Andrew Voss highlights truth about Paul Vautin amid ugly claims about retiring NRL and TV icon
'Fatty' will be remembered as a larrikin, but former colleague Voss has highlighted the real Vautin.
Veteran NRL commentator Andrew Voss has paid tribute to Paul Vautin and his 'outstanding' TV career, highlighting how good he was as an analyst and game caller - which often get forgotten. Vautin has called time on his 33-year career in the media and won't be part of Channel 9's NRL coverage in 2025.
"I've been incredibly fortunate to work with so many talented people over the years, and I've had the pleasure of connecting with some of the most passionate sports fans in the country," Vautin said on Sunday. "It's been an absolute privilege to be part of and I'm grateful for every moment. I'll miss the laughs, the banter, and of course, the incredible athletes, commentators and the Channel 9 family that I've been lucky enough to work with for over three decades."
Tributes have been flowing in from around the NRL world after the sad announcement, with fans and fellow media members congratulating 'Fatty' on his career. But Voss and Phil Gould have both moved to highlight the string in Vautin's bow that often gets overlooked.
Vautin will be most remembered for his work as host of the NRL Footy Show on Thursday nights, in which he played a larrikin who often bumbled his way through the show. He was also used for colour commentary during games in recent years, throwing out some classic one-liners while not offering much in the way of actual analysis or insight.
His commentary during games on Channel 9 was highly divisive in recent times, with many fans complaining that he seemed to have lost touch with how the modern game was being played. Vautin also seemed to suffer the same fate as fellow commentary legend Ray Warren, who often struggled with player names and new rules as the years went on.
Andrew Voss pays tribute to the real Paul Vautin
But speaking on Monday morning, Voss has revealed how good Vautin was as an analyst and commentator in the early part of his media career, but lamented the fact he rarely got to show it off. The 65-year-old was bumped out of the box by younger analysts in the ilk of Cooper Cronk and Michael Ennis in recent years, but Voss reckons Vautin was just as good in his prime.
While many will remember Vautin as a jokester who added comedy and off-beat humour, Voss revealed he's actually incredibly intelligent and footy-smart. "The Fat on the Footy Show was enormous for all those years, but I'm here to give him a rap as a commentator," Voss said on SEN radio on Monday.
"In 1997, every second Saturday it'd be either Fat on his own in the box or Sterlo. They'd work alternate Saturdays during the Super League when we did both comps. Fatty on his own was outstanding because he had every string to his bow.
"Of course he's got the personality and could be the funny bloke. But his analysis when given the opportunity was as good as any commentator I worked with. I've worked with Gus (Phil Gould) and Brandy (Greg Alexander) and Sterlo (Peter Sterling)...Cooper Cronk and Michael Ennis...some great analysts. I'm telling you, when given the chance Fatty was outstanding in that capacity. It's an enormous career post-playing."
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Phil Gould highlights genius of 'fool' Paul Vautin
Taking to social media, Gould also made mention of the fact that Vautin's genius often gets overlooked because he perfected the art of playing the 'fool' for the rugby league audience. Labelling him a "champion bloke" and "one of a kind", Gus wrote: "It takes a smart man to play the fool. Paul had the smart football brain, but was able to entertain the masses with his humour and unique personality.
"He made football fun. Through the Channel 9 Footy Show and his individual commentary style, Fatty sold our game to millions of people over the years. It was an incredible example of talent recruitment when Channel Nine Sports Boss Gary Burns decided to employ this bloke to be the face of rugby league TV. What a masterstroke. An outstanding career as a representative class player, Manly premiership winning captain, legend State of Origin coach, Prime Time TV show host, outstanding commentator, comedian, genuine true-blue Aussie."
