By Andrew Wu
Football pioneer Daisy Pearce’s commentary future is up in the air as she juggles duties behind the microphone and her new role as the coach of West Coast’s AFLW team.
Seven wants Pearce to continue, but less than a fortnight before the start of the men’s premiership season it remains unclear how involved she will be in the network this year.
Daisy Pearce’s commentary future is in the air.Credit: Getty Images
Pearce performed both commentary and coaching roles last year when she was a member of Chris Scott’s coaching panel at Geelong but has since relocated to Perth with her young family to start her senior coaching career.
Seven rarely broadcasts in Perth as most games tend to fall outside the station’s preferred time slots. The travel needed to crisscross the country to call games on the eastern seaboard is another hurdle Seven and Pearce will need to overcome if she is to stay involved on a weekly basis. Pearce moved her commentary duties from Friday to Thursday nights last year after joining the Cats.
“Daisy is settling into her life in Perth with her young family, and her new role as West Coast AFLW coach. Once she’s settled and ready, our 7AFL executive producer, Gary O’Keeffe will continue to work closely with her to finalise her role with Seven’s AFL broadcast,” Seven’s head of sport Lewis Martin said in a statement sent to this masthead.
Pearce said last year after her appointment to the Eagles job she was keen to continue her role at Seven.
Daisy Pearce, with daughter Sylvie, husband Ben O’Neill with their son Roy, when Pearce retired as a Melbourne player early last year. The family has since relocated to Perth.Credit: AFL Photos
“If there’s any way that I can stay involved with Channel Seven and the media work around that, I’ll definitely explore it,” she told SEN radio.
“If I can stay involved, I would love to because the privilege of commentating and working in media isn’t lost on me. It’s been awesome and a thrill. But yeah, my commitment and priority now will have to become my team at West Coast.”
A face of the women’s game since the start of the AFLW in 2017, Pearce quickly became a respected commentator for her insightful analysis of the men’s competition on Seven.
In an industry dominated by men, Pearce claimed the award of best opinion/analysis in the 2021 Australian Football Media Awards, beating a field of champion male former players.
She was unwittingly caught in the crossfire of a debate about sexism in football after Richmond and the Brisbane Lions banned her from entering their change rooms, citing a perceived conflict of interest due to her role as an assistant coach with the Cats.
Two-time AFLW best-and-fairest winner Erin Phillips and premiership captains Joel Selwood and Trent Cotchin are Seven’s star signings this season.
Seven will not have its regular teams settled until after Gather Round (round four), but Phillips and Selwood will be part of the Thursday night broadcast alongside callers Brian Taylor and Alister Nicholson, while Taylor and James Brayshaw will again helm the Friday night telecast with expert analysis from Luke Hodge, Matthew Richardson and Abbey Holmes.
Like the AFL, Seven is also adjusting to life without a McLachlan – at least for this year. Network star Hamish McLachlan, whose brother Gillon McLachlan finished as the AFL chief last season, is having a sabbatical in Europe, forcing a reshuffle.
Jason Bennett will take McLachlan’s place on Saturday nights to partner ex-Western Bulldogs star Luke Darcy on the call with Jobe Watson providing special comments alongside a rotation of Shaun Burgoyne, Nathan Jones, Cameron Ling and Chris Johnson.
The network will also rotate its talent in the Sunday afternoon timeslot, which leads into its 6pm news bulletin.
Retired Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt is the star recruit for Fox Footy, joining the pay TV network’s match broadcast team. He will also be part of Fox Footy program AFL 360 on Wednesday nights with journalists Gerard Whateley and Mark Robinson.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.