malthouse, taylor, darcy, ling - Seven West Media

SEVEN’S AFL SUPERDRAFT
IN: MALTHOUSE, TAYLOR, DARCY, LING, KIRK
Recruiting coup lands a coach, three captains and a Coleman
medalist
October 27, 2011
SEVEN is delighted to announce that MICHAEL MALTHOUSE, BRIAN TAYLOR, LUKE DARCY, CAMERON
LING, and BRETT KIRK will join its AFL broadcast commentary team from next year.
Together they are five of the biggest names in football – and they‟re coming to the home of football at Channel 7.
MICHAEL MALTHOUSE: A triple premiership coach and an icon of AFL football.
CAMERON LING: A triple premiership player who held the cup aloft as Geelong captain in 2011.
BRIAN TAYLOR: A boisterous Coleman medalist and one of the kings of football commentary.
LUKE DARCY: A champion Bulldogs ruckman and AFLPA MVP winner.
BRETT KIRK: The revered Swans captain and premiership player with a unique perspective on life.
They join what is already regarded as the pre-eminent stable of match-day AFL broadcasters in the country, led
by DENNIS COMETTI, BRUCE MCAVANEY, LEIGH MATTHEWS, TIM WATSON, TOM HARLEY and
MATTHEW RICHARDSON.
In addition, Seven can also announce that AFL Game Day host HAMISH MCLACHLAN and Channel 7 Perth
sports presenter BASIL ZEMPILAS will enjoy expanded roles as match commentators.
Collectively it‟s a line-up that represents the most decorated, revered and popular figures in AFL football today.
In all Seven‟s commentary team has won 21 premierships, 17 best-and-fairest awards and played or coached in
3315 games.

And footy fans won‟t have to pay a cent to enjoy their unrivalled commentary and analysis as Seven steps up to
become the sole free-to-air broadcaster of AFL football next year.
Under the 2012-2016 AFL broadcast agreement, Seven will show four games every weekend during the homeand-away
season, as well as every final and the Brownlow Medal. The AFL Grand Final will also be shown
exclusively live on Seven.
The Managing Director of Channel 7 Melbourne, LEWIS MARTIN, said: “This is the start of a new era for AFL on
Seven and we‟re tremendously excited that they‟ve accepted our invitation to come onboard. We reckon we‟ve
got the best AFL commentary team in the business, some giants of the game, and these new additions only
make us stronger. They‟re astute, they‟re passionate, they‟re connected to the game, and they‟ll give viewers an
insight in the footy they won‟t find anywhere else.”
Seven‟s Head of Sport, SAUL SHTEIN, said: “When I look at the names on this list, I feel privileged to be a
member of the Seven Sport team. It includes some of the greatest players, coaches, captains and callers of all
time. Their success, on the field or in the commentary booth, speaks for itself, but it is also their personalities
which will provide plenty of entertainment. It is with great anticipation and excitement here at Seven that we look
forward to season 2012. We just love the footy.”
BIOGRAPHIES
MICHAEL MALTHOUSE
Mick Malthouse is the doyen of AFL coaching.
In just his second year as a senior coach, in 1985, Malthouse took the Bulldogs to the finals and was awarded
the Players Association Coach of the Year. But it was at West Coast and Collingwood that he earned his
reputation as the premier coach in AFL football.
During 10 years at West Coast he won two flags – including the first in Eagles‟ history – and the club never
missed the finals. And in a dozen years at Collingwood he added a third premiership, with grand final
appearances in three other seasons, including this year.
After guest appearances on AFL Game Day and Sunday Football this year, Malthouse joins Seven as an expert
commentator. He will also write a weekly column for The West Australian newspaper, and a weekly blog.
Mick Malthouse said: “To me Channel Seven is synonymous with the history of VFL/AFL football. And throughout
its history Seven has also been very progressive in the way it brings the game to viewers. So I feel privileged to
join the team and become a part of that history.
“I can‟t wait to get started, to be honest. I think I understand the idiosyncrasies of why teams win and lose, I‟m
clinical in analysing the game, but now I‟ll get to do it without worrying about the result. And in many respects I‟ll
have a clearer view because I‟ll be impartial.

“I reckon I‟ll also enjoy the game again, too. As a coach you don‟t necessarily enjoy it. There‟s so much emotion
invested in the result but the best coaches only have a 60-40 win-loss record. Plus now I‟ll get to ask questions
about the game rather than being the one who answers them. I‟m really looking forward to that.”
Career stats
Playing
Clubs: St Kilda, Richmond
Debut: 1972
Games: 174 (St Kilda 53, Richmond 121)
Goals: 15
Premierships: 1980 (Richmond)
Coaching
Clubs: Footscray, West Coast, Collingwood
Debut: 1984
Games: 664
Premierships: 1992, 1994, 2010
All-Australian coach 1991, 2010
BRIAN TAYLOR
THE ever-popular Brian Taylor is renowned for his rousing and colourful commentary and he‟s sure to be a hit
with Seven‟s viewers.
Universally known as „BT‟, Taylor began his career at Richmond before moving to Collingwood where the full
forward kicked 100 goals in 1986 to win the Coleman Medal.
BT retired in 1990, and it was a commentary stint with a community radio station in WA the next year that
launched him into a career behind the microphone, on radio and TV. A former plumber and ardent home
tradesman, BT is passionate about footy, and just as passionate about calling the action for footy fans around the
country.
Brian Taylor said: “Calling footy is the next best thing to playing the game. It‟s the biggest buzz you can get
outside of pulling on the boots. I absolutely love it. And it‟s always been my dream to call the footy on free-to-air
TV, because you touch the most people,” Taylor says.
“So when the opportunity came along to join Channel 7, I jumped at it. Seven‟s the home of footy, they‟re the
number one network, and they‟ve got the best team of commentators. There‟s nowhere else I‟d rather be.”

Career stats
Clubs: Richmond, Collingwood
Debut: 1980
Games: 140 (Richmond 43 Collingwood 97)
Goals: 527 (Richmond 156 Collingwood 371)
1986 Coleman Medal
LUKE DARCY
THE respected former Western Bulldogs star is regarded as one of the most successful ruck-forwards of the
modern era.
Mobile and skillful for a big man, Darcy won the Bulldogs best and fairest – the Charles Sutton medal – in 2001,
and was also awarded the venerated Leigh Matthews Trophy (alongside Michael Voss) as the AFL Players
Association Most Valuable Player in 2002. He would also win the club‟s goal-kicking title in 2004, before repeated
serious knee injuries brought his career to a close at the end of the 2007 season.
A member of the AFL Rules Committee and a father-of-four, Darcy has carved out a burgeoning career as a
radio and TV personality since he hung up the boots.
Luke Darcy said: “I‟m genuinely excited to be part of an outstanding broadcast team at Channel 7 over the next
five years. The opportunity to work on Seven‟s coverage of AFL football alongside some of the best sports
broadcasters in the country is something that I am very much looking forward to.”
Career stats
Clubs: Footscray/Western Bulldogs
Debut: 1994
Games: 226
Goals: 183
Captain: 2005, 2006
CAMERON LING
IT is barely a month since Cameron Ling was presented with the 2011 premiership cup as the captain of
Geelong.
Affectionately dubbed „The Mayor‟, Ling is Geelong born and bred and was one of the most respected and
beloved players in the game, with three flags to his name. A full-forward as a junior, the flame-haired Ling turned
himself into the competition‟s best tagger. He won the Carji Greeves Medal in 2004 as the Cats‟ best and fairest,
and was All-Australian in 2007.
Intelligent, articulate and upbeat, Ling proved to be a natural on TV during a number of guest appearances with
Seven this year, on AFL Game Day and Friday Night Footy.

Cameron Ling said: “I had a taste of working with Seven earlier this year and I loved every minute of it. So it was
a pretty easy decision to join the team permanently.
“The most important thing for me is working with good people, and that‟s what I‟ll have the opportunity to do.
It‟s the perfect result in a lot of ways. I‟ve gone out on a high, winning the flag, and now I get to stay involved in
football through Channel 7. I‟m really looking forward to it.”
Career stats
Clubs: Geelong
Debut: 2000
Games: 246
Goals: 139
Premierships: 2007, 2009, 2011
Captain: 2010, 2011
BRETT KIRK
FOR many years Brett Kirk was the heart and soul of „The Bloods‟, as he so often called his beloved Sydney
Swans.
Originally a rookie who struggled to earn a regular game, Kirk‟s enormous commitment and passion for the
game, combined with extraordinary leadership skills, cemented his place as one of the Swans‟ greats. A
ferocious tackler and tireless worker in the midfield, Kirk earned the respect of the football world as well as two
best and fairest awards – including in 2005, when he was co-captain in a Swans‟ premiership year. Kirk was also
selected in the All-Australian team in 2004 and retired in 2010 as one of the lynchpins of a successful period for
Sydney.
On joining Seven Brett Kirk said: “I love footy. It‟s been such an adventure, it‟s given me so much in my life, and
now I get to go on a new adventure. As a commentator I‟ll stay connected to the game, watching matches, talking
to players and coaches, and working at the coalface. And it takes me out of my comfort zone too. I can‟t wait.”
Career stats
Clubs: Sydney
Debut: 1999
Games: 241
Goals: 96
Premierships: 2005
Co-captain: 2005-2010

BASIL ZEMPILAS
Basil Zempilas is an acclaimed TV host, reporter and commentator, having covered AFL in Perth for almost 18
years as well as calling at five Olympic Games – including, most famously, Steven Bradbury‟s „Last Man
Standing‟ Winter Olympics victory.
Zempilas is the Seven News Perth sports presenter and provides AFL commentary on 1116 SEN into Melbourne
as well as co-hosting the "Lisa, Baz & Sam" breakfast show on Perth's 92.9FM.He has also worked on the
Australian open, multiple Commonwealth Games and on two AFL International Rules series against Ireland. Basil
played league football for West Perth in the WAFL between 1990 - 1994.
Basil Zempilas said: "I've been a Seven man for 18 years so I'm thrilled to get an opportunity to join the AFL
broadcast team. It's a dream come true. And what a way to start – alongside three former AFL captains and one
of the all-time legends of AFL coaching. I'm honoured to be one of Mick's picks off the rookie list".
HAMISH MCLACHLAN
Hamish McLachlan is one of the rising stars of sports broadcasting. For the past four years he has hosted
Seven‟s AFL Game Day, interviewing the AFL‟s elite, covering all the latest news and issues and celebrating the
game alongside stars such as Nick Riewoldt, Lance Franklin and Adam Cooney.
McLachlan has also hosted Seven‟s coverage of the Australian Open tennis and Davis Cup and has been a
presenter at Seven‟s Melbourne Cup Carnival coverage.
Hamish McLachlan said: “To be a part of Seven‟s on-air team that brings this wonderful game into living rooms
around the country is an extraordinary privilege. The Seven team is like a football club in itself and to be a part of
it – with such a history in the game – is an honour.
“I grew up watching the VFL on the couch with my brothers after we had spent the afternoons kicking the footy
around the paddocks at home. To be given the chance to call footy from the best seat in the house alongside
those that have been a part of shaping the game‟s history is a boyhood dream. I am very thankful. It's the best
"job" in the country.”
Ends
For more information, please contact:
Channel Seven Publicity
Greg Smith
grsmith@seven.com.au
Ph: 0438 777 164