KFC SuperFooty TV: Lauren Wood, Jay Clark and Jack Watts look at the big issues in the AFL

AFL coaches and journalists can be fiery adversaries, and reporter Jay Clark has recalled the day he was on the receiving end of a Mick Malthouse blast.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge stole the spotlight from Melbourne’s victory in the 2022 AFL season-opener when he took aim at journalist Tom Morris on Wednesday night.

And the Fox Footy reporter wasn’t the first to cop a spray from an AFL coach at a post-match press conference.

Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark returned for a new season of KFC SuperFooty TV on Thursday alongside colleague Lauren Wood and former Melbourne and Port Adelaide star Jack Watts.

And Clark recalled the day he was in the crosshairs of then Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse.

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Clark asked if Malthouse thought the Magpies had “come to play”, prompting this withering response: “I reckon they probably come here thinking, ‘We’re going to have a real bad one today, in the first quarter’. What do you honestly think? That term ‘come to play’ … where does it originate from? Do they reckon they’ve come to play marbles or football? Do you think they didn’t come to play? Do you think they sat in their cars waiting for the game to start and didn’t go out there?”.

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Mick Malthouse could be a tricky coach for journalists to handle. Picture: Colleen Petch

Clark said the memories of that day are still vivid years later.

“I remember when Mick Malthouse had a crack at me,” Clark said.

“I was absolutely daunted, and (I’m) still haunted by it.

“I like that that’s my contribution to AFL journalism, that’s going to be my legacy, but I was completely intimidated by it.”

Watts said the biggest surprise from the Beveridge exchange was how much a leak of a routine team selection story had rattled the Dogs.

“Most coaches would try to play it down in the media and address it away from the cameras, behind closed doors with your club and players.

“I just found it interesting how much a story from Tommy Morris affected them – ‘You unsettled us’ – a reporter shouldn’t be able to do that to a club.

“I don’t think any of that sort of stuff normally gets to you.”

In a big Round 1 episode, the panel also debated whether Christian Petracca is the best player in the AFL, the crackdown on umpire abuse, how Covid will impact the season and more.