Eddie McGuire has unleashed a cheeky potshot at West Australian Premier Mark McGowan after he was banned from attending the AFL grand final.
The media personality and former Collingwood president will miss AFL’s big dance for the first time in 45 years after his application to travel from Melbourne to commentate the match was denied.
The September 25 grand final was moved from the MCG to Perth’s Optus Oval earlier this week due to the growing coronavirus outbreak in Victoria.
McGuire has made his feelings known about the rejection in recent days and unleashed another crack on Thursday night’s episode of Millionaire Hot Seat where he slammed Western Australia’s hard border.
Millionaire Hot Seat host Eddie McGuire (pictured with wife Crala) used his program to take another dig at Western Australia’s hard border
Contestants on the Channel Nine game show were asked ‘Australia’s ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’ is now known as the ‘State Barrier Fence’ of where?’
The correct answer is Western Australia, where the State Barrier Fence plays an important role in preventing animal pests such as wild dogs from moving into the State’s agricultural areas from pastoral areas in the east.
‘I think that West Australians would like to leave it up forever the way they’ve been going,’ McGuire quipped.
The brutal swipe was picked up by Perth-based satirical social media page The Bell Tower Times.
‘Call it the Eddie Proof Fence now mate,’ the clip was captioned.
Fans of the page were quick to join in on the joke.
‘Eddie still salty,’ one commented.
Another added: ‘Eddie Everywhere….. Well, nearly everywhere. Everywhere except here!’
Contestants were asked ‘Australia’s ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’ is now known as the ‘State Barrier Fence’ of where?’ before McGuire unleashed a brutal swipe as the answer was revealed
McGuire had a series of specials lined up to maximise coverage of the state for the grand final before his exemption was blocked.
‘It was quite incredible to be perfectly honest,’ Mr McGuire, 56, told the Today show on Thursday.
‘I’m a bit disappointed because it doesn’t make any sense.’
‘No one was trying to push to the front of the queue, and it makes no sense but what does make sense these days when a politician gets in front of a microphone?’
McGuire was bewildered his application was denied when even those of cadet journalists from the AFL website were granted, and the AFL had asked him to help promote the game in Perth.
The former Collingwood president said he had been singled out for political reasons.
Fuming Eddie McGuire (pictured) has slammed his shock AFL grand final ban as nonsensical – and warned Western Australia will suffer as a result.
‘It was a bit of big-noting against me,’ McGuire said on Nine’s Footy Classified.
‘It’s unfair to be perfectly honest, I think I do qualify to be over there for all the things I would have brought.
‘Mark (McGowan) is a politician and he’s doing his bit.
‘They’re saying we can’t let people from Western Australia come back so we’ll show that we’re going to be tough and we’ll give Eddie McGuire one because I’m an easy hit, you can have a crack and me and no-one has a go back.
‘If they want to do that, that’s fine, and thank God they’ve only got it for one year.’
The AFL Grand Final will be moved to Perth for next month’s highly anticipated event as Melbourne struggles to contain its latest Covid-19 outbreak (pictured are Richmond fans celebrating at last year’s AFL Grand Final)
Mr McGowan’s border policies, which included a hard border with the rest of Australia for eight months last year, are extremely popular in WA.
A poll at the height of the border ban last year found more than 90 per cent of Western Australians gave him and his border plan a positive approval rating.
Such is his popularity, he has gained the bizarre nickname ‘State Daddy’, after which a special kabab on sale at the stadium will be named, featuring ‘meat chicken, egg, salad, chili sauce and cheese’ with a pint of beer.
‘I’ll be whipping a few up,’ Mr McGowan joked.
WA had three lockdowns, including the six-week national shutdown in March to May 2020. The other two were of less than a week and prompted by one case each.