![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/15a4d09b63c2c5d175d0b45e7ec402a319f766ce.jpeg\")
Brian Taylor at his desk in the commentary box with all his notes and charts.Joe Armao<\/p>\nThursday night at the MCG, and it\u2019s the Swans versus the Hawks. But there\u2019s a bigger team taking to the field \u2013 75 men and women pulling together to bring 4\u00bd hours of live television into your lounge room. And with no script and zero certainty they are going to have to rely on their faith in their preparedness to pull them through \u2013 whatever happens.<\/p>\n
This is their behind-the-scenes, seat-of-their-pants story.<\/p>\n
The match is more than an hour away when a production meeting in Channel Seven\u2019s vast commentators room on level 3 of the Melbourne Cricket Ground concludes.<\/p>\n
There are issues. Not enough TV monitors on the ground, so Rebecca Maddern will be expected to talk to viewers at home without actually seeing what she is talking about. But the host is in can-do mode. \u201cThat\u2019s OK,\u201d says Maddern, who under her elegant cream suit is wearing a pair of daggy ski socks because the worst thing in television is to stand on the MCG ground for four hours with freezing feet.<\/p>\n
A giant window dominates one side of the box and beneath it is what must rank as the neatest workstation in the country \u2013 Brian Taylor\u2019s commentary desk.<\/p>\n
On it, Taylor, the former Richmond and Collingwood player and Coleman medallist turned Channel Seven caller, known universally as BT, has placed the tools of his trade \u2013 his charts.<\/p>\n
There is his handwritten results chart, on which coloured squares of fluorescent ink (green for a win, pink for a loss) document the ecstasy and the agony for the competition\u2019s 18 clubs.<\/p>\n
Sheets of A4 paper listing player statistics \u2013 laminated, if you please \u2013 sit on the table, along with tonight\u2019s running order. A pad is divided in half with dot points, talking points written in Taylor\u2019s careful hand \u2013 red pen for the Swans, blue for Hawthorn. He\u2019ll deploy them among fellow caller Hamish McLachlan and expert commentators Kane Cornes and Luke Hodge if the on field action is less than thrilling, or too one-sided. No fear. Tonight will turn out to be a cracker.<\/p>\n
Brian Taylor at his desk in the commentary box with all his notes and charts.Joe Armao<\/p>\n
At this stage of the evening, Taylor is calm, eager to explain and grateful for the interest. Not even his wife has dropped in to see him in action, although his kids have.<\/p>\n
For Taylor calling the game, with its vast capacity for error, is preferable to being a talking head on a panel show. \u201cYeah, because this is just real,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is where all the talk stops, and this is where all of the questions are answered. So this is why it\u2019s exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commentating, he agrees, is an exposing job. \u201cVery. We make one mistake tonight \u2013 and we will \u2026 let\u2019s say if we miss the mark here, or we call some person the wrong goal kicker \u2026 then we\u2019re getting the shit bashed out of us for the next week. It\u2019s a very hard job to avoid criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n
And not just because of mistakes, he says. \u201cNot everyone wants the same steak. Some like a medium rare. It\u2019s the same in their football. Everyone likes something different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearby, Maddern already has two broadcasts under her belt, the 4pm and 6pm news. \u201cIt is an intense, really intense, couple of hours. When I get home, I wish I could just fall in a heap, but you don\u2019t. You are still buzzing,\u201d she says with a broad smile.<\/p>\n
![\"Rebecca](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/99a2e2da9bbf6a795dbc5d4f93894b1bc0fef2cc.jpeg\")
Rebecca Maddern and boundary reporter Mitch Cleary before the game.Joe Armao<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just played the game of TV. It\u2019s difficult to get right, but it\u2019s the best time of the week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing stands still. Out of the corner of my eye I notice BT, one of the AFL\u2019s most respected figures, is slipping off his jeans and into more broadcast-appropriate trousers. It later turns out The Age\u2019s trainee visual journalist Ruby Alexander has the whole moment captured on video, which we agree to lock in a vault marked never to be released.<\/p>\n
Taylor, who also calls matches for Triple M, likes to be highly organised. He has every flight, taxi and hotel room booked for the first 15 rounds of the season as Seven\u2019s Thursday night coverage takes viewers around the country.<\/p>\n
How does he feel about this? \u201cI love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hours earlier and on the other side of the MCG, the behind-the-scenes production members of this army assemble in a loading dock known as the outside broadcast compound. They are grouped in the shadow of a huge \u201cdouble expando\u201d trailer known as \u201cthe truck\u201d, which houses the TV control room.<\/p>\n
Brandishing the run sheet, senior producer Daniel Edwards, with an air of unassuming authority, is briefing the troops:<\/p>\n
\u201cLuke Hodge will be on camera 4.<\/p>\n
\u201cMitch Cleary will do a walk off interview with a predetermined Swan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Swans have agreed to give us access to the changing rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Rebecca](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/68cf2c098bcfcf8a0c394b56363494b7a77b0490.jpeg\")
Rebecca Maddern, Luke Hodge, Daniel Edwards, Brian Taylor, Kane Cornes and Hamish McLachlan in a pre-match meeting. Joe Armao<\/p>\n
But with opportunity comes risk, particularly with live TV. When Taylor does his trademark Roaming Brian walk-around after the match, extra care will be needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf BT is taking us there, we will have to poke our heads around the corner and make sure no one is naked,\u201d Edwards explains.<\/p>\n
The lengthy run-through over, Edwards reveals, the detailed talking points are just for that evening\u2019s first segment, before the match even starts. \u201cAnd then we will do some footy \u2013 yay!\u201d<\/p>\n
The side of the \u201cdouble expando\u201d trailer is emblazoned with the logo of NEP, a global production company expert in live sport. Seven produces the match in partnership with NEP and shares the production staff.<\/p>\n
Televisually speaking, all roads in the MCG lead to the truck. There are 25 cameras on the ground, some robotic, some Steadicam, some 4K Ultra Zoom, some on drones, some hidden in the goal posts.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6a2286f9e9eefe5bebb5c15ffdfff31f71c237d8.jpeg\")
The production team operating in the broadcast truck.Joe Armao<\/p>\n
They all feed into the control room, where the production team select camera shots from a bank of TV monitors so vast it is impossible for civilians non-versed in television to process. \u201cLike visual DJs,\u201d Age photographer Joe Armao says.<\/p>\n
In a small office nearby, Gary O\u2019Keeffe, Seven\u2019s head of AFL and sport innovation, has set up shop in his \u201cexecutive shed\u201d. He will not enter the trailer. \u201cThe last thing they need is me in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Keeffe adds: \u201cWe\u2019re big on families. Everyone\u2019s welcome to our broadcast. Yeah, we get down and talk stats and all that, but we love those warm family moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thus, when Gold Coast Suns player Zeke Uwland made his debut for the club the other week, Seven already had cameras trained on his mum, Michelle, sitting in the stands to record her reaction, and interviewed her with her boys Zeke and Bodhi (another Suns player) after the match.<\/p>\n
It is these human stories \u2013 and more sweeping drone shots, if restrictions can be overcome \u2013 that O\u2019Keeffe sees as boosting AFL coverage into the future.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s live sport,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd you\u2019re right, we are storytellers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seven has leaned into Thursday nights \u2013 controversial with some fans \u2013 and stopped its traditional Saturday matches, which went behind the Fox Sports\/Kayo paywall after the latest rights deal that started last year. Seven and Foxtel paid $4.5 billion for rights until 2031. For this match, Seven is the host broadcaster, Fox Sports takes Seven\u2019s feed and adds in its own commentary.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Keeffe pushes back on criticism.<\/p>\n
\u201cViewers have spoken,\u201d he says. \u201cThey have spoken at home, and they have spoken with their remotes.\u201d<\/p>\n
And a prime-time Thursday audience is going to beat a Saturday audience.<\/p>\n
Multiple rules changes are speeding the game up, which means less time for Seven\u2019s TV adornments such as replays and tactics segments. The team is still adjusting to the new normal. But fast TV is good TV.<\/p>\n
\u201cReality is, once that game starts, we don\u2019t know how that\u2019s all gonna go,\u201d O\u2019Keeffe says. \u201cWe\u2019ve got no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the boundary<\/p>\n
We are on the move again. The darkened gloom of the car park is punctuated by animated shards of red and white heralding the Sydney Swans, courtesy of a brand-new giant video screen alongside the long race from the changing rooms towards the grounds. We ascend the race towards the bright rectangle of light at the top. This is it. We walk out onto the MCG. Pride and awe surge, emotions that are powerful and unexpected. But also: will we get in trouble for standing on the grass?<\/p>\n
Seven\u2019s team of presenters are already in place. Nick Riewoldt, Hamish McLachlan and Luke Hodge are grouped around a tiny desk on the boundary attended by camera operators and production staff. In the front row of the stand, excited children beg for a selfie, ignored by players ending their warm-up. But expert commentator and ex-Hawthorn captain Hodge strides over to the fence. It is minutes to airtime \u2013 they are in bliss, he is watching the clock.<\/p>\n
![\"Luke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/d25009457b78f96461c7bae4f926a9da19be06a5.jpeg\")
Luke Hodge with fans before the game.Joe Armao<\/p>\n
Not a ball has been kicked, but it has already been a good night for Cornes, who has had a goal-kicking tutorial from Hawthorn forward Nick Watson, a favourite player, and a no-holds-barred briefing from Sydney coach Dean Cox. For the forthright expert commentator, such access has him pinching himself.<\/p>\n
But how does he square the need for such access on match day with the need to churn out sharp-tongued comments on the nightly panel shows, which last year resulted in North Melbourne and the Bulldogs banning him from their dressing rooms?<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think the clubs that handle it the best are those that probably understand it,\u201d Cornes says.<\/p>\n
Many are pretty good at picking up the phone for what Cornes terms \u201copen dialogue\u201d after his comments hit home.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut performance dictates my commentary, really. I don\u2019t just pluck comments from nowhere. And usually the best clubs understand that if they\u2019re performing poorly, negative criticism is going to come with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Kane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2a3ca99d169904bce19c1b62eac746f71492f5bb.jpeg\")
Kane Cornes and Gary O\u2019Keeffe, Seven\u2019s head of AFL and sport innovation.Joe Armao<\/p>\n
The Hawthorn club song starts up in the background as Cornes explains how he deals with a bad day in the commentary box.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t ride the waves like I did when I was a player. If I had a bad game as a player, I\u2019d hate myself for three days, and that took a while to get over. And that was a poor character flaw of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the truck <\/p>\n
During the game, a quiet intensity pervades the control room.<\/p>\n
Here, sport meets television and its accompanying commercial realities \u2013 all the ad breaks and sponsored segments are crossed off a list by Edwards, who is miked up and wearing headphones to communicate with the entire team.<\/p>\n
Seven aims to screen six ads per quarter \u2013 and after each goal is the best place to do it. That\u2019s no problem tonight. It\u2019s a goal fest.<\/p>\n
After the first goal, a Toyota ad plays, as it always does; it\u2019s in Toyota\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n
The producer also logs every sponsored segments \u2013 Harvey Norman sponsors replays, Energy Australia the tactics segments.<\/p>\n
Then there are the \u201csqueezebacks\u201d \u2013 when the on-field action shrinks to fit in a sponsored border that variously promotes Toyota, McDonald\u2019s, AAMI and Bunnings, and other Seven programs.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ee1809b6b5c0bdcdfd20775c7f8f06dd3bdc4eb4.jpeg\")
The production team, including director Jarrod Rathjen (centre), juggle the many camera shots during a live broadcast.Joe Armao<\/p>\n
One line on the production log sheet intrigues: \u201cAfter boring goal \u2013 shot of Triple M.\u201d<\/p>\n
In January, Seven West Media was absorbed into Triple M\u2019s owner, Southern Cross Media, to create a merged, cross-media company.<\/p>\n
The \u201cboring goal\u201d means the broadcast doesn\u2019t need to screen a replay or tactics segment coming out of the ad break, so can cross-promote its sister radio station Triple M instead by screening a live shot of its commentary team.<\/p>\n
Dean\u2019s lolly jar <\/p>\n
The team can expect to be thrown off course at any moment.<\/p>\n
When Richmond player Hugo Ralfsmith recently chopped off his golden mullet in favour of a buzz cut, the control room was thrown into temporary consternation when he walked onto the ground \u2013 and nobody knew who he was.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018Who\u2019s that?\u2019 and I\u2019m a Richmond supporter,\u201d director Jarrod Rathjen reveals.<\/p>\n
Now, someone has noticed that sitting beside Swans coach Dean Cox in his coaching box is a large lolly jar. Everyone is keen to get it on air, but Edwards requests they wait until he can word up Taylor in the commentary room.<\/p>\n
When the time comes, the moment is seamless.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone else puts their hand in there and you will have it chopped off,\u201d says Taylor.<\/p>\n
Soon Emma Francis, Channel Seven head of communications \u2013 sport, who is shepherding us around the ground, has already received a text from the delighted Swans comms team.<\/p>\n
Sweets manufacturer Allen has created the personalised \u201cDean\u2019s Lolly Jar\u201d label and added its own logo, hoping for some publicity, and it has already paid off. There was nothing accidental about this product placement.<\/p>\n
It turns out Taylor had queried the jar with Jan Cameron, the match-day integration liaison responsible for ensuring that Seven\u2019s sponsorship and marketing commitments appear on screen and no commercial conflicts occur that might annoy sponsors. \u201cMcDonald\u2019s don\u2019t sell lollies,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
The commentary team are a study in contrasts. The match callers sit to the left. Rather, Taylor sits. McLachlan stands, shirt untucked, blazer slung over his chair, his pink adidas sneakers now swapped for sensible white shoes for the cameras. McLachlan\u2019s notes cascade over his desk. He has no laminates.<\/p>\n
The two men are within touching distance, and silently tap each other on the shoulder or the waist, to signal it\u2019s time to take over commentating. A silent passing of the baton.<\/p>\n
![\"Sevens](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0d6794ea014e6326efbba7899239ea95a9b5c934.jpeg\")
Sevens key commentators, Brian Taylor, Hamish McLachlan, Kane Cornes and Luke Hodge, in the commentary box calling the match. Joe Armao<\/p>\n
To McLachlan\u2019s right, expert commentator Cornes has no papers on his desk. But he does have a laptop and an iPad, while Hodge makes do with a single notepad.<\/p>\n
The banter is not confined to the commentary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just a boy from Colac,\u201d Hodge tells the effortlessly patrician McLachlan at one stage in a calculated burn that McLachlan receives with an air of studied nonchalance.<\/p>\n
Most commentators expect a Sydney win, but the match tosses and turns and the Hawks run over the Swans 99 to 82.<\/p>\n
But the content wagon rolls on for days afterwards.<\/p>\n
Dean\u2019s Lolly Jar ends up on the AFL\u2019s official Instagram account, while Triple M posts on Instagram of Seven boundary reporter Mitch Cleary\u2019s \u201cfive minute\u201d photo op with our photographers, trying to work out what all the fuss is about.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2cf9b39c53cbcb2dd4238ac62fd87c5ad0da63a3.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n