Biggest commentary bugbears?

Hot Diggity

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Jun 19, 2020
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"Lowers the eyes"
"Lovely/good leg" (Bruce)
"The modern player"...followed by some BS that no other gen of player could have even imagined attempting to do. (Darc, Richo and Ling are big on this one)
Any player named Jake gets "Jakey" - (Darc and BT mainly)
If a plodder takes on a few and kicks a goal, average level of excitement - if a Danger or Dusty do the exact same thing - sheer pandemonium in the box...
Yep. the "Jakey" stuff shits me to tears.

There's a tool of a commentator on ABC Radio that refers to Lachie NEale as "Lach (as in Lock) Neale all the ******* time.
 

Hot Diggity

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Jun 19, 2020
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Hawthorn
Even more annoying for me is the opposite of that

guys beginning every sentence with a drawn "Yeeeaahh" or "aaaargh".
Tend to notice it at the start of a broadcast/radio show: "Yeeeaaahhhh welcome to a big day of footy here on blah blah"
Darce is one of those. Ahhhhhhhh and then into his first sentence... tool.
 

1989

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Mar 29, 2010
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When commentators start using the players' cliches - e.g. 'four walls of the club'.

Also, every fumble, no matter how crucial, has to be a 'little fumble'.
 
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10Dulkar

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Jun 3, 2013
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Calling players by their first names - it comes across as unprofessional.
Fed up of hearing Charlie 20 times a game.
The only one I don't mind so much is "Buddy" Franklin.
 

Vincent Hanna

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Mar 15, 2020
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Essendon
Really hate all the banter about what the players are up to on their socials - srsly, don't give a **** just call the action.

When Dixon went over the fence and Bruce was like - "social distancing aye..." - wtf is he on about?!
 

1989

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When they say 'he meant that', when it's 100% obvious that the player meant to do whatever it was.
 
Sep 21, 2002
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I don't know if commentators still do this because I don't listen to them all that often, but one thing that used to bug me a little was when a player deliberately fumbles the ball across the boundary line for a throw in. The commentators would carry on as if they are the only ones clever enough to pick it up (oooohhhh, cleverly disguised!!!), and the viewers need it explained to them. :rolleyes:
 

1989

Premiership Player
Mar 29, 2010
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I don't know if commentators still do this because I don't listen to them all that often, but one thing that used to bug me a little was when a player deliberately fumbles the ball across the boundary line for a throw in. The commentators would carry on as if they are the only ones clever enough to pick it up (oooohhhh, cleverly disguised!!!), and the viewers need it explained to them. :rolleyes:
Absolutely. Thankfully it's gone away a little bit now because the umpires actually penalise deliberate out of bounds, but for decades now the player has 'cleverly disguised' a 'fumble' over the boundary line, when everybody, including the viewers, commentators and umpires, knew exactly what he was trying to do.

What also annoys me is when the player rushes a behind, when he is perfectly entitled to do it, and they still say 'well disguised'.

Other ones that have been getting me lately are when everybody jumps onto something that one person has started. For example, 'Don't get beaten by what you know' is a big one on Fox at the moment, and on Seven they love 'It might not be your match, but it might be your moment'.

Also, when a player butchers a dribble kick, instead of the commentator doing their job and being critical themselves, quite often they'll just have a chuckle and say 'Awww, Jason Dunstall wouldn't like that one'.
 

Godchin

Club Legend
Jan 4, 2015
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Richmond
I strongly dislike when the commentators make reference to attributes that certain players are known for just after said player has just demonstrated that certain attribute.

For example, when a player like Harris Andrews performs a spoil, you just know that one of the channel 7 flogs is going to pipe up with a, "gee, we've seen that a lot from Andrews over the journey, ay?". He's renown for his spoiling and he's a gun defender because he does it so often. You don't need to reference it every single time he does it. We know.

Dustin Martin don't argues. Tom Hawkins' kick goes from left to right. Naitanui jumps high. Pendlebury makes time stand still. Mumford tackles hard. Neale can find the ball. Ben Brown's run-up is long. McGovern takes a lot of intercept marks. Caleb Daniel is a good kick. We know. Shut up already.
 

WeMissYouMarkCoughlan

Senior List
May 21, 2019
269
390
AFL Club
Fremantle
'Basketball background'.

Also, inaccurately referencing for years that Matthew Lloyd invented throwing up grass and Steve Johnson invented the snap shot for goal.

Who was kicking snaps from set shots before Stevie J? I remember that Stephen Milne would often play on and kick them but don’t recall anyone doing it the way Steve and everyone else does now...
 
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