Before the Game
Before the Game Logo used from 2013
Also known as	After the Game BTG
Genre	Comedy /Sport
Written by	Paul Calleja Adam Rozenbachs
Directed by	Peter Ots
Presented by	Andrew Maher
Starring	Mick Molloy Dave Hughes Anthony Lehmann Neroli Meadows
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	303
Production
Production locations	South Yarra,Victoria
Running time	30 or 60 minutes
Production company	Roving Enterprises
Original release
Network	Network Ten
Release	1 March 2003 (2003-03-01) – 27 September 2013 (2013-09-27)

Before the Game was anAustralian rules football comedypanel television show which aired onNetwork Ten on 1 March 2003 until 27 September 2013. The show was hosted byAndrew Maher with regular panelistsMick Molloy,Dave Hughes,Anthony Lehmann and Neroli Meadows. The format of the show was light-hearted discussion and analysis of Australian Football League(AFL) news and views and included appearances by current players.

Before the Game first aired on 1 March 2003 asAfter the Game. Originally, it was a half-hour broadcast following the Saturday night AFL match, aired at either10.30 pm or11.00 pm (depending on whether the televised match waslive ordelayed). During the existence ofAfter the Game, the show was rated M and contained occasionalprofanity. The show was a cult hit. One notable act was when theAfter the Game team shavedFraser Gehrig'smullet off at the end of the2003 Season.

Following the show's success in its late time slot, it was moved to a6.30 pm time slot on 27 March 2004. When it moved to the primetime slot, to make it more 'family-friendly', it was given a PG rating.

The show originally aired in between the Saturday afternoon and Saturday night telecasts on Ten. Following the end of the2011 season, the fate ofBefore the Game was unknown, as Ten had lost its AFL broadcast rights to theSeven Network. However, in 2012, Ten confirmed the show would return, with the entire panel from the previous year in its regular 6:30pm time slot, and that the format may be altered slightly. This was similar to theNine Network's decision to keepThe Footy Show after it lost AFL broadcast rights at the end of the2006 season. On 21 June 2012,Before the Game moved from Saturdays at 6.30pm to Thursdays at 8.30pm in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, and it also aired onOne at 10.30pm in New South Wales and Queensland.

In 2013,Before the Game returned to its original time slot of 6:30pm on Saturday. The game broke new ground on 24 August 2013, when it screened on One, the Ten Network's digital channel. The Ten Network was contractually bound to telecast theBledisloe Cup rugby union test series live on its main channel, hence the change.^[1]Fox Sports presenter Neroli Meadows joined the panel in 2013,^[2] replacingSam Lane, who left to join theSeven Network for its Saturday night AFL coverage.^[3]

The show was axed on 13 December 2013.^[4]

• Andrew Maher (2005–2013)

• Mick Molloy (2007-2013)^[5]
• Dave Hughes (2003-2013)
• Anthony Lehmann (2004-2013)
• Neroli Meadows (2013)

Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald, andPeter Helliar, playingBryan Strauchan/‘Strauchanie’, make regular cameo appearances.

• Anthony Hudson (2003–2004)
• Bryan Strauchan
• Peter Helliar (2003–2006)
• Sam Lane (2003–2012)
• Damian Callinan (2003)

The "Tool of the Week" is an award given byDave Hughes and sponsored byHome Hardware. The award was given to a particularly embarrassing performance by somebody related to theAFL, either on or off the field. The "best" or most memorable of these tools is given the "Tool of the Year".

Each week, panel members took turns at reading out humorous, fictional football-related newspaper headlines. This usually involvedThe Australian,The Age andHerald Sun newspapers.

In 2013, a new segment called 'Holden round the Block' started. Lehmo and either Mick Molloy or Dave Hughes pick up a player and chatted while they cruised around a local neighbourhood.

This segment began in 2013 and involved Dave Hughes attending a selected team's training and 'stirring them up' with humorous asides about their club and various players. Hughes would reprise this role onThe Footy Show.

This segment, started in 2013, involved highlighting in a humorous way players who could not possibly be involved with alleged drug problems, allegedly involving certain AFL clubs.

In 2013, fictional formerCollingwood hopeful and football tragic,Bryan "Strauchanie" Strauchan (played byPeter Helliar), returned for an occasional segment called 'In Da House with Strauchanie'.

In this segment, Lehmo talks about a particular football skill, then shows footage of a player embarrassingly stuffing it up.

Ryan Fitzgerald would go to a child's house as a surprise. Fitzy took them to their supported clubs and/or to meet their favourite player(s). Footballers involved have included Bryan Strauchan,Brendan Fevola,Scott West,Jason Akermanis andAdam Selwood.

When the show started, there was a segment called "The Game's Not Over Until the Fat Lady Sings", where an overweight lady would go to a game and sing when she thought that the game was over. This segment was scrapped due to the fat lady being fired for singing after the siren had gone. The part of the fat lady was played by Pauline Smith (née Henderson).

"Diary of a Footballer" was a segment in which a well-known footballer would read out a page of their diary.

Sponsored byAquamax, a company that produces water heating units, a football player had to answer ten questions about the history of their football club. The junior football club of the player with the highest score at the end of the year would receive a hot water system.

The segment was replaced byInside 60 in 2007, a segment that had appeared on the show in much earlier seasons.

This involved Hughes asking questions, most of them being funny, in which many players continually laugh. It lasted 60 seconds, finishing with a siren.

In theBanners segment, each comedic panelist created a banner for a specific football club, often to reflect events scrutinised by the media.

Bryan Strauchan was formerly a regular segment on the show following fictional talentless, egotistical "youngster"Bryan Strauchan (played byPeter Helliar) as he tried to make a career for himself at theCollingwood Football Club. The segments were presented as a mockumentary and featured similar comedy stylings toThe Office and similar shows. He also used the catchphrase "Strauchanie", usually when he was referring to himself.

Bryan Strauchan is also known as Bryan "Superstar" Strauchan and "Strauchanie". On the 2006 Grand Final episode ofBefore the Game, he was involved in aWayne Carey-like incident, and this forced him to leave the Collingwood Football Club and look for a new home in 2007. Strauchanie had expressed an interest in theWestern Bulldogs, but he would not rule out a move to theKangaroos. Strauchanie looked far from making his AFL debut match, but he did not give up the hard work he has shown at Collingwood Football Club. Bryan Strauchan's overwhelming success on this show has led to him releasing a DVD:Strauchanie: Pure BS.

Before the Game was produced byRoving Enterprises, the TV production company owned byRove McManus, an Australian television personality who appeared on his own comedy/interview showRove, formerly known asRove Live. Peter Helliar and Dave Hughes were also regulars on the show. The program was filmed at Channel Ten studios in Melbourne.

• Network 10 original programming
• 10 Sport
• 2000s Australian comedy television series
• Australian rules football television series
• 2003 Australian television series debuts
• 2013 Australian television series endings
• Television shows set in Victoria (state)
• Australian English-language television shows

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from May 2015
• Use Australian English from May 2015
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