About Tim Gavel
Sports commentator with ABC Grandstand for over 30 years Tim Gavel has called a range of sports including NRL, Super Rugby, Wallabies, Rowing World Cups, Rugby World Cups, Socceroos, Matildas, Opals, Boomers, WNBL, NBL, International Netball, Men's and Women's one day international cricket, Big Bash, World Volleyball League for Fox Sports, Rowing World Cup and National Championships for Fox Sports and the 2000 Paralympics.
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Sport
It’s hard not to be impressed by Caroline Buchanan. Even the toughest of times (and she has had plenty over the past two and a half years) are turned into a positive. In self-isolation in Canberra in the wake of COVID-19 after returning from the US, Caroline has turned her apartment into a home gymnasium in a bid to stay...
Sport
I was scheduled to commentate the Raiders versus St George-Illawarra NRL game on Thursday night at GIO Stadium. I was beginning to feel anxious about it before it was called off. Sports commentators by their very nature are a resilient group. Essentially radio commentators just get in and call what is in front of them, at the same time avoiding...
Sport
With sport effectively curtailed around the world in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the NRL and the A-League remained the last sports standing, not just in Australia, but also globally. This followed the decision by the AFL to suspend their season until the end of May. The NRL had been pressing ahead with plans for Thursday night’s start to...
Sport
As the July start to the Tokyo Olympics looms, Canberra's Melissa Breen is asking a simple question: given the world is in shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, will the Games go ahead as planned? While some athletes are raising the question in private, others such as two-time Olympic sprinter Melissa Breen are publicly expressing doubts about the Games going...
Sport
Walking through the Raiders impressive new high tech, high-performance facility, it’s easy to forget the club’s journey from humble origins to this point. In the early days, the Queanbeyan Leagues Club was the administration hub housing all the coaching staff, with training conducted at Seiffert Oval. Over the years, the Raiders administration staff and coaches have been based at a...
Sport
Jarrod Croker is preparing for his 12th season in the NRL. On this particular day in March, he's already completed four media interviews, responding to questions ranging from last year’s aching grand final loss to the impending birth of his first child. Jarrod, it would appear, is ready for almost anything thrown his way. But a pressing concern is his...
Sport
Don Furner Senior was unique in rugby league. When Don was asked, “How are you going?”, the answer would always be, “Never better”. His positivity always shone through, and even when he was coaching it was impossible to tell whether his side had won or lost, such was his nature. Another unique aspect about Don was that he never drank,...
Sport
Over the years I have been critical of rugby, from the disconnection from the grassroots to the style of play and the interpretation of the rules. But credit should be given where credit is due. The Brumbies are leading the way to change perceptions of rugby – including my own. Not only are they winning (they're three from four in...
Sport
Canberra Raiders' five-eighth Jack Wighton is on course to become a one-club player in the NRL after a signing a new four-year, $3 million deal with the club. Wighton rejected more lucrative offers from other clubs to stay in Canberra. Wighton, the Clive Churchill medallist from last year's NRL grand final, came of age as a footballer and as a...
Sport
As teams took to the field on Saturday morning, the heavens had already opened up. The irony wasn’t lost on the Braidwood community impacted by the bushfires, nor those who had travelled from areas as far afield as Sydney’s northern beaches to take part in the day. The Braidwood Bushfire 7s, with over 40 teams competing, filled the void created...
Sport
When Brad Haddin made his first grade debut for the ANU at the age of just 16, many in the ACT Cricket community felt they had a front row seat to something special. A few years later, Haddin made his debut for the Comets, then the Australian One Day team, followed by selection in the National T20 side, before finally...
Sport
Solomone Kata’s talk to his teammates during the impromptu training camp in Newcastle resonated with Brumbies coach Dan McKellar. Kata, a former schoolboy rugby union star in Auckland, had joined the Brumbies in the off-season after seven years in the NRL, first with the New Zealand Warriors, then with the Melbourne Storm. https://www.facebook.com/TheSportingCapital/videos/1180265742181154/ The essence of his talk to his...
Sport
The Raiders have been one of the more stable teams in the off-season with minimal disruption. Even the departure of Aidan Sezer and Jordan Rapana created few waves with ready-made replacements available. Those replacements should make the Raiders an even better team in 2020 with George Williams and Curtis Scott – two players with the ability to maximise the team’s already...
Sport
Bob Hitchcock was unassuming in many ways. His genial personality belied his strength of character, and he instilled a life-changing sense of values into many who had the benefit of being in his orbit as a coach and mentor. Bob’s ability to translate the technical aspects of rugby union into the explainable was legendary. He could cut through; a quality...
Sport
When the sun set on the Brumbies' 2019 Super Rugby season, a new era began with the departure of five of the club’s biggest names in recent history. At first it will appear strange to see a Brumbies team minus Sam Carter, David Pocock, Christian Lealiifano, Henry Speight and Rory Arnold. Their places will be taken by some players you...
Sport
When Thomas Ashmore opted for shooting over rugby in his final years at St Francis Xavier Catholic College in Canberra, it was a declaration he was determined to take the sport as far as possible. An early indication that he had made the right decision came when he was named the College’s Sportsperson of the Year in Year 12. “It...