AFL tragic Mick Molloy's quest to win over diehard NRL fans
The Melbourne funny man has a tough job ahead of him if he's to win over rugby league-mad fans.
They say you need to fake it before you make it. But leading Australian comedian Mick Molloy and his new Triple M Sydney co-host and former rugby league star Mark Geyer know that's a recipe for disaster if they are to succeed in the country's toughest radio market.
Molloy and Geyer will join forces from Monday in a partnership that will dispense with the bullshit when it comes to the newcomer's knowledge of Sydney and all its idiosyncrasies.
'NOW IS THE TIME': Kalyn Ponga to make highly-anticipated move for 2023 season
'AWFUL NEWS': NRL world in shock over Daniel Anderson development
'TOTALLY WRONG': Phil Gould lashes out over 'embarrassing' NRL farce
Molloy is as Melbourne as the MCG and will willingly adopt the L plates when it comes to the Harbour City. "One of the first things Mick said to me was I want Sydney to teach me about Sydney," Geyer told Yahoo Sport Australia.
"He wants our audience to sell their suburb to us and tell us all about it. I don't think he's going to come up here and act as if he's been a Sydneysider for 20 years.
"I think it's going to be pretty transparent he's not a local but he wants to know more about the place."
And that includes rugby league, the bedrock of Triple M Sydney during the winter months. Geyer intends taking Molloy to an NRL game early in the season so he can begin to immerse himself in the code.
"We pride ourselves on comedy, sport and rock and rugby league, particularly during the season, is a big part of what we do," Geyer said.
"But people will see right through it if you start talking rugby league when you're not completely across it.
"Mick's a mad Richmond Tigers fan in the AFL but also supports the Storm so we'll have a bit of that Melbourne-Penrith and Melbourne-Sydney rivalry to talk about. He won’t pretend to be an NRL expert but there will be plenty of rugby league chat."
Mick Molloy part of a new-look Triple M Sydney team
Triple M hope Molloy, who is returning to the network after a year off, can resurrect a ratings slide that saw the station axe the MG, Jess & Pagey Sydney breakfast show late last year.
Geyer survived the chop and will joined by Molloy, newsreader Natarsha Belling and the versatile Cat Lynch in the 2023 reboot.
"You can’t let the ratings control everything. When you're good, you're good for a day and when you're bad, you're bad for a day,' Geyer declared.
"The lows are never as low as you think and the highs are never as high as you think. I've got nothing but respect for all our competitors in the breakfast slot. Jackie and Kyle, Fitzy and Wippa, Jonesy and Amanda …they have all been together a long time and do it very well.
"I think our show's a totally different format and there's a groundswell of excitability about it.
"Mick's the sort of bloke you'd be happy to sit down and have a beer with and I think that's going to resonate with the audience. In radio terms they don’t get much more illustrious. At Triple M Sydney, there's Doug Mulray and then there's Mick Molloy."
The Mick and MG in the Morning show will air from 6-9am weekdays on Triple M Sydney (104.9fm).
Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.
