‘Sliding doors’ moment behind iconic NRL duo... and why their next stunt could ‘get someone fired’

Bryan Fletcher and Nathan Hindmarsh have formed one of the most iconic NRL partnership, and their next move “could get someone fired”.

“We’ve never done anything like this before!”

Former NRL player turned media star Bryan Fletcher doesn’t give the impression he’s a man who gets nervous, but even he can’t deny there’s butterflies ahead of a commentary first with running mate Nathan Hindmarsh.

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Adding to Fox League’s unrivalled Magic Round coverage this weekend, Fletch and Hindy will be given the mic to call two games on Saturday afternoon, with the feed to be broadcast exclusively on Kayo Sports.

“They haven’t told us what we can and can’t do. We’ve been given free reign,” Fletcher told foxsports.com.au.

“We might need to have HR next to us on the sideline. Someone could be fired during the game.”

Fletch & Hindy’s Alternate Kayo Call will cover the final two games on Super Saturday: Warriors vs. Cowboys and Dragons vs. Tigers.

”If you’re looking for cutting edge rugby league commentary and analysis, don’t tune in to us,” Hindmarsh said.

Fletch and Hindy film a segment with Aaron Woods during Wests Tigers media session at Concord Oval.

Unlike their commentating counterparts, Fletch and Hindy will provide plenty of humour as a lighthearted variant to Fox League’s exclusive coverage.

It should be right in Fletcher’s wheelhouse, but the Roosters and Rabbitohs great admits there are plenty of nerves.

“It’s not so much excitement as much as there is trepidation,” he said.

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The pair will be joined by guests throughout the day, but amid the game’s controversial high shot crackdown, Fletcher is excited by one special guest in particular.

“We will have plenty of guests throughout the broadcast. We’re hoping to get Peter V’landys so we can ask him in real time which tackles are sin bins,” Fletcher quipped.

“He is a pretty good sport so we’d love to have him on.”

Fletch and Hindy will be situated sideline on the hallowed turf of Suncorp Stadium during both games.

That should give them plenty of unique opportunities throughout the coverage and Fletcher is thinking big, hoping to create history.

“We’ll be set up on the sideline so we’re hoping to interview players in-game after they’ve been interchanged off,” Fletcher revealed.

“That would be revolutionary wouldn’t it?

“We’d love to see (Tigers forward) Alex Twal crash over for a try and then come and talk to us … We’ll see what happens.”

Fletch and Hindy.

Not only has Fletcher been one half of Fox League’s funnyman duo with Hindmarsh for over 10 years, he also co-hosts a radio show on SEN.

It’s a career that Fletcher, who played 170 NRL games and 14 Origins for the Blues, never envisaged for himself when he retired from the sport in 2007.

That was until an impromptu public appearance during a Roosters event in 2013 caught the eye of Gary Burns, the former head of sport at Fox Sports.

“I was at a Roosters Team of the Century night at the SCG and I wasn’t meant to talk, but host Andrew Voss invited me up to speak and I did,” Fletcher said.

“Gary Burns was in the crowd. He called me and left a voice message telling me to give him a call the next day.

“I did, and not long after, I was at Fox Sports.”

A qualified plumber, Fletcher went straight into business after retiring.

With a good friend, he ran a cleaning business called FIT Services with a 2007 to keep him busy post-retirement.

Fox League funny-men Nathan Hindmarsh and Bryan Fletcher will be calling NRL Magic Round games from the sidelines. Photo by Phil Hillyard.

Things were going well for him, but he couldn’t imagine how the course of his life would change when he took the mic that night at the SCG.

“It was a real sliding doors moment,” he said.

It wound up opening several doors. When Fletcher joined Fox Sports, an on-air partnership with Hindmarsh was then formed as a segment that was featured on the Monday Night with Matty Johns Show.

The Fletch and Hindy segment was a brainchild of ex-Fox Sports Producer James Rochford, known to audiences as ‘The Professor’.

In a reveal which may be surprising, until the birth of the Fletch and Hindy duo, the pair weren’t particularly close.

Nathan Hindmarsh and Bryan Fletcher (moustache) dressed up in character as a promo ahead of Magic Round in 2024. Picture: Rohan Kelly

“We weren’t really mates before (Fox Sports) and during our playing days,” Fletcher said.

“We played together on a Kangaroos tour, but we didn’t become close until after we had retired and were working at Fox together.

“And we’re still not friends. I’m his boss,” Fletcher joked.

“We’ve created the illusion over 10 years that we are friends.”

In over ten years in the media game, Fletcher has plenty of terrific memories. He also teased a a snippet of what their fans can come to expect towards the end of the season.

“There’s so much that comes to mind. I’ve loved the trips away to different places. We’ve been to South Africa, Vegas, the Kokoda Trail,” he said.

“I’ve loved the stitch-ups we’ve done as well. Some of the ones back in the day were hilarious.

“I’ve been got a few times, we’ve got Hindy and Matty as well a couple of times.

“We’re in the process of stitching up another big name. I won’t give any details away but you’ll hopefully see the result of that later in the year.”

‘FLETCH & HINDY’S ALTERNATE KAYO CALL’

‘Fletch & Hindy’s Alternate Kayo Call’ will provide commentary that offers little insight, and even less analysis, straight from the field as they position themselves sideline at Suncorp Stadium with the call available to Kayo Sports customers via a dedicated feed.

The pair will be joined by an array of guests throughout the evening, including Fox League’s own Greg Alexander, Mal Meninga, Cooper Cronk, Kevin Walters and Shaun Johnson.

Fletch & Hindy’s Alternate Kayo Call forms part of Fox League’s 22 hours of LIVE NRL coverage throughout Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium, with Fox League being the only place to watch all eight games live and ad-break free during play, available on Kayo Sports.

Additionally, Sunday Night With Matty Johns will be broadcast from Suncorp Stadium in front of a live audience, with Matty Johns, Gorden Tallis, Fletch and Hindy joined by Melbourne Storm’s Harry Grant and Brisbane Broncos’ Corey Oates.

Originally published as ‘Sliding doors’ moment behind iconic NRL duo... and why their next stunt could ‘get someone fired’