‘F***wit’: Channel 7 rolls dice with AFL commentators Kane Cornes, Dale Thomas

Channel 7 is weeks away from pressing the button on its AFL transformation — and extraordinary details are leaking out.

Channel 7 will reportedly put Kane Cornes and Dale Thomas on the same panel together as the network prepares to pull the trigger on its AFL transformation.

The AFL free-to-air broadcast rights holder is heading into the 2025 season having undergone one of the biggest shake-ups in recent memory.

Thomas, one of the most popular emerging footy media commentators, and Cornes are at the centre of that shake-up after Cornes announced he was jumping ship to the rival network after nine years with Channel 9.

Cornes has previously insisted he does not expect his new colleagues to be hostile, despite the Port Adelaide premiership winner previously taking public shots at Seven figures, including Thomas, Cameron Ling, Trent Cotchin and Luke Darcy (since retired).

It has previously been reported Cornes and Thomas may team up to call the live action on Channel 7’s Thursday night football together. Now The Herald Sun reports the pair will be side by side when Seven’s footy panel program The Agenda Setters debuts in coming weeks.

Six months, it seems, is a long time in football with Thomas continuing to torch Cornes even after it was announced the pair were soon to be colleagues.

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According to the report, Cornes and Thomas will co-host Tuesday’s edition of The Agenda Setters, following on from a Monday edition of the program which will run with a different panel.

Cornes in 2023 labelled Thomas “lazy” and said he only worked “part-time”, claiming “Daisy” had copied his comments when he said Richmond’s Tim Taranto did not “influence games”.

He said media commentary from Thomas and former Collingwood coach Tony Shaw was “embarrassing” at the time.

The tensions flared again in September when Thomas called a comment made by Cornes “complete bulls***.

The 42-year-old footy shock-jock at the time suggested Port Adelaide star Zak Butters was “soft” for coming off the ground with a rib injury.

Thomas went on to say: “I’d tell him (Cornes) that is the dumbest thing I’ve heard for a long while”.

Cornes has previously said he reached out to Thomas to clear the air.

Dale Thomas and Kane Cornes. Photo: Channel 7 and Channel 9.

The pair have plenty of baggage to sort through before they can be harmonious colleagues.

Thomas in September took another shot at Cornes, calling the former Footy Show star a “f***head”.

Appearing at the Walk With Me Grand Final Lunch for Corey McKernan’s non-profit foundation, Thomas also said: “‘Kane is alright, I understand the role he plays in the media.

“I am going to have to work with him so I’m going to put the fact aside that he is a complete f****wit and try and push on.”

Their on-air relationship is one of many gambles Seven is making this year with the network confirming in it’s December ‘First Look’ showcase that The Agenda Setters, will be accompanied by other projects, including Unfiltered with Hamish McLachlan, Extra Time, The Wash Up, Sunday Footy Feast and Kane’s Call.

According to reports, Eddie McGuire’s team will produce Sunday Footy Feast, which will air following Channel 9’s dominant Sunday Footy Show, which traditionally wraps up at 12pm (AEDT).

Channel 9 AFL commentator Kane Cornes.

McGuire’s JAM TV crew has also been tasked with cooking up a show to run immediately following Channel 7’s live match coverage on Sunday afternoons — The Wash Up.

Veteran Footy journalist Caroline Wilson, and Craig Hutchison have also made the jump from Nine to Seven.

Hutchison will reportedly host the Monday night edition of The Agenda Setters — where he will be in direct competition with his former Colleagues on Channel 9’s Footy Classified.

Fox Footy meanwhile, has also been active in the AFL media talent market with the Foxtel network snapping up highly regarded commentators Leigh Matthews, Tom Hawkins and Shaun Burgoyne.

Fox Footy is loaded up with some of the biggest names in AFL media, including Jonathan Brown, Nathan Buckley and Gary Lyon.

2025 is the first time Seven and Fox Footy will have separate commentary teams calling the action from siren to siren.

Originally published as ‘F***wit’: Channel 7 rolls dice with AFL commentators Kane Cornes, Dale Thomas