What’s the Buzz: Tough call as Joel Caine loses commentating gig in rating war
BUZZ: The bitter rugby league ratings war between 2GB and Triple M has cost former NRL player Joel Caine his job as a commentator.
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THE bitter rugby league ratings war between 2GB and Triple M has cost former NRL player Joel Caine his job as a commentator.
Caine is employed full-time by Sportsbet to spruik the betting odds on Channel Nine, Triple M, Fox Sports and other media outlets.
He is also an outstanding young commentator who calls games for 2GB and Fox Sports on the weekends.
Trouble is Triple M saw it as a commercial conflict in that Caine was appearing on both 2GB and its own station.
Because Sportsbet is his main employer, Caine reluctantly pulled the pin on his 2GB gig.
“It’s difficult because Ray (Hadley) has been a big supporter of mine,” Caine said.
“It’s unfortunate that, due to commercial conflicts, I can’t call for him. The bottom line is I have a family to support and Sportsbet is my main employer.”
Hadley says he is disappointed to lose Caine.
“He does an exceptionally good job,” he said.
“But I can understand Joel has to put his main employer first.”
A spokesman for Sportsbet was reluctant to comment on Triple M’s ultimatum to Caine.
“Joel is an exceptional young talent and integral part of our brand,” the spokesman said.
“He’s in high demand and it’s not surprising that lots of stakeholders want him.”
Triple M’s stance is an indication of how seriously it is taking the ratings battle with 2GB’s Continuous Call team.
The first survey of the year was favourable for 2GB but only included four rounds of football. The rest was pre-season programming.
The survey actually showed Triple M figures had fallen from the previous music only format.
Hughes’s bravery an inspiration
WE have seen few more inspiring stories than former Knights fullback Mark Hughes and his courageous recovery from a brain tumour.
The Footy Show’s Erin Molan produced a beautiful piece on Thursday night, revealing the remarkable bravery of Hughes and the wonderful support of his wife Kirralee.
Check out: www.markhughesfoundation.com.au for more details.
Knot interested in publicising their big day, aisle say
JUST what is it about our sporting superstars and their secret weddings.
Two weeks ago we revealed Sonny Bill Williams has married his stunning partner Alana Raffie.
On Saturday golfing heartthrob Adam Scott revealed he too was now taken.
He married long-time Swedish girlfriend Marie Kojzar in a surprise and secret small Bahamas ceremony on April 17.
“It’s official. I am a settled down man and very happy,” Scott told revealed yesterday after his round at the US PGA Players’ championship.
“We just decided to get on with it, we’ve known each other long enough, let’s go and jump right in the deep end.
“It was just our family and a few friends and obviously there are a lot of people we would have liked to have had there who weren’t but we decided to have a very low key affair.”
Soccer ratings beat NRL
ON the eve of the World Cup in Brazil, soccer has provided further rock-solid proof that it is closing in on rugby league and AFL.
Last Sunday’s grand final set all sorts of records and actually beat the NRL’s City-Country game for most TV viewers.
It attracted the biggest pay TV audience ever for the A-League (334,000 average on Fox Sports) and was the most watched game of club football in Australian soccer history (692,000 average with a peak of 1 million, including SBS).
The rugby league audience on Channel Nine was 660,000 for City-Country.
The grand final was also the most watched worldwide (110 nations taking live or delayed coverage with a reach of 250 million) and the highest grossing gate ever ($2.1 million). The PR value was priceless.
Animal friendship, not membership
THE Rabbitohs have denied reports they include animals in their membership number of about 30,000.
Almost 100 hard-core fans have signed their pets up for $50. Their pooch or moggie gets a South Sydney fence sign and a pet food mat as part of the package. The Broncos, Bulldogs, Titans, Storm, Eels, Roosters and Tigers also have similar-priced pet memberships.
A woman in the middle
NRL chief Dave Smith has a dream of seeing a female referee in the Telstra premiership in 2015.
As we enter the Women in League week, Smith said Rebecca Frizelle (Titans chairman) and Raelene Castle (Bulldogs CEO) had already taken up prominent roles in the game.
“I would also like to see a female ref in an NRL match. We already have female touch judges, now we just need to go the extra step,” he said.
Darren would have nailed it
DARREN Lockyer has revealed what he would be doing with his life if he wasn’t one of Australia’s greatest rugby league players. He would be a builder.
Lockyer told a Broncos lunch last week he had spent a bit of time as a carpenter and barman before he made it with the Broncos: “I still like building things so I reckon I would be a builder.’’
And his tip for the premiership? “Manly will be the team to beat as long as Cherry Evans and Foran stay fit.”
Win for little bloke with a big heart
OUR story last week on little Jett Simonetti being turned away by Manly Christian Brothers rugby league club because he was too small has had the desired effect.
Jett found a new club and was back doing what he loves on Saturday morning. The Cromer Kingfishers 12Bs were only too happy to sign him up.
Moore luck in Irish dancing
SOMETIMES it pays NOT to be a first grade NRL coach. Just ask Kevin Moore, the former Bulldogs coach.
Kev is just back from London where he watched his daughter Ceili win the World Irish Dancing Championships. It’s the same title his wife and Ceili’s mum, Fiona, won back in 1980.
Only three Australians have ever won this prestigious folk-dancing title.
For Kev, it was far more important being there than coaching any footy team.
Purple power
IT’S great to see junior footy supporting the Women in League round.
Already 1100 pairs of purple socks have been sold with the proceeds going to various charities.
Taj Weaver, 7 (left) and brother Jarvis, 6 from De La Salle, Caringbah are already on board.
SAINT
IT’S not often an Australian sporting captain gets cut as ruthlessly as Socceroos skipper Lucas Neill, the man who led us to Brazil.
His time was up but he deserves to be honoured and remembered alongside our best ever.
SINNER
WHAT the hell is going on at NRL headquarters? The resignations last week of hard-working media department staff Dave Taylor and Tracie Edmondson robs the game of even more footy knowledge and experience. Half the current staff at headquarters wouldn’t know a football from a frankfurt.
SHOOSH
WHO was the Queensland Origin forward from a rival club seen in the vicinity of Roosters HQ at Moore Park on Thursday afternoon.
Let’s just say he’d make a great replacement for Sonny Bill Williams in 2015.
SHOOSH II
SOMETIMES it pays to keep your mouth shut, particularly when you’re paying out on your own boss. A rugby league multi-media personality was overhead bagging his very powerful and well-connected superior in a newsagent last week. A customer overheard the conversation and passed it on to the man he was criticising. A series of terse text messages have been exchanged. Stay tuned for updates.
SPOTTED
CARYARD king Nick Politis and agent-to-the-stars Khoder Nasser in deep conversation outside the Roosters’ office in Moore Park on Monday. It had been a difficult week for Politis who was split in the middle of the stink between two of his closest mates, James Packer and David Gyngell.
SPOTTED II
DAVID Gallop and his former NRL deputy Graham Annesley having a coffee and chat on the Gold Coast.
Old-school leader passes
AS a young reporter, one of the best blokes I ever met was Penrith centre Ross Gigg.
He later became club chief executive, a typical old-school official who loved a beer and a laugh.
Ross tragically passed away during the week. He will never be forgotten as a player, administrator and mate.
Set of six with ... Will Hopoate
1 FAVOURITE CAR
The Hopoate Vengabus
2 FAVOURITE TV SHOW
The Simpsons
3 FAVOURITE MOVIE
Remember the Titans
4 DREAM DINNER
Lebanese BBQ
5 FAVOURITE DRINK
Nan’s watermelon juice
6 FAVOURITE RESTAURANT
Ribs and Rumps
Originally published as What’s the Buzz: Tough call as Joel Caine loses commentating gig in rating war
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