Steve Price: ‘Old white guys’ do footy commentary best, so why mess with it?

They embrace all woke causes and now the AFL wants a say on who commentates on the game, and “old white men” don’t deliver diversity. But fans wants to hear from ex-champions, so it’s not jobs for the boys but the best people for the job.

If a female commentator arrives with the natural talent of a Rex Hunt, the smoothness of a Bruce McAvaney or the wit of a Dennis Cometti and the passion of Huddo, then great.

It was in May 1997 early on a Saturday morning when my mobile phone rang.

Sam Newman was calling to apologise he couldn’t fill his seat at that afternoon’s AFL game to be broadcast by 3AW.

Back then I was program director in charge of content and the football coverage on AW. Who was calling the games and doing special comments was part of my role. I asked Sam why he couldn’t sit alongside Rex Hunt and Anthony Hudson, our two chief callers.

In typical Sam style he told me he was in the Austin Hospital after being run over by a car the night before out the back of his then Brighton home. His leg was broken in two places and his ankle in three. Sam had been knocked down by then girlfriend Leonie Jones after an argument.

It’s still the strangest excuse I have ever heard for not being able to turn up to work. But it was the nineties and football coverage back then was different with radio live coverage much more popular than now, with less live TV coverage and games spread over so many days.

3AW’s football coverage was dominant through the ’90s led by the most flamboyant and entertaining radio caller ever – Rex Hunt.

3AW’s football coverage was dominant through the nineties led by the most flamboyant and entertaining radio caller ever – Rex Hunt. His passion for the theatre of calling was next level with a clever nickname for just about every player and a sense of theatre never topped before or since.

It helped that Rex played for three VFL/AFL clubs in Richmond, Geelong and St Kilda over 202 games kicking 276 goals, and playing in two Richmond premierships in 1969 and 1973.

Sam – a 300 game one-club player for Geelong – was often paired on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon next to the legendary late Ronald Dale Barassi. I don’t need to spell out Ron’s career statistics, it would take most of this page. On one Saturday in the nineties Ron did however end up at the wrong ground missing the start of his rostered match.

He also famously missed Dermot Brereton being pole-axed in the opening minute of the 1989 Grand Final by Geelong’s Mark Yeates after dropping his pen on the floor of the commentary box – listen to the 3AW call on YouTube and trust me it was the pen on the floor not him looking the other way.

Ron Barassi’s career statistics would take most of this page. Picture: David Caird

AW’s nineties roster also included Robert Walls and Peter Daicos – superstars and champions.

The entertainment was off the charts delivered by a combination of champions, legends, self- made outstanding callers like Huddo, Shane Healey and the late Clinton Grybus. And guess what, we chose who we put to air!

Tim Watson and Garry Lyon went from dominating their era to AW special comments and the great Gerard Healy co-hosted our nightly sports show with the much-missed David Hookes for years.

Why the trip down memory lane?

Well unless we remind ourselves of how good footy coverage has been over the years, we will get the sort of woke nonsense tossed up by AFL House at the start of this month when it was revealed there is a clause in the media rights contract with Foxtel and Network Seven. It centres around the recruitment of on-air talent.

Most of the media – me included – knew nothing about what’s called a social inclusion clause and it’s unclear how long it has been there for.

Give me the passion of Anthony Hudson.

So, here we go, not content with embracing every woke cause from The Voice to welcome to country and renaming their teams with Indigenous names that make no sense to anyone, the AFL Commission now want a say on who commentates on the game. Not only want a say, it’s a contract clause.

It’s claimed the AFL want diversity in commentary teams and that doesn’t mean having callers and special comments experts from a diverse range of states to reflect that it’s a national game. Oh no! This about making sure that Foxtel and Seven don’t only use “white men sitting behind a desk.”

There has been some back and forwards since that claim but rest assured the social engineers running our game are determined to have more female commentators, both callers and special comments experts, made up mainly I presume of former or maybe current AFLW players. This despite the lack of crowd support for AFLW, the quality of the competition or the lack of personalities playing.

Garry Lyon and Tim Watson went from dominating their era to AW special comments.

Most people would struggle to name a handful of the players — compare that to the male game.

What is the reason given for this by the AFL? They want to attract a wider audience and old white guys who played just don’t deliver that diversity.

This is crazy stuff. The best hour of radio footy coverage right now is on AW at Midday on Saturday. It features usually Tim Lane a veteran legendary caller of ABC now AW fame, “Lethal” Leigh Matthews, Matthew Lloyd and Caroline Wilson. It works because Leigh brings the sporting royalty to the table as the player of the Century and four-time premiership coach, Tim is the glue that holds it together and Caroline with her vast experience is fearless and well connected.

Another ‘old white guy’ is Network Seven’s chief caller Brian Taylor. Picture: Supplied

Network Seven’s chief caller is Brian Taylor another “old white guy” while AW’s up and coming talent includes Jimmy Bartel a “young white guy.” Foxtel now employ Anthony Hudson and he’s joined regularly by ex-Footscray player Luke Darcy, Garry Lyon and Nathan Buckley.

What the AFL fails to understand is football coverage is essentially an entertainment business. The audience also want to hear from the champions of the past and recently retired AFL stars. Quotas demanding more and more women to be forcibly (by contract) included on commentary panels simply will not work and the audience will tune out.

If sometime in the future a female – former player or not – arrives with the natural talent of a Rex Hunt, the smoothness of a Bruce McAvaney or the wit of a Dennis Cometti and the passion of Huddo then great.

Until then just give me more of the “old or young white guys” who are not just talented ex-footballers but insightful entertaining media stars as well.

It’s not a case of jobs for the boys but the best people for the job.

If a female commentator can bring the smoothness of Bruce McAvaney, then great. Picture: AAP

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