Behind the scenes of the 2023 AFL grand final - Ron Rogers and Chris Egan on the magic of Indigenous footballers

Streets of Your Town

The Wandering Journo has just returned from one of the most exciting secondments of my now three-decade journalism career - from the Cathedral of Sport the great MCG, where I was part of the National Indigenous Radio Service team covering the 2023 AFL grand final.

And I have brought back a glimpse of the action for Streets of Your Town from behind the scenes of the National Indigenous Service broadcast box, where the incredible NIRS commentators call the grand final live. From this tiny booth they broadcast the finals action to some of the most remote communities in outback Australia.

Indigenous players are the backbone of this great Australian game, and I speak to two NIRS broadcasting legends - Ron Rogers, and former Collingwood player Chris Egan.

They both give their insights into the magic that Aboriginal players bring to Australian Rules Football, and the privilege they feel broadcasting ball-by-ball to hopefully plant the seeds of dreams for more Indigenous players from remote communities to become part of the great game.

NIRS AFL commentator legend Ron Rogers has 25 years calling grand finals under his belt, and as he reveals not only does he do the commentary, he sets up the microphones and equipment before each game to broadcast on the AFL website, and to NIRS affiliated radio stations around the country.

While Chris Egan brings his experience as a former footballer for Collingwood to the broadcast team, giving insights into how players prepare and cope with the the big pressure games.

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