The final event in the Full-On Footy Tour with Foxtel was in Melbourne last night after travelling more than 10,000km across the eastern seaboard.
News Corp Australia’s united TV and news publishing businesses undertook the epic tour, showcasing their combined NRL and AFL expertise to footy fans across the country.
The event at Prahran’s Flying Duck Hotel in Melbourne caps off the four-week tour, which has visited 10 towns in three states and engaged thousands of footy fans at school visits, footy clinics and expert footy panels at local pubs in each location.
Building on the success of the original tour in Victoria last year, Foxtel and News Corp Australia again joined forces with the stars of Fox League, Fox Footy and footy writers from Australia’s most-read newspapers to stage the roadshow as part of an expanded Full-On Footy Tour.
Fox Full-On Footy Tour panellists Lehmo, Jonathan Brown and Mick Malthouse with a replica of the 2018 AFL Premiership Cup. Picture: Ian Currie
Former NRL and AFL greats and the faces of Foxtel’s dedicated Rugby League and AFL channels along with News Corp’s top footy writers visited regional centres including Newcastle, Wollongong, Bathurst, Townsville, Cairns, Sunshine Coast, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Melbourne.
Viewers and readers were invited to register to attend the free events which were held at schools and Foxtel venues across the eastern seaboard.
NRL icons Matty Johns, Gorden Tallis, Justin Hodges, Corey Parker, Bryan Fletcher and Nathan Hindmarsh along with League Life hosts Jess Yates and Hannah Hollis visited Queensland and New South Wales and met fans on the NRL tour.
Some of AFL’s biggest names, including Jonathan Brown, Dermott Brereton, Nick Riewoldt, Garry Lyon, Jason Dunstall, David King and Paul Roos, joined Fox Footy’s Sarah Jones and Kelli Underwood as part of the AFL tour.
Also attending was MD of commercial for HWT Peter Zavecz and he was joined by some of the editorial team from the Herald Sun – head of sport Matthew Kitchin and editorial business manager Tom Salom.
It’s a busy couple of days for Zavecz who front up with 1699 other people at the World’s Longest Lunch today, which launches the Melbourne Food and Wine festival. The Herald Sun is one of the event partners.
Fox Full-On Footy Tour panellists: Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn (centre) with a replica of the 2018 AFL Premiership Cup and (from left) David King, Sam Edmunds, Jonathan Brown, Lehmo, Mick Malthouse and Mark Robinson. Picture: Ian Currie
In addition to the Herald Sun, other News Corp Australia newspapers supported the tour across print and online including The Daily Telegraph in NSW, the Townsville Bulletin, Cairns Post and Sunshine Coast Daily in Qld and Geelong Advertiser in Victoria.
In Melbourne, a star-studded panel – moderated by the Herald Sun’s Sam Edmund – featured chief football writer and AFL 360 co-host Mark Robinson, new recruit columnist Max Gawn, three-time premiership coach and columnist Mick Malthouse, plus Fox Footy’s Jonathan Brown and David King.
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Top photo: St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt with kids at Pleasant Street Primary School in Ballarat as part of the Full-On Footy Tour. Picture: Ian Currie. Source: News Corp Australia