I honestly couldn’t believe why Origin games kick off so late during the night. To make matters worse, game start a few minutes past the advertised time. I remembered back in State of Origin Game 2 2015 when the game started at 8:20pm (Victorian time). Literally, starting the game late could be unfair for NZ rugby league fans. This means that game goes past midnight and NZ fans get very tired. Fans want to have the game starting early, not have a one-hour of pre-match talk on Nine.
The Veronicas will perform at the State of Origin Game 1 pre-match on June 9, 2021.
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8.20pm start is definitely too late. It needs to start between 7.30pm and 8pm.
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No, that’s quite clear when they even delay starts of Super Rugby TT games on Stan from 9:45 to about 9:57 the other week.
Australian audience is obviously the priority but if you want to eventually put a second NRL team in NZ it’d be smart to treat it with some respect
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Nine’s Danika Mason will be back tonight after having minor surgery in the past week.
She has posted on her Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPZhRZJgAe3/?utm_medium=copy_link
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According to my Nine Perth EPG, State of Origin Game 1 Pre-match will air at 5pm on 9GO (due to news). Unfortunately, 9Gem is not available due to Live Coverage of the Roland Garros French Open Tennis. After Nine News Perth finishes, they go straight to State of Origin Game 1: Pre-match from 5:30PM.
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Nine’s News is more important than 30 minutes of pre-match waffle.
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Adelaide will also get the first 30 minutes of the Origin Pre-Match on 9GO before moving to Nine. Nine News Hour in Adelaide takes priority at 6:30PM (ACST)
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Phil Rothfield in The Sunday Telegraph is reporting that Ray Warren will call the first State of Origin game, but probably from the Nine studios at North Sydney. His article also reports that Paul Vautin and Phil Gould are unlikely to be involved on Wednesday night. Nine will release details of the commentary team on Tuesday.
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Even if Ray Warren & Phil Gould won’t be in Townsville on Wednesday night, you’d imagine there are still a fair few Sydney-based on-screen personalities at Nine who’d be hoping they’ll be able to fly up there for the match. Just off the top of my head:
*Peter Sterling
*Andrew Johns
*Paul Gallen
*James Bracey
*Cameron Williams (for Nine News Sydney sport)
*Danny Weidler
*Danika Mason
*Mike Dalton (for the lighter, Blue-eyed Origin reports on Nine News Sydney)
…and that’s before any additional behind the scenes support is taken into consideration. Yes, I know there are already OB-vans based in Queensland but for State of Origin matches you’d think additional resources would be used for all the fancy camera angles and stuff which only ever gets seen during these big time games.
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State of Origin: Australia’s biggest television spectacle returns
The biggest spectacle on television and the greatest rivalry in Australian sport returns as Game 1 of State of Origin is broadcast EXCLUSIVELY LIVE on Nine and 9Now from 7.00pm tomorrow night.
Channel 9’s broadcast will be bursting at the seams with legends of rugby league, including the man who has played more Origin matches than anyone in history, Cameron Smith. Arguably the greatest player of all time, Smith makes his official debut with the NRL on Nine commentary team.
Smith is part of a massive Wide World of Sports production involving more than 40 cameras that will cover every corner and angle of Queensland Country Bank Arena to ensure viewers don’t miss a single crunching tackle or exhilarating play.
This year Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium plays host to Origin for the first time, giving the Maroons a decided advantage in front of a passionate and raucous home crowd, looking to repeat their fortunes after upsetting the fancied NSW side last year.
For coach Freddy Fittler’s NSW Blues, livewire Jarome Luai, will line up alongside his Panthers halves partner, superstar Nathan Cleary. For Paul Green’s Maroons, powerful forward David Fifita is bent on devastation after missing the last series through injury.
All eyes will be on the gladiators Payne Haas and Tino Fa’ausuamaleaui who are eager for more confrontation after their bone-rattling collisions in Origin 2020.
Quintessential Aussie comedy duo Roy & HG are back by popular demand for the series after their starring role last year, with a special presentation ahead of each game. For Game 1, they’ll be taking a close look at the advantages that Townsville offers for Queensland, and what effect the high-tackle crackdown might have.
Also, Maroons great Allan ‘Alfie’ Langer will present a special tribute to his old friend and mentor, the late NSW Origin legend Tommy Raudonikis.
To kick off all the action on the field, The Veronicas, ARIA Award-winning pop duo will get the crowd pumping with the pre-game entertainment.
Viewers will have the option to stream the game live on 9Now and also watch four supplementary streams to enhance the action.
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Marquee games such as Origin should NEVER be called from a studio… it deserves on ground coverage. I can understand last year being impacted by QLDs COVID ruling that commentators are not “essential workers”, but that doesn’t apply here.
If Ray can’t/won’t fly up, send Mat Thompson up or even Psaltis… Personally I prefer them to Ray anyway.
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Agree. Ray Warren has been far from his best for years now. If he can’t even get to the stadium, it’s now time to hand over the mantle to the next generation
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With all of these promos for 9now and their different streams. I hope 9 have invested in it to handle the loads they weren’t able to in years gone by
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Pretty much the Bob Rogers (who I know has since retired, but still…) of Australian sports commentary.
Ray Warren owned a frock shop?
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He’s almost 90 years old, well nearly, he just sounds and looks like it.
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Bob is 94 years old (95 in December), while Ray will be 78 on Friday.
In any case, I made the comparison because both are obviously broadcasters well past their prime, with their employers (2CH before Bob retired, Nine now with Ray) likely clinging onto past glories.
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I think Ray is trying to get too 100 Origin games on TV… I think he’s up to about #97…
And it could be financial… I thought I read somewhere that he once had an expensive gambling habit?
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The Veronicas will do the pre-game entertainment. I cannot wait for the commentators/hosts to talk about The Apprentice. Although “fired” from the show, Nine (and all stations) love cross promotion.
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