Rugby League TV coverage before 1998

[Loudstrat]

That was the early 1990s on channel 9. You couldn't really call it "coverage"...



Was it legal cutting 37 minutes of the sunday night replay? Surely KP was pushing the envelope to get away with that one and I suppose the ARL agreed to it so that just says it all about them.

7 games on a sunday in 95 and only 43 minutes of one game covered



For me it's a good enough reason to shaft channel nine/arl and go with a broadcaster that shows all the games live as murdoch proposed and delivered

Yes. Lets punt C9 for something that happened 15 years ago and they fixed after 7 games ffs! :crazy:

 

[Tommy Anderson]

I think Moose also did the Channel 10 night games - was it Monday night? I recall one night he objected to the night football mascot "Whacka the Emu", claiming that league didn't need such gimmicks. He then said he was going to come back with a 303 and shoot it!

Gotta love the Moose!

Waka the Emu is one of my earliest footy memories from going to the SCG for Monday Night Football as a 5 or 6y.o

 

[Acka]

Anyone remember Channel 9 broadcasting SUper League games in 1997? Kind of sh*tty IMO.

Channel 9 broadcasted the 1997 games played in Australia and New Zealand of the World Club Challenge.

Actually in the year 1997 the TV rights went like this:

Friday Night 9:30PM ARL Friday Night Game Channel 9
Saturday Afternoon 4PM ARL Saturday Afternoon Game Channel 9
Sunday Afternoon 5PM Super League Sunday Afternoon Game ABC (Hosted by an ABC panel but the pictures and commentary were provided by FOX Sports. It was Fox Sports live game on Sunday)
Monday Night 9:30AM Super League Monday night game

Channel 9 had the rights to all the Super League and ARL finals series and representative matches.

 

[Paulie Jay]

I think Moose also did the Channel 10 night games - was it Monday night? I recall one night he objected to the night football mascot "Whacka the Emu", claiming that league didn't need such gimmicks. He then said he was going to come back with a 303 and shoot it!

Gotta love the Moose!

Moose did call games with Channel 10 in 1989/90 with Ian Maurice and Graham Hughes. These were Sunday night replays. The Monday night games you are referring to were from earlier in the decade circa 85/86. These were broadcast live on channel 10 with Ray Warren and Graeme Hughes, and possibly Bill Anderson. Moose did hate Whacka the Emu, but he was reading sport for the channel 7 news at the time.

I was there the night Whacka emerged from a giant egg and was introduced to the crowd at the SCG. After the hours of buildup, the general reaction was "WTF??"


eta. Now that I think about it, Moose called ball-by-ball for channel 10 in 1987 with Greame Hughes, but by 1988 was playing second fiddle to Hughes and Ian Maurice.

 

[Green Machine]

Can anyone recall circa 2000 Channel 9 dabbling in showing a few saturday night fixtures, like at 8.30? Or did i just imagine this:?

I think in 1998, prior to the finals. Channel 9 used their third game option on a couple of occasions on a Saturday night. I think it involved Parramatta games. The Swans were rating OK until Channel 9 decided to put an NRL game head to head against the Channel 7 coverage. Pity they stopped it,

 

[Stagger eel]

Anyone remember Channel 9 broadcasting SUper League games in 1997? Kind of sh*tty IMO.

it was one of the greatest ironies to come out of the war...

 

[Green Machine]

C7 with the Moose had hour long telecasts. Complete with the classic "Shaft" soundtrack, with the match winning try stop-started to coincide with the music at the end. The GF was the only game televised live.

Channel 7’s Big League Replay was only an hour replay for country affiliates that took the coverage (NEN/ECN, Mid state TV, NRTV etc.). In Sydney Channel 7 did an 1 ½ hour telecast.

 

[nyx]

When was the Sunday night 43 minute game farce?

What a **** of a decision by 9, that was!

Not sure of the year but I do remember Andrew Denton's media campaign "Free the 33" to try and force 9 to show the missing 33 mins of game time.

:lol:

 

[Green Machine]

What a **** of a decision by 9, that was!

Not sure of the year but I do remember Andrew Denton's media campaign "Free the 33" to try and force 9 to show the missing 33 mins of game time.

:lol:

1992 to mid 1996,

 

[nyx]

1992 to mid 1996,

:shock: was it really that long??

Bastards

 

[Green Machine]

Moose did call games with Channel 10 in 1989/90 with Ian Maurice and Graham Hughes. These were Sunday night replays.

The Moose joined Channel 10 after the 1986 Grand Final. That was Rabbits last game. Moose started calling with the Kangaroo Tour of 1986

The Monday night games you are referring to were from earlier in the decade circa 85/86. These were broadcast live on channel 10 with Ray Warren and Graeme Hughes, and possibly Bill Anderson.

Monday night Football started in the second half of 1985. Because the Mid Week Cup finished earlier, Channel 10 scheduled MNF in its place. Monday night finished at the end of 1997 when Channel 10 moved to Friday nights for the full season in 1988

Moose did hate Whacka the Emu, but he was reading sport for the channel 7 news at the time.

The news was the main reason Channel 10 recruited Moose. Moose demanded that he called all the games as well. Everyone else was moved out of the box, Graeme to the sideline and (I think) Bill Anderson to Balmain

I was there the night Whacka emerged from a giant egg and was introduced to the crowd at the SCG. After the hours of buildup, the general reaction was "WTF??"


eta. Now that I think about it, Moose called ball-by-ball for channel 10 in 1987 with Greame Hughes, but by 1988 was playing second fiddle to Hughes and Ian Maurice.

The Moose got pretty crook calling a midweek game at Newcastle in 1987. They reported at the time he suffered a middle ear infection. Years later it came out that it was a bit more serious than that. The Moose was no longer up to calling a game so the next year they had Graeme Hughes and David Fordham doing a tag team call with Rex giving the expert’s view. You do have a good memory

 

[Brutus]

The Moose got pretty crook calling a midweek game at Newcastle in 1987. They reported at the time he suffered a middle ear infection. Years later it came out that it was a bit more serious than that. The Moose was no longer up to calling a game so the next year they had Graeme Hughes and David Fordham doing a tag team call with Rex giving the expert’s view. You do have a good memory

Graham Hughes called with Ian Maurice in 1988 with Rex giving expert comments.

David Fordham was calling with Billy J Smith and David Wright in Brisbane that year.

 

[Green Machine]

Graham Hughes called with Ian Maurice in 1988 with Rex giving expert comments.

David Fordham was calling with Billy J Smith and David Wright in Brisbane that year.

Yeah, you’re right Brutus. I just finished watching the 1990 Grand Final on Foxsports. My mistake

 

[Paulie Jay]

The Moose was no longer up to calling a game so the next year they had Graeme Hughes and David Fordham doing a tag team call with Rex giving the expert’s view. You do have a good memory

Oh David Fordham, yes I forgot about him. I always associated him with Rugby.

edit - hah - I should have read the rest of the thread before posting!

I definitely remember Ian Maurice's voice on the 1989 ("Chicken George has got support too...") and 1990 ("Oh Canberra, they're too hot, they're too strong...") grand finals.

 

[LeagueXIII]

David Fordham also called the local Newcastle competition in the early 80's for NBN.

 

[Green Machine]

Oh David Fordham, yes I forgot about him. I always associated him with Rugby.

edit - hah - I should have read the rest of the thread before posting!

I definitely remember Ian Maurice's voice on the 1989 ("Chicken George has got support too...") and 1990 ("Oh Canberra, they're too hot, they're too strong...") grand finals.

My mistake about the Ian (The Bear) Maurice. In 1989, Channel 10/Captial TV had a show hosted by the Bear call Late Night League, on after the Sunday Night Movie. David Fordham called all the county games before the first test on the 1986 Kangaroo Tour for Channel 10.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

I remember Brutus, David Fordham pairing off with Billy J Smith and David Wright (currently with ABC) to call Brisbane and Gold Coast matches, and of course Origin games, mainly for Queensland audiences.

I seem to recall they did Broncos and Gold Coast games, even though Ch 10 in NSW were doing another match. Here's a match from 1991 with David calling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV4gTaVPF3U

I think this match was shown in NSW but late of night on the Sunday.

Same thing happened when Ch 9 got the rights. After Ch 10 lost the rights to Ch 9, Billy J Smith moved to 9 and paired off with Alan Thomas (now a racecaller in Brisbane).

Correct if I'm wrong but NBN also started it in 1992, covering Knights matches mainly for Newcastle audience, and these games were also shown late at night (11.30 or midnight) in Sydney.

Although in 1992 and 1993 there was the occassional game on Saturday night in Gold Coast which was shown both NSW and Queensland, with Big Daz (Darryl Eastlake) calling with Gene Miles.

One game I remember was Wally Lewis' last game, Gold Coast and Penrith in 1992.

Another one, Gold Coast and Newcastle in 1993, which was the Seagulls' only victory that year, and was Andrew Johns' first grade debut.

 

[beave]

i thought AJ made his debut against Souths at the SFS???

i could be wrong though.

 

[Paulie Jay]

One game I remember was Wally Lewis' last game, Gold Coast and Penrith in 1992.

Yes, he had a blinder that night too

I do remember back around 1983 that rugby league in Sydney was on two stations. Channel 10 had the main coverage with Ray Warren, but Channel 9 also did club games (they may have been Saturday games?) with Ian Maurice and Daryl Eastlake. I still remember a Manly v Norths game on 9 from that year where Phil Blake carved up significantly and Bear Maurice screaming that he was a freak.

I also remember in the 80s Warren Boland and Arthur Beetson doing Saturday games with Debbie Spillane on the sideline for the ABC, and Peter Jackson joining sometime in the 1990s.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

i thought AJ made his debut against Souths at the SFS???

i could be wrong though.

His first starting game.

He came off the bench against the Gold Coast, while either Hagan or Rodwell were halfback for Newcastle.

Yeah Pauly Jay, I remember ABC's coverage in the 1990s with Boland and Beetson. I think John Peard was also a sideline commentator for ABC.

I think since 1991 or 1992, Warren Boland was the main caller, wheras before that David Morrow was mainly calling with Boland on the sideline.

You mentioned Spillane, she was pretty good with her Rugby League comments. After ABC stopped calling games, I think she continued writing for Big League. Anyone know what she's up to these days?