Kelli Louise Underwood OAM (born 1977) is an Australian radio and television

sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

and sportscaster specialising in

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

.She was the first woman to call an

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

match on television and radio. Underwood was a host of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's '' Offsiders'' and a regular panellist on the

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

program '' The Back Page''. She also calls AFL and

AFLW AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football competition for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the l ...

football on

Fox Footy Fox Footy (stylised as FOX FOOTY) is an Australian rules football subscription television channel dedicated to screening Australian rules football matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Australia operated out of its Melbou ...

and ABC Grandstand.

Radio career

After studying journalism at the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...

, Underwood's work began with an internship at Adelaide radio station

FIVEaa FIVEAA (pronounced ''Five Double A'') is Adelaide's only commercial talkback radio station. The station has a range of programs including news, sports, current affairs, social issues, football calls, gardening, lifestyle, cars, travel and healt ...

before a two-year period working at 5MU in

Murray Bridge, South Australia Murray Bridge (formerly Mobilong and Edwards Crossing; ) is a city in the Australian state of South Australia, located east-southeast of the state's capital city, Adelaide, and north of the town of Meningie. The city is called ''Pomberuk'' b ...

. She then worked at

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

station K-Rock before moving to 3AW in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

as a sports reporter and AFL match-day reporter. Underwood is part of the ABC Radio Grandstand team, calling AFL games mainly on Friday nights.

Television career

Underwood's move into television began in 2006 when she joined

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

as a sports reporter for ''

Ten News 10 News First (set to rebrand as 10 News on 30 June 2025) is an Australian television newscast, produced by Network 10. The network's flagship news program airs at 5PM on weekday evenings covering local, national and world news, including sp ...

'' and '' Sports Tonight''. She joined Network Ten's

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

coverage in 2009, replacing Christi Malthouse as a boundary rider. Underwood made history by becoming the first woman to call an AFL match on television, joining Tim Lane in commentary of the 2009 NAB Cup game between

and the

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 199 ...

. She called her first AFL premiership season match on 18 July 2009—the Round 16 match between

and

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria, South Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major Australian Football League, AFL stadium, a seco ...

with Anthony Hudson. Underwood commentated for matches for Network Ten throughout 2009–10, both in the commentary box and at ground level through until the end of 2011. Underwood was a host and commentator of ANZ Championship Netball from 2008 until 2016, calling for Network Ten and later Fox Sports. In 2013, Underwood joined the revamped

panel show '' The Back Page'', which she continues to appear alongside host

Tony Squires Tony Squires (born 22 June 1961) is an Australian media personality of radio and television and published author. He is perhaps best known as the presenter of the comic sport news show '' The Fat'', which ran on ABC television from 2000 to 20 ...

. Her work on ''The Back Page'' and her interview program ''Breaking Ground'' earned her two

Astra Awards The ASTRA Awards were the annual awards for the Australian subscription television industry. According to the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA), the awards "recognise the wealth of talent that drives the Austr ...

, including the 2015 award for Most Outstanding Female Presenter. In 2017, she called the AFLW on Fox Footy; being the station head caller for the competition, her role expanded in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

when she returned calling AFL men's football on television. In February 2018, Underwood replaced Gerard Whateley as host of '' Offsiders'' after he resigned from the ABC. In November 2024, Underwood announced her resignation from the show with her last show on 1 December. Throughout her career, especially early on, Underwood has been subject to a large amount of criticism from viewers, which has been described as "disproportionate" and "gendered".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Kelli 1977 births Australian rules football commentators Australian women radio presenters Australian television presenters Australian women television presenters Australian women journalists Living people Australian LGBTQ broadcasters Australian LGBTQ journalists Australian netball commentators Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia