AFL football writer and television presenter Mark ‘Robbo’ Robinson has been involved in a serious car accident that left him in hospital.
Word of Robinson’s mysterious crash began to filter through Melbourne’s football community early last week, with the presenter of Fox Footy’s AFL 360 program providing some details on Monday night.
Robinson seemed to slur his speech and appeared confused as he gave co-presenter Gerard Whateley an update on his post-crash health.
Mark Robinson has a cult following in Melbourne where he is an AFL presenter and sportswriter
Mark Robinson (right) tells AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley about his recent ordeal
The 55-year-old had trouble remembering when the crash happened and repeatedly insisted it happened on a Monday night.
“It was Tuesday,” Whateley kindly reminded Robinson.
The veteran footy reporter told Whateley that he suffered a shoulder injury in the crash.
‘I’m still in pain, Gerard, and a little stiff. If anyone has been in a car accident, yes, it kind of shook me, like I was spinning, my head was wobbling, I couldn’t move for three days,” he said.
Robinson was off screen for the rest of the week as he recovered from the mysterious crash, failing to inform viewers how it actually happened.
In what became awkward, Robinson came across a report of how he had interviewed AFL boss Laura Kane when he returned to work this week.
“I had to interview Laura Carr… Laura Carr. I had to interview Laura Kane and my brother was from Bendigo and drove me in. I walked right in and turned on my tape recorder and I asked her a lot of questions and I walked back to the car and went home,” he said.
Robinson said his left shoulder remained stiff but began to show signs of improvement.
Robbo’s driving was compared to Mr. Magoo’s (pictured)
Mark Robinson (right) still seemed to be suffering from the aftermath of a car accident
In an attempt to laugh off the incident, Whateley showed a video of 1950s cartoon character Mr Magoo driving erratically.
Mr. Magoo was an elderly, wealthy, short-statured retiree who found himself in a series of comedic situations due to his extreme nearsightedness.
“It’s funny, you can laugh now,” Robinson said. “At the time, Gerard, I can tell you it’s no joke.”
Robinson’s absence from the popular AFL program has been hotly debated by his fans.
Members of the AFL footy forum BigFooty.com’s ‘The Cult of Robbo Volume 3’ thread expressed relief when they saw his return to the screens this week.
“We almost lost the big one in a car accident last week. Think,” one fan wrote.
“Tell Fox to get him a driver/Uber,” another posted.
Fox Footy presenter Kath Loughnan puts on a brave face as she co-hosts AFL 360 with Mark Robinson
The Fox Footy host is one of the network’s most respected stars in what was once the male-dominated world of AFL footy calling
Robinson made a different kind of headlines in July when Fox Footy presenter Kath Loughnan squeezed through a temporary hosting gig alongside him.
Loughnan looked uncomfortable as she was forced to listen to the writer talk about his weekly observations.
Viewers were treated to an hour of awkward banter, with Loughnan sometimes rolling her eyes, pursed her lips and laughed awkwardly as her co-host spoke.
The disturbing display was only interrupted by a group conversation with Richmond’s fill-in coach Andrew McQualter and the Giants’ Adam Kingsley.
Viewers responded enthusiastically to BigFooty.com after the show.
Kath presented the Nerdling (Whateley) and was clearly impressed with Robbo’s pheromones. Reminded me of women around Sir Les Patterson,” one viewer posted, referencing the late Barry Humphries’ famously offensive yobbo character.
Referred to on the forum site as ‘TGO’ – code for ‘The Great One’ – Robbo’s ‘followers’ expressed disdain for the pair’s on-screen report.
Her eyes revealed everything. Every time TGO took off or put on his glasses, I think her heart skipped a beat,” one joked.
“TGO should release a fragrance,” another suggested.
“Winnie Blue with a hint of reheated kebab,” was the reply.