NRL fans are expressing their excitement after Fox League confirmed popular host Yvonne Sampson will be back on the coverage in 2026. Sampson stepped away from her TV role earlier this year to have her second child with husband Chris O’Keefe, and has been on maternity leave.
But it was confirmed on Thursday that Sampson will return to her widely-popular role next season. News Corp also revealed that retired NRL star Kieran Foran has been given a permanent role on the network after stepping into the world of TV and commentary this season on a part-time basis.
Yvonne Sampson and Chris O’Keefe recently welcomed their second child. Image: Yvonne Sampson/AAP
Foran hung up the boots at the end of the 2025 season with the Gold Coast Titans, and is heading back to Manly in a coaching role after winning a premiership there in 2011. He’ll divide his time at the Sea Eagles and Fox League in 2026 after he proved a popular analyst this year.
“In our world it’s hard to find good young producers and I feel like I have probably got the best young producers in Australian broadcasting,” said Fox Sports managing director Steve Crawley. “I have worked with a lot of producers and I feel like this might be the best crop I have had. These guys work in a new world where it is not singular what they do. They do all formats of media and they manage big talents, and they do it well.”
Kieran Foran will have a permanent role on Fox League in 2026. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
NRL fans delighted after Yvonne Sampson’s return confirmed
As for Sampson, she recently welcomed baby boy Darby to join her first son Henry. O’Keefe, who was formerly on Channel 9, said before Darby’s arrival: “Henry’s about to be promoted to big brother and we’re absolutely thrilled. Chaos incoming.”
O’Keefe and Sampson were keen to keep their private life as private as possible when they first learned she was pregnant earlier this year. They didn’t reveal the pregnancy news until she stepped away from Fox League in June, but O’Keefe said some of Sampson’s TV colleagues suspected something was up during the NRL’s opening round in Las Vegas in March.
Yvonne Sampson will be back on Fox League in 2026. Image: Yvonne Sampson
Sampson was heading up Fox League’s coverage of the Vegas showpiece, but spent a lot of her downtime in her hotel room. “When Vonny locked herself in her hotel room in Vegas for Round 1, a few of her colleagues started to suspect something was up,” her husband told the Daily Telegraph in June. “But we managed to keep it quiet, it’s important to us to keep our private life, private.
“She’s an extraordinary mum. She is not just the heart of our home, but the brains, legs, arms and everything else too. I’m honestly just trying to keep up. Henry absolutely adores Vonny, watching them together fills me with so much happiness.”
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On Thursday night, fans flooded social media with excited comments about Sampson’s return. After starting out on Channel 7 and then Channel 9, the 44-year-old has become of the NRL’s most popular TV figures since moving to Fox League in a bigger role.