Daisy Pearce reacts to Rex Hunt, Dermott Brereton debate

Daisy Pearce has delivered a brilliant response to Rex Hunt and Dermott Brereton after she was dragged into divisive commentary debate.

Daisy Pearce has responded to the criticism. Photo: Michelle Winters, Michael Klein and Supplied

AFL commentator Daisy Pearce has responded after she was dragged into a furore over her place in the commentary box.

Pearce, who has become a favourite for some and maligned by others on the Channel 7 commentary team, has spent the last two weeks in the spotlight after former AFL commentator Rex Hunt hit out at the “pressure to have equal genders everywhere”.

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It came after Wayne Carey moved to Saturday nights from Fridays, where he was replaced by Pearce.

The debate started all over again when footy legend Dermott Brereton agreed that Carey is the superior football analyst.

“Daisy is a very competent commentator, but she is not Wayne Carey. So I can understand where Rex was coming from. He just didn’t quite annunciate it in a 2022 qualified fashion,” he said via the Herald Sun.

But the one voice who had been silent until now had been Pearce, who was asked about the drama on SEN’s Whateley on Wednesday.

Pearce said she only realised there had been an issue when she started getting a flurry of messages, thinking it was criticism after she called the Demons-Cats game.

Pearce is a star on and off the field. Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

A Demons AFLW star, Pearce said she regularly gets accused of bias when commenting on Melbourne games laughed “it was almost a relief” that it was just the old debate.

“Personally, I’ve just wanted to sit there and not give it any oxygen whatsoever,” she said. “But then as the week goes on — and Dermott gave it an extra week by going out of his way to give more to a gossip column about it — I get this sense of the almost responsibility because other women and non-binary people who aspire to be in the industry, or are already in the industry, or just love footy and want to connect with footy, that they’re disheartened by it and offended by it.

“So whilst I’m not, because I’ve done this for 20 years, either through trying to play footy or now working in the media, having your credibility question because you’re female isn’t a new thing that I’m just starting to deal with. I’m pretty thick-skinned when it comes to that.”

Pearce said the reason she decided to speak with Whateley about the issues was that it was affecting others despite the fact it “breathes oxygen into it again”.

For Pearce, it’s not an uncommon occurrence as she said she gets messages similar every time she’s on TV.

“I can find on Twitter at Joe Blow 69 thinks that I’ve got no clue because I’m a female and never played men’s footy,” Pearce said.

“I guess this is a little bit different and unusual in my opinion because another member of the AFL media fraternity both current in Derm and past in Rex have gone out of their way to give an opinion on who their favourite is. So that’s different.”

Pearce said she didn’t do it to be everyone’s favourite commentator and added: “I’m not all surprised that I’m not Dermott and Rex’s favourite commentator”.

“When I read their comments and have heard the spin offs from it, what I hear at the crux of it is that they feel seen and heard when they watch Wayne Carey — and that’s understandable,” Pearce said.

“I mean, they played in similar eras. They probably idolised the way each other play. They might have similar values and past lived experiences and therefore ways of seeing the game.

“So I’m not surprised or offended by that in one bit. But that is one way with which to look at the game and there are many, is what I’ll say.

“So I’d say that whilst it might be ruining football for Rex, there might be people out there that can connect and engage with football better now that there is greater diversity in the broadcast team whether it’d be gender, race, background — whatever it is.”

Daisy Pearce has been in commentary for some time now. Pic: Michael Klein

Pearce said she was not offended and that people struggle with change.

However, she admitted it was energy draining as it spread over a second week when she could have been preparing for the coming week.

“I look forward to turning up on Friday night and getting to watch a great game of footy and being a very minute part of it in trying to bring it to life through the commentary,” she said.

“That’s the enjoyment for me I’m not trying to be the most popular or anyone’s favourite like I I don’t feel like any one person is the gatekeeper of credibility in the industry as well.”

Whateley said it was “so untrue” that there is just one truth in football and modern players often disregard analysis from some past players.

He also pointed out the “unusual” comments from Nathan Buckley for asking commentator Anthony Hudson “how many games did you play?”

Whateley also pointed out the idea of “gender quotas” and said if there were numbers to be reached for diversity in the commentary box, “we are failing miserably”.

“Just on gender quotas, I would argue that there’s been a gender quota forever,” Pearce interjected.

“For 150 years of this game and industry, the quota was 100 per cent men. So, yeah, all right, we’ve 10 to 20 per cent max, and hopefully more are coming. But the quota has been there forever, it’s just shifted slightly, slightly in favour of women.

“I lived the off side of gender quotas for 25 years, I grew up not being able to play the game, not being able to see myself represented watching the game so they’ve always been there. It’s just which ones you care to pay attention to, or which ones might make you feel uncomfortable.”

Jacqui Felgate, Daisy Pearce and Abbey Holmes at Channel 7's footy team shoot day

Pearce said it will be likely she will continue to live with this commentary throughout her career.

EXTENDED CHAT | @DaisyPearce6 joined @GerardWhateley to discuss Rex Hunt's comments and the debate that followed. @WhateleySEN | #AFLW#AFLpic.twitter.com/mtufH9wcHW

— SEN 1116 (@1116sen) July 21, 2022

Before the season began, Carey was moved off Saturday nights, but revealed it was his choice.

Speaking to Triple M Adelaide’s Roo, Ditts and Loz for Breakfast, he said it had been a “mutual discussion for quite some time”.

He said: “My kids do Friday night sport after school. So it was just something I thought ‘this is a really good change for me’.”

‘How dare they do that’: Brereton hits out

Brereton also walked back his statement yesterday on SEN speaking on The Run Home, and saying his intention was to protect Hunt rather than criticise Pearce.

“I felt for Rex because Rex is from a different era,” Brereton told SEN’s The Run Home.

“Rex made a comment and perhaps Rex didn’t get it quite the way that we would’ve liked to have heard his comments, but he had his opinion.

“No matter which way you receive them, Rex probably didn’t say it in a fashion that befits 2022. I think that’s a fair comment.

Dermott Brereton attending the Fox Footy Launch for the 2021 AFL season.

Rex Hunt as ring announcer at Melbourne Pavilion. Pic: Michelle Winters

“But Rex is a legend of our game, so basically my feelings were don’t p--- on Rex. He’s a statue. He’s an ornament. He’s a legend. He’s got it wrong, let’s let that go.

“I passed comment on that and then Alice Coster called me from the Herald Sun and asked me, ‘What are your thoughts’.

“My point being it’s the plum job and Daisy’s a tremendous caller and a high-quality person and very, very capable. But this is Wayne Carey, so Rex’s comments were about those two and if left to my choice, my selection is Wayne. I would choose Wayne.”

Brereton said he had also been in contact with Pearce who he said was “very polite and calm about it”.

He also added that while he wanted Carey on Friday nights, he also wanted Pearce on the call as well.”