FOR nearly two decades Andrew Voss was a respected broadcaster and TV presenter at Channel Nine, working predominantly in rugby league.

But five years ago Voss left his longtime employer, with a bitter feud between he and radio broadcaster Ray Hadley (also a Channel Nine league commentator) widely speculated to be the reason for his exit.

After Hadley abused Voss in August 2011 for questioning the likeness of a statue dedicated to legendary broadcaster Ray Warren in his home town of Junee in country NSW, it sparked a legal stoush.

Voss sued Hadley for defamation and he settled out of court. Not long after the matter was resolved, Voss found himself no longer employed at Channel Nine.

The following is an extract from Voss’s book: Stuff You May Have Missed — A Unique Look at Rugby League. In it, Voss details how his Channel Nine career came to an end.

WHAT HAPPENED AT CHANNEL 9?

I WORKED the last of my 18 years at Australian television station Channel 9 in 2012, yet still I get asked every week, “What happened?” Or, “Why aren’t you still there?”

For a long time, I’d hear those questions virtually every day. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the interest and the support, but it hasn’t been something I could be bothered going chapter and verse into. My most common response, to total strangers most of the time, has jokingly been that one day we should sit down and talk about it over a Chinese feed. Well don’t go ordering the spring rolls and the Gow Gee too soon.

I’ll explain my attitude this way. I love my Texas hold ’em poker and in this wonderfully challenging “sport” there’s a saying that I try and abide by 100 per cent: no-one cares when you cop a bad beat. If you get done on the river (the last card) when you thought you had an unbeatable hand, so what? Every other player at the table doesn’t want to hear of your misfortune. It happened. That’s it. Move on.

I had 17 incredibly fulfilling years at Channel 9, and then one really weird one. What happened to me, as disappointing as it was at the time, was just business. You can be the judge as to whether it was good or bad, but there is nothing in life that says all things have to be fair. And when you cop that “bad beat”, to be bitter and complain, and not let it go, isn’t going to do you any good at all.

The things I achieved at Channel 9 — the places I went, the sports I covered, not just rugby league — were beyond my wildest expectations or dreams. If they had just got me to call the football when I signed up back in 1994, I would have been fine with that. But 18 years is a long time, with a lot of sporting calendars. So along the way I called or covered motor racing, drag racing, major tennis and golf, touch football, surf lifesaving, horse racing, swimming, and track and field, to name a few sports. For a bloke who could count in hours the time he’d spent in his life in the snow, I even found myself up in the mountains in Whistler in 2010 commentating on the luge, skeleton and bob Sled.

At Nine, I got to read the sports news in prime time as well as on the Today Show, hosted Wide World of Sports, was a Footy Show regular and was given the licence to create two of my own shows, Boots ’n’ All, and The Sunday Roast, that combined, ran for over a decade.

Channel 9 was great for me, but I’ll also declare without a hint of modesty, I was good too for Channel 9. I put in long hours. I gave so much of myself to every task I was given. And I was proud to sport their logo; I was fiercely loyal to the network. But behind closed doors, I would sometimes voice an opinion that wouldn’t always be met favourably. That was just me. If I didn’t like something they did in relation to the coverage of rugby league, I would let them know that. My motto, learnt through experience was, “What goes to air is the most important thing”. Do all you can, to be the best you can be and leave the egos at the door.

I never once sought any celebrity exposure, but being on television does come with public recognition. To that end, only my wife Simone will truly know how let down I felt at times and how depressed I would become at stages through that “weird” last year.

When your career dream has simply been to call football, and that gets taken away from you to a point where you are blocked from working anywhere within the country you live, it’s tough times. But I am sure there were so many people worse off than me. I know my exit from Nine had nothing to do with ability. It was just business. I didn’t like the terms of their last contract offer to me during 2012, so we left it at that.

My eighteenth year in the Wide World of Sports office was one where I was often ostracised for whatever reason. I may as well have not turned up. No more was I required to attend meetings or contribute to shows.

I was going through a legal case that had commenced the previous September where I had sued radio broadcaster Ray Hadley for defamation (Hadley later settled out of court). This was about protecting my integrity, my family’s name, and over a quarter of a century of hard work, so as frustrating as the process was, I couldn’t back down. I would do the same again.

I still called some football, but it was on an infrequent basis. Most weekends they would just send me out to commentate the Intrust Super Cup in Queensland. I have no doubt now, that experience has made me a better caller. And from the boss of the major sponsor, Brendan O’Farrell, right through to the officials and players at every club in Queensland, I was made to feel very welcome.

When you love your job so much, the fun of commentary is never diminished, no matter where the sport is played, or at what level. In this case it was a second-tier competition, but if the players are out there busting a gut why wouldn’t I respect them and do the best commentary I could give?

All that said, when the email arrived from Nine network chief at the time Jeff Browne, a week after the NRL season was over, that there was no longer any requirement for me to come to work, yet I would still be paid until January the next year; it was still a shock. Eighteen years and that’s how it is done. No farewell. Barely a chance to clean up your desk. Locked out.

That’s business. It had happened to people before me, and I’m sure it will happen again. Working hard is the only method I have known to get on with things, so it became a matter of making some decisions if I wanted to keep the dream going. I can vouch for the fact that prolonged uncertainty will “kill” you. Being bitter would only expedite the process.

In 2013, I was given the opportunity to work for Sky Sport in New Zealand through their boss Tex Teixiera. I loved my two full-time seasons with the very dedicated Kiwi-based crew. Rugby union rules in almighty fashion in New Zealand, yet here was this solid production team, hell-bent on presenting league in the best possible way.

Sandwiched between those two seasons in New Zealand was the chance to work for Premier Sports in the UK at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. Here again, I was lucky to work with such brilliant people. The whole tournament was a career highlight. and the fact is, if I had still been at Channel 9, I would have never had the chance to experience it.

I did more writing of columns than ever before. That keeps the brain ticking over. I did a little breakfast radio out of the comfort zone of sport. I did some university studies online, exploring the history of Australian politics. There would be weeks where I would have to invoice more than 10 different organisations that I had performed some duty for, but that was the way it had to be to make ends meet ... and stay in the loop with rugby league. Again, with the support of Simone, we got on with life.

And then in more recent times, the opportunity to call the game back in Australia opened through Patrick Delaney and Fox Sports. The professionalism of this team has blown me away. I am proud to be a part of it, and don’t intend on letting anyone down.

All through my career, the support of league fans has been incredibly uplifting. And via social media especially, it has come from all parts of the world. I feel proudest when I realise the respect I have earned from you, the fans. I don’t ask that you agree with the things I say or write, nor that you like my commentary style. But to be respected by so many supporters is something I could never put a value on.

I’m sorry if this chapter has left you hanging as to how it all unfolded at Channel 9, but every word is exactly how I dealt with it, and how I feel now. Yes, it was tough at the time, but complaining about it serves no benefit. The other players at the table have already moved on to the next hand.

So unless you catch me with a spare seat beside me one night eating lamb pancakes at Lee’s Fortuna Court at Crows Nest in Sydney, (shameless plug), don’t expect a peep out of me. There’s no dirty laundry going to be aired here and now.

Stuff You May Have Missed — A Unique Look At Rugby League by Andrew Voss, New Holland Publishers, RRP$29.99 is available from all good bookstores or online at www.newhollandpublishers.com.