Footy fans are set to be treated to a two-part special which looks back at 30 Years of the Footy Show from next week on Channel 9 and 9Now. On Tuesday, August 20, at 8.40pm celebrate the 30th anniversary of the long-running and much loved program which started back in 1994, with 30 Years of the Footy Show, part one. This will be followed by part two on Tuesday, August 27, at 8.45pm.
This must-watch special will look back at the most famous moments from the Footy Show, with never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes vision and interviews with the program’s original host, Eddie McGuire, and a massive lineup of Footy Show faces. They include Garry Lyon, Sam Newman, Shane Crawford,Brendan Fevola, James Hird, Billy Brownless, Craig Hutchison, Jason Dunstall, Dermott Brereton, Jonathan Brown, Nathan Brown, Matthew Lloyd, Doug Hawkins, Campbell Brown,David Schwarz, Justin Madden, Damian Barrett, Craig Kelly and Roland Rocchiccioli. For the first time, we hear from the key crew members and production team that made the show so successful for such a long time, including Gary Newnham, Director of every episode of the Footy Show, Original Executive Producer Harvey Silver, Head of Wardrobe Katrina Henley and Cartoonist Andrew Fyfe.
After 23 years, Sam Newman and David Schwarz face off over the infamous “pie in the face” incident, and we look back at the period in which one of Nine’s competitors poached talent from the Footy Show stable. Savour memorable highlights of the program including fan favourite segments likeStreet Talk, Sam’s Mail Bag and Billy’s Wheel, as well asThe House of Bulger, which saw Shane Crawford play Hank Bulger, Billy Brownless play Hank’s mother, Joybell Bulger, and Garry Lyon play the villain Hueston Crabbe. The skit also featured Dermott Brereton and Roland Rocchiccioli. Revisit the unforgettable moments when Shane Crawford walked from Adelaide to Melbourne in 2010 and cycled from Melbourne to Perth in 2013 to raise funds for Breast Cancer Network Australia, leaving the nation moved by his courage.
The Early Years: From Humble Beginnings to a National Phenomenon
The Footy Show was created during an era when Nine still wanted to have a profile in variety television. Even by 1993/94, Nine probably knew that Hey Hey It’s Saturday and The Midday Show (probably Australian TV’s two main variety shows of note still running by then) were realistically, unlikely to still be in production during the year 2000. The AFL show drew upon Nine’s heritage of Live television from “Television City” in Bendigo Street, Richmond when it hit screens in 1994.
Anchor and producer Eddie McGuire tells TV Tonight a new two-part retrospective special, 30 Years of the Footy Show, began with a nod to the past. “On the first ever show we did, when I walked out, we broke into the Don Lane theme song and that was an homage to all that had gone before us in Studio Nine, from Graham to Bert and Don, Ernie and Denise, all those great shows that we grew up with, with a nod to Lou (Richards), Jack (Dyer) and Bob (Davis) and the team at World of Sport on Seven,” he recalls.
“We were unashamedly saying that they were the great influences on us.”
Nine’s ambitious new sports show went to air despite Nine not having any rights to AFL football, held determinedly by Seven. “At that stage, it was widely considered no sports show would rate in prime time, and we ran into all sorts of opposition. First of all Seven, not letting us have any AFL vision. There wasn’t a whole lot of confidence around the network. I found out later in life that maybe it might last six weeks. But it lasted 25 years,” he continues.
A Show Born Out of Necessity: Making the Most of Limited Resources
McGuire was joined by John ‘Sam’ Newman and comedian Trevor Marmalade. A studio audience and players as guests would add to the ‘danger’ of the Live show which previewed a weekend of matches and frequently broke big news in the AFL world. Denied AFL footage, the show became creative in expanding the content with segments which became TV infamy. “We did Street Talk, which was originally about getting the voice of the people. It was vox pops,” he continues.
“Almost Footy Legends was an idea because we didn’t have any vision. Video cameras started to come into play and Funniest Home Videos was one of the number one shows on television. So we thought why don’t we get the local footy stuff and see what comes in? In the end it was one of the most popular and successful segments of the show.
The Footy Show's Impact on Australian Football: More Than Just a Show
“It came at a time when AFL football was in its infancy, from the switch out from VFL. You look back now, and seven years earlier, none of the commercial stations wanted the VFL. They up on the ABC for, I think, about $750,000 for the year and the game was pretty much broke. But in that period there was a changeover. The AFL came into play, and then suddenly it took off. In such a meaningful way, The Footy Show was able to reposition AFL football in a completely new light. It was a national competition, the players became the stars and from there, just about everybody who has hosted a show ever since, to do with football or sport in Melbourne, has come via The Footy Show.”
“Then, of course, we got ambitious and started doing, the Grand Final show in front of 15,000 people, massive ratings and the biggest stars in the world all came on Joe Cocker, The Black Eyed Peas, and the first one we did with, we had John Farnham and Barnsey.
“I remember just standing there, almost dumbfounded, at how big it was. We walked out on stage, suddenly, this show that was an idea basically, 18 months earlier gets 15,000 people, sold out in about 10 seconds, and you’re throwing to John Farnham to open your show. It was a long way from doing pie nights.”
Indeed the show had become a ratings success, dominating in its timeslot for decades. “It was the number one grocery buyer demographic. It won every demographic there was -young people, older people, women.
“I’d get a call sometimes from (GTV9 boss) Ian Johnson saying, ‘If you go another 15, I reckon we’ll win the week!'”
Sam Newman: The Show's Unpredictable and Controversial Star
In his element Sam Newman had a rare knack for Live television. If Nine had a King of Television in Graham Kennedy, Newman was vying to be court jester. “Sam’s timing was just brilliant,” McGuire insists.
“Sam’s character, if you like, Sam Newman as opposed to John Newman, evolved over the period. I mean, early on, he was the bon-vivant if you like. He was the Geelong Grammar sophisticate, in a lot of ways, playing off the western suburbs Doug Hawkins and things like that. Then he changed and just became a life force of his own. Sam’s timing was just brilliant.”
“Anyone who watched the show could see the brilliance of Sam. He knew what he was doing, and he enflamed people. Graham Kennedy got banned off air for doing things, and that’s what happened. That’s what live entertainment on Free to Air tevision used to be. You still see people really pushing the boundaries on Pay TV, YouTube and on socials. But that was the sort of avant garde medium in its day, Free to Air TV, and particularly live TV and that’s where Sam was so good.
“When I thought he was getting a bit too far, I’d tap him on one leg”
“He would pick up a thread and just run with it. We used to have a tacit agreement that when I thought he was getting a bit too far, I’d tap him on one leg and he could have another minute, otherwise it was time to change pace. But he knew what he was doing, and he was brilliant. He overdid it a couple of times. But as I said, so did Graham Kennedy.”
Indeed, Newman would frequently court controversy, often to attract media attention to the show, too often at the expense of others including Caroline Wilson, Nicky Winmar, AFL directors, indigenous and gay communities. There was ‘sin bin’ time from Nine management and more seriously, sponsor exits, network apologies and broadcasting breaches by ACMA resulting in heavy fines.
The Show's Legacy: Looking Back at the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
McGuire, whose media and sporting career has also come in for its share of criticism, believes many forget the show’s other achievements. “It can be frustrating at times that some things have happened, maybe late in the show, people miss out on how we completely reshaped football from 1994 through to the 2000s,” he maintains.
“They forget to say that we were the guys who really supported Michael Long in the first Long Walk and provided him with a platform and support.
“We used to sell all those (studio) tables for $10,000 – $20,000 a go. All the proceeds from the Grand Final Footy Show went to charities. We built houses. Shaun Crawford did his magnificent runs and rides across the country for Breast Cancer. We won a United Nations award for HIV / AIDS and the like. In our own way, it did a lot of opening up of ideas and opening of minds around football, around racism.”
McGuire doesn’t say which of the controversies will make the final cut of the retrospective (too offensive in 2024 perhaps?) but acknowledges, “I think things are addressed in it. I’m not quite sure. I haven’t seen the full cut, I’ve been at the Olympics, but it’ll be a good indication of everything.”
The Footy Show: A Show That Captured the Hearts (and Sometimes the Anger) of a Nation
A second special will focus on the post-McGuire era helmed by Garry Lyon, James Brayshaw and briefly, Rebecca Maddern. Interviews feature Garry Lyon, Sam Newman, Shane Crawford, Brendan Fevola, James Hird, Billy Brownless, Craig Hutchison, Jason Dunstall, Dermott Brereton, Jonathan Brown, Nathan Brown, Matthew Lloyd, Doug Hawkins, Campbell Brown, David Schwarz, Justin Madden, Damian Barrett, Craig Kelly and Roland Rocchiccioli. Also speaking are director Gary Newnham, Original Executive Producer Harvey Silver, Head of Wardrobe Katrina Henley and Cartoonist Andrew Fyfe. The show ended in 2019 after more than 25 years.
“It had just run its course. It’s like Hey Hey, The Don Lane Show, all these shows come to a time and then probably need to be rebooted 5 or 10 years down the track, with a fresh look.
“But in a lot of ways, we threw open the locker room door to what goes on at footy clubs, the fun, the sending up and the seriousness at times.”
The AFL Footy show was great in its Heyday. The early days were great fun but then it started to become a bit angry and whiny about everything, lost its heart a bit. A bit of fun came back under Garry Lyon but as Eddy sad, it had its day. Times caught up with Sam when political correctness became a thing but overall the show was a massive hit.
