Luke Darcy 'set to quit' as Caroline Wilson 'joins' Kane Cornes in TV switch to Channel 7

Channel Seven's shake-up of its AFL coverage next year has taken another significant twist, with reports Luke Darcy is set to leave his role and walk away from the media. Seven has already raided rival TV network Nine by poaching AFL pundit Kane Cornes and veteran journalist Caroline Wilson for next year - both of whom feature on Nine's flagship AFL program Footy Classified on a weekly basis.

Craig Hutchison is also a regular on Nine's show but his TV production company, Rainmaker, has signed on to produce Channel 7’s new AFL programs next year. And according to reports from The Herald Sun, Channel 9 executives called a crisis meeting to decide whether or not to pull Footy Classified from airing on Tuesday night, considering three of its main stars will be working with their biggest competitor in 2025.

With AFL great Matthew Lloyd the only remaining regular panelist on Nine's flagship AFL program, the report says the network is considering calling up replacements such as Damian Barrett, Sam McClure, Eddie McGuire and Jimmy Bartel - who are all regulars on the Wednesday edition of the Footy Classified program. It's also understood Nine is considering pulling Tuesday night's show, amid concerns it would be akin to giving Seven free publicity.

“I’m bitterly disappointed but no one is bigger than the show," Lloyd told 3AW on Monday night at the Brownlow Medal awards. Monday's Footy Classified was shifted to Tuesday night because of the Brownlow awards night and the unfortunate situation at Nine's proved a burning topic of conversation at the AFL's night of nights.

Seven Network shaking up its AFL coverage in 2025

The big developments have been instigated by new Seven sport boss Chris Jones, who is a long-time friend of Hutchison's and reportedly made an offer for Wilson to defect that the former Age chief footy writer couldn't refuse. Wilson and Hutchison were both original panelists on Footy Classified, which is now in its 18th season. But Hutchison's involvement with Seven through his media empire next year has made his role at Nine essentially untenable.

Seven's new sport boss Jones told MediaWeek recently about the network's plans to beef up their AFL coverage. “I would love to have more programming on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next year where we can tell AFL stories, and feature them prominently on 7plus and on Seven,” Jones said. “There’s an ambition from our [AFL] team to set the agenda, perhaps a little more than what we have in the past.”

Luke Darcy set to walk away from various media roles

Another significant development for Seven is the imminent departure of fan favourite Darcy, who is reportedly set to walk away from his commentary roles with the TV network and Triple M after Saturday's grand final. The former Western Bulldogs captain has demonstrated his versatility in the media over the last 15 years and works in a number of different roles including more than a decade of hosting Hot Breakfast on Triple M with Eddie McGuire.

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Darcy has been a regular at Seven since 2011, whether it be in commentary, hosting roles, or on the network's Olympic Games coverage. But as reported by The Herald Sun, the popular former AFL star has decided to give up his various media commitments to focus on growing his family's business interests, which includes a wellness spa in Bali and a number of Melbourne pubs.

The 49-year-old is also a board member at the Western Bulldogs, where his son Sam is making a name for himself as a rising star of the sport. Darcy is obviously keen to have more time to spend watching Sam blaze his own path in the AFL, and accidentally let slip last week that Essendon great Tim Watson would soon be leaving his media role with Channel Seven as well.