Davies is awful

Eddie's Wigan bashing is was what frustrated me most, it particularly showed from 2010 when we became a force again.

Personally I loved Stevo. Although what came out his mouth was sometimes nonsense, his enthusiasm and excitement in the commentary box was up there with the best.

Right now we're at an all time low. Barry and Terry despite being in their roles for years still consistently trip and stumble through their broadcasts. My other half (who's a southerner) often laughs out loud at the phrases they come out with during in a professional rugby league match. While Bill Arthur & Rodd Studd are lack luster. Carney and Wells are beacon of light within the team, but are often cancelled out when they have guests like Luke Gale and Jamie Peacock struggling to piece a sentence together.

Wilkin, Sinfield and S.Tomkins are the only ones who have shown true ability for a future in the punditry.

Can't add to any of this. For once, I agree with almost everything everyone has said.

Some good observations and comments on here. Agree with much that has been said but here is my pennies worth ....
.
Bill Arthur - competent but shows no real enthusiasm or insight so get rid.
Baz - quite like him in small doses so possibly keep
Tez - sorry but get rid, dull
Brian - keep, an excellent front man
Wells - not bothered
Clarkey - a Wigan hero he might be but get rid, for interesting piece of insight there is is too much rubbish the most recent being the 'discussion' with Brian ref player welfare

For me get Dave Woods in. He is genuinely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the game.
Wilkin - not sure, we don't see him that often so he seems ok but would he be ok on a weekly basis i don't know
Jiffy - a hero for us at Warrington but not convinced about his commentating BUT neutrals and non believers will know who he is

Who knows what kind of bargaining position we might be in anyway, could be we get what we get and have to lump it. Hope not.

Jiffys the worst of them all, hes so out of touch

Don't necessarily disagree with you.but at least people might know who he is.

Why does that matter?
If you don’t know RL, you don’t watch it.

Let’s not pretend we have anywhere near the product (on the field) to attract many ‘neutrals’ to watch Castleford v Salford on a Thursday night in February.

I beg to differ!

I hate Davies. I can't stand his peevish "Just watch!", as if the audience are naughty schoolboys who haven't been paying attention. And I don't understand why the Aussies can find ex-players with real tactical insights to offer, like Walters and Sterling (OK, Gasnier*, not so much!), whereas we end up with Cannon and Ball. Hemmings is obviously the worst. Quite apart from the ridiculous anti-Wigan bias, despite watching the game for half a life-time, he even seems to struggle to understand the rules.


* As I've remarked before, if you prevented Gasnier from saying "there's space behind the ruck" throughout a game, you would get lengthy periods of silence!

I just think the whole presentation of RL needs a revamp. Look at football, RU, cricket, darts on Sky. Half the time it’s not even the games that get the juices flowing but the presentation of the game. Even the NFL (which I find horribly boring) presentation is superb and tempts me in.

I enjoyed Eddie and Stevo to an extent. I think Stevo added a lot more to commentary than we ever gave him credit for and when he left there was a huge void. Same with Eddie now when you look at who’s replaced him in Bill Arthur who I have nothing against but he’s as dull as dishwater.

For me I’d bring in the whole BBC presentation team. Mark Chapman, Jiffy and Jon Wilkin whilst keeping Brian Carney, Jon Wells and Jenna Brooks from Sky and utilising Brian Noble, JP, JJB and other former RL stars. I’d also consider using Will Perry more, though admittedly his RL show on Sky isn’t great.

Commentary wise it has to be Dave Woods for me with a good summariser which could be Brian Carney and/or Jon Wells for your weekly “flagship” game and the others using other commentators (I can’t for the life of me remember the names of the back up commentators at sky).

Chris Kamara was one if the best pundits I've seen in the studio for a long time, which says it all about the usual lot they get in.

Have some of you ever considered that Eddie and Stevo created interest with their comments and their way of commentating?

I used to think the same about them, especially where Wigan was concerned until they retired and then realised how much they have been missed!

I've watched a few old games back and it's is remarkable how poor Wiggy and Stevo were looking back.

Davies is worse than both of them though.

Kyle Amor is quite good when he is on The Superleague show.

nobody want any female pundits, apart from Jenna pitchside?
I personally don't think they add much, I know it is the same sport but the differences outweigh the similarities.

They should get James Graham on board if he returns home. He comes across well when he does TV work in Aus.

Other than Angela Powers who else is there? I know there’s Tanya Arnold but I think she’s far more suited to the studio recorded setting of The Super League Show rather than a live setting at a game. The Clare Balding ship has sailed away and although I liked her for the Challenge Cup games on BBC but I’m not convinced she’d be a right fit for SL, and that’s even before you ask whether she would consider it. She’d be good as a guest summariser though.

I liked Clare Balding too, but I agree that ship has probably sailed.

They are both better than Brian”2 - 2 = 100” and phil “Wigan are losing by 80 but have been the better team”
No wonder RL is a joke with them thick idiots at the helm

Would that be the same Brian that has a legal degree?

Hope so as it was evident that at the time she was involved, her knowledge of our game was from what she was fed by a BBC Researcher.

Perhaps, they need you atb the helm!

For me it weren’t her knowledge per se, it was her presenting style that won people over. Mark Chapman for example now, I don’t think he has a history with the game at all but his knowledge and presenting style are brilliant and for me for exceed those on Sky. I don’t particularly feel the lead presenter must have a deep knowledge of the game as an expectation.

I agree with the OP about Eddie and Stevo. I haven't really watched that many classic games but when I have it's reminded me just how bad their commentary was. They were basically a caricature. Their commentary was reminiscent of the awful commentary you'd get in video games. Basically, just a collection of repeated phrases and cliches, with a glitch every so often where the words would bear no resemblance to what was taking place in front of your eyes.

Despite their flaws, Eddie and Stevo did have some personality (even if it was incredibly grating after several decades). That's something that the commentators who have followed seem unable to present. It does make a difference too. The best RL commentator I've heard is definitely Andrew Voss. He brings some personality to his commentary, and while I'm sure that's a turn off for some, he also backs it up with some very astute and knowledgeable commentary.

Of the RL commentators around at the moment Dave Woods is probably the best. What I like about Dave Woods is that he doesn't try to dominate. When he was commentating on the early stages of the Challenge Cup with Jamie Jones-Buchanan they worked together really well. He would defer to JJB's knowledge, would ask questions rather than make assumptions. He commentates, and has an analyst or two alongside him and he sticks to that role well. At times there was an arrogance from the old Sky team, but particularly Stevo, where he seemed to assume he knew everything; every correct or incorrect player decision, every referee decision, what every player was trying to do, what the rules should or shouldn't be.

The best thing about the Sky team is Brian Carney. Not only does he work well as a presenter, he's a knowledgeable analyst but really shines when he has to confront ignorance (or to give him his full name, Phil Clarke). Jon Wells is good but not the most interesting person to listen to. Barrie and Terry are a bit tedious but Phil Clarke is the worst. Nothing wrong with someone having a contrary view but Clarke seems to do it for no reason.

Watching back all the old games and I just miss Ray French.