Posted by Worlds collide with AFL media mogul Craig Hutchison trying to broker peace between NRL icons Andrew Jones and Matthew Jones.
The pair reportedly haven’t spoken in four weeks since the eighth immortal’s stunning outburst during an argument on the pair’s radio show.
Popular Fox League cult hero Matthew confirmed that when his brother’s weekly SEN show Morning Glory returned earlier this month, Andrew was nowhere to be seen or heard.
The Daily Telegraph has revealed that things have taken a turn for the worse with Hutchison, the former host of The Footy Show, who has now tried to persuade Andrew Jones to return to the show.
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Hutchison, a major shareholder and chief executive of radio network parent company SEN, was reportedly given the cold shoulder when he attempted to call Jones.
In the report, Jones announced that the show is on hold until the end of the State of Origin series in 2023.
It was a state-vs-state rivalry as Andrew took offense to comments from his brothers and the suggestion that Queensland had dominated the series opener in Adelaide.
Hutchison, who will remain the host of Channel 9 Footy classification, told News Corp: “We love Joey and we love Matt. They were a great part of SEN 1170 on Friday mornings.
“We respect Joey’s desire to focus on Origin at this time. We understand he has quite a bit on his plate. I may have underestimated how much it works.
“We’re looking forward to sitting down with him after Origin and welcoming him back with open arms.
“I’ll feed them both together and go from there.”
Earlier this month, it was Matty Jones who showed that the feud between the brothers is very real.
When Matty introduced Andrew at the start of the show, there was silence until Matty joked, “Houston, we have a problem.”
“It’s official, Andrew Jones, my brother, is a total no-no for me,” Matty said.
“There were rumors that he might not have entered. I thought it was lazy not returning phone calls for the past three weeks. Obviously not.
“I will say this and defend my brother here, his not being here this morning has nothing to do with State of Origin. I thought his comments after the game were very strong and upfront and genuine.
“Actually, he’s not with me. This is nothing new for me and Joey. We had to share a bedroom for 19 years. Every six months we have a blue one like this and it gives us a break to catch up with others.”
A SEN spokesperson said: “There’s no doubt that our audience was looking forward to catching up with Andrew and Matty and clearing the air. We look forward to having this on SEN 1170 in the coming weeks.
According to Matty Jones, the couple previously had a falling out and did not speak to each other for two years before rekindling their relationship.
The pair clashed on the radio after Matty spoke glowingly of Queensland coach Billy Slater – something that angered Joey.
Andrew Jones is still reeling from the Blues’ defeat in the State of Origin series opener in Adelaide after the full-time siren on Wednesday night.
And he didn’t face another discussion about it on Friday.
Last week it was revealed that Matthew deliberately punched the bear to get a reaction from Joy, but that doesn’t mean the immortal’s emotional outburst isn’t real.
In the days following the segment, Matthew Jones said he deliberately tried to lure his brother into an emotional response.
Jones told SEN Breakfast last week that his brother took one cheap shot during the exchange, which highlighted Matthew’s record four defeats from four Origin matches.
“It’s one of his jokes. That’s the way it goes every time,” Jones said.
“Well, my counter is God doesn’t give you everything, did you hear your point.”
Matthew asked his brother about his hatred of Queensland after the segment.
“I told him later, how old are you, eight?”
Matthews said his brother refused to talk and was looking at photos on his phone when Webster asked him questions. At this point, Matthew decided to poke the bear.
“I thought, ‘If he’s not paying attention, I’m going to go here,'” he said.
“And then halfway through, he got out of it, and then he started biting.”
After watching Queensland win through tenacity and desperate defence, fans couldn’t help but think Matty was right when he pointed out Queensland’s mental edge in a state-vs-state rivalry.
— You can read more about the Jones Brothers beef in The Daily Telegraph
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