james hird and Dermott Brereton will host Footy Central when the new AFL show debuts on Wednesday, 29 April. The launch gives both men another media platform, with the program set to air on Disney+ and focus on the biggest AFL stories.
Hird and Brereton on Disney+
Footy Central will preview the upcoming weekend of football and offer fans a fresh take on the league’s biggest talking points. Hird already holds a spot on Footy Classified and appears on Sunday's Footy Furnace, so the new show adds to an existing presence rather than starting from zero.
Brereton comes in with a long playing record and a recent return to Channel Nine. He played 189 games for Hawthorn, kicked 427 goals and won five flags, while also collecting a best and fairest in 1985 and two nods in the VFL Team of the Year.
Brereton’s route back to Nine
His path back to the network matters because he rejoined Channel Nine ahead of the 2026 season after a 14-year stint with Fox Footy. In March, he said, "The opportunity for the analytical side of football had dried up at Fox but with Channel 9 now it gives me that opportunity once again and that's super super pleasing to me," and added, "I have a way of viewing the game a certain way and it's always been my strength in football. I'm happy wherever they want me."
Hird brings a different resume. He played 253 games for Essendon, won two flags, a Brownlow Medal, five All-Australian blazers, five best and fairest awards and a Norm Smith Medal, then captained the club for eight seasons and coached it for four seasons. That coaching period was marred by the drug scandal, and the new show gives him another public football role alongside Brereton.
For viewers, the immediate change is simple: a new footy panel show starts on Disney+ on Wednesday, 29 April, with two of the sport’s most recognisable voices leading it. The program enters a crowded media space, but the pair arrive with long records, current panel work and enough football history to make the launch more than just another name on a schedule.
Footy Central launch date
The debut on Wednesday, 29 April is the part fans can circle now. Footy Central will not just add another title; it puts Hird and Brereton back together in a format built around AFL discussion, with the show aimed at the weekend ahead and the biggest stories around the competition.
