Two years after being excluded from the premiership due to salary cap breaches the Canterbury Bulldogs found themselves rebuilt and facing off the with Minor Premiers in the 2004 NRL Grand Final. The animosity between these two teams was palpable, with the Roosters constantly being linked to Bulldogs players over the previous few seasons. A…
Newcastle Knights forward Willie Mason has been charged with drink driving after allegedly blowing over the legal limit while on his way to training on Monday morning. Mason will face court on February the 20th. It is unfortunate timing for Mason who was one of the big names promoting the Auckland 9’s next month. Based…
Daniel Nichols looks back on the Newcastle Knights season in his ongoing series of season reviews. Finished: 7th Predicted: 7th Fan Prediction: 5th-6th Where It Went Right: Supercoach Wayne Bennett almost did it again. A month before the finals, not even the most committed Knights fan would have told you they’d be within 80 minutes…
It is going to be very difficult for Sonny Bill Williams to avoid being suspend for a high shot on Willie Mason that occurred in the Roosters 28-12 win over the Newcastle Knights. The shot he put on Mason was high and hard. It was enough to stun Mason and it was put on report…
This is something we need to sit down and discuss now. With Ben Barba looking to leave the Bulldogs and head back to Queensland, we have now got to a point where a number of key players the club has invested time and money into have somehow found ways to leave the club. Sonny Bill…
It didn’t take long for the perfect world that the New South Wales camp had created to be shattered by injuries and suspensions. With Jarryd Hayne struggling to overcome a hamstring injury and James Tamou getting taxi’s everywhere from now on, the Blues have a couple of big holes in their lineup they may have…
Do the Newcastle Knights look like a team coached by someone earning well over $1 million per year? I look at the Newcastle Knights and I don’t see any value for money coming from Wayne Bennett and what he is doing at the club. I don’t see them doing anything special. I don’t see a…
Roosters fans get upset when you say there isn’t many of them. Looking past the trumped up crowd figures or the fact that the club only survives because a handful of rich old men like having a play thing to occupy their time on the weekends now that playing Golf is out of the question,…
Josh, Josh, Josh…. You know, Canberra Raiders fans don’t ask for much from you. They kinda know what the deal by now. Basically, you’re a good fullback, but every time you get tackled you get up slower than Apollo Creed in Rocky II. You’re more injury prone than Mr Glass from Unbreakable. Hell, you missed…
The Wests Tigers come into the 2012 season as Premiership favorites. They had made a number of big moves in the off season and many felt that they would kick on and go all the way this year after falling just short the last few seasons. Things don’t always follow the script. After starting the…
Well its that time of the year again when Santa going on the worlds largest break and enter spree. We don’t mind it because he leaves presents. Now, Santa spends all year making a list. Then, he checks it twice. He want to find out who’s naughty and who is nice. Personally, I think the…
Twitter is an incredible resource that is like a gold mine for anyone that knows how to use it properly. Personally, Twitter had been amazing for my web site. It is a completely open forum that allows me to contact a large user base of people who are interested in Rugby League. I can send…
As I write this, Willie Mason is getting ready to play the first Rugby Union game of his life. The previous conversion record for a Rugby League players to switch codes, play a game and walk into a Rugby Union representative team had been held by Iestyn Harris at 11 days. Mason has walked straight into the…
After being told by the Sydney Roosters (Of all clubs!) to just go away and not come back, Willie Mason made the decision to head over to England and play for a Super League club. It took many months and a lot of hassles over his visa, but eventually, a month into the 2011 Super…
The Leeds Rhinos have made some very strong statements in regards to the treatment of Rugby League Players by the UK Border Agency. After winger Weller Hauraki finally had his visa granted, Leeds were obviously upset by how long the process took. He missed last weeks game against the Bradford Bulls. This prompted Leeds Rhinos…
So the report is in, and….wait for it….wait for it…. The Melbourne Storm broke the salary cap by a whole lot! The false outrage today has been a bit ridiculous really. We knew the Storm broke the Salary cap. We knew they had broken it by millions of dollars over the course of the last…
The Australian Kangaroos have beaten the World Champions New Zealand Kiwi’s 12-8 in torrential rain at Melbourne’s AAMI Park. It was the first game played at AAMI Park, Melbourne’s brand new rectangular pitched stadium, and the rain thrashed down for the full 80 minutes. The pitch itself must have been incredible to take the battering…
Sometimes it can feel like its a bit of a meat market, and while most players make good, sound decisions, others base their decisions on the wrong factors. I’ve always been a big believer on sticking with something good. When the magic is happening, when everything is going great, don’t leave a club for big…
Over the off season Benji Marshall sat down with former Penrith Panther and now West Tigers defensive coach Royce Simmons and asked him how much it meant to him to be a one club player. Marshall has always been a very mature player, if you know a bit about his background, even away from football,…
You see, fans, coaches, club officials and the media can talk as much crap as they like about a player. At the end of the day, as long as he can still play football, he will always come out a winner. As the season draws closer and coaches change their mindset from preparation that will…
Imagine if you will for a moment that you make a living writing about the game of Rugby League. During the season work is good. There are few sports in the whole world that produce as many stories and as much drama as Rugby League does. There is always a rumour to chase, always a…
A Christmas, don’t you just love this time of year? Its stinking hot, beach weather, thunderstorms rolls out of the west from over the Blue Mountains, you put up a Christmas tree and decorate your house. You go into debt buying presents, you send cards to people. I have to say my favorite part is…
The Sydney Roosters are in dead last place on the NRL ladder and its not looking like they will get any better any time soon. The side has completely given up, they are carrying millions in bad contracts and the players they hoped would kick on never have. The one area the Roosters have looked…
Some dirty bastard takes a picture of Willie Mason having a piss, and he is the one that gets fined. Imagine what thats like for a moment, to know that you can do somnething a bit silly and wake up the next day, not only to find it splashed all over the front page of…
Billy Slater has jumped on the bandwagon and signed a contract extension with the Melbourne Storm. He will play with the club until at least the end of the 2012 season. You don’t need me to tell you how good Slater played last year and how he is probably a top 5 player in the…
I knew the Sydney Roosters match up with the St George/Illawarra Tampons was going to be a dud game and boy did it live up to my prediction. The first half was probably the worst half of football I’ve ever seen. Sure, it was pissing rain, but the dropped ball, the simple mistakes and the…
I’ve tried to avoid talking too much about Sonny Bill Williams because seriously, he is a stupid kid thats been easily led by users. There have been some interesting things I do want to mention though. Despite having a court order stopping him from playing Rugby Union, Dollar Bill Willaims has actually played his first game,…
Billy Slaters amazing form has been rewarded despite a major push by some media types for Manly Fullback Brett Stewart to retain his place as the Australian fullback. Slater joins back rower Paul Gallen and prop Carl Webb who are also making their debut in a great looking Australian lineup that is probably a bit…
Todays NRL stars know they are in the public spotlight. When you earn a few hundred thousand dollars playing a game so many enjoy, you have to expect to be noticed. However there comes a point when the general interest people take in you is overtaken by media obsession, and when it comes to Willie…
Well Willie Mason has decided to wait 12 months before he steps into the boxing ring, and I have to say, its a smart decision. Mason was going to be rushed into this boxing gig and he was going to have to do it during off season training with the Roosters. At least by waiting…