One of the reasons I've left Sky Sports and subscribed to Premier.

I watch all the games now with the bloody sound on mute and listening to radio commentary where possible

If there is a clearer statement as to the fans view for both SKY and the RFL to take onboard I don't think I've seen it.

Eddie can grate from time to time but by and large I think he's pretty good at his job. Clarke is mental but I can't help liking him for his earnest enthusiasm.

Stevo is another matter, though. What he says bears so little relation to what is happening on the pitch it's ridiculous. There was a time when I was amused by his eccentricity, but now I find him genuinely infuriating (whether that's him getting worse or me getting old and intolerant I don't know - probably a bit of both).

Stevo has turned into a parody of himself. You could just put a recording of his catchphrases on a loop and it'd contribute as much to the commentary as it would if he was actually there,

Fact is, having met the bloke I found he's a likeable character, not at all infuriating. It's the persona he adopts that is the annoying thing.

All those years ago when SL started on sky, he was probably the right man for the job, Bigging up the big hits, enthusiastic about everything.. Trying to make the sport appeal to a wider audience. I'm sure the real rugby league fans saw this and put up with it.

The guy run his cause and any viewers gained are probably now watching with the sound down or not at all



Guys an idiot, the one point has become some kind of in joke / catchphrase that only him and Eddie find amusing.

I just wish he'd utilise a different word.

Every sentence someone is utilising something - dummy runner, chip over the top, 'his head', blind side, quick play the ball.

I don't like listening to Stevo, but I did laugh rather a lot at a phrase he used to describe the forwards failing breaking the line;

"They didn’t have enough penetration by the forwards down the middle."

Written down, it is of my favourite things to read. It just flows, but with an intriguing message.

Utilising the word commentator to describe Stevo is definitely a sinbinning offence.

".... it had to be, as well!"

"Great catch... it had to be as well!" "Great tackle... it had to be as well!"

MUTE

It's amazing how much more you can enjoy a SL game with the sound off.

Red button to listen to the crowd would be nice

They trialled red button fan commentators in football a few years ago, give how everyone enjoyed the recent rediscovered cas footage on a certain video sharing site - I think that would be a great option.

haha the clip you're talking about is commentated by Mick Morgan - not necessarily just a fan, he commentates on all Cas games. legend

Only slightly off topic, I think Sky have got a new director who is obsessed with replays, live action was missed on too many occasions tonight. In one particular instance we were shown a replay of Hall breathing hard while an 'altercation' was taking place live.
Back on topic, the commentary team are well past their sell by date.

Why are commentators/pundits etc required at all?

Required? They're not. Any event is just so much better if there is a decent soundtrack. Sports events are no different, e.g. David Coleman in athletics, Peter O'Sullevan in racing, Peter Alliss in golf, John Arlott in cricket, even young Vossy in the recent RLWC.

But basically, if you have people talking, you need it to improve on silence.

Or maybe some people genuinely think they're and won't miss them at all? You can't be that arrogant to think that everybody would mourn their retiring and realise that you were right all along

To be fair though we wouldn't be able to moan about the commentary week in week out

I think it's getting worse. Probably about 6 out of 10 compared to a high of about 7 .

Still prefer Sky commentary to the Beeb, Jonathon Davies is enough to make you change channels and although Noble is extremely knowledgeable, he doesn't improve the situation greatly (he's better than Clarke though)

I know my wife will one day throw something at the telly if he talks about the "conditions" again

One thing that Noble does though is to explain things that have happened (ref decisions, 40/20s and so on) and why regarding rules of the sport so this helps the new or casual viewers to understand and follow the games. So I think he does a good job as a foil to the commentator. John Kear is also good in this role IMO.

The Sky team generally seem more content to witter on about their personal opinion of what should have happened (even when they are clearly shown to be wrong) and create controversy/arguments rather than describe what actually happened (or explain why decisions were made to any viewers not familiar with the sport).

Someone needs to send the message out to sky.
No more Phil Clarke
A little less Stevo.

1st of all, 'Watching' TV is the most popular pass-time for blind people in the UK....

Secondly, the commentators are supposed to be giving an explanation of what is happening and who by on the pitch - this is particularly useful for the casual viewers who don't necesarily understand all of the rules, or know who all the players are. The pundits/experts are there to give a more detailed explanation of the 'why', why has a certain player done what he did, what tactics are being used and why - this is probably more useful to those with a better understanding of the game, who want the insight of somebody from within the game (usually ex-coaches/players etc)

Sky unfortunately at the moment do not focus on the commentary side of things, instead using the current set up to give their personal opinions on what should/shouldnt have happened, whether that be a ref decision, or how the play happened. They need to be more factual, giving an explanation of what is happening on the pitch, with the pundits then giving the 'inside knowledge'. I think this would be much more enjoyable certainly for the regular RL supporter, but also the casual viewers. At the moment, I liken Eddie and Stevo to listening to a random bloke in the pub giving his opinion on what's happened - I'm not interested in their opinions, I just want to know whats happening on the pitch.