Time On: Sydney and Bulldogs coaches face one reporter in post-match press conference

Post-match press conferences with coaches can be volatile but their failure to draw a crowd of late has forced the AFL to act.

Time On is your Monday wrap-up of all the footy gossip from the weekend.

A ‘bemused’ AFL has made it a priority to address the poor look of having just one journalist at the coaches’ press conferences.

Both Sydney’s John Longmire and the Bulldogs’ Luke Beveridge were faced with only one member of the press in the rooms to ask questions after Friday night’s game.

It made for a disappointing scene on the Seven coverage with regular news man Tom Browne, who is normally front and centre, reporting from Melbourne after not making the trip to Sydney.

There are logistic challenges at times with tight deadlines at night matches and in Sydney the rooms are a short walk from the press box. But the word out of AFL House on Monday was that all will be done to ensure it will never happen again.

The notion is that the coaches have to front up so some press are expected to follow suit.

The two teams were hardly non-stories either, with both still in the mix to play finals.

As it was, Longmire and Beveridge gave considered and insightful answers to the lone ranger asking the questions.

Lynchy’s epic effort to cover footy

Alastair Lynch’s weekend was a whirlwind to say the least.

The Fox Footy commentator took the long way to Metricon Stadium after being in Sydney the day before.

His day went like this:

– He took the airport train to Central Station.

– Then changed trains to get to Wyong Station, just south of Newcastle.

– The tracks were flooded on the train line, so he hopped on a bus at Wyong.

– The bus was too slow so he jumped off early and swapped into an Uber to get to Newcastle airport.

– Thanks only to a flight delay, he made the flight from Newcastle to Brisbane. On arrival in Brisbane there were no stairs to disembark the plane and was stuck on the tarmac.

– At Brisbane he jumped into a car and drove down the highway to Metricon Stadium.

Alastair Lynch might have been better off in a boat after the weekend’s travel chaos. Picture: Linda Higginson

He arrived to the Tigers-Gold Coast game at halftime and shortly after he conducted an interview with Tom Lynch who was subbed out of the game after hurting his hamstring.

It was all worthwhile in the end as Noah Anderson goalled after the siren to give the Suns victory — and him a memorable post-match interview.

I’m not red, I’m strawberry blonde

Forget the mullet, Fremantle’s Rory Lobb is creating his own hair trend.

But even he admits the strawberry blonde look might not catch on.

“My partner and her mum, we were sitting around the hotel all day and I was a little bit bored,’’ he said post-game on Saturday night after the side’s win over St Kilda.

“Regretting it now anyway.”

Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield who joined Channel 7’s match coverage, made the call that he looked like action hero Dolph Lundgren. Spot on.

Rory Lobb looking like Dolph Lundgren.

Charlie drops a bomb

Carlton’s Charlie Curnow momentarily forgot where he was after chalking up another four points over West Coast on Sunday.

Talking to Fox Footy post-game he dropped the f-bomb before quickly correcting his language — “it was really good”.

The coverage then crossed to Bounce where host Jason Dunstall noted: “One of the more interesting post match interviews from Charlie Curnow.”

Footy stars take sides on Kyrgios

The AFL world has some interesting views on polarising tennis star and Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios.

Swans forward Tom Papley was among those cheering on the Aussie in the early hours while Wayne Carey and Ross Lyon offered interesting takes.

Carey said now finally we are seeing that Kyrgios does care about his tennis.

“The opposite is starting to come out,” he said on Triple M’s Sunday Rub.

Shattering. 💔. Grandslam not far away!

— Tom Papley (@TomPapley) July 10, 2022

“He’s always said, ‘I don’t love tennis. I just do it because I can and I make money’. There’s the excuses. That’s what’s always disappointed me because he has the talent, but the excuse has always lied there.

“But it’s creeping through now. He’s always cared. It’s coming through now that he really does care. This is why it’s going to be must watch. Now we know he cares. He’s in a final. So will he be able to handle that pressure?”

Lyon said it was all for show.

“I felt he needed the alibi, the excuse,” he said.

“If you see his genetic God-given talent — he hasn’t in my view been prepared to give everything and dedicate himself and let himself be emotionally vulnerable. That’s the piece I don’t like about him.

“I don’t think he lets himself be emotionally brave to be devastated.”

Dermie stands up for coaches under the pump

Dermott Brereton has voiced his concern about the way positions of AFL coaches are discussed.

The five-time Hawks premiership forward and Fox Footy commentator was speaking on SEN when he said it was hard to digest at times.

“It really rankles with my soul to talk about somebody’s job as if we can sweep it away, say ‘see, (we) got that right’ when somebody has just lost their job and it’s very public in profile,” he said on Crunch Time.

“That’s not the way life should be talked about.”

Brereton said it was the nature of needing to be first with news.

“It’s one of the areas I don’t like about the way we cover the game, the talk about the tenure of a coach as if it is a mini-sport within the industry.”

Originally published as Time On: Sydney and Bulldogs coaches face one reporter in post-match press conference