AFL commentators and the dreaded 'b' word

Gerad Healy , the most biased commentator on t.v.get rid of him,worst commentator on Australian t.v.

I saw Dermott Brerreton grab MArk Zannotti by the the back of hair and drag him down the ground at suboaco oval and this is the guy telling what is fair in fototball Don Scott the second

I'm a dockers supporter But you really need to look at more sa/wa. Commentators ion the TV vic commentators quote very easily on Wa free kick adv etc but do not highlight there own they seem to justify the kick and don't highlight it as an advantage. Very biased I think But there all Victorians I suppose so hard Very obvious in tonight's eagles game yu hav to report easy free kicks both ways not just how hard done Victorian sides are done

I'm a dockers supporter But you really need to look at more sa/wa. Commentators ion the TV vic commentators quote very easily on Wa free kick adv etc but do not highlight there own they seem to justify the kick and don't highlight it as an advantage. Very biased I think But there all Victorians I suppose so hard

Also can i publically call to have "Don Freo" banned from commenting.. he's so biased......... ;)

You're not good at reading are you Don, I clearly stated "IF you have a problem with the current unfairness of the AFL go call that +@*!head Ross Oakley" I didn't go off tangent and make it about him but stated what you should do if you're not happy with the unevenness. So yeah go talk about Basil instead on this page but if you're not happy with the V/AFL and the Vic media go write an article.

You're right, 4 comments in, actually from the 1st comment it is all about the footy world outside of Vic against the oppressionist , fascist evil empire that is Victoria instead the crux of your article - Basil and his bias and how the networks advise or "rehearse" their commentators. Stick to the subject people!

So let's not go off on a tangent...lets talk about Ross Oakley. Yeah sure! Did we have a few tonight, Tricky?

Wow a lot of Vic bashing going here, I thought this article was about Basil and his bias....................... alright then I'll throw in my 2 bob. As a Victorian who works and lives in Wah! (yeah I make a living from your resources, get over it) I can tell all of you the 1st hand experience of the bias journalism in this state, for example whenever Wet toast or Freeload lose and you pick up the paper the next day and it's all about "how bad we were" or "how are we going to fix it?" or "should they sack him now" and never about how good the opposition was and the general vibe is "it's inexcusable to lose to a Vic team because they are evil and must be defeated". When they win it's all about "look out top 4" and "look at us". Don't get me started on Kim Hagdorn, the most self absorbed scribe I've ever read. There are a lot of articles in these pages for example a good article on why Tassie does not have a team that start off on the subject then the comments end up being about how disadvantaged non Vic teams are because of travel or something about too many Vic teams?! Geez, grow up and get over yourselves! Stick with the subject at hand instead of making it an excuse to go Vic bashing. Yep we have 10 teams and yep it is Vic centric, yes we have more journos, yes we don't travel as much as we should, but hey as a Victorian (and I'm sure most Vic people will back me here) ............................. we didn't ask for this, we as a football public didn't say "let's disadvantage all the other footy states how ever we can" If you have a problem with the current unfairness of the AFL go call that +@*!head Ross Oakley coz If I had it my way we would have an AFL comp where there is an equal number of teams in each state and we'd still have the VFL - with Fitzroy and South Melbourne. So instead going off tangent, pretty please with a cherry on top - stick to the subject. (from a nasty evil oxygen thief that no one should waste their urine on - because I'm a Victorian)

I recall watching a game on TV, West Coast versus Richmond, Eagles won my 80 points... The commentators, (including that guy who used to be on the ABC) barely mentioned the Eagles all night, it was all ""Richmond this, Richmond that...Richmond should have done better there (a lot of those) .. and special comments "where do Richmond go from here".. It was like watching a Springboks rugby game with Afrikaans commentary. the only commentator who doesn't show any bias is Gerard Healy, he genuinely gives the non Melbourne clubs a fair go when he calls it... He is one of the few Victorian commentators who knows who the up and coming talent is outside Victoria, who the second tier players are... he is the most professional of all of them by far. Most times I will turn the commentary right down so its just a mumble and turn it back up to watch replays of goals or cracker marks. Welcome to our world Victorians, we have had to endure this for 28 years!!!

LOL. You lost me at Barrett. He of the 'Hird sacked' fame. Not sure where you pulled Hutchy from either.

I started watching the replay last night and in a sample of the first quarter at least there seemed to be plenty of complimentary stuff about the Tigers. Comments like "Richmond are running the Dockers off their feet", "the Tigers are all over the Dockers", "Richmond's efficiency is outstanding" were there aplenty. Plus not even one comment about the mysterious free kick Riewoldt got. I know all the outraged preciousness expressed by Vics might be from later in the game, but early on there's plenty of effusiveness about Richmond.

Why would someone living in WA or SA have an inferiority complex or chip on their shoulder Gene? I went to school in Melbourne and have also lived there as an adult in my 30's so I have experienced both sides more than once. I also went to school in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Dublin. I have travelled to 76 countries and spent 2/3 of my life living outside of Australia and the problems that we see in the media are global and you are correct when you say that they are dumbing us down. See my 2nd post with you tube links above. I'm not big-noting. I am trying to make a point to Gene and it was my comment that he replied to. That might be the only thing that I agree with you on. i have issues with others. "Victorian clubs find themselves the victims of poor or biased commentary just as often I can assure you" You can "assure me" can you? Poor maybe but not biased. Poor is universal, but biased media is definitely Vic vs the Rest of Oz and most of us are used to and it is accepted for what it is most of the time. We only raise our heads now and again and I'm staggered that you are expecting a different response. This is a great example of 'some Victorians' that can't see that a bias clearly exists, like it's a fairytale. Let's run the numbers. Victoria - 10 teams + 80-90% of AFL media coverage, journos and football commentators Interstate - 8 teams + 10-20% of AFL media coverage, journos and football commentators It is not statistically possible for the bias to be equal and it's not difficult math. Please admit that a bias exists and let's move on. Stop denying a fact. "Jonathan Brown (how does someone with a voice like that belong behind a microphone) and Cameron Ling (how does someone with a head like that belong in front of a camera) rather than going down the traditional path of using journos & radio presenters to call the game." What should a commentator sound and look like in your world Gene? Do you understand the significance of what you said? What is the 'traditional path' you refer to? How can you be so off-track so consistently? Take a look in the mirror before throwing stones, Acknowledgement is the first step towards a solution.

Your list of what you think is good and what isn't explains a great deal. I think I have disagreed with all of your last 20 comments. Perfect score.

Peter Landy & Sandy Roberts unbearable? They're probably the most professional commentators to have called the game in the past 25 years. As a one eyed West Australian you'd nominate Commetti instead. I agree he was competent back in his heyday, unfortunately he's far more interested in self-serving witticisms than actually calling the game these days and his banter with MacAvaney is utterly cringeworthy. As for Zempalis, he sounds like an eager beaver fan who's been given the job for the day rather than a true professional. Got to give Dennis some credit though, he hides his pro-WA bias better than Basil. You almost sound like an aggrieved Rex Hunt fan Don Freo. I never could stand that guy.

My humblest apologies Dalgety, I'll work on upping my pro-Swans bias in future.

It's not crap, you're just seeing it from a different perspective. I've never seen a Vic based author write a post saying that the commentary is biased in favour of a non-Vic club have you? Yet I've seen so many non-Vic people complain about it and also the AA selections so it's obviously there but Victorians just can't see it and I've rarely seen them even admit to it.

Your judgement...pfff. Morphett, Landy, Roberts...all unbearable, especially Morphett.

Hudson?

Let's hope Christian Petracca lives up to his perception of himself.