On the Couch is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n television program focusing on the current issues in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

. From its debut in 2002 through to 2006, it was shown on the now defunct Fox Footy Channel

Fox Footy Channel

The Fox Footy Channel was a channel exclusively dedicated to Australian rules football. It was owned by Foxtel, and operated out of their Melbourne based studios. It was available on Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television, TransTV and Neighbourhood Cable up until transmission was ceased on 1 October 2006...

. Since then it has been broadcast on Fox Sports.
The show airs on Monday night and is hosted by Gerard Healy

Gerard Healy

Gerard Healy is a former Australian rules footballer and commentator.Healy attended St Bede's College in Mentone, where he was the Senior Football Captain.-Melbourne Demons:...

. It also features Mike Sheahan

Mike Sheahan

Michael "Mike" Sheahan is an Australian journalist who specialises in Australian rules football. He is Chief Football Writer and Associate Sports Editor for the Herald Sun, a panelist on the Fox Sports program "On the Couch" and former Media Director for the VFL .Sheahan attended Werribee High...

 and Paul Roos

Paul Roos

Paul Roos may refer to:* Paul Roos , former Australian rules football player and Sydney Swans AFL coach* Paul Roos , Springbok rugby union captain* Paul Roos Gymnasium, a high school in Stellenbosch, South Africa...

. Roos replaced James Hird

James Hird

James Hird is a former professional Australian rules footballer and the current coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League....

 for the 2011 season, who had sat on the couch since retiring at the end of 2007, but left to pursue a coaching career at Essendon

Essendon Football Club

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

. The inaugural co-host from 2002 - 2007 was Robert Walls

Robert Walls

Robert Walls is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who now works primarily as a television commentator and newspaper columnist on the sport. On 22 June 2006 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.- Carlton :...

.

The shows format follows an 'informal chat' style in a set that resembles a lounge room. It focuses more on in depth coverage and discussions of topics as well as each week holding an interview with a player or coach.

The concept and style is similar to the now-defunct Seven Network

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

 program Talking Footy

Talking Footy

Talking Footy was an Australian rules football chat show appearing on the Seven Network.It appeared on TV from 1994 until 2002. The show was hosted by Bruce McAvaney in the 1990s, and included guests Mike Sheahan, Malcolm Blight and Leigh Matthews as regulars. It was screened on Monday nights at...

, which also featured Mike Sheahan

Mike Sheahan

Michael "Mike" Sheahan is an Australian journalist who specialises in Australian rules football. He is Chief Football Writer and Associate Sports Editor for the Herald Sun, a panelist on the Fox Sports program "On the Couch" and former Media Director for the VFL .Sheahan attended Werribee High...

 as chief journalist.

Hosts

• Gerard Healy
  Gerard Healy
  Gerard Healy is a former Australian rules footballer and commentator.Healy attended St Bede's College in Mentone, where he was the Senior Football Captain.-Melbourne Demons:...
  
   (2002 - present)
• Mike Sheahan
  Mike Sheahan
  Michael "Mike" Sheahan is an Australian journalist who specialises in Australian rules football. He is Chief Football Writer and Associate Sports Editor for the Herald Sun, a panelist on the Fox Sports program "On the Couch" and former Media Director for the VFL .Sheahan attended Werribee High...
  
   (2002 - present)
• Robert Walls
  Robert Walls
  Robert Walls is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who now works primarily as a television commentator and newspaper columnist on the sport. On 22 June 2006 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.- Carlton :...
  
   (2002 - 2007)
• James Hird
  James Hird
  James Hird is a former professional Australian rules footballer and the current coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League....
  
   (2008 - 2010)
• Paul Roos (2011 - present)

Various Fox Sports

Fox Sports (Australia)

Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...

 commentators have filled in along the way including Jason Dunstall

Jason Dunstall

Jason Hadfield Dunstall is a former Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club of the AFL. He is the third greatest goalkicker in the history of the VFL/AFL. Dunstall is regarded as one of the greatest full-forwards to have ever played, kicking 1254 goals, a feat only...

, Brian Taylor & Alistair Lynch.