How Fox Footy’s Kelli Underwood shattered the glass ceiling and never expected to replace Gerard Whateley

EVEN Eddie McGuire tips his hat to Fox Footy’s newest recruit Kelli Underwood, who also reveals how she got the call to replace Gerard Whateley that changed her career forever.

IN the boys club that is footy broadcasting, Kelli Underwood used to cut a lonely female figure.

These days, the number of women is fast-growing, and Underwood is undisputably one of the best — regardless of gender.

Just ask her Fox Footy cohort, Collingwood president and AFL stalwart, Eddie McGuire.

“She gets better and better,” McGuire says.

“Instead of being ‘a pioneering woman football caller’ she is regarded as a respected colleague and member of the calling community.

“Along with Caroline Wilson, she has made a major impact in breaking the glass ceiling in our profession and game.”

Femme force ... Mel Hickey, Tania Armstrong, Katherine Loughnan, Sarah Olle, Lauren Arnell (middle row sitting) Kate Sheahan, Neroli Meadows (front row) Kelli Underwood, Sarah Jones and Anna Harrington. Picture: Getty Images

Underwood continues to call AFL games — her first love — for ABC radio, and recently replaced Gerard Whateley as host of Offsiders after five years as a panellist on the sports panel show.

“I didn’t ever for one millisecond contemplate that I would be hosting because I just thought Gerard would be there forever,” Underwood says.

“It was a call that came out of the blue. But I bloody love the show so much.

“It’s so different to everything else I do, it’s quite challenging because it’s about the issues, not just recording what’s going on, and bringing in these big thinkers and well connected media people. It’s great.”

When the women’s league (AFLW) launched last year, its popularity caught the AFL off guard, forcing it to upsize venues at short notice.

Leader ... Underwood knew she would hit hurdles in broadcasting but doesn’t “regret it for a second.” Picture: David Caird

But Underwood was not surprised.

“I look back and it feels like the defining moment of sport for last year. It was so unforgettable, those scenes that we witnessed,” she says.

“It was more than football, wasn’t it? More than kicks and handballs and goals. It was social change and gender equality. It felt like a movement. Particularly that opening game.

It was so much fun to be part of, absolutely unforgettable. It’s been a highlight of my career to be part of that and watch how it unfolded.”

Hosting Women’s Footy on FOX, Underwood is joined by leading player Erin Phillips (2017 AFLW best and fairest winner), Kate Sheahan, Leigh Montagna, Melbourne defender Mel Hickey, and Carlton vice-captain and midfielder Lauren Arnell.

Now in its second year, Underwood says the league has a long way to go.

“I mean, I get a bit frustrated with the criticism because they’re part time athletes,” she says. “You’ve got to remember that they’re holding down full time work. You can’t expect that they’re going to be fully blown professionals within a couple of years, everyone needs to take a deep breath and give it a little bit of time because it will get there.”

Fox Sport has given incredible support to female presenters, including Tara Rushton and Underwood. Picture: Virginia Young

Nearly a decade since she was thrown in the deep end calling AFL games for Ten, it’s a decision which ruffled the feathers of old school audiences, unused to hearing a female voice.

But her natural ability and love of the game quickly saw her star rise.

“I had called twice on the radio for the ABC, as a bit of a favour because they were short with the Beijing Olympics. And then the TV bosses came knocking. I look back and think, ‘what were they thinking?’

“I knew it was polarising, what I was getting myself in for. But I don’t regret it for a second.

It has led to more opportunities. I call the tennis every summer, which is amazing. I commentated netball for eight years. If I hadn’t done it back then, I might never have.”

Underwood brushes off the suggestion her work has paved the way for more women in a blokey sport: “I don’t reflect on that stuff. If it helps others to come into the industry then that’s absolutely brilliant.”

* Women’s Footy on FOX, 7.30pm, Mondays, FOX FOOTY (Channel 504 on Foxtel)