NRL on Nine

I wonder if Rabs will still do tests and origin(or will they give the tests to Matt Thompson?)

James Bracey will host games on Thursday, Friday and Sunday nights as well as The Sunday Footy Show

5 Likes

Wow! Thatā€™s very surprising. Good on him, have always found him a genuine presenter on Sky.

1 Like

When James announced he was leaving Sky News he said he wanted to spend more time with his wife and travel around the world. Did not expect him to turn up at Nine. Nevertheless he is a good replacement for Yvonne Sampson.

Pretty good get for nine. Heā€™s got some credibility so should fit in well in what is otherwise sub par coverage of league.

2 Likes

Though I am a little surprised that Nine have gone for an outsider for one of its more highly prized roles.

1 Like

I watch Sportsline all the time. He is a very good host. I was thinking that Fox Sports may have signed him up for the league. Good signing for 9.

I echo what others have already said about Bracey - heā€™s a great presenter who should do very well hosting Nineā€™s NRL coverage

Well to be fair anyone that covers sport puts anaylisis into the game ahead, Fox sports do it and so do Sky NZ. Even for NSW & QLD cup they do a 10 minute preview.

I wonder how long does Ray Warren want to call games for Nine? theyā€™ve got Matt Thompson and Ray Hadley ready if Rabs cuts back, which is what heā€™s doing, who do they have besides Thompson and Hadley? Whoā€™s the guy that does the QLD Cup sometimes? they could use him instead.

Apparently, this year will be Rayā€™s last.

As for the QLD Cup, doesnā€™t Scott Sattler call those?

Nine did have Alan Thomas call some Qld team games (Broncos, Cowboys, Titans) a few years ago, but he seems to have disappeared.

They did have Tim Gilbert call a few games, but I know his commentary isnā€™t well regarded here on MS :slightly_smiling_face:

If this year is indeed Ray Warrenā€™s last for NRL commentary at Channel Nine, youā€™d think that the network would heavily focus on that in their promotion for the coverage this year?

1 Like

I hope so ā€¦
Such as ā€˜Last origin series, last gameā€™ with highlights of his origin commentry etc ā€¦

1 Like

Personally, Iā€™m not a big Ray Warren fan, so I wonā€™t be disappointed if they donā€™t make much of fuss.

He does deserve a fitting send off however, which I imagine will be around the end of the regular season, leading into the finals.

Even if his last game is the Grand Final, I would think thereā€™ll only be a brief farewell then because most tributes will have occurred previously as above, as the Grand Final IS the biggest game of the season and that deserves to be the standout on the day.

3 Likes

Also not well liked north of the border. My advice would be to confine the promos and congratulations to the Sydney and NSW audience.

2 Likes

I think youā€™ll find that a fair few Sydneysiders (and probably others across NSW) also prefer to get their NRL coverage on Fox Sports over Nineā€™s wherever possible. And with the launch of the new Fox League channel, Iā€™d probably expect the ratings of Nineā€™s regular season NRL coverage to continue itā€™s decline in 2017.

But considering how long heā€™s been broadcasting for, I still think it would be nice to see Nine do a decent farewell to Ray Warren. Ray is quite possibly the last person still at Nine who represents the old school ā€œWide World Of Sportsā€ team, with most others having since retired or (in some cases) sadly passed on in recent years.

2 Likes

TURN IT UP SON!!! :stuck_out_tongue:

2 Likes

Peter Psaltis, Ben Dobbin and Mike Rabbitt from NBN are the fill in callers

1 Like

Yes they need to get Mike.

Mike wasnā€™t a bad caller actually, particularly for someone who comes from South Australia!

1 Like