The Marngrook Footy Show
The Marngrook Footy Show is a sport panel show broadcast in Australia. It is broadcast on NITV and was broadcast on ABC2 until ABCTV axed the program on 15 November 2012, citing low ratings compared with other ABC2 programs. It was simulcast on Channel 31. In its final year with ABCTV, the program was shown live but had its time-slot moved several times by ABCTV Management on Thursdays on ABC2. From 2013 the show will be produced by Toombak Indigenous Productions and broadcast on SBS . The show is produced at the Burwood campus of Deakin University in its professional-standard television studio. It is hosted by Grant Hansen, Gilbert McAdam, Ronnie Burns, Chris Johnson, Leila Gurruwiwi and Shelley Ware with Possum mascot Grooka. The show is the brainchild of Grant Hansen who was tired of the lack of indigenous football commentators and hosts on the radio and TV. It first aired in 1997 as a radio show in Melbourne and with popularity increasing it was soon beamed across the country via satellite the following year. The first radio show was hosted by Grant Hansen and Alan Thorpe with correspondents around the country including Derek Kickett, Michael McLean, Gilbert McAdam, Chris Johnson and Robert Ahmat. After 10 years on the radio it was then developed as a television show and was shown in 2007 on C31 Melbourne and NITV. It features interviews, weekly tips, AFL Gripes and live music performances, as well as including local stories from around the country featuring indigenous footballers talking about their backgrounds, origin clubs and towns, heritage and current affairs.