On 09/05/2021 at 06:47, The heart beats true said:

I found the conversation they had with TMac after the game on 7 a really interesting example of what they think their role is. Tom spoke eloquently and very insightfully about the complexity of his preparation and both Ling and Darcy looked at each other in way that suggested this was all a bit high brow for the audience. 

I really do think they’ve been told to commentate to a grade 4 level - ‘go in harder’, ‘run faster’, ‘take a speccy!’

Surely it can’t be an accident. It’s such a shame that we have to accept such low assumptions of us as an audience. It’s pretty insulting.

That’s interesting. I never gave it much thought, but now that you mention it... 

Not a single one of that commentary team is good.

Richo is undoubtedly the worst. He adds literally nothing of value. Nothing. Everything he says is meaningless, cliched, guff. He's hopeless. 

McLachlan's a terrible commentator. 70% of what he says is "[club] has kicked X of the last Y goals", or "[club] led by 10, now [other club] leads by 5".

Darcy's actually commentary is fine but his mistakes with names are unforgivable.

What about it being our first 8-0 start "since 1956... err... 1965... when Ron Barassi was in his first year as coach". Whoever wrote that fun fact for Darcy forgot to include the bit about RDB coaching Carlton. 

Are there any modern commentators that are universally liked though? The discussions about commentators is almost solely about which ones people hate.
 

modern = started commentating post 2000 

This is cringey me even writing this but the way channel seven train and develop their commentary team is for them to be “story tellers”. One of the (many) things that annoy me about them is that they always feel they need to fill the air with commentary, such as when TMac was lining up for his goal in the final quarter Luke Darcy couldn’t help but dribble on about his journey and how big a kick this was in the game....yadda yadda yadda. After he kicked it he also said, “that could be the sealer” with 7min 30sec of match time left ?.

It’s honestly excruciating to listen to and for me it takes away from the game. 

There are some insufferable Fox Footy commentators but at least they just focus on the game. 

Edited May 9, 20214 yr by Pates

Society has improved in many ways but commentary has gone backwards. Some of the truly great commentators Doug Bigelow; Tony Charlton; Dennis Commetti; Jack Edwards;George Grljusich; Doug Heywood; Peter Landy; Geoff Leek; Drew Morphett; Percy Beames; Lou Richards; Ian Robertson; Mike Williamson; Butch Gale leave current commentators for dead. 

  On 09/05/2021 at 09:11, BoBo said:

Are there any modern commentators that are universally liked though? The discussions about commentators is almost solely about which ones people hate.
 

modern = started commentating post 2000 

I don’t hate Huddo as he doesn’t tolerate too much blokey nonsense, and likes to call the actual play.

I think ‘I don’t hate’ is the best you can hope for.

  On 09/05/2021 at 03:58, Nasher said:

AFL commentary is just jobs for the boys. Luke Darcy is a great example. He has a voice like fingernails on a chalkboard and he doesn’t know the players’ names. There had to be thousands of better candidates out there.

Two professional callers who sound good and know the players’ names, with one ex-footballer or coach for special comments that are insightful (aka, not Ling or Dal Santo) would be great. But nah, let’s just fill the box with dribbling morons instead. And Hamish McLaughlin might not be an ex-footballer but I definitely include him in the latter category.

I miss Drew Morphett.

  On 09/05/2021 at 09:27, Deesprate said:

Society has improved in many ways but commentary has gone backwards. Some of the truly great commentators Doug Bigelow; Tony Charlton; Dennis Commetti; Jack Edwards;George Grljusich; Doug Heywood; Peter Landy; Geoff Leek; Drew Morphett; Percy Beames; Lou Richards; Ian Robertson; Mike Williamson; Butch Gale leave current commentators for dead. 

Every current commentator wants to sound entertaining (of self) and hip - most have descended into the Lou Richards category just above Jack Dyer. I listen to the commentary just for the names of non-Melbourne players and only a few ring a familiarity bell. 

  On 09/05/2021 at 09:11, BoBo said:

Are there any modern commentators that are universally liked though? The discussions about commentators is almost solely about which ones people hate.
 

modern = started commentating post 2000 

AFLW commentating has been good. No over the top hysterical nonsense just straight calling the game. Jason Bennett the best of them. I like abbey Homes as well.

Channel 7 footy coverage is the TV equivalent of the daily mail. You read it because it’s free and readily available, but it’s also complete trash and you know it. 

Edited May 9, 20214 yr by Jaded

Has anyone noticed that our some of our players are now at that level where they get talked up as superstars no matter what small thing they do?

  On 09/05/2021 at 09:55, BAMF said:

Has anyone noticed that our some of our players are now at that level where they get talked up as superstars no matter what small thing they do?

And some are at the level where they get called James Jones and Josh Hunt ?

  On 09/05/2021 at 09:27, Deesprate said:

Society has improved in many ways but commentary has gone backwards. Some of the truly great commentators Doug Bigelow; Tony Charlton; Dennis Commetti; Jack Edwards;George Grljusich; Doug Heywood; Peter Landy; Geoff Leek; Drew Morphett; Percy Beames; Lou Richards; Ian Robertson; Mike Williamson; Butch Gale leave current commentators for dead. 

Add Tim Lane and David Parkin to that list.

Special mention to Tommy Lahiff "Are you there Harry?"

Contemporary commentators worth listening to include Daisy Pearce, Jordan Lewis and Jonathon Brown. Gerard Healy and Garry Lyon are generally acceptable if not overexposed.

Edited May 9, 20214 yr by Tarax Club

Just looking through responses it makes sense that special comments have value for televised commentary as ex-players can notice and explain what is happening in a (generally) interesting way. Even if their ego is off the charts (e.g Dermie), they actually do have insight into the game. 
 

I listen to and generally enjoy abc radio, but they have to describe what we can’t see. On the television, I guess it shows that there is a real art to calling the game while respecting the intelligence of the viewer. 
 

FWIW, Tim Lane and Denniss Commetti developed this skill, and others like Anthony Hudson are good because like Lane, come from the radio background.

Bruce M had a few good years but became stats obsessed and every question became Rhetorical, but at least he had genuine passion and it wasn’t all about him. This I think is true of guys like Landy, Morphett and even Donegan - they seemed thrilled just to be able to call the greatest game on TV.

 

The curse of modern footy journalists and callers is that the whole thing is a weird branding exercise and massive ego / status anxiety combination that makes a bunch of ‘blokes’ add extra eye liner and hair tints to get attention. But deep down they’re desperate not to lose relevance, which only leaves them end up on the Newman Express. 
 

If you’re reading this 7 - give us some humility, talent and passion, and tell the swinging [censored] they can powder their noses elsewhere. 
 

Over.

 

 

Ffs. Hamish Mcmoneylan loves the Swans. 
 

“what a great year they’re having. Definitely better than expected and showing great form “. 
 

No mention of the Dees until the last minute.  Richo at least acknowledging the Dees in patches. 
 

why the love affair with the Swans. 

Also who is Jordon Jones. ??  I think he was called a few times. Get it right channel 7 muppets.  It’s James Jordon. 

  On 09/05/2021 at 07:39, titan_uranus said:

Not a single one of that commentary team is good.

Richo is undoubtedly the worst. He adds literally nothing of value. Nothing. Everything he says is meaningless, cliched, guff. He's hopeless. 

McLachlan's a terrible commentator. 70% of what he says is "[club] has kicked X of the last Y goals", or "[club] led by 10, now [other club] leads by 5".

Darcy's actually commentary is fine but his mistakes with names are unforgivable.

Nice toupee too.

  On 09/05/2021 at 12:26, spirit of norm smith said:

Ffs. Hamish Mcmoneylan loves the Swans. 
 

“what a great year they’re having. Definitely better than expected and showing great form “. 
 

No mention of the Dees until the last minute.  Richo at least acknowledging the Dees in patches. 
 

why the love affair with the Swans. 

Whenever we’re doing well he always sounds down or disappointed, maybe he does it for everyone except for the tigers. 

It is like most FTA tv now they try to make it about the presenters and not the game. It is like watching the talent shows that seem to be more about the judges than the talent.

Commentary is at an all time low across all mediums.. the need to talk throughout the game is criminal, the amount of great highlights not captured because we are getting history lessons on players .

It comes down to the stations, that must be what they want, but its weak from the networks absolutely pathetic that they are not stronger.

I like personality in my calls but just call the game, dont talk.

  On 09/05/2021 at 22:30, Demon3 said:

Commentary is at an all time low across all mediums.. the need to talk throughout the game is criminal, the amount of great highlights not captured because we are getting history lessons on players .

It comes down to the stations, that must be what they want, but its weak from the networks absolutely pathetic that they are not stronger.

I like personality in my calls but just call the game, dont talk.

I think that part of the problem is that stations hate silence so the commentators have to add drivel to fill the space.

  On 09/05/2021 at 22:40, old dee said:

I think that part of the problem is that stations hate silence so the commentators have to add drivel to fill the space.

Well the people running the stations have lost touch with what their audience wants. This game is constantly moving..  the action needs to be called or let the pictures tell the story.. qtr and half time and pre game is where they can tell us things and have a discussion.

Guaranteed to upset some, but I rate Mark Howard on Fox. He resists the urge to over commentate, keeping his involvement to the minimum. He also lets the expert commentators give opinion and focusses on play by play calling. 

Crowd shots, coaches boxes, players getting a rub down are not what I want to see. FFS show the footy on the big screen and show that other rubbish if you must in the little box. It is very interesting to me to see setups prior  to a ball up. I couldn't care less about seeing coaches talking on the phone. (says old man shouting at the sky)