Revealed: Who will host new-look AFL Footy Show in 2019
Former host Garry Lyon says the Footy Show should have changed its name after wholesale changes were confirmed for 2019, including a vastly different hosting panel. Did Channel 9 get the changes right?
Fiona Byrne
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Former host Garry Lyon says the Footy Show should have changed its name after wholesale changes were confirmed for 2019.
The fabled show will return with Hawks tragic Anthony ‘Lehmo’ Lehmann as host in an effort to kick the iconic program into a new era.
Lehmann, a successful radio host and comedian, is expected to join footy great Brendan Fevola as the mainstays of the Channel 9 show, which will blend football, entertainment and comedy.
The pair is tipped to form a regular panel with tennis ace Dylan Alcott, a passionate footy fan, and an as-yet-unknown female sporting identity.
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A fifth panel member is expected to rotate each week, with the focus on comedians or former footballers with a lighter side to fill the spot.
On the back of the drastic changes, Lyon said the show should have undergone a name change.
“It’s a very different line-up to what the Footy Show has been historically and traditionally,” he said on SEN.
“They weren’t the names I would’ve been expecting.
“They shouldn’t call it the Footy Show then. It’s nothing like the Footy Show.
“I would’ve thought they’d come up with something different for it. Come up with a fresh name for it. It’s not the Footy Show.”
The focus of the show will be less about team lists and will have a funnier flavour than the original.
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In a back-to-the-future twist, the program will hold onto the name The Footy Show despite a number of alternative names being tossed around in recent months.
Fevola gave a strong hint to the identity of his new castmates in an Instagram post last week.
He wrote on the photo of himself with Dave Thornton, Glenn Robbins, Lawrence Mooney and Lehmann: “5 comedians hanging out or the new @aflfootyshow panel?”
But the new-look Footy Show won’t have any time to rest on its laurels.
The first show is tipped to launch on Wednesday, March 20, putting it head-to-head with the return of Channel 7’s popular The Front Bar.
It’s believed original mainstays Eddie McGuire and Sam Newman will not be part of the new Footy Show, but the pair will host a series of footy specials throughout the year.
McGuire’s production company, JAM TV, will continue to be behind the Thursday night offering.
Newman is also expected to make semi-regular appearances on The Sunday Footy Show.
Executive producer Anthony Watt will be at the helm of the new look-show, which Channel 9 is understood to have officially signed off on last week.
Watt has previously produced the popular Spicks and Specks.
Nine would not comment on the makeup of the new show, but said it would be making an official announcement in due course.
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