'Not my fault': Tony Jones explains truth about Bec Judd kiss fail

It’s one of the most watched videos among Aussie sports fans - and it just took an interesting twist.

Veteran sports journo Tony Jones will never live down an awkward moment on live TV when he tried to kiss Bec Judd on the cheek and was flatly rejected.

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Working on Nine News with Judd in 2016, Jones tried to wish his colleague well after her final shift before heading off on maternity leave.

During an on-air farewell at the end of the bulletin the sports reporter leant in to kiss Judd on the cheek, but the weather presenter recoiled away awkwardly.

If that wasn’t bad enough, it came three years after Judd had also rejected Jones on air when he jokingly asked if she’d like to come over for a barbecue on the weekend.

Tony Jones explains the ‘real story’

Jones cops plenty of ribbing from fans and colleagues over the awkward moments - and he’s officially had enough.

After it was brought up again on the Sunday Footy Show, ‘TJ’ tried to set the record straight.

“I’ve put up with that crap for years, and it’s not my fault!” Jones said.

“Our news director, Hugh Nailon, here at Channel 9 at Melbourne. He didn’t organise the flowers. I was supposed to present Bec the flowers.

“And when we realised he’d forgotten to organise the flowers, I said, well I’m going home.

“And then I think John Murphy was the floor manager, he sort of said, you’re gonna stay here, you’ll stay here and play happy families.

“Well that was a real happy family, wasn’t it? So it wasn’t my fault.”

Co-host Billy Brownless continued to poke fun at Jones, asking why he thought it was a good idea to go in for the kiss.

“To wish her luck!” Jones said, before Brownless retorted: “Not with those teeth, mate.”

AFL urged to overhaul game during break

The AFL has been urged to take a positive from the coronavirus disaster and use the indefinite pause in the premiership season to overhaul the game.

With the season on hold until at least May 31, two-time North Melbourne premiership player David King believes the league has been presented with a unique opportunity.

While the health and safety of all associated with the AFL, along with its financial security, will remain the key focus, King hopes some time can also be put into game development.

The AFL brains trust has tried for years to free up a game that has become clogged by the team structures of defensively-minded coaches.

But the league has largely been reluctant to introduce radical changes designed to boost scoring and one-on-one contests for fear of upsetting traditionalists.

“We're just fumbling our way along,” King told Fox Footy.

“We do this all the time. We make rule changes, we just make the change and we see where it takes us.

“Why can't we say 'This is what we want it to look like' and start from the end point and work back?

“We don't ever seem to do that. I think we chase our tails a little bit and we've got a perfect opportunity now with a two or three-month window, to sit back and say 'What should the game look like when we're finished?’”

with AAP