A retired guy over the on-contract guy? Yeah real stretch there Tele.
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Well Buzz has to pull something out of his aged fundaments. 
Again, I canât see Hammo coming back for a one-off. Iâd love it, but it wonât happen.
Speaking of Tim Gavel, iâm reminded of the story of where he worked through the night during the 2016 Olympics and was due to finish at around seven oâclock in the morning, as later that night he was calling the Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney, so he called Chloe Espositoâs gold medal win in modern pentathlon before heading out to the rugby match. Anyway, he was walking out the door when he was asked to keep an eye on an Australian in the womenâs modern pentathlon. Karen Tighe had crossed to him, and he started calling what turned out to be an Aussie gold medal. I thought Tim retired from the ABC, so is he a freelancer now?
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Itâs good to see SEN calling from the ground were possible.
More often than not they do travel to venues.
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Do they call NZ games at the ground?
Tireless Tim Gavel they call him
Sport Nation do.
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As @OnAir said Sport nation do.
SEN will do their own call for commercial reasons but a few weeks ago they took the Sport Nation call for Warriors vs Titans at Mt Smart, it was a Saturday 3PM game.
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Iâd imagine âsports nationâ were at the ground. Sometimes they are not that transparent and radio stations/ TV stations are sitting back in the studio.
Anyway, good to know ! May tune in again next time, generally the ABC is my league commentary team for many years. I only listen to the ABC for sport and SEN for cricket when the ABC does not do overseas cricket tours.
RE: having a local commentary team in NZ, they use to go over to Radio Sports, back in the day 2gb and 2bl had the same feed from NZ.
I wonder if SEN would use the Sport Nation call for Warriors vs whoever in the finals if it is a Warriors home match in NZ. Wonder if SEN might do that to be different from Fox/9 who do NZ games from a studio.
As mentioned above, the reasons for them doing it off tube are largely commercially driven to get sponsor mentions in rather than being different from Fox/9 (which is also partially why Fox do it off tube too).
Triple M went over in 23 but Fox and Nine did not. So who knows honestly.
TRIPLE M IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN WITH PREMIER NRL FINALS CALL
With the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership Finals Series about to kick-off, and anticipation at fever pitch, Triple M is gearing up to deliver league fans its biggest finals series yet. From the opening whistle to the final siren, Triple M will be there for every bone-rattling hit, try-saving tackle, and finals-defining play. Every NRL finals game will be called live, backed by seven days a week of league chat, and the most experienced commentary team in the game, to guide listeners through every exhilarating moment.
Triple M remains the #1 NRL audio broadcaster in the country, with more than 434,000 fans tuning in each week across Brisbane and Sydney.* In 2025, Triple Mâs premier commentary roster was strengthened with league legends Nathan Hindmarsh, Shane Webcke, and Kevin Walters joining the call. They bolster an already illustrious lineup including Emma Lawrence, Tony Squires, Dan Ginnane, Anthony Maroon, Ben Dobbin, Gorden Tallis, James Graham, Aaron âWoodsyâ Woods, and Wade Graham, thereâs no better team to deliver all the footy action as it happens than Triple M.
The expanded NRLW finals series â now with six teams competing â will also be front and centre on Triple M, capped off with live coverage of the NRLW Grand Final. Expect expert insight, player access, and analysis that goes well beyond the scoreboard, with a commentary team headlined by Emma Lawrence.
Off the field, Triple M delivers seven days a week of league talk with the shows that set the agenda, spark debate, and break the stories that will get fans talking. In NSW, The Rush Hour NSW with Maroon & Hindy takes listeners through footy news every afternoon with Anthony âMaroonâ Maroon, Nathan âHindyâ Hindmarsh, Millie Elliott, and Adam Peacock. In Queensland, Ben âDobboâ Dobbin and Elliott Lovejoy steer The Rush Hour with Dobbo & Elliott with no shortage of breaking news and insider scoops, while Brisbaneâs #1 Breakfast show Marto, Margaux & Dan will keep the city talking footy from sun-up. In Sydney, Beau, Cat & Woodsywill be live from a different finalistâs hometown each Friday of the finals, with Grand Final tickets up for grabs throughout the show in the fortnight before the decider.
Triple Mâs dedicated league shows also fire up across the weekend: The Thursday Scrum sets the weekendâs agenda while The Saturday Scrum and Sunday Sin Bin crunch the biggest issues, and match previews and reviews, live from 12pm. Fans wanting a midweek fix can binge on NRL Daily plus The Journos podcast with Danny Weidler, Michael Chammas, and Adam Peacock, all available on the Triple M NRL feed on LiSTNR.
Ewan Giles, SCA Head of Sports Content, said: âWith the Raiders breaking a 30-year drought to claim the minor premiership and the Panthers chasing five premierships in a row, this finals series is shaping up to be one for the ages. Triple M has the legends, the stories, and the passion to match the intensity on the field. No matter where you are, if you love your league, the Mâs will be your ideal soundtrack to finals.â
Triple Mâs NRL coverage and dedicated sports shows are available across the network and can be streamed free on LiSTNR.
Source: GfK Radio 360 Ratings. Metro Survey 5, 2025. Sydney / Brisbane. â Thursday 1800-2200, Friday 1800-2000, Saturday 1200-1700, Sunday 1200-1600. P10+ / People 10-69 / People 25-54. Cume Reach / Market Share %
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It will be interesting to see if Triple M in Brisbane and Gold Coast will broadcast the AFL semi-final between the Lions and the Suns, or the NRL elimination final between the Sharks and the Roosters, on Saturday. Both matches start at around 7.35pm.
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Brett Sprigg and Quentin Hull will share the commentary duties for ABC Radioâs coverage of the NRL finals, with Andrew Moore recovering at home from recent heart surgery. Quentin called tonightâs Storm v Bulldogs qualifying final in Melbourne, before flying back to Brisbane for the Lions-Suns AFL semi-final.
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I had a quick buzz around on the radio broadcasters as they are covering every game now and Iâd rank the coverage as the following in terms of building atmosphere.
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Triple M - were at the game, built it up and the noise levels were on point. Dan Ginnane was Play by play and is one of the best in the business.
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ABC - were at the game too and the game sounded great on both AM and digital. Quinton Hull called play by play.
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2GB - called from the interactive studio which for finals doesnât cut the mustard for mine, Mark Levy was on play by play, energetic but felt more like a regular season fixture.
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SEN - pretty well cut and paste from above, crowd noise was very quiet and it was obvious they werenât there. Jimmy Smith called the action.
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Glen Lauder calling Sharks v Roosters elimination final tonight for ABC Radio.
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What a sad result today but thought my boys stood up for about 70 minutes, not good enough though.
Had to listen to most of the game on the radio as I was working but listened to the Sport Nation coverage with Sam Hewat, Blake Ayshford and Anthony Gelling and they sounded great. Iâve listened to them a few times this year and I love Sammy as a caller, the most underrated in the game.
All the Aussie broadcasts were done from studios, Brett Sprogg on the ABC sounded quite good for the 10 minutes I listened to them when I had no reception.
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They played well, the scoreboard wasnât a real reflection of the game.
Will have to tune in to Sports Nation for a game next year to hear the coverage.
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According to the Daily Telegraph, Triple Mâs Sunday afternoon NRL coverage outrated 2GBâs Continuous Call Team in both Sydney (7.7% v 7.5%) and Brisbane (12.5% v 4%) during the last ratings period. The significance of this is that it marked the first time in over 30 years CCT hasnât been #1 on Sunday afternoons.
As for the others, ABC had a 3.6% share in Sydney and 3.4% in Brisbane while SEN only managed 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.
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What else do you expect? Nine and Hutchy trying to save money.