- Earned the moniker when rugby league was in the Covid bubble
A prominent Channel Nine rugby league personality has revealed how she got stuck with the nickname ‘Grubby’ thanks to her work colleagues.
Sports journalist and presenter Emma Lawrence is best known for working with the Nine Network as a rugby league reporter.
She was a recent guest on footy legend and long-time friend Mark Geyer’s Live in 5ive podcast.
However, she got more than she bargained for during her appearance when Geyer quizzed her on a private nickname given to her in questionable circumstances.
‘I’ve known you about 12 years, how’d the nickname “Grubby” come up?’ Geyer asked with a smile.
‘Did Bracey [Channel Nine personality James Bracey] tell you that? What a dog,’ Lawrence replied as they both laughed.
Channel 9 rugby league reporter Emma Lawrence has been given the nickname ‘Grubby’
She spoke with former NRL star and old friend Mark Geyer about how she earned the nickname
Lawrence admitted that her car is so messy you can’t even put your feet on the floor, and she was busted by a cameraman during the Covid NRL bubble in Queensland
She then went on to explain that it was her hygienic efforts in her car that led to the nickname.
‘A few things, everything’s dirty, my car is filthy,’ she said.
‘Like, if I wanted to give you a lift you wouldn’t even be able to put your feet on the floor.
‘When I was actually living in Queensland, when the footy was up there in the bubble, our cameraman went to the car for me,’ she continued.
‘And he said ‘I found this floret of broccoli, there was just raw broccoli on the floor.
‘So now they all, except for Pete Overton, he doesn’t like it, when they do the cross, Brace says ‘hello grubby how are you?’.
‘Pete says, “Don’t say that to my Emma”.’
It comes after Lawrence was caught up in a chaotic State of Origin Game III brawl that spilled over the sideline during the 2024 series.
Emma welcomed her first child Harper Rose Hughes with her partner Thomas Blucher-Hughes last November
Lawrence juggles a hectic media lifestyle with being a young mum, which doesn’t leave much time for car cleaning
The fight broke out so close to the broadcast area that Lawrence and her colleagues, including Allana Ferguson and James Bracey, were nearly struck as players and staff crashed into their section.
Video showed Bracey being jostled and equipment knocked over as security and players tried to regain control.
Lawrence was unharmed but shaken by the wild scenes.
The popular presenter welcomed her first child, a daughter named Harper Rose Hughes, on November 28, 2024.
She announced the news on Instagram with hospital photos of herself, Harper, and partner Thomas Blucher-Hughes, writing, ‘Mum and Dad could not be more in love.’
Friends and sporting figures flooded the post with congratulations.
The birth came months after Lawrence revealed her pregnancy just before covering Game One of the 2024 State of Origin series.
