Seven's AFL revolution

19th February 2025

Seven’s AFL revolution: The ultimate team is here

McAvaney, Wilson, Cornes, Riewoldt, Hutchison, Pendlebury, Maddern, Wingard and McGuire join Seven’s AFL coverage

Football's #1 commentary team is primed to bring fans an unrivalled 2025 AFL season live and free on Seven and, for the first time, streamed on 7plus Sport. With a stellar team of experts, headlined by a group of new recruits, there’s no other place footy fans will want to be than Seven and 7plus Sport, Your Home of Footy.

 

As the network unveils its exciting new football programming slate as part of its supercharged AFL digital rights, Seven will welcome a cavalcade of Australian football media’s biggest names to its seven-day-a-week AFL line up in 2025, including Australian football’s most acclaimed journalist, Caroline Wilson.

 

Returning home to Seven after 20 years, Wilson joins Seven as a panelist for the network’s new, hard-hitting football panel show, The Agenda Setters, set to air in prime time on Monday and Tuesday nights, live and free on Seven and 7plus Sport.

 

Joining Wilson on The Agenda Setters will be fellow new recruits Craig Hutchison, Kane Cornes and Nick Riewoldt, alongside existing 7AFL experts Dale Thomas and Luke Hodge.

 

Following his return to Seven’s AFL coverage for the 2024 Finals Series, legendary sports broadcaster Bruce McAvaney will also make his return as host of Seven’s AFL coverage across Sunday nights and marquee matches.

 

With a focus on integrating current-day players into match coverage, Seven also welcomes 403-game player and six-time All Australian, Scott Pendlebury, to its Friday Night Football coverage for select rounds throughout the season. 

 

In a newly created out of play expert role, the man affectionately known as “Pendles” will provide unrivalled expertise alongside Seven’s experienced Friday Night Footy team.

 

In a bonus for fans, GWS Giants Captain, Toby Greene will also step behind the Seven microphone on Friday, 7 March for the Opening Round clash between the Sydney Swans and Hawthorn at the MCG, before much-loved Carlton skipper, Sam Docherty joins the team for the Western Bulldogs v Collingwood clash in Round Two.

 

Also joining Seven’s talent-stacked AFL line up in 2025 is 7NEWS Melbourne’s Chief Sport Presenter, Rebecca Maddern, who will co-host Seven’s coverage every Thursday night. Maddern will also present the 4.00pm and 6.00pm 7NEWS Melbourne sport bulletin live from stadia across the country. 

 

Following his retirement from the game, former Port Adelaide and Hawthorn forward, Chad Wingard, also joins Seven as an expert commentator for select games during the 2025 season, while Seven sport host and presenter Jason Richardson turns his focus to AFL as he hosts the Sunday Footy Feast, alongside Campbell Brown and Kate McCarthy every week in the lead up to Sunday Afternoon Footy.

 

To bring viewers the biggest breaking news as it happens during match coverage, 7NEWS Chief Football Reporter Mitch Cleary will be on deck alongside football’s #1 commentary team every Thursday night, while new recruit 7NEWS Melbourne Sport Reporter, Xander McGuire, joins the Friday Night Footy team. 7NEWS Melbourne sport reporters Theo Doropoulos and Kate Massey will also be part of the action.

 

Seven also welcomes back football’s most star-studded line-up for 2025, including the game’s best group of callers: Brian Taylor, James Brayshaw, Hamish McLachlan, Alister Nicholson and Jason Bennett.

 

Expert commentators Luke Hodge, Abbey Holmes, Matthew Richardson, Erin Phillips, Jobe Watson, Dale Thomas, Joel Selwood and Cameron Ling are also back, while Jude Bolton, Ryan Daniels and Campbell Brown round out the Seven commentary team.

 

The collection of new AFL shows including The Agenda Setters, Unfiltered, Extra Time, Sunday Footy Feast, The Wash Up, Kane’s Call and Full Sweat – a documentary behind the scenes of the Hawthorn Football Club – will be launched to complement long-standing favourite The Front Bar, to keep footy fans entertained every day of the week, live and free on Seven and 7plus Sport.  

 

Nick Riewoldt, Brian Taylor, Kane Cornes, Rebecca Maddern, Bruce McAvaney, Abbey Holmes, Dale Thomas, Chad Wingard, Luke Hodge, Matthew Richardson copy