Yeah the Premier Sports coverage even thought not in HD is pretty good and they should definitely look at having a video ref mic for the Super League games.

Yep, Clarkey's Sports Science degree certainly gives him the opportunity to bore the socks off everyone with his theories and in-game predictions.
Sadly, he makes what is really a simple game seem very complicated.

If you go on to that weird website where you can watch videos there is a terrific one of Brian Carney tackling Anthony Sullivan. Eddie's commentary is cringeworthy yet hilarious. Nearly creams himself when he thinks Saints are going to score.

Just watched it. What an utter, complete muppet.

The only proof anyone will ever need.

When wiggy first graced our screens all those moons ago, I seem to (now embarrassingly) remember thinking "what a welcome change to that muppet on the BBC"

Just goes to show, that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King.

The whole Sky Sports commentary team are a joke,Hemmings,Stevo,Clarke,Arthur to name but 4....the only ones i actually quite think talk some sense are Shaun Mcrea &John Wells , but i'm sure you'll disagree..and as for the Beeb well the less said the better

Even in the worst days of Ray and Alex singing Saints' praises from the BBC commentary box, I don't think I ever felt there was as much of an agenda as I feel there is at Sky.

But I agree with you - on the whole we've been badly served by commentators.

I agree McRea and Wells are the best out of the bunch.

Who would you have commentate though? Imo it would have to be a "professional" commentator, someone perhaps with a football background who has an interest (or can get one for the right money) in RL.

Past players are often wooden imo.

That's the problem though, Eddie was a pro who is supposed to call it as it happens but has been tainted by the supposed expert who has lost touch with the game a long time ago. He's supposed to be neutral, he should be praising the good in the game as advised by the pundits, not highlighting cock ups and foul play.

Dave Hadfield used to have a job sitting quietly in the background passing notes to Eddie who would then call it as though he understood.

Hemmings has fallen into the trap of seeing himself as a pundit rather than a commentator. He should stick to saying what he sees and leaving the comment to those that have played the game.

As for the pundits Stevo has become a parody of himself. He doesn't actually add anything to a viewers understanding and that's what he's there for. He's just a collection of one liners. Clarke is increasingly prone to coming out with some totally leftfield rubbish or some pointless stat, only Carney seems to be able to add value to the commentary.

I think it should be standard practice to refresh the co-commentator/pundit roles every 5 years in order to stay up to date with the game.

I think the quote from "chinnythewarrior" just below the clip, sums the situation up perfectly........

Aside from Super League and NRL I only really catch football on Sky and if people think we're hard done by they need to spend 90 minutes listening to the dulcet tones of Alan Smith or the witty intejections of Niall Quinn. These clowns aside there are dozens of humourless, thick ex-pros doing the rounds (Redknapp, Shearer, Thompson etc) and very few bright sparks.

The one thing that strikes me is that Super League have the *voice* right in Eddie Hemmings, not so RP as to alienate the viewer and the panel (Claire Balding is a patronising cow) and not so broad an accent that a first-time viewer could turn on and feel they're watching a northern monkey fest.

That being said, he's rubbish. Jon Wells aside they all get on my tats, although Barrie McD has some cracking moments "He's like a hologram covered in vaseline".

Perhaps we're inventing all this. Someone whose job is to criticise your team will always rub you up the wrong way.

Regardless, other mentions must go to Phil Clarke- the most boring man on television, Terry O'Connor- a moron, Bill Arthur- gives me the creeps, John Kear- I don't mind even though he speaks slower than time itself, Shaun McRae- knocks me sick.