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

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

games on Friday evenings. In 1982, several early season

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

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, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

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 The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, 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 five main free-to-air television netw ...

has broadcast Friday Night NRL games since 1992. As of 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'' (stylised ''9News'') is the national news service of the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is the hour-long 6:00 pm state bulletin, produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, ...

'' or ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the progra ...

'' 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, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

, 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 are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

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.

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 and recording artist. Her combined album and single sales ...

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 at ...

) 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 2003-06. 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", that was voted into eighth position of the "Hottest 100" poll, compiled by Australian youth rad ...

's song ''The Game'' was used, whilst in 2009 and 2010 Children Collide'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 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

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

Hosts & commentators

Host Chief commentators *

Ray Warren Raymond Warren OAM (born 11 June 1943) is a retired Australian 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 ...

* Mathew Thompson *Peter Psalits Co-commentators * Peter Sterling * 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 spo ...

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

Andrew Johns Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcas ...

Sideline commentators *

Brad Fittler Bradley Scott Fittler (born 5 February 1972), also known by the nickname of "Freddy", is the head coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team, a commentator and a television presenter. Fittler has previously coached the Sydney Roosters in ...

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 profes ...

Former hosts and commentators *

Yvonne Sampson Yvonne Sampson (born 21 July 1980) is an Australian television sports presenter and commentator. Sampson currently works for Fox Sports (Australia), Fox Sports. She has previously worked for Nine's Wide World of Sports and was weekend sports p ...

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 ...

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

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 Foxt ...

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 *Brenton Speed * Warren Smith *Matthew Russell Co-commentators *

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

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 Australian and Greek international, Anasta played in the NRL ...

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 f ...

Michael Ennis Michael Ennis (born 16 March 1984) is an Australian sports commentator for Fox League and former professional rugby league footballer of Irish descent. A New South Wales State of Origin representative , he played for the Canterbury-Bankstown ...

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 N ...

* Steve Roach *

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 and 2000s and is the current interim coach of the Wests Tigers. A New South Wales inter ...

* Corey Parker *

Kevin Walters Kevin David Walters (born 20 October 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the Head Coach of the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a premiership-winning ...

Sideline commentators *

Megan Barnard Megan Barnard is a sports presenter for Fox Sports News Australia. She was previously a sports presenter for Sky News Australia. Barnard studied at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, completing a Bachelor of Mass Communic ...

Lara Pitt Lara Pitt (born 11 November 1981) is an Australian television presenter and sports journalist, mainly known for reporting for Fox Sports on their NRL coverage and Monday Night with Matty Johns. Early life Pitt completed a Bachelor of Commerce ...

*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 national rugby league team, Australia international and Queensland rugby league team, Queens ...

References

External links