There are plenty of shows talking footy – this one takes on the AFLW

Sydney Morning Herald

a day ago

AFL broadcaster Kate McCarthy, who joined Seven's commentary crew in 2024 following a playing career with the Brisbane Lions, St Kilda and Hawthorn, takes a 'holistic' view of the women's game in light of reports it is suffering annual losses of $50 million.
As co-host of Talking W, Seven's AFLW answer to the now defunct Talking Footy, McCarthy says there are more important markers of sporting success than money.
'When you invest in something, you invest in it for the long run,' she says. 'If you sit back and think of the impact that women's football has had, it's been far greater than the financial returns … If you look at it holistically, that it's here to stay – and the AFL have been very strong in their discussions about that – it's got huge momentum.'
Launched last year to plug a gap in longer-form AFLW analysis, Talking W covers the 10th AFLW season with a different line-up. McCarthy's original co-host, former Adelaide player and Australian Survivor contestant Abbey Holmes, is taking a break after the birth of her baby in June. In her place is former Fox Footy reporter Riley Beveridge.
'We wanted to have a show that was covering the women's side of things and to be able to analyse and critique, or talk about the positives of women's football and AFLW because there hadn't been a lot of coverage from these sorts of shows on networks,' says McCarthy. 'We have plenty of football shows dedicated to men's football, and Seven was really keen on having one that was dedicated to women's football as well. To be able to build on what we created last year is going to be important.'
In a sign of the continuing evolution of TV footy chat, which has been steadily moving away from male-dominated formats, Seven's footy show slate has shifted this year. Instead of Talking Footy, there are two new shows: The Agenda Setters (with Craig Hutchison, Kane Cornes, Caroline Wilson and Nick Riewoldt) on Mondays and Tuesdays on 7plus, and Hamish McLaren's Unfiltered on Wednesdays on Seven. The latter follows the decade-old Front Bar at 8.30pm, with Mick Molloy, Sam Pang and Andy Maher.
'I've only worked in really respectful environments,' says McCarthy. 'The men or women that I've worked with have done it in a way where there hasn't really been any of that locker room talk, or talk where it would be not accepted. We've moved past that now as a footballing community.'
McCarthy also welcomes the perspective her new co-host Beveridge will bring. 'We have done the round so far together on afl.com, and Riley is a fantastic analyst and very well versed across both men's and women's football, and has been since season one of women's football,' she says. 'So it's going to be great to be alongside him … It's important to have diverse voices.'