Whilst enduring lockdown I have passed a lot of time watching Wigan games on Wigan TV and on my collection of DVDs (funnily enough I have yet to see them lose!). While not wishing to continue the debate about the merits or otherwise of their tenure at Sky I have at times wincedat the unprofessional and abysmal quality of their presentation. Lockdown has given me time and the inclination to set out my assessment. Some of the points I have identified are :
* All penalties are "silly"
* A poor kick "straight down the throat" of the fullback. No recognition that the fullback has often run 20/30 yards to get under the ball whilst it is in the air
* Criticism of the refs for a wrong call after they have viewed it many times frame by frame on their monitor
*Assessments of tactics and play having absolutely no relationship to what has happened, or is happening. Terry and barrie are no better in this respect
*Regular and often mistaken identification of players especially by Eddie "I beg your pardonitsnot...." Hemmings
*At the kick off every game should be a "cracker"
*Mind reading about what players are thinking
* Insane and puerile banter between them. In other sports eg RU and soccer the commentators do not engage in such bufoonery and witless exchanges. They do treat the game with some gravitas
The whole jokey or comedy approach ( a throw back to the Eddy Waring approach) did, in my opinion trivialise the game and did it a great disservice.

There! I feel a lot better now!!

Agree with most of above but whilst they are the front men don't you think that SKY are the perpetrators of this Rugby"comedy"League?

Whilst Eddie and Mike S have gone, the same is happening with Barry and Terry. The comedy duo with two straight men. They are not funny, they cannot identify tactics being used either by the coaches or the play maker players. They should have been sacked along with Boots N All.

Carney and Wells come over far better on some of the older videos and if Shenton and Wilkin can replace Baz and Tez the game could be headed in the right direction.

When the new deal is done surely SL will demand an upgrade in commentary and especially the summerisers.

None of them sound as professional as a Martin Tyler or give feedback from a player perspective as good as a Gary Neville say. It always feels like amateur hour.

Bill Arthur is worse, but at least they've gotten rid of Cummings and Powers.

I'm not a massive fan of American Football but the commentators draw me in with their love of the game with no bias whatsoever. When I say commentators in NFL - what are there 100-200? We can't seem to employ one decent one. I don't doubt the fellas love the sport but they don't offer me anything that I don't already know. NRL - Fox have solid to brilliant commentators and the co-commentary is always insightful. The blue prints to copy are out there

Dont disagree with much of the initial post but would still far prefer them to be doing it than the current lot.

The best combo this year was Mark Wilson and Tony Rea.

Bill Arthur is far worse than Hemmings was,they really need to get Dave woods and Jon wilkin in and clear out the deadwood

Think most would agree that Wells would stay. I am probably on my own but i don't mind Barrie Mac. I think he brings some useful information to it, his knowledge of the amateur and junior ranks is second to none. Baz can stay for me as i feel he could be very useful if the comedy persona is gotten rid of. Terry O'Connor doesn't do it for me. Absolutely loved him as a player but not as a pundit. Carney is a good presenter and could also stay. Cummins was a joke who never EVER admitted that a ref made the wrong decision and was pointless him being there. Clarke is a joke. A Wiganer trying to sound like he is from Oxbridge just doesn't cut it and he makes stupid statements and predictions that never come to fruition. Stuart Pyke did a few matches last season and was very knowledgable and interesting to listen to also.

If it was my decision it would be

Lead Commentator - Dave Woods
Commentator 1. Barrie Mac
Commentator 2. Jonathan Davies
Presenter - Brian Carney
Studio - John Wilkin & a guest every week
Analyst - Jon Wells
Pitch side - Jenna Brooks - think she's great

Jonathan Davies is a rubbish RL commentator IMO.

I can’t bloody stand Mark Wilson, I’m afraid. S’all about opinions I suppose.
The BBC fella would be my choice. Is it Dave Woods?

Barry and Terry are so out of touch it’s not funny, the game has moved on from their days, and the analysis they offer is based on when they played, and it’s not what the game is now. As commentators they are there to explain the game to the viewer, good and bad. Barry’s commentary harks back to when the role of prop was really night club bouncer, And doesn’t offer any insight to what’s happening on the pitch. Terry is a nice guy but how many setasixes do we have to hear in a commentary.

If the sport has aspirations beyond beer and skittles we need to present the sport better, Wilkin is articulate and comes over well on TV, Clarke is ok, but needs to stop trying to sound clever and just comment on the game, I get the feeling he is trying to find a role in the team. But why do we have so many commentators? Football has a commentator and a summariser then the studio, we are trying to cram too many “personalities” and it does end up a bit “end of the pier”.

Carney is good as a presenter, I like Jon Wells’s reviews, but that really is it with the team at the moment. So who do we bring in Davies is ok, he understands the basics and comes over well, but is also a recognised face.

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.