Jump to content

Featured Replies

As a kid in the 80's used to love Peter Booth and Smokey Dawson, with special comments from Doug Bigelow on ABC Radio. Absolutely sensational call - and great around the grounds men too - Swan McKay, Len Thompson, Michael 'Gladys' Moncrieff, Doug Heywood (who used to do TV as well). Good times!

Yep , Doug Heywood was famous for "The hustling , bustling Timmy Watson" and Doug Bigelow's "Flower supreme" was another beauty .

Cheers

 

I also wish Kerry O'Keefe had played footy. His cricket commentary is very good when he sticks to actual commentary.

It's also good when he doesn't, really. it's why I don't think his style will carry across. I love his Test commentary, not so much in the limited overs format. He needs that extra time to build a story up.

 

Over the years I rate commentators as follows:

Brilliant- McAvaney,Huddo,Rex Hunt,Ox,Lyon,Brayshaw

Good- Commetti,BT,Lloyd,Blight,Walls,Christian,shaw,Lane

Bad- Russell,Pickering,Matthews,Lynch,Quarters

Terrible- sandy Roberts,McGuire,underwood.

Over the years I rate commentators as follows:

Brilliant- McAvaney,Huddo,Rex Hunt,Ox,Lyon,Brayshaw

Good- Commetti,BT,Lloyd,Blight,Walls,Christian,shaw,Lane

Bad- Russell,Pickering,Matthews,Lynch,Quarters

Terrible- sandy Roberts,McGuire,underwood.

hahaha, McGuire = Underwood = Terrible, love it


I used to like Quartermain until three or four years ago, then overnight he made me want to kick the TV in. Not as much as Russell and Tony Shaw mind you...

Still like Huddo but this sort of thing is so subjective that I suspect nobody else does.

Dunstall's commentary in the Hawks game was ridiculous. At times he would actually exclaim, "oohhh no.." when it looked like Melbourne were about to score. It would've been funny if it wasn't so shamefully biased.

Anyhow, Commetti and Whateley, and you can't go past Bruce, are the ones I most enjoy listening to.

Dwayne Russell needs to be dealt with. He ruins games of footy with his zany catchphrases ("get and go", "outside the paint", "plays for the free", "gives it some toe") etc etc) and complete misreading of the play. It takes a particularly bad commentator to actually ruin a game.

Edited by P_Man

 

Gerard Whateley Gerard Whateley Gerard Whateley Gerard Whateley Gerard Whateley Gerard Whateley Gerard Whateley

I respect gerard whateley but i find myself, on occasions, having to turn the radio off when Scwabb & Walls and Whateley are commentating on ABC radio. I find that they can very easily get into a negative rutt of bagging teams or players.

Give me the light hearted styling of Brad Hardie, Graham "Smokey" Dawson & Adam Papalia any day of the week! haha

  • 2 months later...

Loved reading the comments. Here are mine:

Commetti - egotistical but okay

McAvaney - enthusiastic

Huddo - unbiased and very good

BT - thinks it's about him, but ok

Tim Lane - numero uno; favourite commentator ever

Gerald Whately - almost excellent and his star is rising

Drew Morphett - hard to criticise a guy you grew up watching!

Clinton Grybas - much missed

Rex Hunt - quite appalling; thank God he's gone

Bruce Eva - rapt he's on AW; adds a touch of class to NIRS (who are actually very good at what they do)

Quartermain - wishes he was a commentator

Matty Lloyd - a breath of fresh air

David King - he's damaging his brand!

Dermie - out of his depth

Peter Schwab - bit like an older Lloydy

Mark Maclure - entertaining

Chris Grant - see Lloyd & Schwab

Tony Shaw - embarrassing!

Jason Dunstall - hard to listen to

Alastair Lynch - unintelligent

Gerard Healy - egotistical and ignorant

Dwayne Russell - that's as bad as it gets!

And a few from yesteryear:

Lou Richards - loved him

Mike Williamson - left way too early

Frank Adams - fine

Jack Edwards - painful

Peter Ewin - one year says it all

Peter Landy - makes it hard to watch the old replays

Don Scott - antagonistic

Geoff Leek - cool

Harry Beitzel - miss ya, H

Can I put in a vote for my least liked? Mark Robinson, hands down.

But to answer the question, I like Commetti and for special comments Matthew Lloyd and Robert Walls (but the latter on radio only).

Runs a close second to B Taylor What a dribbler!

Dunstall's commentary in the Hawks game was ridiculous. At times he would actually exclaim, "oohhh no.." when it looked like Melbourne were about to score. It would've been funny if it wasn't so shamefully biased.

Anyhow, Commetti and Whateley, and you can't go past Bruce, are the ones I most enjoy listening to.

Dwayne Russell needs to be dealt with. He ruins games of footy with his zany catchphrases ("get and go", "outside the paint", "plays for the free", "gives it some toe") etc etc) and complete misreading of the play. It takes a particularly bad commentator to actually ruin a game.

Yes a bit like old Rexy you knew everything except where the ball was and who had it quite appalling

Gary Dempsey - much maligned


Clinton Grybas was easily the best. Very nice guy too.

I think Mick Malthouse could be used more as he is on top of the current game and very much the same for Cameron Ling, you can see the respect he gets from and gives to the players in his boundry role but he would be a world ahead of most of those masquerading as expert commentators (Luke Darcy a joke for one, Kingggy, Lynch...........................).

Still like Huddo but this sort of thing is so subjective that I suspect nobody else does.

I like Huddo... but I can't quite shake the feeling that I'm listening to a work experience kid when he's on (which I find quite refreshing - he always seems in awe of those around him) :-)


Keep an eye out for the amount of times Bruce McAvaney calls someone with a 'good kick' that manages to miss the mark or even be turned over to the opposition.

He does at least once a quarter. I think he likes the kicking action more than the result sometimes.

I do think the AFL needs to get involved with the relationship between commentators and player managers. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Ditto with anyone that sits on a board.

Pick a side and then be as good at it as you can be. It's why a lot of the best callers historically haven't been players. They understand their role and people trust them for it.

7 are wasting their money covering live football, they should have paid for replay, crowd and bench shots and left the football to someone who actually want to cover what's going on. I swear I'm going to throw something at the tele if we miss any more live action tonight or if the producer looses the f..in ball again.

Good game though.

Matthew Richardson: "Uncontested possession hasn't been a problem for Melbourne this year".

Can we stop giving dead**** footballers commentating positions?

 

Like Dunstall, Richardson and can tolerate Commetti

Worst would be McGuire by a landslide

Sorry to disagree but Brian Taylor is the bottom for me.

He has no idea


Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

Featured Content

  • FEATURE: 1925

    A hundred years ago today, on 2 May 1925, Melbourne kicked off the new season with a 47 point victory over St Kilda to take top place on the VFL ladder after the opening round of the new season.  Top place was a relatively unknown position for the team then known as the “Fuchsias.” They had finished last in 1923 and rose by only one place in the following year although the final home and away round heralded a promise of things to come when they surprised the eventual premiers Essendon. That victory set the stage for more improvement and it came rapidly. In this series, I will tell the story of how the 1925 season unfolded for the Melbourne Football Club and how it made the VFL finals for the first time in a decade on the way to the ultimate triumph a year later.

      • Love
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • PREVIEW: West Coast

    Saturday’s election night game in Perth between the West Coast Eagles and Melbourne represents 18th vs 15th which makes it a tough decision as to which party to favour. The Eagles have yet to break the ice under their new coach in Andrew McQualter who is the second understudy in a row to confront Demon Coach Simon Goodwin who was also winless until a fortnight ago. On that basis, many punters might be considering to go with the donkey vote but I’ve been assigned with the task of helping readers to come to a considered opinion on this matter of vital importance across the nation. It was almost a year ago that I wrote a preview here of the Demons’ away game against the Eagles (under the name William from Waalitj because it was Indigenous Round).  I issued a warning that it was a danger game, based on my local knowledge that the home team were no longer easybeats and that they possessed a wunderkind generational player in Harley Reid who was capable of producing stellar performances playing among men a decade and more older than he.  At the time, the Eagles already had two wins off the back of a couple of the young man’s masterclasses and they had recently given the Bombers a scare straight after their Anzac Day blockbuster draw against the then reigning premiers.

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 1 reply
    Demonland
  • NON-MFC: Round 08

    Round 08 of the 2025 AFL Season kicks off on Thursday with a must-win game for the Bombers to stay in touch with the top eight, while the struggling Roos seek a morale-boosting upset. Friday sees the Saints desperate for a win as well if they are to stay in finals contention and their opponents the Dockers will be eager to crack in to the Top 8 with a win on the road. Saturday kicks off with a pivotal clash for both sides asthe Bulldogs look to solidify their top-eight spot, while Port seeks to shake their pretender tag. Then the Crows will be looking to steady their topsy turvy season against a resurgent Blues looking to make it 4 wins on the trot. On Election Night a Blockbuster will see the ladder-leading Pies take on the Cats, who are keen to bounce back after a narrow loss. On Sunday the Sydney Derby promises fireworks as the Giants aim to cement their top-eight status, while the Swans fight to keep their season alive. The Hawks, celebrating their centenary, will be looking to easily account for the Tigers who are desperate to halt their slide. The Round concludes on Sunday Night with a top end of the table QClash with significant ladder implications; both Queensland teams are in scintillating form. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

    • 148 replies
    Demonland
  • PREGAME: West Coast

    The Demons hit the road in Round 8, heading to Perth to face the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium. With momentum building, the Dees will be aiming for a third straight victory to keep their season revival on course. Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Thanks
    • 563 replies
    Demonland
  • REPORT: Richmond

    The fans who turned up to the MCG for Melbourne’s Anzac Day Eve clash against Richmond would have been disappointed if they turned up to see a great spectacle. As much as this was a night for the 71,635 in attendance to commemorate heroes of the nation’s past wars, it was also a time for the Melbourne Football Club to consolidate upon its first win after a horrific start to the 2025 season. On this basis, despite the fact that it was an uninspiring and dour struggle for most of its 100 minutes, the night will be one for the fans to remember. They certainly got value out of the pre match activity honouring those who fought for their country. The MCG and the lights of the city as backdrop was made for nights such as these and, in my view, we received a more inspirational ceremony of Anzac culture than others both here and elsewhere around the country. 

      • Love
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • CASEY: Richmond

    The match up of teams competing in our great Aussie game at its second highest level is a rarity for a work day Thursday morning but the blustery conditions that met the players at a windswept Casey Fields was something far more commonplace.They turned the opening stanza between the Casey Demons and a somewhat depleted Richmond VFL into a mess of fumbling unforced errors, spilt marks and wasted opportunities for both sides but they did set up a significant win for the home team which is exactly what transpired on this Anzac Day round opener. Casey opened up strong against the breeze with the first goal to Aidan Johnson, the Tigers quickly responded and the game degenerated into a defensive slog and the teams were level when the first siren sounded.

      • Clap
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland