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.
All Articles
Sport
Within the first 10 minutes of the Brumbies-Hurricanes game on Saturday night, it was obvious what had been missing from Super Rugby matches at Canberra Stadium. And while the game only featured three tries, the scoreline of 12-10 does little to reflect the high entertainment level of the game for which we can thank the Kiwis. New Zealand teams play...
Opinion
Having participated as a journalist in thousands of post-match press conferences, I can testify the experience can be incredibly uncomfortable for all involved. In the NRL, there is a rule that both head coaches front the media while players are made available where possible. An obvious exception is when players are being treated for an injury. The losing coach's press...
Sport
Rugby League people talk a lot about the importance of 'the spine' - the spine being the combined talents of the hooker, halfback and fullback. In the Raiders glory years of 1989, 90 and 94, the spine was virtually unchanged and had an enormous influence on the team’s success. In 1989/90, Steve Walters was the best hooker in rugby league....
Sport
John Blom lasted around a year in the public service in Canberra before deciding that there was another world to be conquered. It was a world he had become familiar with while studying International Relations and Politics at the ANU. John worked his way through university as a global tennis umpire, effectively travelling the world while completing his degree from...
Sport
At 16 years of age, Robin Duff became a dual international. She was still at Canberra Girls Grammar School when she was called into the Australian women’s hockey squad, comprising 26 members. She had already been selected in the Australian women’s softball team as a pitcher, in 1977. These were heady times unlikely to be repeated too often these days...
Sport
As she grew up in the Woden area, Laura Peel’s passion was gymnastics. She would train 24 hours a week. But she was also a skier, thanks to her mother, Teresa. The combination has helped make Laura a world champion with high hopes for Olympic gold. Laura explains, “I learnt to ski at Perisher when I was about three years...
Opinion
Every time rugby league has a ‘vision’ to help the league, it has the potential to cause heart palpitations among Raiders supporters. Remember Super League? That period in the Raiders' history is lamentable and resulted in fans walking away from the code and the team. So naturally, there is an element of scepticism in the proposal to split the NRL...
Sport
Dimity Douglas was just 12 years of age when she competed in the 100 metres breaststroke at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. Dimity was in Year Six at Canberra Girls Grammar Junior School when she was selected in the Australian team. The selection was just three years after she started training in a squad at the Deakin Health Spa....
Sport
The rugby league family is mourning the death of Tommy Raudonikis. It was announced this morning that the legendary hard man of rugby league had lost his long battle with throat cancer at age 70. In many respects, it is hard to encapsulate a life filled with so many stories that have been enshrined in folklore. What was beyond dispute...
Sport
Don Furner says the toughest decision he has had to make in his 17 years or so as the Raiders CEO was to tell his brother that he would no longer be coaching the Raiders. That was in 2013. Don and then football manager John Bonasera drove from Canberra to Moruya where the team was in a three-day camp in...
Sport
If speculation is anything to go by, the Brumbies have been on the verge of extinction at least a couple of times in their 25-year history. There has been the constant talk of a potential merger with the Melbourne Rebels. Thankfully that was put to bed by Rugby Australia last year. Prior to the Western Force being omitted from the...
Sport
As the Raiders prepare to return to Seiffert Oval for the trial against the Roosters later this month, it’s worth reflecting on its significance for the team over the years. Ricky Stuart vividly remembers as a young boy waiting outside the change room at Seiffert for the Raiders players to emerge after a game hoping for an autograph. Later in...
Sport
In the current era of professional tennis, it is hard to imagine a 13-year-old girl playing in the main draw of the Australian Open. For Helen Gourlay, it seemed like a natural progression. As a 12-year-old she was the top open women’s player in Tasmania. But in her debut at the Australian Open, Helen was drawn to play Margaret Court,...
Sport
In 1997 a group of Canberra Raiders players, led by Ruben Wiki, David Furner and Brett Finch, rallied to help one of their own. It wasn’t a fellow player, but the beloved team mascot, Tony Wood, better known as Victor the Viking. Tony had suffered stroke-like symptoms, known as Conversion Disorder, and was admitted to hospital. While he was in...
Sport
There was a time in the 1980s and '90s when Russell Stewart was better known on London's streets than in his home city of Canberra. When he walked into a pub in England, there was instant recognition. That’s not to say that he didn’t have a profile in Australia as he rubbed shoulders with fellow elite athletes such as Rob...
Sport
In 2021 the Canberra Raiders will be bolstered by the return of key players coming back from injury and the emergence of several promising juniors, meaning the Raiders that take on Wests Tigers in next year’s opening round could feature as many as five changes from the lineup that ended the 2020 season. From the Raiders side which went down...