Jobe Watson set for prominent Channel 7 role after Wayne Carey departure
The AFL's free-to-air broadcaster is undergoing some major changes in 2023.
Essendon great Jobe Watson is at the centre of a major broadcasting shake-up for AFL free-to-air rights holder Channel 7 this season. AFLW great Daisy Pearce's move from the prime time Friday night footy slot has sparked a raft of changes to Seven's coverage in 2023, with Watson set to be one of the main beneficiaries.
A three-time best and fairest winner at Essendon, Watson will feature more prominently as the designated expert commentator for Saturday night games, following a promotion from the network. He will also appear alongside Pearce on the coverage of Thursday night's games after emerging as one of the broadcaster's brightest young stars.
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Watson will take over from the role North Melbourne great Wayne Carey previously filled on Saturday nights, with Seven opting not to review the premiership legend's contract in the wake of a white powder scandal last year. Carey was controversially replaced as the Friday night special comments expert by Pearce, with AFL icons Dermott Brereton and Rex Hunt criticising Channel Seven's move at the time.
Pearce - who is renowned for her astute footy brain - has now linked up with the Geelong men's team as one of their assistant coaches, meaning she can no longer appear on the Friday night coverage. Pearce's new gig at the Cats means the Melbourne AFLW premiership icon will instead perform the role of special comments on Thursday nights.
Jobe Watson headlines raft of changes for Seven's AFL coverage
Watson's promotion comes after he started out as a boundary rider for Channel 7 during a year off in 2014. The retired star is set to commentate alongside his father and fellow Essendon legend Tim Watson in 2023, with Seven’s Head of Network Sport Lewis Martin excited by the new-look team.
“Jobe Watson is a champion player and a champion person, and we look forward to hearing him more on Seven’s AFL coverage in 2023 on key matches across Thursday nights, Saturday nights and Sundays.” The network's AFL broadcasting shake-up will also see former All-Australian Dale Thomas slot into Pearce's old prime time slot as Friday night's special comments expert.
Brian Taylor, James Brayshaw, Hamish McLachlan, Alister Nicholson, Jason Bennett and Luke Darcy will remain the primary callers of the AFL action on Seven, with Luke Hodge, Matthew Richardson, Shaun Burgoyne, Erin Phillips, Leigh Matthews, Cameron Ling, Nathan Jones, Chris Johnson, Abbey Holmes, Jude Bolton, Mark Soderstrom, Ryan Daniels, Nigel Carmody, Campbell Brown and Patrick Dangerfield also making up the wider broadcasting team.
The network has pulled the pin on its Game Day and Talking Footy shows, replacing them with a “Saturday Scoop” show featuring journalists Nat Edwards and Mitch Cleary. Geelongs's four-time premiership-winning great Joel Selwood will also head up a pre-game “Leaders” segment in which he will conduct interviews with the respective club captains in the lead-up to games.
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