Timothy Lane (born 18 September 1951 in

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...

) is a veteran Australian sports broadcaster and journalist who works at the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

and Fairfax. He currently calls

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 ...

( AFL) matches for 3AW radio on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and writes for ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' newspaper. Additionally, beginning in 2018, he is a lead commentator for the

Seven Sport Seven Sport is the brand and production department under which all sporting events on the Australian Seven Network#Sport, Seven Network are broadcast. It broadcasts some of Australia's most prominent sporting events, such as the Australian Foot ...

test cricket coverage. Between 2003 and 2011, he was also an AFL commentator for

Network Ten 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 Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

. Lane is well known for commentating on a variety of sports for decades—particularly

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

—as well as AFL and as a track-and-field commentator for both the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. He famously called Cathy Freeman's win for ABC Radio at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Early career

Born in Launceston, Lane moved with his family to Devonport in 1963 and matriculated from Devonport High School in 1969. Lane then studied at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

in Hobart, where he resided at St. John Fisher College, but, after failing his first year, found work at an Edgell factory before trying sports commentary. Lane began his sports broadcasting career in 1972 and was employed by the ABC in 1973, commentating NTFA

matches.

Established media career

After some time working for the ABC in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

, Lane moved to

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 ...

in 1979, where he has been based since. Lane began calling a wide variety of sports, including tennis,

, athletics and Australian rules football matches in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

and

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 ...

. He was primarily a radio commentator but also became a regular face on ABC TV, and was a key member of the coverage team for the

1987 VFL season The 1987 VFL season was the 91st season of the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL). The season ran from 27 March until 26 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a 1987 VFL finals ...

when the television broadcast rights fell to the ABC. In addition, he spent time as the sports presenter for ABC Television's primetime news bulletin in Melbourne. As a commentator for such a variety of nationally (and sometimes internationally) broadcast sports, particularly for the highly popular AFL and cricket, Lane became one of Australia's best-known commentators and one of ABC's most familiar personalities. With his broad knowledge of sports, precise descriptions and endearing personality, he became regarded as one of Australia's most accomplished sports commentators. In 1999, he was inducted into the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

Media Hall of Fame and is now on the panel to select future inductees. He is also a member of the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame as a legend in the media category. Lane was involved in a well-publicised dispute with 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 ...

on the eve of the

2002 AFL season The 2002 AFL season was the 106th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixt ...

. Having been recruited to Nine's AFL commentary team, Lane quit just days before the season's commencement, claiming Nine had refused to honour a stipulation in his contract that Eddie McGuire would not commentate alongside him in matches involving the

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

. Lane held the view that McGuire's role as Collingwood president put him in a conflict of interest, as his freedom to report matters regarding the club would be compromised by his requirement to keep certain inside knowledge confidential. Lane parted ways from Nine and took up a role on

's AFL coverage in 2003, where he remained until Ten lost the rights at the end of 2011. Lane resigned from his full-time role with the ABC in 2003 but continued as a part-time AFL commentator on ABC radio, usually only on Friday night games, until the end of 2009. In addition to his role as an AFL commentator for Network Ten, he was also a regular sports columnist for ''The Age'', and he usually appeared fortnightly on Jon Faine's ''Conversation Hour'' on ABC Radio across Victoria. At the end of the

2009 AFL season The 2009 AFL season was the 113th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixt ...

, Lane left ABC Radio and joined 3AW in 2010 as a replacement for Rex Hunt (who moved to

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...

and has since retired). Lane leads the Sunday pre-match discussion and calls Saturday and Sunday games. He replaced Dennis Cometti (who moved to

) as a Saturday caller. He is also a commentator for

Macquarie Media Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media Limited) is an Australian media company, owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and headquartered in North Sydney. The company operates radio stations nationally in the capital cities of Sydney, Melbou ...

's cricket coverage. In addition, he called the drawn 2010 AFL Grand Final and Friday Night matches during the 2011 AFL finals series for the station. Lane is a regular columnist for ''

'' newspaper in Victoria. In 2018, Lane joined the

as a ball-by-ball commentator on its cricket coverage.

Personal life

Tim is the father of sports writer and multi-media personality Samantha Lane and is an avid supporter of the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...

. He is a regular swimmer at Prahran Aquatics Centre. Indicates age 56 at that time.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Tim 1951 births Living people Australian rules football commentators Australian television presenters People from Launceston, Tasmania People from Devonport, Tasmania Australian tennis commentators Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees Radio personalities from Melbourne