Rant and Rave
APART from the new television deal, the independent commission needs to look closely at radio contracts to ensure the game gets better exposure to lots of fans who have no other way of staying in touch.
When the Bulldogs played the Rabbitohs in traditionally one of the biggest games of the season, last Saturday night, not one radio station covered the game.
It's simply not good enough when you consider only 30 per cent of households have access to pay television. 2GB never broadcasts the 7.30pm Saturday games and the ABC chose to cover the Waratahs v Reds rugby match ahead of the Bulldogs-Rabbitohs.
This is not a criticism of 2GB, who have done a good job to open the game up to a whole new audience with their madcap weekend shows. But in the AFL, Triple M, 3AW, SEN and the ABC ensure every club, every game, every round gets a guernsey every week.
In the good old days when Frank Hyde, Col Pearce, Tiger Black, John O'Reilly and Allan Marks called the footy (yes, I'm a dinosaur), four Sydney stations ensured every game was covered.
And that's the way it should be, particularly now it's an acceptable practice to save costs by calling out-of-town matches off the television. The next radio contract is up for renewal in 2012.
