The Sunday Game

[tbrick18]

A bit of good news...

https://m.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/des-cahill-quits-as-host-of-the-sunday-game-42072018.html

I'm not sure this is good news.

It's likely a ploy to give even more airtime to the evil Joanne Cantwell.

Get the candle lit lads....anyone but she who should not be named.

[tbrick18]

Sean Cavanagh's job to lose.

Get 2 candles lit lads.....anyone but she who can't be named and saint "erm" Sean.

[tbrick18]

The Sunday game has gone to the dogs.
It's barely watchable.

As decent a man as Des is, the day of cliche is over I hope. He's outdated for what people want to see.
As is the format of RTE coverage in general now.

Maybe they'll revamp the whole thinking behind their coverage with a changing of the guard.
Do a complete clear out of presenters and pundits alike and start anew with something fresh.

[IolarCoisCuain]

I like Joanne.

[Wildweasel74]

She very poor to be honest, Cavanagh incredibly bias, not well suited to been a commentar. With Spillane and O'Rourke gone it could get scary this year.

[seafoid]

TSG might be better if they ran half of the May and June games midweek.
The games schedule under the new regime is totally constipated. The GAA decided to give all teams a clatter of matches at their level so there are more matches in less time.
It's impossible to give justice to all of the matches.

[full moon]

Should be separate shows for hurling and football or either a Saturday and Sunday show during inter county time. Especially now you have Ladies football and camoige on every show too.

You essentially have 4 different sports there under the one umbrella.

[IolarCoisCuain]

She very poor to be honest, Cavanagh incredibly bias, not well suited to been a commentar. With Spillane and O'Rourke gone it could get scary this year.

What makes you say so Weasel? Could you be more specific?

[lenny]

I like Joanne.

I don't really like her voice but she's a good presenter other than that. She challenges the pundits rather than just agreeing with everything they say. She's also well prepared, nobody can deny that.

[Captain Scarlet]

In terms of presenters I'd throw Damian Lawlor in the mix. I think he did a nice job on the Tailteann and he is not overbearing and knows his stuff. Or just feckin poach Grainne McElwain from Sky!

There are a few pundit gaps too and I'd like to see some new comms people.

[Blowitupref]

Irish Examiner contenders to take over from Des Cahill


Joanne Cantwell will be remaining on the live Sunday Game beat so who's going to get the night shift?


JACQUI HURLEY:
The favourite in some quarters. Extremely accomplished and comfortable in the hot seat, the Cork woman is piloting a lot of RTÉ's rugby coverage these days – and with everything back under the Montrose umbrella bar the November internationals, there's plenty of egg to keep Jacqui chatting. Will RTÉ sports chief Declan McBennett want to rob Peter to pay Paul, so to speak? Does he create a problem in rugby by moving Jacqui to GAA? Might be worth it, though.

EVANNE NI CHUILINN: Another of RTÉ's well-regarded front-of-house options, the Kilkenny woman has shown her diversity from studio hot-seat to the Olympic Games beat and is proper respected in the GAA sphere. Well dialled in on both codes and has a less confrontational, easy-going style than some colleagues. The key to this gig? Having the knowledge when the occasion demands, but firstly to facilitate good debate and conversation. Ni Chuilinn scores on these important factors.


TOMMY MARTIN: Well Claire Byrne came from Newstalk to be a runaway hit at RTÉ – why not Virgin Media presenter and Examiner columnist Tommy Martin? Though he presents VM's football coverage, Donegal's Martin has sound GAA credentials and could make the transition without missing a beat. Delivers a nice balance of chat and interrogation and is like a good referee - doesn't need to be integral to every discussion. Whether he'd want to take on the machine-gun rat-a-rat of TSG is another point. If RTÉ is willing to cross the media divide, Off The Ball's Joe Molloy is another accomplished anchor who now has plenty of TV studio experience under his belt anchoring rugby for Virgin.

DARA Ó CINNEIDE: Often linked with a return to The Sunday Game, where he was once a much-respected pundit, his return last summer to the Seo Sport presenter role means he is worthy of serious consideration by RTÉ. Would he go back? The former Irish Examiner columnist heads up Radio na Gaeltachta's southern operation these days; whether that makes this role more complicated is something only he can answer. However, his deep knowledge and reading of the GAA would make the Gaeltacht man a fit - though he may wish to keep TSG in the rearview mirror at this stage.

ANTHONY DALY: Another from the Irish Examiner stable, is Dalo the ideal pundit who is better served staying on that side of the fence? Pat Spillane found that proffering opinion is a lot easier than dissecting and repurposing everyone else's – he rediscovered his mojo when returning to the pundit's couch. One wonders too whether Dalo's chatty, pub counter style would survive the constant whispering in his ear from the production room to wrap it up?

DAMIAN LAWLOR:  A potential dark horse. Tipp man Lawlor has made significant strides via Sky Sports and latterly in Donnybrook, first as a sideline reporter before moving into presentation over the past eighteen months. His easy going demeanour has opened a few dressing room doors and as a former news reporter, he likes nothing better than breaking the odd GAA exclusive himself. Has done the hard sideline yards, often in the winter chill of the club championship campaigns, where the rain comes sideways and umbrellas are part of the survival kit. Once he finds his feet, could certainly be relied upon to cut to the heart of it in the studio back and forth on a Sunday night.

[AustinPowers]

There's too many games these days . The same Pundits are under pressure to  deliver good regular  analysi. But it ends up those. same few pundits  churning out the same  old shite . No matter how good the    pundit and the analysis,  after a while it all  becomes stale

We didn't have this problem back in the  day with 5 or 6 live games a year

Too   much of the one thing, no matter how good it is , eventually leaves you  bored and  unfulfilled 

[snoopdog]

Woolly would stir the pot   

[seafoid]

TSG is never enough for some people. Armagh and Derry could probably have supported 24 hour rolling TSG from the midpoint of the qualifiers until the end of the penalties / 15 minutes into the second half of the AISF and again in the run up to the all stars.

[balladmaker]

RTE could learn a lot from the modern day podcasts, and try to totally revamp the show with something more interactive and with free flowing conversation rather than stale, rehearsed commentary on games.  Plus Des has a point, too many games to fit into one show.  If you want to do the games justice, there probably needs to be a second midweek show of some sort.  Would love to see a Wed or Thurs night preview show of the upcoming weekend games.