All those years ago when SL started on sky, he was probably the right man for the job, Bigging up the big hits, enthusiastic about everything.. Trying to make the sport appeal to a wider audience. I'm sure the real rugby league fans saw this and put up with it.

The guy run his cause and any viewers gained are probably now watching with the sound down or not at all

Guys an idiot, the one point has become some kind of in joke / catchphrase that only him and Eddie find amusing.

I just wish he'd utilise a different word.

Every sentence someone is utilising something - dummy runner, chip over the top, 'his head', blind side, quick play the ball.

I don't like listening to Stevo, but I did laugh rather a lot at a phrase he used to describe the forwards failing breaking the line;

"They didn’t have enough penetration by the forwards down the middle."

Written down, it is of my favourite things to read. It just flows, but with an intriguing message.

Utilising the word commentator to describe Stevo is definitely a sinbinning offence.

".... it had to be, as well!"

"Great catch... it had to be as well!" "Great tackle... it had to be as well!"

MUTE

It's amazing how much more you can enjoy a SL game with the sound off.

Red button to listen to the crowd would be nice

They trialled red button fan commentators in football a few years ago, give how everyone enjoyed the recent rediscovered cas footage on a certain video sharing site - I think that would be a great option.

haha the clip you're talking about is commentated by Mick Morgan - not necessarily just a fan, he commentates on all Cas games. legend

Only slightly off topic, I think Sky have got a new director who is obsessed with replays, live action was missed on too many occasions tonight. In one particular instance we were shown a replay of Hall breathing hard while an 'altercation' was taking place live.
Back on topic, the commentary team are well past their sell by date.

Why are commentators/pundits etc required at all?

Required? They're not. Any event is just so much better if there is a decent soundtrack. Sports events are no different, e.g. David Coleman in athletics, Peter O'Sullevan in racing, Peter Alliss in golf, John Arlott in cricket, even young Vossy in the recent RLWC.

But basically, if you have people talking, you need it to improve on silence.

Or maybe some people genuinely think they're and won't miss them at all? You can't be that arrogant to think that everybody would mourn their retiring and realise that you were right all along

I think it's getting worse. Probably about 6 out of 10 compared to a high of about 7 .