Reaction to Channel Nine’s Telstra Tracker at State of Origin I

AS GOOD as the players were in Origin I, Channel Nine had everyone talking with its own piece of wizardry that stole the show.

Nathan Peats covered almost all of the ground, according to the Telstra Tracker.

CHANNEL Nine debuted a fresh piece of technology — the Telstra Tracker — in last night’s State of Origin clash at Suncorp Stadium.

The new gizmo, a GPS tracking device attached to an undergarment on each player, is designed to track players’ running distance, position on the field and max speed throughout the game, presenting the viewers with a real-time indicator of each star’s performance around the paddock on the night.

The Tracker experienced a few bumps. At one point it failed to register any data as it appeared on the screen.

The data obtained was also used to create a heat map highlighting where stars had run most on the field.

Despite the hiccups, the new tech did its job, showing fans how their favourite players such as James Tedesco and Jarryd Hayne had run almost everywhere on the field by the end of NSW’s record win, resulting in data maps resembling Jackson Pollock paintings appearing across the screen.

The technology could have just as easily been in the hands of the AFL, who fought to have the revolutionary live GPS data for their own matches.

NSW hooker Nathan Peats covered almost all of the ground, according to the Telstra Tracker.

The Age reported the AFL and statistics giant Champion Data held “urgent meetings” with the AFL to ensure it was the first sporting code in the country to showcase such an innovation, but a number of roadblocks stopped them.

This allowed the NRL — and Channel Nine — to swoop in and scoop its cross-code rival, using one of the biggest occasions of the year to test out the new toy. It was a bold powerplay in the battle for footballing supremacy in this country.

Some players and clubs were reportedly anxious of the tracking software for fear of it being used to embarrass stars for underperforming via the stats being misinterpreted.

Fans had mixed reactions to the technology. Channel Seven reporter Dean Felton questioned if it was “pointless” and “annoying”, but he does work for a rival network after all.

Comedian Scott Dooley also joined in on the action.

Any chance the #Telstra Tracker could measure the most pointless, annoying graphic on a sports telecast? #Origin

— Dean Felton (@DeanFelton7) May 31, 2017

But you must admit the Telstra Tracker is a tremendous innovation in televised sports coverage. How did I endure 36 Origin yrs without it?

— Dean Felton (@DeanFelton7) May 31, 2017

If it wasn't for the #TelstraTracker I wouldn't have had a fkn clue what was happening tonight. #Origin

— Scott Dooley (@scottdools) May 31, 2017

I actually enjoyed the @Telstra tracker during state of origin tonight. It's good to see the player's stats 👍

— Corey G (@CoreyG20) May 31, 2017

@wwos Your Telstra Tracker has been a failure. Stick to the footy. And bring back Ken.

— Ben (@BPD0016) May 31, 2017

James Tedesco on the Telstra Tracker. He's literally stewing in his own juices. #Origin pic.twitter.com/xfUqCEVlq2

— Joseph Michael James (@left_of_centre_) May 31, 2017

I'd like to see a heat map on the person operating the heat map. #Origin #UPTHEBLUES pic.twitter.com/epKHIzlypY

— Matt Baseley (@MattBaseley) May 31, 2017

It's just not QLD's night. I'm still waiting for the Telstra Tracker Heat Map. #origin #UPTHEBLUES

— Ryan Fitzgerald (@FitzySA) May 31, 2017

Head of sport at Channel Nine Tom Malone said he was thankful for players agreeing to wear the Tracker and was happy with the technology’s first run in rugby league.

“The Telstra Tracker had a great debut last night,” he told AdNews in an interview Thursday morning.

“In sport it’s all about access and innovation. This was both. You were getting closer to the players than ever before by knowing things like how fast they were travelling and also innovation in terms being able to tap into GPS trackers in real time,” Malone said.

“We’re grateful to the players for wearing them and also from a commercial point of view, getting Telstra on board was a good result for Channel Nine and the NRL.”