Fox Footy co-host Mark Robinson looks set to leave AFL 360 after 14 years in the hot seat

[Tugga27]

Fox Footy’s Mark Robinson looks set to farewell AFL 360 after 14 years at the helm of the popular show.

News Corp’s chief football writer is expected to front the program for the last time on Monday night for the annual post-grand final episode.
Robinson, affectionately known as ‘Robbo’ by most in the industry, co-hosts AFL 360 alongside the highly-respected Gerard Whateley.

Talk of Robbo’s impending exit started to spread among footy media types in the days leading up to Saturday’s grand final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

On Sunday, Diary called Robinson to ask if Monday night’s episode would be his last but the football guru wasn’t giving anything away, and declined to comment.

It remains unclear if the veteran broadcaster will make reference to his expected departure from AFL 360 on Monday night’s show.
The program is Fox Footy’s flagship football analysis program, airing on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the AFL season, and features the sport’s top players and coaches.

Robinson has led the program since it launched in 2010.

Spies told Diary the program could feature a rotating roster of co-hosts to accompany Whateley in 2025.

Likely candidates include those already at Fox Footy, such as former AFL stars Jack Riewoldt,Garry Lyon and Jordan Lewis.

The word is that Robinson may join the channel’s Midweek Tackle program which is hosted by Herald Sun scribes Jay Clark and Lauren Wood and features many of the paper’s AFL reporters including Jon Ralph, Glenn McFarlane, Josh Barnes and Scott Gullan.

It airs three nights a week, Tuesday to Thursday.

Fox Footy boss Steve Crawley was contacted but declined to comment.
Robinson is one of the AFL’s most prominent journalists and is based at the Herald Sun in Melbourne.
He took over as chief football writer for the News Corp masthead in 2012 following the retirement of legendary football journalist Mike Sheahan.

 

[Cmarsh]

Good.

 

[rye]

terrible news

 

[RUNVS]

He hasn't been well recently so it isn't a massive surprise

 

[PhatBoy]

Not a popular opinion but I don’t mind Robbo.

Obviously a lover of the game and just a grub who loved a dart and a drink who will watch two flies kicking a ball between them if it says Sherrin on the side of it.

 

[Altum Volantes]

Should go for Dunstall to replace him for sure.

 

[Del208273]

Leigh Matthews has resigned from Ch9.

Could do worse than sounding him out for the job.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Leigh Matthews has resigned from Ch9.

Could do worse than sounding him out for the job.

Gotta be that he wants to retire from the industry, given he's only been there a year

Unless there's some fishy business going on behind the scenes, of course

 

[kickazz]

Robbo was ok, didn't care that he wasn't all clean cut like the rest of them and wore his heart on his sleeve.

 

[Del208273]

Gotta be that he wants to retire from the industry, given he's only been there a year

Unless there's some fishy business going on behind the scenes, of course

Just seems odd to leave Ch7 after a prolonged period and then only last 12 months at Ch9 - unless perhaps an opportunity elsewhere has opened up.

Retirement could well be his intention, but Fox calling extra games from next year and now Robbo leaving.

Or maybe since that Ch7 exec has left and there's a lot of personnel changes, maybe he's returning there.

All very conspiratorial, but geez - the timing makes you ask questions.

 

[Lunchtime]

He hasn't been well recently so it isn't a massive surprise

What's been wrong?

 

[kickazz]

I don't think it's that conspiratorial at all to suggest ch7 having some a grade douche bags running the show in the past is a factor.

 

[Lunchtime]

Not a popular opinion but I don’t mind Robbo.

Obviously a lover of the game and just a grub who loved a dart and a drink who will watch two flies kicking a ball between them if it says Sherrin on the side of it.

Yeah I didn't mind him. Wore his heart on his sleeve, called a spade a spade as he saw it.

 

[deck]

What's been wrong?

Had a heart attack a year or 2 ago.

 

[Lunchtime]

Had a heart attack a year or 2 ago.

Yeah I heard about that. Thought it might be something else.

 

[Cyclops]

Never saw this flatulent drunken bum make anything like an insightful comment about footy. I won't miss him because I never watched his garbage show (except by accident).

It's a mark against Whateley that he agreed to sit next to this tool. Have some self respect.

 

[hawkman]

 

[Rod Stroker]

He hasn't been well recently so it isn't a massive surprise

so why leave one show that's on 3 nights a week, to potentially move to another show that's on 3 nights a week?

 

[Rod Stroker]

I didn't mind him, but clearly he never did any prep before any show, some of the questions he'd ask guests were just cringe.

 

[HTPunter]

He hasn't been well recently so it isn't a massive surprise

I’d say he hasn’t been well for a good 30 years

 

[HTPunter]

I didn't mind him, but clearly he never did any prep before any show, some of the questions he'd ask guests were just cringe.

I don’t see how anyone can enjoy him in the sense that there was no insight, no professionalism. I dislike the jock types like Brayshaw or former players too - but really, apart from funny/memes, how can you look at him asking Toby Greene how to pronounce his new baby’s name and think “this is a man deserving of footys chief print job & one of the biggest midweek shows?”

 

[HTPunter]

Sheahan isn’t necessarily the best person ever but he’s streaks ahead of Robbo. Should be ashamed that Robbo is who followed up his years of professional hard work.

 

[Cleavy]

watch Fox sign up Caro until she's allowed to start at ch7.

 

[Cleavy]

I didn't mind him, but clearly he never did any prep before any show, some of the questions he'd ask guests were just cringe.

he prepped his glass

 

[Wojcinski]