Lethal Leigh!!!!!

[stonecold]

Great Player, Great Coach, but needs to get off TV as he ideas are out-dated and not up to speed with the modern game!!!!! Also has never got over the fact that Saint Nick was never a Lion!!!!

[Jacks Back]

He hates St Kilda as does that other f***wit Dermwit F***erton

[SainterK]

Quite liked the word scunge being used personally...

[The OtherThommo]

I took the Iron Horse to today's game, and the Sport's section of the Sundee Age traveled with me - it's far from the longest trip, but I do fancy a read.

The Leapster goes all the way back to the '80's, on "Danger Low Brow" on RRR. I had more than a chuckle when I read his latest submission. Matthews might be a little behind the times, but he is nowhere near the PITA the 'modern' jargon spruikers are.

"The highly scientific jargon of football commentary is like many of Melbourne's public buses – it waits for no man. This necessitates always keeping on top of the latest developments, lest one be left, like the proverbial bus passenger, stranded in a cloud of diesel.
Speaking of travelling but getting nowhere, there has been a movement away from yesteryear's buzz term, "journey".
Bruce McAvaney, North v Bulldogs, re Daniel Wells kicking for goal:

"He's got the trip here."
This was not the first variation this season and it likely won't be the last. While "journey" is by no means defunct, we may yet hear such new and improved descriptions as sojourn, voyage, excursion, sortie and perhaps even jaunt.
It seems an act of supreme futility to point out that the quality under discussion really concerns distance, or, at a pinch, range. Let alone that the words "He could kick this" would cover it in four words, without the poor footy fan being exposed to "hip" terminology from commentators who apparently still think "hip" constitutes hip terminology.
Incidentally, on that last note, Hollywood Dwayne Russell would presumably be disappointing nobody if he managed to keep his unfortunate trademark bellow of "Oh, baby!" out of footy commentary. Admittedly, that is a handy line if you happen to be the singer in the J. Geils Band in around 1972.
A buzzword that has gained serious currency while flying somewhat under the radar, is "reinvented".
"He's reinvented himself," noted the ever-helpful Dennis Cometti of Jarrad Waite, also in the North-Bulldogs game.
They're reinventing themselves all over the shop and down the street this year. Nobody ever says what they've reinvented themselves as, exactly. A netball coach, a water feature, a combine harvester, a pair of galoshes, a typically appalling modern apartment building – who knows?
In this case, however, Bruce McAvaney was on hand to elaborate for us, ostensibly about Jarrad Waite:
"Well, there's a theory that the great mathematicians all did their best work before the age of 30. This guy's 33, he's no mathematician, but he's never played better than he is right now. He HAS reinvented himself."
So that's official then. Clear as a mudslide viewed through brick binoculars, but certainly official.
Hard to know what "the take-away" (Homer Simpson shudder) is from that one.
Either Waite has reinvented himself as an atypical mathematician, or maybe we should shoot all great mathematicians over 30 because we're just wasting the food and space after that.
Mostly it seems a great shame David Bowie passed away before anyone could get him to sing an updated version of Space Oddity featuring the improved lyric: "Ground control to Major McAvaney".
Fortunately Wayne Carey was present to clarify the Waite situation:
"He's an athlete finally getting a lot of continuity into his body that he hasn't had previously."
There it is. All we really need to know now is whether Waite accidentally sat on said "continuity", or if it was manually inserted."

[avid]

I do love the Leapster too.

[The Fireman]

Mathews constantly defended decisions made by the umps against us which begs the questions why he had to ? Contentious ? Appeared to be poor calls ? WE are getting the rough end of the pineapple for some reason.

[kosifantutti]

He called one on the third quarter. Paid to Waite. Should have been paid to Dempster according to Leigh.

[The Fireman]

He called one on the third quarter. Paid to Waite. Should have been paid to Dempster according to Leigh.

Really ? missed that one...probably in an attempt to seem credible.

[evertonfc]

Couldn't believe that FK went against Sam Fisher against Drew Petrie. Both held each other. Surely play on.

[degruch]

Couldn't believe that FK went against Sam Fisher against Drew Petrie. Both held each other. Surely play on.

Who's 300th was it???

[Life Long Saint]

Couldn't believe that FK went against Sam Fisher against Drew Petrie. Both held each other. Surely play on.

Who's 300th was it???

Did Petrie play?
I noticed he kicked one goal early on and then was hardly sighted but scored the "it's your 300th" free late in game. Struggling to recall a player that did as little in his 300th as Drew did in his!
Just another player in the list of North Melbourne players that I have little respect for...Harvey, Zeibell, Thomas, Swallow...

[Saint wagga]

I love listening to Lethal's commentary! He can be so brutally honest sometimes and doesn't handout superaltive praise like so many of the other commentators, but you can tell who he rates and respects - and IMO there is no higher mark of respect than that of this footy legend. Old school yes, but outdated and out of touch, no way. He may not be flowery, he doesn't even get games righty sometimes, and gives the impression he's done zero homework on players/player numbers/stats...but that can be refreshing as he just calls the footy in front of him, which can be very very insightful...not always what you want to hear re: St kilda or our players...but when this man talks, people listen! Think he's calling plenty of our sunday games this year, so i'm pretty happy with that.

[roskilde]

I like having a dinosaur in the commentary box, TBH.

There's a horrible modernizing fashion in contemporary media.

When they come for Leigh just remember that they'll replace him with a figure whose only insight into the game is 'fabulousness' of the various guernseys.

[Bernard Shakey]

Quite liked the word scunge being used personally...

Same here!
Should be more good old Australian terminology used in our footy.
Too many yankee terms these days.

[stevie]

Couldn't believe that FK went against Sam Fisher against Drew Petrie. Both held each other. Surely play on.

Who's 300th was it???

Did Petrie play?
I noticed he kicked one goal early on and then was hardly sighted but scored the "it's your 300th" free late in game. Struggling to recall a player that did as little in his 300th as Drew did in his!
Just another player in the list of North Melbourne players that I have little respect for...Harvey, Zeibell, Thomas, Swallow...

Ah yes, Swallow. Has there ever been a more invisible captain/player in footy history than this bloke? I was discussing his career with a mate and he agreed that he has never seen him play a memorable game! Checked his stats for this season and North would still be 7-0 without him! Incredible how he quietly plays each week. Will most likely play 300 games and even a North fan I bet would struggle to think of a single game where he has impacted on the game! Never cease to be bemused by this paradigm, this anomaly in the AFL...lol

[CQ SAINT]

Wow. You should all try and watch the game with the sound off. Seriously, most times I cant even remember who commentated. Its just entertainment designed to make you buy more of the product. This stream suggests its working.

[stevie]

Quite liked the word scunge being used personally...

Same here!
Should be more good old Australian terminology used in our footy.
Too many yankee terms these days.

'King oath, Ray!

[perfectionist]

I love listening to Lethal's commentary! He can be so brutally honest sometimes and doesn't handout superaltive praise like so many of the other commentators, but you can tell who he rates and respects - and IMO there is no higher mark of respect than that of this footy legend. Old school yes, but outdated and out of touch, no way. He may not be flowery, he doesn't even get games righty sometimes, and gives the impression he's done zero homework on players/player numbers/stats...but that can be refreshing as he just calls the footy in front of him, which can be very very insightful...not always what you want to hear re: St kilda or our players...but when this man talks, people listen! Think he's calling plenty of our sunday games this year, so i'm pretty happy with that.

Yep, best commentator by a mile. His replacement on Friday nights, Wayne Carey, is an idiot - same as Dermot Brereton.

[SainterK]

Quite liked the word scunge being used personally...

Same here!
Should be more good old Australian terminology used in our footy.
Too many yankee terms these days.

Agree! Quarterback, catch etc...

Lethal generally grouchy in his call, not sure he hates us?

Said he'd have to reassess where the saints were at before the game even started.

[Impatient Sainter]

I find Lethal very fair in his assessments - if the Saints deserve praise he is happy to give it.

I enjoy his views on the game very insightful for such on old bugger.

[citywest]

Great Player, Great Coach, but needs to get off TV as he ideas are out-dated and not up to speed with the modern game!!!!! Also has never got over the fact that Saint Nick was never a Lion!!!!

I agree that he was a great player.....no doubt. I don't agree that he was a great coach though. He was a lucky coach!!!! Before the merger Brisbane were a top 4 team. Then at the end of 1996 they merged with Fitzroy. They were able to pick the best 8 players to add to their squad. A couple of them didn't want to play so they were traded for more picks.

Lets put this into perspective. It's the end of season 2004 and the Saints were very unlucky Preliminary Final losers. All of a sudden we get 6 of the top 8 players from North Melbourne and 2 top 20 picks. Do you think that we might have had 3 premierships by Now????

[Rosco]

but winning three in a row aint no walk in the park, and they didn't dominate those seasons (didn't even finish top IIRC); they were coached to play finals footy.

premiership coach at collingwood too...

[silverhalo]

I find Lethal's commentary insightful and unbiased and I really enjoy listening to what he's got to say........unlike the other idiots like Carey, Richo etc