in Queensland) and I wouldn’t have to be in Melbourne, I wouldn’t have done it without that to be honest.”

Matthews, regarded as the game’s greatest player, appeared on Seven on and off since the 90s when he was also a panellist on marquee analysis show Talking Footy.

Host Eddie McGuire said it was a coup.

“They reckon they’ve been trying to get him to Channel 9 for 30 odd years.”

Leigh Matthews, Tom Morris and Jimmy Bartel. Picture: Fiona Hamilton

Scott spots fixture flaws

Geelong coach Chris Scott said the AFL’s opening round — featuring just eight clubs rather than the full complement of games — has led to a compromised fixture, and he wants the league to admit it.

Asked if the addition of Opening Round impacts the integrity of the AFL’s fixture, Scott told AFL 360: “Of course it does.”

“But like with a lot of these things is the juice worth the squeeze? And in this case it probably is, but let’s just be honest — of course it compromises it.

“I think the bigger compromise is that those teams (who played opening round) get two byes compared to every other team.

“The players association pushed the AFL to bring back two byes and the AFL’s answer was always that there’s no time.

“But now they’ve found the time, that’s the frustrating part.

“Compromise sometimes gets a bad wrap, sometimes you need to compromise for the greater good, that could be the case in this situation.

“My point is don’t pretend it’s not a compromise, of course it is.”

Eddie back into footy show hosting seat

Eddie McGuire is returning to the hosting hot seat for a one-off televised footy show.

To celebrate Gather Round in South Australia, McGuire will front a show on the Tuesday night, April 2, featuring big names Billy Brownless, Nathan Brown, Tony Jones, Kane Cornes and Jimmy Bartel.

There’ll also be a live performance from superstar Delta Goodrem, of her new single Hearts on the Run.

“I spent so many weekends in SA cheering for my brother Trent when he played in the SANFL, and I can’t wait to pump everyone up for the Gather Round,” Goodrem said.

Eddie McGuire will be back in the hosting chair for Gather Round. Picture: Getty

Brown feeling weight of footy world

Nathan Brown knows he has a rare opportunity to punch footy’s chief provocateur Kane Cornes in the face.

But he also knows he could end up as the joke of the league if he ends up hitting the canvas in his boxing match with the former Port Adelaide tagger.

The Sunday Footy Show colleagues will square off in the ring in an amateur boxing card to be held in Adelaide on the eve of AFL’s Gather Round, which opens with an April 4 showdown between the Crows and Demons.

“There’s been at least 15 current and former players who’ve reached out via text,’’ Brown said.

“I ran into Jordan De Goey — he’s very, very keen on seeing me win.

“He said I’ve got a big job to do … because Kane goes after a lot of people. Just reminding you if you don’t get the job done you’re going to be the embarrassment of the AFL.

Kane Cornes isn’t afraid to take aim at AFL stars. Picture James Bresnehan

“Brock McLean was another who texted me out of the blue. A lot of people from all walks of life.

“It is pressure. I’m nervous for the first time since playing my last game of AFL football and apart from walking down the aisle, so it’s good to feel that way again.”

Triple M and Channel 9 personality Brown has been training solidly for the past three months but says he’s very much a lover not a fighter.

And he seems to have all but dismissed Cornes’ chances of winning.

“I don’t think he can bruise a grape to be honest from what I saw,’’ Brown said.

Another challenger off to the sickbay?

Liam Pickering couldn’t resist taking a dig at more new competition being thrown at his show Off The Bench.

Triple M has announced its Dead Set Legends crew on Saturday mornings has changed again — this season it’ll be fronted by Sarah Olle, Will Ralston and Ryan ‘Rabs’ Warren.

On his SEN program co-hosted with Craig Hutchison, Pickering went through all the names they’d seen off over the years.

“They’re at it again the Ms,’’ Pickering said.

“They’re throwing a new combination at us, they’ve thrown a lot of combos … they’d be punch drunk from throwing a lot of punches.

“Listen to these three legends,’’ he added with a touch of sarcasm, listing a team of hosts on the Dead Set Legends that “we’ve sent off to the Dead Set Sickbay over the last 17 years.”

“These are the people who’ve tried to take us on and lost.”

Names mentioned included Emma Freedman, Damien Fleming, Mark Howard, Leigh Montagna, Jude Bolton, Lehmo, Bernie Vince, Kath Loughnan, Nathan Brown and Neroli Meadows.

“Twenty different gos, they’re trying to take you and I on and they just haven’t succeeded,’’ Pickering said.

Liam Pickering and Craig Hutchison have seen of a series of competitors over the years.

Robbie’s Blues love affair continues

Carlton’s “global ambassador” Robbie Williams was pumped watching the side’s one point win and also by what he saw in the crowd.

The superstar singer posted on Monday morning watching the end of the game when Harry McKay scored the winning goal.

“We beat Brisbane in Brisbane, tears from my eyes,’’ he sang.

Williams then showed the bay of people dressed as the Blues Brothers in the crowd.

“I am the global ambassador after all so I need one of those tops. Can I have one of those tops please Vossy? Come on the lads.”

Williams also featured in the clever Channel 7 footy promo that aired Friday night but it went down to the wire.

The cameo footage of Williams was only received that day.

He appears on a phone giving Blues coach Michael Voss a pump up and wanting to talk to Tom De Koning who he wrote a song about last season.

The love affair continues.

Abbey at home in footy season

Abbey Holmes is having a big start to the footy season.

She joined the All-Australian selection panel last week, worked across the weekend on Seven’s coverage and on Tuesday will interview tennis great Andre Agassi who is flying back into town for a one-off appearance.

But she almost missed the all-important call about her All-Australian selection.

When AFL executive general manager football, Laura Kane, called with the good news, she didn’t answer.

“I didn’t have her number saved in my phone and I don’t answer calls or numbers I don’t know,” Holmes said.

“So I screened her. It was embarrassing how quickly I called back and she said I can give you some time to think about it and I said I don’t need time, I’d love to do it.”

Holmes said she’s like a kid in a candy store now it’s footy season. She’s a selector beside Kane, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon, operations manager Josh Mahoney and former players Eddie Betts, Jude Bolton, Nathan Buckley, Kane Cornes, Glen Jakovich and Matthew Pavlich.

“I idolise Laura, she’s an absolute boss,” Holmes said.

She is also excited to have Erin Phillips joining Seven’s commentary team.

“She was my captain in my first year of the AFLW and we won a premiership … I’m so pumped.”

Abbey Holmes is now an All-Australian selector. Picture: Getty

Harley toes company line

Swans chief executive Tom Harley delivered a backhander to those critical of the Opening Round idea.

In the AFL pre-match function on Thursday night he said the move showed “foresight and gumption” by Andrew Dillon and his team to launch the season in Sydney and South East Queensland.

“To me it simply speaks to the national growth of the game,’’ he said.

“I can admit that outside of FOMO (fear of missing out), which I do get, I can’t reconcile the push back from down south whatsoever. This is the ultimate win-win. As fans we get to start the season early, in fact the two major grounds in Melbourne aren’t ready anyway. Four sold out stadiums can only be a good thing and what a privilege it is for us to play tonight, a season in which our football club celebrates 150 years.”