Gun Channel 7 sports reporter Xander McGuire has won over the internet after taking a swipe at the AFL for attempting to silence players.
League officials were unimpressed with North Melbourne veteran Jy Simpkin when he took to social media to mock the match review process in the aftermath of Paul Curtis’s failed bid to overturn a three-match suspension at the tribunal.
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The tribunal dismissed North Melbourne’s arguments around Curtis and upheld the suspension on Tuesday night, but Simpkin later made a series of since-deleted Instagram posts to vent his frustration with the decision.
The former Kangaroos skipper posted a video of Hawthorn forward Mabior Chol’s tackle on Tom Stewart in last year’s preliminary final as a comparison to the Curtis-Hamish Davis incident.
Chol was initially banned for three matches but had his suspension overturned at the tribunal.
“The AFL needs to get it together, the constant rule changes and the MRO is laughable,” Simpkin wrote before taking it down.
“Players don’t know what they can and can’t do any more. Just hope for the best each week 🤣🤣&#x1f923.”
McGuire revealed on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters on Wednesday night that the AFL had considered a financial sanction for Simpkin.
But he defended Simpkin’s right to speak out, arguing players should be able to engage in critical discussion about contentious issues in the competition.
“My view on this is that I think if your words aren’t derogatory, if they’re not offensive and if they’re not personal and aimed at a specific person within AFL House, then I think the players should have the scope to engage in debate around critical topics in the AFL,” McGuire said on The Agenda Setters.
“I think it enhances the connection between clubs and players and the fans. It enhances the understanding of issues and the way that players engage with them.”
Asked if the AFL were being too precious, McGuire said the AFL at times treated social media and player commentary “like it’s state-controlled media”.
“Although Jy Simpkin has had a go at the MRO there, which I think is actually unfair because the MRO is beholden to a rubric, I think at large Jy Simpkin shouldn’t be given a formal warning for just voicing his opinion on the system.,” he said.
North Melbourne’s footy boss Todd Viney reportedly told Simpkin to remove his Instagram post.
While McGuire conceded that what happens within a football club is its own concern, he argued that preventing players from engaging in debate about contentious issues in the game represents “a slippery slope to go down”.
“My understanding is that the AFL thought that he did the wrong thing here (and considered fining him) and I just think that players should be able to engage in critical discussion and debate around issues in the competition without being chastised,” he said.
AFL great Nick Riewoldt said Simpkin airing his frustrations on social media was probably not the best way to go about it.
However, McGuire reminded Riewoldt that it was 2026.
“These are public platforms, and this is the way that people voice their concerns. That’s the beauty of social media,” McGuire said.
It is certainly hard for sports reporters to earn praise on social media, with combustible fans particularly brutal on most commentators and reporters.
But McGuire, the son of former Collingwood president and veteran presenter Eddie McGuire, has moved into rare air, universally popular and fans loving his latest take on the AFL.
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“Xander is already running rings around most of these footy journos. He’s like an anti nepo-baby,” one fan said.
And another: “Good on you, Xander McGuire! Great to see someone stand up and say something. You’re a legend for it!”
And another: “Xander making a little too much sense for this day and age.”
And another: “I really thought when Xander came onto the scene he was gonna be this terrible nepo baby journo. He’s made me eat my words, guy’s actually elite.”
And another added: “BANG, X absolutely spot on.”
McGuire was also asked if the tone of AFL footy boss Greg Swann’s conversation with Simpkin was different to Swann’s recent conversation with Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick (who was spoken to after his post-match rant about umpires on the weekend).
“I can’t say. I don’t know exactly what was said between Greg Swann and Jy Simpkin and what was said between Greg Swann and Damien Hardwick,” McGuire said.
“I just think that there’s a vast difference between Damien Hardwick maybe questioning the officiating or a specific umpiring of a game and Jy Simpkin raising a concern with what is a structure within the AFL.”
Fans also respected McGuire’s honesty in that moment.
“Not sure if I agree fully with Xander, but he’s such a polished performer already. Also love he didn’t speculate when he didn’t know the answer, stuck to facts, and spoke respectfully. He’s a gun,” one fan said on X.
“Thank god someone in the media is standing up to the AFL,” another fan said.
While another even suggested the son had now moved ahead of the father.
“Xander better than Eddie,” one fan said.
And another: “Common sense. Shouldn’t be surprised it’s coming from a McGuire.”
