I enjoy the comedic work of 'Rampaging Roy Slaven' and 'HG Nelson' aka John Doyle and Greg Pickhaver right from their stint as silhouettes with Andrew Denton on TV and their early 2JJ 'Festival of the Boot' ghost calls of the Rugby League Grand Final. One year I was able with assistance to record the radio commentary with the TV vision to watch the rerun with Roy & HG having being distracted by friends at the party. For some they will recognise the chat show analysis and highlights from 'The Dream' alongside the Sydney Olympics which is part of pop culture history!!
Testament to their influence is the way their comedy has become part of our everyday fun speech...
Origin league players are known as 'The Brick with Eyes', 'Back Door Benny' or my favourite is Alan Langer as 'Deborah Kerr.' Yes that's right, from playing alongside Wally Lewis you get 'the King and I' starring Yul Brynner and ... that's right, Deborah Kerr!! Then there's the 'battered sav', the 'hello boys'... from Olympic gymnastics.
I love my sport and so have been subjected to all kinds of commentary for years. Roy & HG struck a rich vein of comedy through the absolute commitment to your view, until you change it... they would praise a player as a world beater until the match tide turned or one small incident and then mercilessly change their rhetoric and be just as passionate with a conflicting view... amplifying what we all hear in any sports match!!
Add to that Roy's own sparkling career for Orange CYMS, his racing pedigree or HG's expert opinion or spin on a story lifted directly from the Daily Telegraph newspaper [ouch, I've heard plenty of serious sports casters using that authoritative source...].
This t-shirt has long been part of my collection, bought from the ABC Shop in Sydney's QVB but signed many years on when HG was launching his post Olympics book and we chatted about the Rabbitohs and the Rugby!!
I spent many a lazy afternoon tuning in [and there was a time people would rive places so as to be able to listen to Roy & HG] as Roy in particular asked callers how they'd put in the afternoon. Uni studies, banana cake icing, plumbing tips or light reading were no struggle for the well read, sharp and ironic humour of John Doyle as he easily slipped from topic to topic no matter what the caller had been up to.
POSTSCRIPT
It seems Roy & HG have just signed with Oz network TEN to do a show as part of their Socchi Winter Olympic coverage... suddenly I have 'some' interest in them... no wonder it's being announced now as TEN, so enthusiastic about their coverage, were just about the last resort, bargain network. Nobody really wanted to have to do it!!
I look fwd to the sporting great 'Rampaging' Roy Slaven [coached by 'Grassy' Grannell] interviewing 'Chumpy' Pullin... gotta love a #nickname
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