Five secrets revealed from inside the Triple M commentary box

DIVA behaviour, hosts going walkabout and a little bit of knee touching ... an insider has lifted the lid on what really goes on inside the commentary box.

DIVA behaviour, hosts going walkabout and a little bit of knee touching ... welcome to life inside the Triple M commentary box.

Few of us will ever get to experience what really goes on on gamedays in the tiny room packed with ex-football stars, so news.com.au asked a Triple M insider to spill the beans.

In a number of humorous insights, he revealed there was almost as much going on behind the scenes as there was coming through our speakers.

Here are the most interesting revelations:

PACKED TO THE BRIM:

Things can get a little squishy in the box, which is usually filled with two techs, a producer and five announcers (some of whom aren’t exactly as trim as they were back in their playing days).

Most of the Triple M hosts are happy to sit wherever they’re told to, apart from Wendell Sailor.

The big man refuses to be the piggy in the middle and demands a seat on the end.

Big Dell gets a little angry when he’s seated in the middle. Pic Peter Wallis

THE PASS:

When you listen to the radio, you might wonder how it’s possible that as soon as one commentator stops talking, another picks up seamlessly and continues calling the action.

It turns out that the callers pass to each other through a variety of signals, or, if they’re passing to the person seated next to them, they’ll sometimes lightly touch the other’s knee.

Naturally with both eyes on the action, sometimes these hand signals can be missed or even ignored altogether (not naming any names ... Gorden Tallis).

DIVAS:

With a number of former footy legends on the Triple M commentary team, the hosts are used to being treated in a certain manner (like Gods).

OK, so maybe it’s not that extreme, but a few of them have been known to act like divas.

For example, Andrew Johns (three time Dally M Medal winner and supposed hard man) flat out refuses to go down and report from the sideline if it’s raining.

Referee expert Bill Harrigan expects to be handed the first ice-cream when a delivery is made to the box, Ryan Girdler is very picky about his coffee (he’s basically a coffee snob) and Gorden Tallis often just wanders off to grab a caffeine hit (when he’s meant to be on the sideline ... you know ... working).

Secrets from inside the box.

THE OUTSIDER:

On the whole, the Triple M call team is a close-knit group. But there’s a black sheep — an outcast — and that man is former referee Bill Harrigan.

The other guys respect his opinion on refereeing matters, but as soon as he starts to talk about football, he lovingly gets mocked by the former footy greats by his side.

In particular, Andrew Johns and Gorden Tallis often refer to the infamous 2000 State of Origin incident when Tallis was sent off after he called Harrigan a cheat.

NOT TECHNICALLY GIFTED:

Great football players? Yes. Great commentators? Yes. But some of the Triple M call team aren’t exactly tech experts.

Ryan Girdler in particular struggles with the ‘cough’ button — which a host can press to mute their microphone for a couple of seconds while they clear their throats.

If you listen to the audio above, you can hear what happens when Girdler gets a little confused.

This is the face of rage.

CHEMIST:

Sometimes the Triple M commentary box can resemble an elderly person’s bedroom at a retirement home thanks to the ample medical supplies caller Dan Ginnane brings with him.

It’s not uncommon to see him with a bag of throat lozenges, a voice spray and even a steam inhaler.

Triple M will be broadcasting LIVE from ANZ Stadium on Wednesday, 27 May for State of Origin Game 1.

You can join Dan Ginnane and Origin greats Mark Geyer, Ryan Girdler, and Shane Webcke — outside Gate E at ANZ stadium from 6pm.

And be listening to Triple M for a BIG announcement at 7:55pm on Origin night.

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