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Joined June 2014
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A long time Bulldogs fan but overall a lover of the sport itself. The word sport implies "sporting" which in turn implies that fairness in sport should always come first.
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Well written James, and you should be acknowledged for tackling this topic in some detail. The points raised are all valid and fair.
I am a Bulldogs supporter, and the commentary in all the Bulldog’s games in the finals series was nauseating in it’s bias towards their opponents. All Channel Nine’s commentators made it clear at various times that the Bulldogs were not meant to win.
The Barry also makes a good point with regard to Phil Gould and his clear tendency to favour a team over the other at one stage.
Andrew John’s insight is genuinely interesting on the whole, but his Manly bias is too obvious at times.
I believe that both Brad Fittler and Brett Finch should never be allowed near a microphone. Their ‘insights’ are blind and the ‘colour’ that they supposedly add is bland, and their ability to mangle the English language and sound like utter bogans make their contributions almost unbearable.
Sterlo does a fine job with analysis and is always fair, qualities which Wally Lewis usually offers too.
Both Ray Warren and Phil Gould should retire and re-locate to an NRL nursing home where they can discuss their always banal topics which they usually reserve for important stretches of play involving teams that they hold no interest in. The worst recent example of this I can recall was when they discussed Sterlo’s fondness for Bingo during a passage of play.
The key words for Channel Nine are professionalism and ethics. Currently they regularly demonstrate a total lack of both these qualities.
NRL media conflicts of interest are becoming a problem
“the team they played had everyone on the park” = false. The Bulldogs played without Sam Kasiano, Lloyd Perrett, Chase Stanley, Tim Browne and Pat O’Hanlon, all out through injury.
Winning starts in the front office: NRL's top four was decided off the field
Very funny . . . if you think the Bulldogs receive favouritism from any match officials you are delusional. In the box with Luke Patten was Steve Clark, an official with a life long ambition to rule against the Bulldogs which has been demonstrated again during this season. At the very least, the two video referees cancel each other out.
Gould's commentary was the real travesty
A travesty? The Bulldogs did not demand and receive a review of the play. The Bulldogs did not make the no try ruling.
The facts are that the video ref reviewed the footage and made the correct ruling. Isn’t that their job? Gould’s persistent rantings add nothing to the quality of the broadcast, in fact they detract from it. He and his opinions are not bigger than the game itself, and the fact that the host broadcaster with a massive vested interest in promoting and glorifying rugby league would indulge in such regular diatribes which only help put the game in a poor light reflects the lack of true respect that Channel Nine has for rugby league.
Gould, Warren and their surrounding troglodytes are overdue for a clean out.
Gould's commentary was the real travesty
“they are shooting themselves in the foot” . . . so true. Who would have thought that the network which stands to profit the most from providing a consistently high standard of coverage in terms of both the broadcast quality (standard definition) and the commentary, would inexorably drag both aspects into the dark ages and in the process alienate and disappoint the majority of the fans who have no choice but to watch it if they want to see video coverage of the game.
It’s so ironic that it’s scarcely believable, and I would also suggest that the majority of NRL viewers (myself included) would never watch the reality TV drivel that Channel Nine specialises in, no matter how much it is rammed down our throats while it’s polluting the coverage of the rugby league.
Talk about killing the golden goose . . . Channel Nine seems compelled and driven to lowering the standards of NRL coverage by:
1) Ignoring the advent of HD TV.
2) Persisting with their ageing dinosaur commentators who openly display their bias without fear, ramble on about all manner of rubbish that is scarcely or not remotely related to the football, and often fail to do the most things such as describing the action as and when it happens.
3) Insist on using barely intelligible former players to provide sideline commentary and opinion. Though great players in their time, the Neanderthal grunts of Fittler, Johns and Finch add nothing to the coverage, quite the contrary.
4) Selling their souls to the gambling industry, which by it’s very profile and presence raises questions regarding the integrity of both the commentary and the outcomes of the games themselves.
It’s about time the coverage was deliberately sold to more than one broadcaster so that they could compete with each other and drive the standard of coverage up . . . rather than the direction Channel Nine is taking it.
Fantastic finish to Sunday arvo dulled by delayed coverage
Warren and Gould did nothing but talk up Souths when they were behind, suggesting many and various tactics which could be employed by Souths to get back into the game. Never once any acknowledgement that (for whatever reason) the Bulldogs were in the lead. Once Souths hit the front it was very apparent that this was the dream outcome for the “commentary” team. They also mentioned the 2 or 3 Souths players missing from the game due to injury, but failed to mention the long list of Bulldogs players unable to play. Their clear desire from the start was a Souths victory.
Aren’t they supposed to describe what is going on in front of them for the benefit of viewers? They consistently fail at this most basic task. Considering that Channel 9 are supposedly the hosts of the game as well as it’s biggest beneficiary, the commentary is of a uniformly appallingly low standard. Bring back Roy and HG’s live coverage so that the Channel 9 audio can be muted.
Now that would be a vast improvement.
SMITHY: Ennis's antics not enough for the Dogs
A thoughtful and well written piece Cameron. I would imagine that many formerly passionate supporters have become jaded with many of the more recent developments in the game. I agree with most of your points, in particular I share your views on:
1. Channel Nine commentary
It is a widely held view (and mine) that the actual coverage including the commentary is of a poor standard, with the mind-wandering antics of Ray Warren and his cronies often missing important passages of play while meandering down some lost memory lane or another. The majority of the so-called team should never be let near a microphone, as their pronunciation and even their English is not even rudimentary. Perhaps Channel Nine could send them to a three day course on communication?
2. Channel Nine itself
The coverage is of a poor standard in standard rather than high definition, and for the poor souls whose team is playing in the game on replay, the whole experience is completely shattered by the endless mind numbing and hyper-hyped ads. The games on replay are ruined in terms of continuity and atmosphere. The regular appearance of Ray Hadley on the replayed games makes the experience even worse to the point that I often just switch off.
Lastly, the situation where Channel Nine can dictate to the NRL which games will be broadcast on free to air TV is nothing less than a conflict of interest with many teams probably having just cause to plead a restriction of trade due to the lack of fair opportunity.
Why I've fallen out of love with rugby league
Well mentioned Dawso. Honourable mentions should also go to least articulate of all, Brad Fittler. Seems a nice guy and was a great player in his time, but pleeeeeeease don’t give him a microphone in any context. Andrew Johns and Brett Finch are little better . . . surely a “media” and “communications” company they could surely find some change to at least encourage these guys to articulate properly. Not all of us can afford to have a bogan interpreter at hand during Channel Nine games.
The other thing that riles me is the incessant cross promotion of other Channel Nine drivel such as the Block or the Voice.
10 common sense changes the NRL should make
Lots of good points well made Mick, and an excellent piece to start it all Hayley!
The players have an in-built need of their own, and are also coached, to push every possible boundary to gain any advantage whether it’s over the other player/s and team, or the referees. The most effective means of policing for the refs are to punish the players, and indirectly, the coaches for systematically breaking the rules.
Marching players an extra 10 should be used more, and sadly the sin bin has all but become redundant in today’s game. If the capability is there, please use it, and use it consistently for all levels of the game, juniors to Origin.
NRL referees: With control comes respect
TRAGET? Not in any dictionary!
We've learnt from Bad Friday: Bulldogs