Tony Armstrong reveals how he stole drinks from in club Adam Gilchrist

• Armstrong and Gilchrist drank at same Adelaide club 
• ABC star was playing for the Crows at the time
• Armstrong admits he’d like to pay Gilchrist back 

ABC star and former footy player Tony Armstrong has revealed he once hilariously lied his way onto cricket legend Adam Gilchrist’s bar tab during a wild drinking session in Adelaide.

Armstrong, who played for the Adelaide Crows, Collingwood Magpies and Sydney Swans before his television career took off, recalled the incident during his younger days when he’d just been drafted to the Crows and didn’t have much money.

The popular presenter was drinking with mates on a Saturday night at The Marble Bar venue when Gilchrist arrived.

‘Gilly’s walked in … that’s Adam Gilchrist, the greatest wicketkeeper batsmen of all time,’ Armstrong recounted on the ABC TV show Blak Ball.

‘He’s got the RMs [RM Williams boots] on. Far out. I cannot wait to go up and say g’day to him. But little did I know that that g’day was going to turn into fleecing.’

Armstrong said he had a couple of more drinks with his friends before seeing Gilchrist head towards the bar and announce to his mates that he was going to open a bar tab.

‘Now, I’m not proud that my mind instantly went to, “Well, Gilly is going to shout us for the rest of the night, isn’t he”, as opposed to, “Oh my god, we need to introduce ourselves to Adam Gilchrist”,’ Armstrong admitted.

‘But back then I was like “big wallet, heaps of cash” – so I snapped into action.’

Armstrong sidled up behind Gilchrist at the bar, looked at his bar tab number and pretended to be friends with the cricket icon in front of the barman.

The trick worked and Armstrong and his mates were soon drinking for free. 

‘It’s something I’m equally proud of, and the more I’m talking about it … the more proud I am, it’s ingenious,’ he laughed.

‘Vodka Rasberries on Gilly.’ 

‘I hope Gilly is cool with it. I just want to give Gilly the cash back. I do feel pretty average about it, if I’m being honest, but I think it’s pretty funny.’

Armstrong played a total of 35 AFL games in a career that lasted from 2008 to 2015, before he was delisted by Collingwood.

He kicked off his media career by hosting the Yokayi Footy show on NITV, before joining the ABC in 2020, where he rose to fame while presenting sport.

The 34-year-old has won two Logies, for best new talent and most popular presenter.