Mark Robinson is leaving as host of Fox Footy’s AFL360 but his absence from the final show has copped backlash from viewers around the country.
Gerard Whateley was left to confirm the news that one of football’s most iconic broadcast partnerships has officially come to an end – but Robbo was nowhere to be seen as Jack Riewoldt stepped into his chair.
“Tonight, the big thank you is to Robbo. We’ve shared 15 years at the desk together,” Whateley said.
“We were brought together with almost nothing in common, other than footy. It’s a passion that bound us to each other and also bound us to you.
“In television terms, it’s an astonishingly long time to spend together and I’ll always have the sense of gratitude for the almost 1500 shows that we’ve done in partnership together. Robbo, it’s been grand.”
There were plenty of comments on social media from people happy to see the chief football writer from the Herald Sun leave the program.
There were just as many viewers that were angered by the farewell from Whateley who seemed to show little emotion towards his long-time partner at the desk as he read a pre-prepared statement of less than 30 seconds while wrapping up and throwing to the next show.
Some even hinting there is more to the story that will eventually come out.
There has been no statement from the network or comment from Robinson himself, so it’s not quite clear why chose not to make one final appearance on the show.
The news of Robinson’s exit leaked out last week, but there were also people who were sad to see him go, thanking him for the contribution he made to the success of the show.
It’s believed that Fox Footy has not made a decision on potential replacement options – but Whateley’s comment at the end of the show seemed to state that he himself would definitely be back in 2025.