WiganWarriorsFans.com

So one thing I've noticed recently on sky is that whenever anything happens they sell it so damn hard. The players are nails. They're superstars. The crowd is electric. This game is the best ever. I'm glad I don't play anymore.

They don't ever dwell on mistakes, it's 99% of the time due to amazing opposition forcing a mistake because they're just so good. They don't create any real controversy. I hate to compare to football, but Roy Keane is one of the best people sky could ever have because he says it as it is and calls players out when they don't play well or have a bad attitude. Why can't sky do this more for RL? It all seems so nicey nicey, every single thing, especially on comms

Blackpool_Pie wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 12:32 am So one thing I've noticed recently on sky is that whenever anything happens they sell it so damn hard. The players are nails. They're superstars. The crowd is electric. This game is the best ever. I'm glad I don't play anymore.

They don't ever dwell on mistakes, it's 99% of the time due to amazing opposition forcing a mistake because they're just so good. They don't create any real controversy. I hate to compare to football, but Roy Keane is one of the best people sky could ever have because he says it as it is and calls players out when they don't play well or have a bad attitude. Why can't sky do this more for RL? It all seems so nicey nicey, every single thing, especially on comms

They've been like this from the very start. They do try to get people in to say controverisal and slightly negative things - which is the role Phil Clarke is filling right now, but there does seem to be a general policy or perhaps culture of talking the game up and never being negative. I do agree that sometimes that leads to a perception that the sport isn't as "serious" as others liek football and cricket.

Blackpool_Pie wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 12:32 am So one thing I've noticed recently on sky is that whenever anything happens they sell it so damn hard. The players are nails. They're superstars. The crowd is electric. This game is the best ever. I'm glad I don't play anymore.

They don't ever dwell on mistakes, it's 99% of the time due to amazing opposition forcing a mistake because they're just so good. They don't create any real controversy. I hate to compare to football, but Roy Keane is one of the best people sky could ever have because he says it as it is and calls players out when they don't play well or have a bad attitude. Why can't sky do this more for RL? It all seems so nicey nicey, every single thing, especially on comms

I have a slightly different take on that. Seems to me that back in the early days of SL, Stevo and Eddie really did sell the "greatest game" stuff, with the clear implication (though it was of course never said so out loud) that the game is/was much more exciting watch than rugby union.

In more recent times this seems to have gone out the window to some extent, but returning to that theme recently sounds a bit forced. The game against Salford was not a great game by any stretch. A close contest, yes, with the result in doubt to the end, but hardly of the highest quality. To claim otherwise is effectively gaslighting the fans.

moto748 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 3:23 pm

Blackpool_Pie wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 12:32 am So one thing I've noticed recently on sky is that whenever anything happens they sell it so damn hard. The players are nails. They're superstars. The crowd is electric. This game is the best ever. I'm glad I don't play anymore.

They don't ever dwell on mistakes, it's 99% of the time due to amazing opposition forcing a mistake because they're just so good. They don't create any real controversy. I hate to compare to football, but Roy Keane is one of the best people sky could ever have because he says it as it is and calls players out when they don't play well or have a bad attitude. Why can't sky do this more for RL? It all seems so nicey nicey, every single thing, especially on comms

I have a slightly different take on that. Seems to me that back in the early days of SL, Stevo and Eddie really did sell the "greatest game" stuff, with the clear implication (though it was of course never said so out loud) that the game is/was much more exciting watch than rugby union.

In more recent times this seems to have gone out the window to some extent, but returning to that theme recently sounds a bit forced. The game against Salford was not a great game by any stretch. A close contest, yes, with the result in doubt to the end, but hardly of the highest quality. To claim otherwise is effectively gaslighting the fans.

It was better than the Hudds match for sure, but still too many errors. Its not that I'm looking for lots of tries in a match because I think that high quality games are usually lowish scoring battles that are won in the last few minutes of each half, but waht frustrates me are lots of errors.

IMO the mark of a high quality, high intensity game is that whenever a side make an error the opposition are able to punish it a high proportion of the time. I think the problem with SL is that the tolerance of errors at clubs is very high because 9 times out of 10 the other side will also make an error, so you don't get punished. You can make loads of handling and other mistakes and not get overly punished, so where's the motivation to improve on that for the coaching staff. Even teams like Hudds who are playing a very low risk style at the moment make tonnnes of handling errors. I just don't think you'd get away with these low completion rates in the NRL as much as you do in SL.

Is it just me that finds Wilkin’s commentary really annoying. Not even because he’s particularly biased or anything (apart from last week) but he’s just too chatty.
Feels like watching a match with three people trying to talk over each other.
It’s probably a stylistic decision taken at Sky with their commentary formula. Think Gary Neville is essentially the football version of Wilkin, just don’t really enjoy the commentary at all

Richymac wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 9:39 pm Is it just me that finds Wilkin’s commentary really annoying. Not even because he’s particularly biased or anything (apart from last week) but he’s just too chatty.
Feels like watching a match with three people trying to talk over each other.
It’s probably a stylistic decision taken at Sky with their commentary formula. Think Gary Neville is essentially the football version of Wilkin, just don’t really enjoy the commentary at all

Your spot on with that. The more spots they give him either commenting on a game or even doing that podcast On the Bench, he just never stops talking, interrupting (Brian Carney MK II) people when they are speaking. I used to like him but I’m gradually going off him!

Barrie McDermot & Terry O’Connor are just as boring

josie andrews wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 11:03 pm

Richymac wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 9:39 pm Is it just me that finds Wilkin’s commentary really annoying. Not even because he’s particularly biased or anything (apart from last week) but he’s just too chatty.
Feels like watching a match with three people trying to talk over each other.
It’s probably a stylistic decision taken at Sky with their commentary formula. Think Gary Neville is essentially the football version of Wilkin, just don’t really enjoy the commentary at all

Your spot on with that. The more spots they give him either commenting on a game or even doing that podcast On the Bench, he just never stops talking, interrupting (Brian Carney MK II) people when they are speaking. I used to like him but I’m gradually going off him!

Barrie McDermot & Terry O’Connor are just as boring

I'd have much more empathy if it were a radio broadcast,but it's on tv so your ,hopefully, watching it Don't listen or turn the volume off/down. Simple!

archiekeith wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2023 9:12 am

josie andrews wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 11:03 pm

Richymac wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 9:39 pm Is it just me that finds Wilkin’s commentary really annoying. Not even because he’s particularly biased or anything (apart from last week) but he’s just too chatty.
Feels like watching a match with three people trying to talk over each other.
It’s probably a stylistic decision taken at Sky with their commentary formula. Think Gary Neville is essentially the football version of Wilkin, just don’t really enjoy the commentary at all

Your spot on with that. The more spots they give him either commenting on a game or even doing that podcast On the Bench, he just never stops talking, interrupting (Brian Carney MK II) people when they are speaking. I used to like him but I’m gradually going off him!

Barrie McDermot & Terry O’Connor are just as boring

I'd have much more empathy if it were a radio broadcast,but it's on tv so your ,hopefully, watching it Don't listen or turn the volume off/down. Simple!

What if people want some commentary on their game? Have you tried watching sport on tv with no sound? It’s appalling.
Sky’s commentary is only slightly better than complete silence in my opinion.
Quite frankly sport has been broadcast for 85 years or so in this country. The fact the commentary on Sky is that bad is pretty astounding.
Channel 4 and Viaplay manage to produce some great stuff. The 6 nations commentary was brilliant as is most of the football that’s put out in Britain.
All my opinion, just think there must be a middle point between silence or shouting over each other.

Wilkin came to notice for his enthusiatic pre-game, half time and post game analysis. He should go back to that as he is too chatty during the game.

What makes me laugh is the vocabulary from the Sky team. There is no way Terry, Barry and Brian know and understand some of the words that come out their laughing gear.

Now I know there are some really intelligent rugby league fans but I grew up in Scholes to a working class family and won’t be understanding these pundits when they use words such as “Perspicacious” instead of simply saying “an understanding”