It was a huge upset with NSW beating a star-studded Victorian line up in wet conditions.
3 Likes
Channel 7’s VFL Advertising reel for Season 1988 has been found.
6 Likes
A question.
Recently i learned in another thread on this forum that in 1986-87 (at least) that the ABC held sole VFL rights in Victoria, but in other states like NSW, commercial TV still screened it.
Did they take the ABC coverage, or was Seven (or someone else) still able to produce/sell coverage to other states?
2 Likes
A company called Broadcom owned the rights and had their own studio, with their own call team calling Friday Nights, a Saturday Game and a Sunday Afternoon game (Bob Skilton and Peter McKenna did the bulk of the calling, Dennis Cometti did Perth games with them and Barry Breen joined as special comments for Sydney games). Occasionally ABC commentators and feeds would be used in some areas for Saturday games if for example their local team (read Bears/Swans/Eagles) were playing at home or on another day.
5 Likes
Seven’s Athens 2004 closing remarks and credits set to Guns N Roses classic “November Rain”
2 Likes
That would’ve been followed immediately after by the first Sunrise to be produced out of Martin Place in Sydney.
2 Likes
Boy was Burke’s Backyard a thorn in the side of us league fans
5 Likes
Was for NRL fans what Better Homes and Gardens was for AFL fans. Might explain why I hate gardening 
7 Likes
From memory all operation (excluding 7 News Sydney) was moved to BCM over the the two week Athens Olympics
3 Likes
I don’t really care for gardening either but it has nothing to do with these shows.
2 Likes
Might do had it been cricket! (or even golf or lawn bowls) 
1 Like
With Origin opening up for another year I’ve been half thinking about the Voices of, and in terms of the main caller at least on the Sydney feed I’ve come up with the following (EXCLUDING the Long Beach match in 1987 and the Super League Tri-Series in 1997)
90: Ray WARREN (1989, 1991-2020, the other 9 he did I assume were for Radio)
29: Darrell EASTLAKE (83-88, 1990-1992, 1993 G1 and G3)
18: Ian MAURICE (83-87, 1990)
12*: Mat THOMPSON (2021-2024)
5: Rex MOSSOP (80 single game, 81 single game, 82, also did 3 as Special Comments/Host in 1990)
3: Graeme HUGHES (1990, called Origins for NZ TV in 1991-1994)
For Brisbane Voices that I’m aware of
17: Billy J SMITH (1980 single game, 1981 single game, 1982-1984, 1990, 1992)
15: Alan THOMAS (1987-89, 1991-92)
6: John McCOY (1985-86)
3: David FORDHAM (1990)
8 Likes
I recall Ray Warren and Darrell Eastlake were co-commentators for Nine somewhere around 1983-84?
Not sure how many games they did together I don’t think it would be 9 games though.
2 Likes
Eastlake and Warren were together in 1989, 1991, 1992 and Games 1 and 3 in 1993
5 Likes
Would it be too much to ask for a similar list for co-commentators?
1 Like
Will take a bit longer, particularly post mid 2000s
2 Likes
1990 was weird in that Channel 10 did Origin that year then it went back to Channel 9 the following year
3 Likes
That was when 10 had financial difficulties and defaulted on their payments to the NSWRL for TV rights.
So 9 picked up the rights again from 1991 and sub-leased club games and finals to 10 and kept Origin for themselves.
The following year 9 kept all the rights to themselves.
4 Likes
It was also during that period when Channel 7 had the rights to test rugby league.
So 1991 was the only year i remembered that the only channel that didn’t have league was SBS cause the ABC still had their Saturday afternoon games
3 Likes
In an attempt to think back, Sydney had
1980-82: Nobody (Barry Ross was a sideline eye)
1983: Arthur Summons
1984-1988: Jack Gibson
1989: Warren Ryan (Ellery Hanley joined him for G3)
1990: Rex Mossop
1991-2010’s: Peter Sterling
1992-1994 G1, 1998-2003, 2008: Paul Vautin (He had health issues after Game 1 1994, then coached Qld for 3 years)
1994 G2-1996: Gary Belcher
1997-2010s (off and on): Phil Gould
1998-2000: Wally Lewis
2021-Present: Andrew Johns/Cameron Smith
For Brisbane I was able to decipher
1980, 1984, 1987-1988: Mick Veivers
1985: Rod Morris
1990: David Wright
1989, 1991-1992: Andrew Slack
Still got to get 1981-83 and 1986 for Brisbane, and not overly sure of the 2010’s Rota (many origins I was working, others I was OS/in transit). Haven’t included sideline reporters or crosses into the coaches boxes.
3 Likes