Foxtel has confirmed the second season of its hit AFL reality format The Recruit will finally return on Wednesday July 20th at 8:30pm on Fox8.
Season Two of The Recruit will feature Mick Malthouse in the role of senior coach. Mick joins the second season of The Recruit after season one coach, Michael Voss, took on the role of midfield manager at Port Adelaide Football Club in 2015.
Mick Malthouse had an impressive AFL career that included the 1980 Richmond premiership win over Collingwood, but it is his legendary coaching career since he retired from playing that he is renowned for. Mick currently holds the record for the most VFL/AFL games coached, notching up a massive 718 games with four different clubs over 31 years. Over this time, he took all four clubs into a finals series.
Mick Malthouse said:
“I am really looking forward to my new role as Coach on The Recruit. Coaching and developing young men is what I love, and the opportunity to oversee this intensive 10 week program with undiscovered talent who haven’t had the opportunity through traditional pathways into the AFL is a very exciting prospect. These boys are going to find out what it takes to play AFL at an elite level and I am thrilled to be part of their journey.”
It's official, #TheRecruit starts Wednesday July 20, 8.30pm est, only on @FOX8tv!https://t.co/lpgsRJ36xK
— TheRecruitFOX8 (@TheRecruitFOX8) June 8, 2016
Malthouse will be joined by former Hawthorn champion and Fox Footy commentator Ben Dixon as Assistant Coach, Port Adelaide’s world class fitness guru Darren Burgess as High Performance Coach; and accomplished sports administrator Leigh Russell as Mind Coach.
In each episode, the Recruits will be judged by their performance in individual and team challenges held both on and off the footy field. The player deemed the weakest every week by head coach Mick Malthouse will be delisted.
While Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium is the formal home of The Recruit, the various challenges and football games are filmed on location around the country, from Tasmania’s Gordon Dam to the Tiwi Islands, Sydney and Marysville.
The series will culminate in a live finale in which an AFL Draft will be held, with the winner signing a contract with one AFL Club.
Produced by McGuire Media, The Recruit is a 10-part reality television series that follows a group of “Recruits” who live and play together as a team, while at the same time competing against each other for a life-changing prize – a guaranteed place on an AFL list. McGuire Media is also producing an NRL version of the format titled The Rookie which is currently airing on 9GO.
Season one of The Recruit aired in 2014 and was one of the breakout hits for Foxtel’s flagship, general entertainment channel, FOX8. The premiere was one of the highest program launches in subscription television history, and finished as the channel’s most watched series that year.
The Recruits competing in Season Two are: Darren Allen (21, VIC); Fabian Brancatisano (22, VIC); Rhett Coots (21, VIC); Daniel Cox (21, WA); Jack Dimery (23, NSW); Matt Eagles (26, SA); Brady Egan (21, VIC); Dillan Jones (23, QLD); Jayden Kelly (27, NSW); Jeconiah “Jay Jay” Peni (20, PNG); Jackson Sketcher (24, VIC); Shylo Smith (25, VIC); Jordan Treloar (23, VIC); Jason Williams (22, VIC) and Justin Van Unen (25, VIC).
THE RECRUIT will air on FOX8 from Wednesday July 20 at 8.30pm, with encore screenings on FOX FOOTY on Sundays at 9.00pm and Wednesdays at 6.00pm.
