Leigh Matthews: the most Anti Hawks Commentator on TV?

[hawksfan71]

Calls a spade a spade. No issue.

Funny how some supporters see commentators differently. I always thought Tom Harley was such a pro-Geelong supporter wayne-kerr, but the Cats supporters hated him as a commentator and thought he was ant--Geelong.

Oh man, he was SOOOOOOOOO pro cats it was disgusting. Does he still commentate or not?

 

[Procrastinator35]

Much Ado bout Nufin!

 

[MrPremiership]

Oh man, he was SOOOOOOOOO pro cats it was disgusting. Does he still commentate or not?

he's the new footy ops GM at the Swans

 

[lyndhurst]

And now, this unmitigated crap from The Age. Clutching at straws. How on earth some second rate journalist could find anything other than positives after yesterdays humbling beggars belief. But then, is the rag that spent the first few days after the World Cup pasting the Australian cricket team.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...the-hawks-peak-too-early-20150407-1mfnuj.html

Just sick of it. Let the successful teams enjoy their success.

 

[Agent Smith]

In a really good place. BTW, the AFL website said it was Hodgey's 250th game today, but I thought he played his 250th in the 2014 GF. Can anyone shed some light on this?

It was such a great 250th where everything went right that the Hawks are now announcing EVERY game Hodge plays as his 250th. Not that we're superstitious or anything (knock on wood).

 

[MC_9]

Some very precious people on this website.

99% of the media is almost going overboard on Hawthorn. Claiming the three-peat already. Happy to see a bit of the opposite to be honest.

 

[DrEvil_]

Let me stick my fingers in your eyes and see how you would react? A cup of tea and biscuit maybe?

Retaliation is no excuse.

 

[DrEvil_]

he's the new footy ops GM at the Swans

I hope the swannies like Swisse!

 

[Lord Mud of Glenferrie]

It is 30 years since Leigh retired as a player after playing over 300 games in the brown and gold.

Since then

He has coached Collingwood to a premiership and is a life member at Collingwood.

He has coached Brisbane to 3 premierships and is a life member of Brisbane.

He is coach of the QAFL (or whatever they call then selves now) of the Queensland Hall of Fame team.

He has moved on from his playing days at Hawthorn but you can bet that the brown and gold is still the largest color of his heart.

It is not in the duty statement of any former player who has become a football commentator to cheer for his former club and in this case former clubs. Even Harley is starting to move away from obvious Geelong bias.

I wonder what Collingwood and Brisbane fans think when Mathews criticizes any umpire decision that favours their clubs.

Leigh does get a bit technical in his calls but most of those comments are of benefit to the viewer.

If you think Leigh is tough on Hawthorn you should have heard Collingwood legend Lou Richards' calls against Collingwood. Former coach Bob Rose demanded Richards life membership be revoked when Lou replaced the opening line of Collingwood's theme song.

Lou replaced Good old Collingwood forever with Poor old Collingwood will never.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

And now, this unmitigated crap from The Age. Clutching at straws. How on earth some second rate journalist could find anything other than positives after yesterdays humbling beggars belief. But then, is the rag that spent the first few days after the World Cup pasting the Australian cricket team.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...the-hawks-peak-too-early-20150407-1mfnuj.html

Just sick of it. Let the successful teams enjoy their success.

Not the worst article in the world. And I've no qualms about peaking early - remember when we similarly smashed Fremantle off 2.5 quarters of sublime football last year in Round 3.

 

[Taskmaster]

Leigh just does not want Clarko to equal his record 3 peat at the Lions. i mean for Leigh to suggest that we are too good too early. Cmon, this is just the game plan we will go with to get Top 4. Then you will see the "too good" plan come out finals time...!

 

[TyHawk]

Leigh is just letting the players know what awaits them in a few weeks as in, it can get laborious if you lose concentration and consistency! It's a blatant yet brilliant way of mentor speak without facing them. It's brilliant!

 

[matardor]

I don't think I've ever heard another commentator on TV with such anti Hawthorn bias in the history of TV.

Why all the hate. Leigh? Because the new era of success has come about and we've never asked you to be involved, and you cant claim any of the kudos?

Sorry, but I grew up in the 70's and 80's bleeding brown and gold, I loved him as a player, but something happened after that and the guy has an axe to grind with the hawks. Listen to Dermie and he tries to ping hawk players now and again to sound like he has no hawks bias, but Leigh sounds like he'd bust a testicle if he didn't slag off a hawk or defend a ridiculous free kick against the hawks or argue against one the hawks got.

2 examples: "Why shouldn't players be able to block Lewis, that's wrong, he shouldn't be allowed to be 3rd man up they should be able to block him" This went on for longer than the entire first quarter.

Leigh, if you can block players going third up, then the hawks could block Joel "Duck" Selwood every contest and claim he was going third man up. In a game full of technical rules, lets make the umpires have to think about if every other player around the ball up is going third man up or not.

There were 20 dubious Cats free kicks, but that's the one he decided to go on about.

2nd example, is when Johnson did that dog act of hitting Mitchell with an elbow from behind when he shouldn't have been expecting contact like that, and what does Leigh say?

"I think Mitchell is making more out of that than it was"

Silence on every duck of the head and throw of the arms by Selwood, but nothing about the dog act of Johnson, no, sorry he did say something, he had a crack at Mitchell for getting hurt?!?!?

Sorry, I know I will offend some who think he's the greatest player ever to wear brown and gold, and maybe as a player he was, but he can take his 'special comments' and piss off.

Seriously, before you defend him because it's "Lethal", listen to him, list TO HIM. The other commentators go on about skills and tactics, he will have a crack at the Hawks at every opportunity.

 

[smeltitdeltit]

And now, this unmitigated crap from The Age. Clutching at straws. How on earth some second rate journalist could find anything other than positives after yesterdays humbling beggars belief. But then, is the rag that spent the first few days after the World Cup pasting the Australian cricket team.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...the-hawks-peak-too-early-20150407-1mfnuj.html

Just sick of it. Let the successful teams enjoy their success.

So this journalist brings up Matthews comments about not wanting to win by thrashing in the first round.
As an example of this, he brings up the Lions who won their first game in 2004 by 2 points, and eventually came runners up

 

[TyHawk]

Why is it that leigh talks about hawthorn in a ant hawks way ,im thinking something has happend to make him disgruntled, or its plain and simple jelousy he doesn't want to see the hawks bybass his late brisbon lions but they already have its very clear to see that, the hawk will make it official in 2015 hopefully, is that beter lee

You serious about all this?

 

[Sixpence]

Matardor, your posts make me cry. Rest in peace English language.

 

[market]

You serious about all this?

he's a troll mate

 

[muff73]

Oh well, I guess it's about 50/50 split on it.

Maybe the problem is I'm so Hawks Biased that I cant handle anyone criticising (sp?) us?

"It's not you Leigh, it's me..."

 

[Lord_Espos]

He's not super anti hawthorn but I think it is natural for commentators to barrack for the underdog... And in the Hawks case that is every team we play....

 

[Roger Rogerson]

Leigh is actually giving our players some pretty sound advice not to get ahead of themselves.

 

[flinchfree]

A beat up about a beat down, beaten up by some here and beaten down by others, beats me what the bleatin beef is.
Mathews, now that's a HE MAN, and man, he can go he anytime he wants on the Hawks because on the inside, he's always Hawthorn!

 

[madhawksfan]

The showboat call was ridiculous as we were just playing some damn good footy. It's not like we were going for fluky goals or trying low percentage stuff. We were just making the beloved Cats look third rate.

He did give Lewis a lot of praise in the second quarter (called him a cream midfielder amongst other things) so wouldn't agree that he hates number Jordan.

As to whether we have peaked too early, I don't think that was our best footy. We played very well for two quarters but our conversion and ball use can improve. Geelong are an average side now (probably top 8 but not top 4) and we dispensed with them as you would think a top 2 side would with a side who will likely finish between 5-8.

Leigh is a pretty good commentator overall and is generally pretty spot on with his comments. The showboat and it's a bad thing to win by a big margin in Round 1 calls were off the mark but other than that he goes alright for mine.

 

[bris tarangau]

A beat up about a beat down, beaten up by some here and beaten down by others, beats me what the bleatin beef is.
Mathews, now that's a HE MAN, and man, he can go he anytime he wants on the Hawks because on the inside, he's always Hawthorn!

Agree. As supporters we forget that he works for a channel 7 commentary team and perhaps is paid to say things that is not always pro-Hawks.

 

[arupist]

On the other hand, I am coming to love Mark Maclure. He has a real hard-on for the Hawks.

Commenting on Stevie J's sniping hit on Mitch - said that's what aging players who are losing it end up doing.

 

[OneEyedHawk]

JD should not broadcast Hawks games, he tries too hard to go the other way.

Tend to agree. I've long thought both JD and Lethal go too far the other way in not wanting to be perceived as biased. Doesn't bother me all that much, maybe moreso with JD as he seems a little more vehement sometimes, but you know what they've both done for our great club so they both get a pass in my book.

His comments had my eyebrows raised but for mine Leigh can say and do what he wants ...

the day he did this he got a free pass in my book ...

Bloody hell, that hurts just watching it. Have a look at the speed / force AD would've been generating, yet Lethal just completely poleaxes him. Could watch it all day.