1 week ago
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EXCLUSIVE
Channel Seven is poised to announce it has pulled off a major coup after enticing Eddie McGuire's son to defect from Nine as it continues to headhunt its rival's brightest stars.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal Xander McGuire, 21 - the oldest son of Eddie and financial adviser wife Carla - will take on an expanded role across both Seven's news and sports divisions in a bid to further destabilise Nine.
Xander, who has already agreed to terms with Seven, established himself as one of Nine's most promising talents after joining the network in 2022, with sport presenter Tony Jones describing him as 'the best young reporter I've seen in almost 40 years'.
It is understood Seven had planned to unveil their latest star signing in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper as early as Wednesday in a move that will send shockwaves through the football-mad city, where the McGuire clan are considered media and footy royalty.
It comes just days after Seven secured Eddie McGuire's services in producing two new Aussie Rules talk shows for the 2025 season in a deal that will also pit him against his long-term home at Nine.
It is understood one of the shows, to be made by McGuire's production company JAM TV, will be called Sunday Footy Feast and go head-to-head against Nine's long-standing Sunday Footy Show.
The second show, The Wash, is scheduled to run after Seven's live and exclusive footy coverage on Sunday afternoons.
Seven has already decimated Nine's Footy Classified show by this year headhunting star presenters Kane Cornes, Caroline Wilson and Craig Hutchison - while also coaxing St Kilda legend and former Fox Sports host Nick Riewoldt out of retirement and back to TV.
Seven has landed a major coup after convincing rising star Xander McGuire to defect from archrival Nine while also securing the services of his famous father Eddie McGuire
Xander, 21, was described by Nine sport presenter Tony Jones as 'the best young reporter I've seen in almost 40 years'
Xander and his brother Joe have grown up in the spotlight alongside their famous father, Eddie, and mother, Carla
The poaching of Xander will cause even more headaches for Nine as it continues to deal with the fallout from its disastorous external investigation into the network's 'toxic' workplace culture while pursuing further aggressive cost cutting.
Xander has been something of a celebrity in Melbourne since he was old enough to attend Collingwood football matches with his famous father more than two decades ago as well as red carpet events with mother Carla and brother Joe.
He has also had plenty of experience in front of the camera, having landed his first television gig on Ten's soap staple Neighbours in 2015 when he was just 12.
The young actor went on to become a series regular as troubled teen Charlie Hoyland, the son of Carla Bonner's long-running character, Steph Scully, before deciding to follow in his father's footsteps and turn his attention to sports reporting.
The award-winning prodigy took a six-month sabbatical from his sports reporting duties in May so he could complete the politics component of his Melbourne University arts degree at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
Although he indicated he was looking forward to rejoining Nine after completing his study trip aboard, Daily Mail Australia last month revealed he had already been in talks with Seven about jumping ship.
Xander has been a regular on Australian television since landing a role as Charlie Hoyland on soap staple Neighbours almost a decade when he was just 12 years old
The McGuire boys, Joe and Xander, were regular fixtures at Collingwood football matches as young boys while their father, Eddie, reigned as club president for more than two decades
Joe McGuire is now kicking goals as a punter at Ohio State University in America
His father Eddie began his television career at Ten as a young sports reporter in the 1980s before joining Nine in 1993 and going on to host Who Wants to be a Millionaire and enjoy a brief stint as Nine's chief executive in 2006.
Although he admits he drove his son to the Neighbours screen test, he said he played no part in his casting and that Xander 'did all this on his own and on merit'.
While Eddie and Xander both have a natural knack for talking football, Joe McGuire has enjoyed more success playing it.
The talented athlete this year signed on with one of America's leading college football teams, Ohio State University.
Known as the Buckeyes, the top-tier side has won the national championships eight times and regularly compete in front of more than 100,000 fans at their home stadium.
Joe McGuire, who weighs in at an imposing 96kg and is 188cm stall, was brought on board as back-up for fellow Australian punter Jesse Mirco in July.
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