Video tribute to life members malfunctions at AFL season launch

THERE were red faces at last night’s AFL season launch when a tribute video to the league’s newest life members malfunctioned.

Gillon McLachlan, Chief Executive Officer of the AFL.

THERE were red faces at last night’s AFL season launch when a tribute video to the league’s newest life members malfunctioned.

Panel operators inside Melbourne’s Forum Theatre were sent scrambling when the giant screen hanging above the stage played only audio and not vision.

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Nearby AFL Commission members were visibly furious at the blunder, while chief executive Gillon McLachlan couldn’t hide his irritation when he got behind the microphone for his address.

New AFL life members Eddie Betts, Chris Donlon, Mike Fitzpatrick, Rex Hunt, Steve Johnson, Jordan Lewis, Michael Long, Andrew Mackie, Kade Simpson and Shaun Ryan on stage during the 2018 AFL premiership season launch.

McLachlan jokingly blamed new host Neroli Meadows given his league had a “gun events team”.

After a long delay to fix the technical gremlins, Meadows responded in-kind, saying at least she had nothing to do with “silver footballs and Meat Loaf”.

The life member video was then played, with inductees Eddie Betts, Mike Fitzpatrick, Rex Hunt, Steve Johnson, Jordan Lewis, Michael Long, Andrew Mackie, Kade Simpson and umpires Chris Donlon and Shaun Ryan shown.