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Sunday Footy Show skips Tony Jones's Wimbledon exclusion
Time On is your wrap up of all the footy gossip and banter.
Tony Jones being denied a trip to Wimbledon was curiously not discussed on the Sunday Footy Show with many wondering if the topic has been banned.
A month ago Jones told Time On he was 95 percent confident he was going to work again at the All-England Club but Nine released a statement that it would instead be 'optimising resources' with reporting and daily coverage from the London bureau.
Jones' worldwide headline making comments about Novak Djokovic during the Australian Open will now conveniently not be brought up again when Wimbledon begins next month.
Jones helms the Sunday Footy Show with a popular segment called What Caught My Eye that usually takes the mickey out panel members — Nathan Brown, Matthew Lloyd, Rory Sloane and Damian Barrett.
But on Sunday there was no word of the Wimbledon axing.
Nine has said it will use experts Todd Woodbridge, Jelena Dokic and Alicia Molik with support from Sam McClure.
Former Sunday Footy Show panellist Kane Cornes, who has infamously defected to Seven, expressed concern about the show taking a 'few shorts steps' and dropping the ball in not mentioning the situation.
'I feel for him because I know how much he loves going and I know what a great job he does and there would be a healthy rivalry between Scoop (McClure) and TJ so that would have stung a bit,'' Cornes said on SEN breakfast Monday alongside David King.
'But it's the fact it wasn't mentioned I don't believe on the Sunday Footy Show yesterday.
'It couldn't be the crew because I know them. I know that Damo and Browny and Llordo would have fought really hard to come up with something hilarious to needle and prod about this and get into him for the whole two hours of the show.
'So it must have been a management decision above like it was last time when they weren't allowed to discuss the Novak incident. They took a few short steps. I'm just concerned that they're starting to take the odd short step over there.'
King said 'they're prime time footy show areas' and it was perplexing not to have brought it up.
'You have to go there,'' Cornes said.
'There's many ways you could do it. You could start a GoFundMe for TJ to go to Wimbledon. You could go through the history of how it's got to this and all the little maybe gaffes that have led to this point. Shown the (Bec Judd) kiss again … I just worry. I would like to get to the bottom of why there's been a few short steps taken.'
Former footy stars support The Male Hug
Footy favourites Matthew Richardson and Billy Brownless have opened up on the profound effect of recent tragic losses of life.
Speaking at The Male Hug charity lunch for men's mental health at the MCG, the duo said recent events, including the passing of Adam and Troy Selwood, highlighted why they were supporting the cause.
'It's hard to fathom really what's happened in the footy world,' Richardson said. 'It does make you think about how guys are actually going when they retire.
'I looked at the Selwood boys and they both appeared to be going well. When it happens to guys as young as the Selwood brothers, it really did hit home to me why I'm involved with The Male Hug and why I've been involved for a while now.
'The first reason I got involved, I'd just been home to Tassie when (founder and CEO) Tony (Rabah) rang me, it was probably five years ago, and I just walked into the pub and remember going home that night feeling quite down in the dumps. Just a lot of people struggling and it hit a chord with me, men my age going through financial issues and personal breakdowns and marriages is why I got involved. For that to happen with the Selwood brothers is another reason why we have to keep the momentum up.'
Brownless said it was hard to come to terms with the loss of the Selwoods.
'Four brothers grew up in Bendigo ... all hard, tough ... they were all men and then now I just feel so sorry for Bryce and Maree, mum and dad, they had four boys now they've got two and that's in a matter of months,' Brownless said.
'They're strong boys and all of a sudden they've been driven to this. It's really hard to take. When these things happen, it's not right.'
Richardson and Brownless were speaking alongside fellow The Male Hug ambassadors Kevin Sheedy, Andrew Conway and Tim Mannah. Other guests included Darren Berry, Greg Williams, Peter Daicos and Justin Koschitzke.
The luncheon raised funds for the 1800MYBUDDY line with the big fundraiser, Talktober, in October.
Tony Jones axed from Channel 9's Wimbledon coverage
