AFL "Footy Show" Gets Its First Permanent Female Co-Host In Rebecca Maddern

The Nine Network has added newsreader Rebecca Maddern to their Footy Show panel, giving the AFL chat show its first permanent female co-host in 26 years.

(As you can imagine, The Footy Show’s Facebook page is a real mixed bag right now. Proceed there with caution.)

According to Newscorp, Maddern will leave Channel 7 (where she’s served as a newsreader for 13 years) to join James Brayshaw and Sam Newman at the Footy Show desk.

The move comes after former host Garry Lyon stepped down citing mental health issues, amidst a scandal involving fellow panelist Billy Brownless’ ex wife Nicky.

Maddern is the number one ticket holder at the Geelong Football Club, and has said of the new gig, “it combines my journalism with my love of AFL football.”

Sam Newman – who hasn’t exactly been a bastion of equality in years past – called Maddern’s appointment a “very good opportunity to diversify and spread our wings.”

“We thought ‘we have to be careful this doesn’t look like tokenism’ but when the right person came available, it was unanimously agreed that this would be a great thing to do,” he added.

“Women make up half our audience and I couldn’t think of a better fit than Rebecca,” Brayshaw chimed in.

Nine added that the door has been left open for Lyon. However, if he ever decided to return, he would simply join Brayshaw and Maddern, rather than replace either.

But back to Facebook. Though there are plenty of supportive messages regarding Maddern’s hiring on social media, there are many that are, erm, less supportive. Let's just say that some of The Footy Show's fans are not disproving the theory that it established a blokey, not-at-all inclusive environment over its two-plus decades.

We look forward to seeing Maddern disrupt the status quo and usher in a new era for the ageing-format (and, hopefully, put Sam in his place on more than one occasion).

Photo: Today.