''Friday Night Football'' is an Australian sports broadcast of

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

games on Friday evenings. In 1982, several early season

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission.It was registered on 21 ...

games were played on a Friday night, however regular non-weekend football began as ''Monday Night Football'' in 1985, with

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

meeting Manly on 24 June. However moderate attendances and a night game prior to a working day eventually saw the game shifted to Friday from 1988 on. As with Monday Night Football, regular Friday fixtures only commenced in the latter half of the season, due to the midweek competition. By 1990, a Friday night game was usually scheduled in all rounds. The Friday night game is considered to be the most watched game of the week and many NRL clubs have openly stated that they appreciate the publicity given by these matches. The Nine Network choose the game they consider to be the "match of the round" 5 or 6 weeks in advance. This system has both positive and negative consequences, as it increases the likelihood of a good game played between two in-form sides, but does not allow fans or clubs a large amount of time to know on which day they will play in any given round.

Broadcast history

The

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

has broadcast Friday Night NRL games since 1992. From 2007 the Nine Network now broadcasts two NRL games in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory on Friday Night - one live at 7.30, and the second match replayed at 9.30. Whichever of the two matches is televised first can depend on which teams are playing, for example, a match involving a Queensland-based team would in most cases be televised first into Queensland, and delayed in New South Wales; conversely, a match involving a New South Wales based team is usually televised first into New South Wales, and delayed in Queensland. In the past, a ''

Nine News Nine News (stylized as 9News) is a national News agency, news service on the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is an hour-long ''9News'' bulletin at 6:00 pm, with editions produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in TCN, S ...

'' or ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...

'' update separated the two broadcast matches, however in 2008 this was discontinued. In 2010, it was reinstated, before it was again scrapped. From Round 5 of the 2012 NRL season,

GEM A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, an ...

, a sister station of the Nine Network, started showing Friday night NRL matches live into Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, pitting it against the Seven Network's live AFL coverage in those states. This allows Victorian NRL fans to see live games involving the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

if they are scheduled on a Friday night. From Round 4 of the 2014 NRL season, for yet unexplained reasons GEM stopped showing the NRL on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons live into Adelaide, with the coverage for all games on Nine reverting to the after midnight 'graveyard shift'. As the change was unannounced and in Adelaide only (the rest of South Australia still receives the live coverage), this has angered many fans in the city, both South Australians and those who have re-located from NSW or Qld. In 2016 the two-game model was scrapped with one match moved to Thursday Nights as

Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to ...

. In this season Fox Sports networks also began a simulcast of the game. From 2017 a second game returned, replacing

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

. This game is exclusive to Fox League and is played at 6:00pm.

Theme songs

The theme song for NRL coverage has been altered throughout the years. In 2000, Friday Night Football used the song,

Friday on My Mind "Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group the Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, No. ...

(sung by

Vanessa Amorosi Vanessa Joy AmorosiSharon Verghis"Back on track" ''The Sun-Herald'', 18 October 2009, Archived fro''the original''on 6 March 2016. (born 8 August 1981) is an Australian singer-songwriter. She has sold at least two million units in albums or sin ...

and

Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars ...

) to open the coverage. Since 2002, it has been opened by the Wide World of Sport's banner. The popular "That's My Team" theme used by the NRL was the backdrop for the openers from 2003 to 2006. In 2007,

End Of Fashion End of Fashion are an Australian pop rock band from Perth, Western Australia. The group gained mainstream attention with its 2005 single " O Yeah", which was voted into eighth position of the Hottest 100 poll, compiled by Australian youth radio ...

's song ''The Game'' was used, whilst in 2009 and 2010

Children Collide Children Collide is an Australian indie rock band from Melbourne, Australia. The band consisted of bassist Heath Crawley and vocalist/guitarist Johnny Mackay throughout its initial run. Their former drummer, Ryan Caesar, quit the band in Febru ...

's song ''Social Currency'' was used. In 2011, the NRL's main theme song,

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

's ''This is Our House'', was used.

Hosts & commentators

Host *

James Bracey James Robert Bracey (born 3 May 1997) is an English cricketer who plays for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. He is a left-handed batsman, who also plays as a wicket-keeper. He made his first-class debut for Gloucestershire against Sussex ...

Chief commentators * Mathew Thompson *Peter Psaltis *Brenton Speed Co-commentators * Phil Gould *

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...

Paul Vautin Paul Vautin (born 21 July 1959), nicknamed Fatty, is a former Australian rugby commentator and former professional rugby league player, captain and coach. He has provided commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league since joining ...

Andrew Johns Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974), also known by the nickname Joey, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is considered one of the greatest rugby league players of all time. Johns ...

Billy Slater William Slater (born 18 June 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. Slater is the current coach of the Queensland Maroons, whom he coached to victories in the 2022 and 2023 State o ...

Cameron Smith Cameron or Cam Smith may refer to: * Cammie Smith (Cameron Wilberforce Smith, born 1933), West Indian cricketer * Cam Smith (artist), British comic book artist * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1983), Australian rugby league player * Cameron S ...

Sideline commentators *

Brad Fittler Bradley Scott Fittler (born 5 February 1972), also known by the nickname of "Freddy", is an Australian rugby league commentator, television presenter, and former player. Fittler captained both New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales ...

Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profe ...

* Danika Mason Former hosts and commentators *

Yvonne Sampson Yvonne Sampson is an Australian television sports presenter and commentator. Sampson currently works for Fox Sports. She has previously worked for Nine's Wide World of Sports and was weekend sports presenter for ''Nine News Sydney''. Early l ...

Cameron Williams Cameron Williams (born 18 February 1963 in Emerald, Queensland ) is an Australian television journalist and presenter, most notably with the Nine Network. Williams has previously been a sport presenter on ''Nine News Sydney'' from Sunday to T ...

Brett Finch Brett John Finch (born 20 August 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. A New South Wales State of Origin representative half back, he played in the National Rugby League ...

Ray Warren Raymond Warren (born 11 June 1943) is an Australian retired sports commentator, known for his coverage of televised professional rugby league matches on the Nine Network. He is known as the "Voice of Rugby League", and called 99 State of Ori ...

* Peter Sterling

Hosts & commentators (Fox League)

Fox League Fox League is an Australian subscription television channel dedicated to screening rugby league (both domestic and international) matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Pty Limited and is available throughout Australia on Fox ...

televises both the 6:00pm and the 8:05pm games. Host *

Chief commentators *

Andrew Voss Andrew Voss (born 7 September 1966) is an Australian rugby league commentator and radio and television personality who works for Fox League. Voss previously worked for the SKY Network Television as a commentator, and at the Nine Network, inclu ...

*Dan Ginnane * Warren Smith *Matthew Russell Co-commentators *

Greg Alexander Gregory Peter Stephen Alexander (born 4 March 1965), also known by the nickname "Brandy", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, who has since become a radio, television commentator and ...

Braith Anasta Braith Anastasakis (born 14 January 1982), better known as Braith Anasta, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia national rugby league team, Australian and Greece ...

Cooper Cronk Cooper Patrick Cronk (born 5 December 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An n international and Queensland rugby league team, Queensland State of Origin series, State of Origin ...

Michael Ennis Michael Ennis (born 16 March 1984) is an Australian sports commentator for Fox League and former professional rugby league footballer. A New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales State of Origin series, State of Origin representative ...

* James Graham * Steve Roach * Corey Parker Sideline commentators *

Lara Pitt Lara Pitt is an Australian television presenter and sports journalist, mainly known for reporting for Fox Sports (Australia), Fox Sports on their NRL coverage and Monday Night with Matty Johns. Early life Pitt completed a Bachelor of Commerce M ...

*Matthew Russell *

Brent Tate Brent Tate (born 3 March 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or er in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played his club football i ...

Former * Brenton Speed (chief) * Andy Raymond (chief/sideline) *

Danny Buderus Danny Buderus (born 6 February 1978) is an Australian rugby league commentator, coach and former professional footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative ...

Gary Belcher Gary Belcher (born 28 May 1962) is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former player. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership ...

Mark Gasnier Mark Gasnier (born 19 July 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A rugby league New South Wales State of Origin and international representative , he played eleven seasons in the ...

Kevin Walters Kevin David Walters (born 20 October 1967) is an Australian former professional rugby league player and coach, as well as a pundit (2017–2018, 2025) for Fox League. As a first-grade player for the Canberra Raiders and the Brisbane Broncos c ...

* Megan Barnard (sideline) *

Brett Kimmorley Brett "Noddy" Kimmorley (born 15 September 1976) is an Australian rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s, & early 2010’s. A New South Wales interstate and Australian international re ...

(sideline)

References

External links