Footy commentary in the "heyday" versus present

[Deepthroat]

A lot of commentary inside the footy media bubble these days along the lines of how the game is not the same anymore, it used to be better and the heyday has passed.

It's worth watching some old games to not just look at the game style and the big names but also to note the commentary methods of the main players from back in previous eras. Sandy Roberts, Drew Morphett, Ian Robertson, Bruce McAvaney, Dennis Commetti etc.

Note how they called free kicks. They generally called them after they were paid. They called them for what was paid and they moved on. They didn't play armchair umpire like most of their flashier contemporaries. They didn't inflict their poor interpretation of the rules on the audience like most of their contemporaries. AND the broadcast was so much better for it.

The special comments folk discussed the play, they discussed where one team was exploiting and advantage. They did not sit there and dedicate 15 mins of gametime every Friday night to lamenting the deliberate out of bounds rule like a special comments guru like Richardson does. They gave the audience insight. They did not dwell on a 50/50 call and have a round table vote on whether it was deserved or not.

I find modern calling is essentially ripping us off as an audience by constantly going to these cheap hypothetical type discussions when there is a game of footy begging to be called like old.

 

[Borussia Teeth]

Don’t forget those modern commentators guessing if it’s a goal or not (before the ball has gone through), hyping up the moment to big note themselves, then inevitably getting it wrong.

 

[windyhill]

Don’t forget those modern commentators guessing if it’s a goal or not (before the ball has gone through), hyping up the moment to big note themselves, then inevitably getting it wrong.

Derwayne the absolute team leader on this.

 

[thejester]

Derwayne the absolute team leader on this.

Brayshaw did the absolute reverse last night. Sounded like Neale's dog had died until he realised it had gone through.

 

[Tenens Pila]

Don’t forget those modern commentators guessing if it’s a goal or not (before the ball has gone through), hyping up the moment to big note themselves, then inevitably getting it wrong.

That's a combination of them calling off a monitor at South Melbourne and the dumb*ss Director instructing the camera operators to constantly zoom in on the ball, removing any perspective of height, distance or accuracy, instead of having the goal umpire in shot.

How often is there a cutaway to the crowd or players for reaction while the ball is still in flight, when at that moment, we have absolutely no idea if it was a goal or not.

Ideally:

• Wide shot until the goal umpire steps forward
• Tight shot on goal umpire's signal.
• Player / crowd shots for reaction

 

[1989]

That's a combination of them calling off a monitor at South Melbourne and the dumb*ass Director instructing the camera operators to constantly zoom in on the ball, removing any perspective of height, distance or accuracy, instead of having the goal umpire in shot.

How often is there a cutaway to the crowd or players for reaction while the ball is still in flight, when at that moment, we have absolutely no idea if it was a goal or not.

Ideally:

• Wide shot until the goal umpire steps forward
• Tight shot on goal umpire's signal.
• Player / crowd shots for reaction

You are absolutely spot on. The wide shot allows the perspective to remain and keeps the goal umpire and players on the goal line in shot. You can still see the ball in a wide shot and also whether the players and goal umpire are moving, standing still, moving forward if the ball's going to fall short, watching it sail directly over their heads, celebrating, etc. This is the most infuriating camera aspect of the coverage. They do it in the cricket too. What is the point in zooming in on the ball when you can see nothing around it and your perspective is ruined?

 

[Gibbke]

I grew up initiated by 80's footy. It will always be Lou Richards as the sound of the game for me, no matter who does what...

 

[Registered User]

When I was young, I liked the 'real' blokes such as Ian Robertson, Peter McKenna, Jack Edwards, Lou Richards, etc. The next thing I knew, the smoooooth guys like Cometti and McAvaney seemed to be doing every Channel 7 game. No one asked ME if i wanted those guys on telly. I reckon this was around the time the commentators became too big. No doubt people such as Lou Richards and Mike Williamson had big egos, but there was less talk about commentators when I was a kid

I don't mind most of the current tv guys, but the radio callers, especially those on 3aw and SEN, just scream their heads off.

Eh, maybe my memory has a rose-coloured tint

 

[Gibbke]

When I was young, I liked the 'real' commentators such as Ian Robertson, Peter McKenna, Jack Edwards, Lou Richards, etc. The next thing I knew, the smoooooth guys like Cometti and McAvaney seemed to be doing every Channel 7 game. No one asked ME if i wanted those guys on telly.

I don't mind most of the current tv guys, but the radio callers, especially those on 3aw and SEN, just scream their heads off.

Eh, maybe my memory has a rose-coloured tint

I f###ing hate shouters. Kelli Underwood's voice could cut hair when she raises the volume. There was some guy a few years back from WA who also slobbered into the mic when he got going. Just unnecessary...

 

[desie]

When I was young, I liked the 'real' commentators such as Ian Robertson, Peter McKenna, Jack Edwards, Lou Richards, etc. The next thing I knew, the smoooooth guys like Cometti and McAvaney seemed to be doing every Channel 7 game. No one asked ME if i wanted those guys on telly.

I don't mind most of the current tv guys, but the radio callers, especially those on 3aw and SEN, just scream their heads off.

Eh, maybe my memory has a rose-coloured tint

The more recent deterioration comes from the number of commentators on TV who have spent time at MMM and brought that particular style with them.

BT and Brayshaw for starters.

 

[Registered User]

I f###ing hate shouters. Kelli Underwood's voice could cut hair when she raises the volume. There was some guy a few years back from WA who also slobbered into the mic when he got going. Just unnecessary...

Bruce Eva, Daniel Harford and Matt Granland are 3 of the worst screamers. They couldn't scream harder or louder if they were warning their loved ones of something that was immediately life-threatening.

 

[zyzzbruh]

A lot of commentary inside the footy media bubble these days along the lines of how the game is not the same anymore, it used to be better and the heyday has passed.

It's worth watching some old games to not just look at the game style and the big names but also to note the commentary methods of the main players from back in previous eras. Sandy Roberts, Drew Morphett, Ian Robertson, Bruce McAvaney, Dennis Commetti etc.

Note how they called free kicks. They generally called them after they were paid. They called them for what was paid and they moved on. They didn't play armchair umpire like most of their flashier contemporaries. They didn't inflict their poor interpretation of the rules on the audience like most of their contemporaries. AND the broadcast was so much better for it.

The special comments folk discussed the play, they discussed where one team was exploiting and advantage. They did not sit there and dedicate 15 mins of gametime every Friday night to lamenting the deliberate out of bounds rule like a special comments guru like Richardson does. They gave the audience insight. They did not dwell on a 50/50 call and have a round table vote on whether it was deserved or not.

I find modern calling is essentially ripping us off as an audience by constantly going to these cheap hypothetical type discussions when there is a game of footy begging to be called like old.

I like discussion, not just a running commentary of exactly what i'm watching anyway. I find old commentary a bit deadbeat and flat, Dwayne probably the most similar to that today as he just calls what he sees and offers no opinion, game sense or professional insight. Not a fan of that. Give me a bit of personality and some analytical depth.

They had the replay of the 86 state of origin on tv a few weeks back and the commentary was the most bland thing i've ever listened to. Game sense was completely non existent it was like you put a couple of aliens to footy in the commentary seat and just told them to spout what they could see. At one stage in the last qtr there was a goal being kicked literally every 30 seconds and with 5 mins to go after VIC kicked a goal to pull 1 goal ahead, they were like 'oh games probably over now'. Like seriously what are you watching and how slow are you.

 

[Registered User]

This might just be a distorted perception of mine, but one of my pet peeves is when radio commentators pump up their profession too much. The typical scenario goes thusso: they'll play audio highlights of a former footy star, then one of the radio guys will say, "gee, that was also well called by Cometti. He was great, wasn't he?!" Then they'll start banging on about their favourite commentators. FFS, it's about the game and the players, not the commentators.

I reckon they should be at about the same level as umpires: just do ya farkin job competently without getting overly noticed or talked about

 

[FreddyTwoShoes]

A lot of commentary inside the footy media bubble these days along the lines of how the game is not the same anymore, it used to be better and the heyday has passed.

It's worth watching some old games to not just look at the game style and the big names but also to note the commentary methods of the main players from back in previous eras. Sandy Roberts, Drew Morphett, Ian Robertson, Bruce McAvaney, Dennis Commetti etc.

Note how they called free kicks. They generally called them after they were paid. They called them for what was paid and they moved on. They didn't play armchair umpire like most of their flashier contemporaries. They didn't inflict their poor interpretation of the rules on the audience like most of their contemporaries. AND the broadcast was so much better for it.

The special comments folk discussed the play, they discussed where one team was exploiting and advantage. They did not sit there and dedicate 15 mins of gametime every Friday night to lamenting the deliberate out of bounds rule like a special comments guru like Richardson does. They gave the audience insight. They did not dwell on a 50/50 call and have a round table vote on whether it was deserved or not.

I find modern calling is essentially ripping us off as an audience by constantly going to these cheap hypothetical type discussions when there is a game of footy begging to be called like old.

Paragraph #3 is the best thing I’ve read on bigfooty.
Thank you.

 

[Partridge]

The more recent deterioration comes from the number of commentators on TV who have spent time at MMM and brought that particular style with them.

BT and Brayshaw for starters.

That's the problem. It's the ultimate insular boys' club. The same 12 people on radio or television, who make every game about them and can't wait to share their rehearsed lines or in-jokes that no one else gets.

Death by firing squad would be far too lenient for most of them.

 

[Partridge]

This might just be a distorted perception of mine, but one of my pet peeves is when radio commentators pump up their profession too much. The typical scenario goes thusso: they'll play audio highlights of a former footy star, then one of the radio guys will say, "gee, that was also well called by Cometti. He was great, wasn't he?!" Then they'll start banging on about their favourite commentators. FFS, it's about the game and the players, not the commentators.

I reckon they should be at about the same level as umpires: just do ya farkin competently without getting overly noticed or talked about

That's my golden rule for both commentating and umpiring - if you don't notice them, then they're doing their job well.

 

[Cleavy]

AFL's greatest commentators of the 21st century according to fan poll conducted by Code sports:

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/the-afls-greatest-commentators-of-the-21st-century-as-voted-by-code-sports-readers/news-story/9672203002ff09c25fbe24c12c5763fd?amp

1. Dennis Cometti
2. Bruce McAvaney
3. Anthony Hudson
4. Sandy Roberts
5. Jason Dunstall
6. Tim Lane
7. Gerard Whateley
8. Rex Hunt
9. Leigh Matthews
10. Gerard Healy
11. Matt Hill
12. Clinton Grybas
13. James Brayshaw
14. Drew Morphett
15. Malcolm Blight
16. Dwayne Russell
17. Mark Howard
18. Dermott Brereton
19. Garry Lyon
20. Luke Hodge
21. Robert Walls
22. Nathan Buckley
23. David King
24. Brian Taylor
25. Matthew Richardson

----------------------------------------
Healy and Brayshaw too high, Grybas too low.

 

[Partridge]

AFL's greatest commentators of the 21st century according to fan poll conducted by Code sports:

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/the-afls-greatest-commentators-of-the-21st-century-as-voted-by-code-sports-readers/news-story/9672203002ff09c25fbe24c12c5763fd?amp

1. Dennis Cometti
2. Bruce McAvaney
3. Anthony Hudson
4. Sandy Roberts
5. Jason Dunstall
6. Tim Lane
7. Gerard Whateley
8. Rex Hunt
9. Leigh Matthews
10. Gerard Healy
11. Matt Hill
12. Clinton Grybas
13. James Brayshaw
14. Drew Morphett
15. Malcolm Blight
16. Dwayne Russell
17. Mark Howard
18. Dermott Brereton
19. Garry Lyon
20. Luke Hodge
21. Robert Walls
22. Nathan Buckley
23. David King
24. Brian Taylor
25. Matthew Richardson

----------------------------------------
Healy and Brayshaw too high, Grybas too low.

They got number 1 right at least. I'll reorder slightly:

1. Dennis Cometti
2. Clinton Grybas
3. Sandy Roberts
4. Tim Lane
5. Drew Morphett
6. Matt Hill
7. Gerard Whateley
8. <really from here it's a lot of special comments guys>
9. Malcolm Blight
10. Luke Hodge
11. Robert Walls
12. Nathan Buckley
13. David King
14. Jason Dunstall
15. Anthony Hudson (could call once, started drinking his own urine years ago)
16. Rex Hunt
17. Leigh Matthews
18. Gerard Healy
19. Matthew Richardson
20. Dermott Brereton
21. Garry Lyon
22. Bruce McAvaney
23. James Brayshaw
24. Mark Howard
25. Brian Taylor
26. Dwayne Russell

 

[RedOrWhite]

Agree with your tweaks.
Also where is Quarters?

Other things I'd add would be to seperate the callers from ex players, where applicable. There's the Luke Darcy's, BT's and Montagna's of the world but none of them make either list for mine.

 

[Mentallo]

They got number 1 right at least. I'll reorder slightly:

1. Dennis Cometti
2. Clinton Grybas
3. Sandy Roberts
4. Tim Lane
5. Drew Morphett
6. Matt Hill
7. Gerard Whateley
8. <really from here it's a lot of special comments guys>
9. Malcolm Blight
10. Luke Hodge
11. Robert Walls
12. Nathan Buckley
13. David King
14. Jason Dunstall
15. Anthony Hudson (could call once, started drinking his own urine years ago)
16. Rex Hunt
17. Leigh Matthews
18. Gerard Healy
19. Matthew Richardson
20. Dermott Brereton
21. Garry Lyon
22. Bruce McAvaney
23. James Brayshaw
24. Mark Howard
25. Brian Taylor
26. Dwayne Russell

Bloody generous mate.

No Papalia?

Matt Hill grossly overrated for mine.

 

[Partridge]

Bloody generous mate.

No Papalia?

Matt Hill grossly overrated for mine.

I'd add Papalia into my top 5-10 immediately. I was only reordering what was there.

Yeah Hill showed promise early, it's how much he's been brainwashed by the other idiots that's a concern. Still better than most though which is the sad thing.

 

[Cleavy]

I'd add Papalia into my top 5-10 immediately. I was only reordering what was there.

same with Jason Bennett. easily top 5