Seven unveils star-studded 2026 AFL commentary team – The game’s most respected voices unite for a massive year of AFL on Seven and 7plus Sport.
Football’s #1 commentary team is primed to bring fans an unrivalled 2026 AFL season live and free on Seven and streamed on 7plus Sport. With a stellar team of experts, headlined by the most experienced voices in the game, there’s no other place footy fans should turn for the 2026 AFL Premiership Season than Seven and 7plus Sport.
With a focus on integrating current-day players into match coverage, Seven welcomes back 425-game player and six-time All Australian, Scott Pendlebury, to the expert chair for select rounds throughout the season.
In the season he looks to break the all-time games played record in AFL/VFL history, the man affectionately known as “Pendles” will provide unrivalled expertise alongside Seven’s experienced team as an expert commentator throughout the year.
Following guest appearances in 2025, Pendlebury’s first shift for 2026 will be the Round One Melbourne v St Kilda match on Sunday, 15 March from 2.30pm AEDT on Seven and 7plus Sport.
In an exciting announcement for footy fans, Seven’s 2026 commentary team will also feature Hawthorn legend and House of Wellness star, Shane Crawford.
A Brownlow Medallist and 2008 premiership player, Crawford brings elite credentials and an infectious love for the game to the line-up. His perspective as one of the competition’s great competitors will add further depth to Seven’s AFL coverage across multiple matches throughout the season.
In 2026, Seven also welcomes back football’s most star-studded line-up, including the game’s best group of callers: Brian Taylor, James Brayshaw, Hamish McLachlan and Alister Nicholson.
Joining these callers is new recruit and Triple M star Jack Heverin, who will be part of Seven’s coverage on select Sunday games throughout the 2026 season. Seven will also broadcast more Sunday night games than ever before this season, kicking off with St Kilda vs Collingwood in Opening Round on Sunday, 8 March.
Expert commentators Kane Cornes, Luke Hodge, Abbey Holmes, Nick Riewoldt, Matthew Richardson, Daisy Pearce, Dale Thomas and Joel Selwood return, while Kate McCarthy, Erin Phillips, Chad Wingard, Cameron Ling, Jobe Watson, Campbell Brown and Jude Bolton will also feature regularly across the season.
7NEWS Melbourne Chief Sport Presenter, Rebecca Maddern, also returns to host Seven’s match coverage on Thursday Night Footy all season long.
To bring viewers the biggest breaking news as it happens during match coverage, 7NEWS Chief Football Reporter Mitch Cleary will be on deck alongside football’s #1 commentary team every Thursday night, while fellow 7NEWS Melbourne Sport Reporter, Xander McGuire, returns to the Friday Night Footy team.
7NEWS Melbourne sport reporters Theo Doropoulos and Kate Massey will also be part of the action, while 7NEWS Perth Sport Presenter, Ryan Daniels, will keep viewers informed from matches in Western Australia.
Following a successful 2025, Seven’s slate of magazine programming returns after a major revamp in 2025, including The Agenda Setters – which will extend to a third night every Wednesday – Unfiltered with Hamish McLachlan, Extra Time, Sunday Footy Feast and long-standing favourite The Front Bar, with the variety of programming set to keep fans entertained throughout the week, live and free on Seven and 7plus Sport.
The Agenda Setters will continue to be spearheaded by Australia’s most respected football journalist, Caroline Wilson, alongside a line-up of the game’s most trusted voices in Craig Hutchison, Kane Cornes, Luke Hodge, Dale Thomas, Nick Riewoldt and 7NEWS Chief Football Reporter Mitch Cleary.
For the new Wednesday night edition, Craig Hutchison starts the year in the host chair alongside Nick Riewoldt and Mitch Cleary, plus a rotating third panelist – with Collingwood Captain Darcy Moore set to appear regularly on the Wednesday show throughout the season, including the first Wednesday night episode on Wednesday, 11 March.
Seven’s 2026 AFL season also includes a host of documentary style programs, with the network today announcing the production of Centimetre Perfect, a documentary about the amazing career of iconic caller Dennis Cometti.
The documentary will feature highlights across his nearly 50 years of calling, led by great mate and fellow caller Bruce McAvaney 10 years on from Dennis’ retirement in 2016.
Also airing on Seven throughout 2026 are club focused docuseries following the launch of Full Sweat last year, which gave fans a unique insight into Hawthorn’s pre-season.
This year will see incredible access granted into big Victorian clubs Collingwood and St Kilda, as well as the recently released docuseries following the 2025 AFL season inside the GWS Giants. The Collingwood and St Kilda docuseries will air on Seven, 7mate and 7plus Sport in the week of AFL Opening Round, while all episodes of the GWS Giants docuseries are available to stream now on 7plus Sport.
Seven Network Head of AFL and Innovation, Gary O’Keeffe, said that after a major revamp of its AFL programming in 2025, Seven was excited to continue the strong momentum into 2026.
“Last year saw us introduce a new slate of shows including The Agenda Setters, Unfiltered and Sunday Footy Feast, while also giving fans the ability to stream every round of the footy live and free on 7plus Sport. This year is about continuing our strong momentum while always finding new ways to bring fans the absolute best football coverage all year round,”
– he said.
“We’re thrilled to welcome back our all-star team again in 2026, while also adding a fresh new face in Jack Heverin who will call many Sunday matches on Seven and 7plus Sport. Jack is an absolute star of his craft and will complement our already expert team in 2026.
“The 2026 season will be bigger than ever with the introduction of the Wildcard Round and AFL Origin. We’re excited to show fans what we have in store both through match day broadcasts and football shows throughout the season and continue to bring fans the very best football coverage all season long,”
– Mr O’Keeffe said.
At Seven’s official 2026 AFL Launch, Seven AFL expert commentator and media pundit, Kane Cornes named his Seven biggest calls ahead of the Seven AFL season.
“It’s set to be a massive 2026 AFL season and I’m excited to be back at Seven to bring fans the very best football coverage all year round alongside the extremely talented group of experts and callers in the team both on match coverage and every week on The Agenda Setters,”
– he said.
“Sam Darcy to kick 12 in a match, a twilight Grand Final announcement and the stand rule to be scrapped are a few of my biggest calls heading into the AFL season. I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things and deliver expert analysis for the network as we kick off season 2026.”
Following its launch in 2025, Australians can once again stream every round of the footy live and free on 7plus Sport, offering unprecedented access to game day action and new programs all season long.
Seven’s AFL match coverage in 2026 includes matches on Thursday nights, Friday nights, State Footy Saturdays, Sunday afternoons and more Sunday night games than ever before.
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Seven will also show marquee games and every match in the AFL Finals Series including – exclusive to Seven and 7plus Sport – the Brownlow Medal and the 2026 AFL Grand Final. Plus, fans in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia can watch every game involving teams from their home states on Seven and 7plus.
Seven will broadcast the introduction of the first ever Wildcard Round as part of the AFL Finals Series. Played across the traditional pre-finals bye weekend, it will feature twoelimination matches where seventh will play 10th and eighth will play ninth.
State league football will return in 2026, with SANFL and WAFL matches live on Saturdays throughout the season on Seven and 7plus Sport.
Seven’s AFL coverage in 2026 will feature:
The Agenda Setters – 7.30pm (local) Monday nights on 7mate and 7plus Sport
Returns Monday, 9 March
Host: Craig Hutchison
Panelists: Kane Cornes, Caroline Wilson and Nick Riewoldt
The Agenda Setters – 7.30pm (local) Tuesday nights on 7mate and 7plus Sport
Returns Tuesday, 10 March
Host: Kane Cornes
Panelists: Caroline Wilson, Dale Thomas and Luke Hodge
The Agenda Setters – 7.30pm (local) Wednesday nights on 7mate and 7plus Sport
Returns Wednesday, 11 March
Host: Craig Hutchison
Panelists: Nick Riewoldt and Mitch Cleary alongside a rotating guest appearance
The Front Bar – 8.30pm (local) Wednesday nights on Seven and 7plus Sport Returns Wednesday, 4 March
Hosts: Mick Molloy, Sam Pang and Andy Maher
Unfiltered – 9.30pm (local) Wednesday nights on Seven and 7plus Sport
Returns Wednesday, 11 March
Host: Hamish McLachlan
Every Wednesday night after The Front Bar, Australia’s best sports interviewer Hamish McLachlan will sit down with key football stars and personalities to unmask their stories, giving viewers raw and unique insight behind the person
Thursday Night Footy – 7.00pm AEDT live on Seven and 7plus Sport Hosts: Rebecca Maddern and Hamish McLachlan Callers: Brian Taylor and Hamish McLachlan
Experts: Kane Cornes, Nick Riewoldt and Luke Hodge
7NEWS: Mitch Cleary
Roaming Brian: Watch as Seven’s Brian Taylor hits the changerooms with the toughest questions after each side’s Thursday Night Footy win. Viewers can also tune into old Roaming Brian segments on 7plus Sport
Friday Night Footy – 7.00pm AEDT live on Seven and 7plus Sport Host: Abbey Holmes and James Brayshaw Callers: James Brayshaw and Alister Nicholson
Experts: Matthew Richardson, Dale Thomas, with special guest appearances from key current players
7NEWS: Xander McGuire.
State Leagues: The match of the week from the SANFL and WAFL are available every Saturday of the season on Seven in the competition’s home state and streamed nationally on 7plus Sport
Sunday Footy Feast – 12.00pm AEDT live on Seven and 7plus Sport
Host: Jason Richardson
Panellists: Campbell Brown and Kate McCarthy
Sunday Afternoon Footy – 2.30pm AEDT live on Seven and 7plus Sport Hosts: Abbey Holmes and Alister Nicholson
Callers: A rotation between Seven’s group of callers
Experts: Joel Selwood alongside a rotation of Seven’s expert commentators
Sunday Night Footy and marquee matches:
Rotating group of Seven’s AFL talent lineup.
Club docuseries: Three docuseries showcasing exclusive pre-season action at the St Kilda Football Club plus a three-part series going behind the scenes of Collingwood’s 2025 campaign. Both to air the week of AFL Opening Round. GWS Giants docuseries aired on Saturday, February 14.
Centimetre Perfect: Celebrating the career of Dennis Cometti, coming soon to Seven and 7plus Sport
7AFL Hub on 7plus Sport
On top of live and on-demand streaming of Seven’s AFL matches, the 7plus AFL Hub will also showcase further live and on demand footy content, including:
- Highlights: Catch all major moments missed in a previous game with highlights on 7plus Sport. Every match, every round
- Roaming Brian: Watch as Seven’s Brian Taylor hits the changerooms with the toughest questions after each side’s Thursday Night Footy win. Viewers can also tune into old Roaming Brian segments on-demand on 7plus
- The Front Bar: Viewers can tune in live and on-demand on 7plus when Mick Molloy, Sam Pang and Andy Maher share a laugh each week of the 2026 season
- The Agenda Setters: Viewers can stream Seven’s new AFL panel show live and on-demand on 7plus Sport
- Unfiltered: Stream live and on-demand as Hamish McLachlan sits down with the AFL industry’s most fascinating personalities, every Wednesday night on 7plus Sport
- Sunday Footy Feast: Jason Richardson, Campbell Brown and Kate McCarthy will play host to a rotating group of the game’s biggest names on the Sunday Footy Feast, streamed live and on-demand on 7plus Sport
- 7AFL Channel: The best content from our coverage each week is served in a 24/7 FAST Channel
- State Leagues: The best matches from the SANFL and WAFL are available nationally every week on 7plus Sport
- Retro Row: Footy fans can head to Retro Row on 7plus Sport to re-live all the golden historic AFL moments from yesteryear
- AFL Kids: Returning in 2026 for select matches, Seven knows how much kids love their footy, and once again this season families can tune into alternate commentary for kids, by kids on 7plus Sport
2026 AFL Premiership Season – Live and free on Seven and 7plus Sport from Thursday, 5 March 2026
Get involved:
Media Release – Seven
Link to 7plus HERE
TV Central AFL content HERE
Seven unveils star-studded 2026 AFL commentary team
