Optimism is the most important emotion for a sporting fan. Without it, supporting a team is a soul destroying process. You can have optimism no matter where you sit on the ladder. The team in first place give their fans hope that they can go on and win the title. The team at the bottom…
Today has been a glorious day in the history of Penrith Rugby League club, for today, we have finally, officially, got rid of Matthew Elliott as coach of the Penrith Panthers. Elliott was told on Tuesday morning that he would not have his contract renewed at the end of the year. Not long after, 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…
How many chances should you give a person? Nothing in life is ever black and white. As much as we wish we could, you can’t put the behavior of people into nice, neat little boxes. Everything is a degree of something, and therefore, when it comes to giving someone another chance, everything comes into consideration….
I always felt as though Wayne Bennett left the Brisbane Broncos is a fairly average position. Basically when he left, the club needed to completely rebuild itself. It’s highest paid player was getting on and would never be around once the youngsters kicked on. Thats not Bennett’s fault, that’s just how Rugby League works. The…
The Widnes Vikings will participate in Super League again from 2012 and as you can imagine, their fans are ecstatic about the prospect of being in the top flights again. Recently we have seen players, commentators and fans pushing for Super League to raise revenues and the salary cap. Just about everyone within British Rugby…
Sorry for being late chaps, just picked up a new Audi, sweet set of wheels! Ok, so as you all know, we have the Great Britain Rugby League team. It is not only one of the most famous brands in the game, but one of the most famous in English sport. So much history… Lets…
South Sydney hooker Issac Luke had a bit of a situation on his hands recently. For what ever reason, he had a falling out with his player agent, and that meant that he had to put his upcoming contract negotiations on hold for quite some time. Luke is the current New Zealand test hooker, he…
I’m not going to talk about how good of a player Darren Lockyer was. If you have eyes in your head, you could see what he did. You don’t need me to talk about how good he was! Last season there was a lot of talk that the Brisbane Broncos wanted to groom Lockyer to…
In three years time Jamal Idris will be 23 years old. That is a year younger than Greg Inglis is right now. He will be playing in a Bulldogs side that will have been together for a number of years and grown as a premiership force as a result. He will have earned a number…
I wasn’t going to write this. This web site has always been one that a general fan of the game can come to a feel like they will get a taste of all the flavors our game has to offer. I might be a Panthers fan, but you don’t come to this site and get…
English Rugby League players get no respect. They are under paid and they have very little profile in the media. Because of this, players find it hard to get any sort of decent personal sponsorships, and you know who is to blame for all of this don’t you? Well, take your pick…. The BBC, Soccer,…
If you wanted to see why the Melbourne Storm are the best Rugby League club in the world, you just had to be watching the television on Saturday afternoon. It started with their Under 20’s team. The Melbourne Storm is the team to play for if you are a youngster looking to make a name…
The start of a new Rugby League season brings expectations. Everyone starts with the same number of wins, the same number of losses, no baggage and for the most part, injury free. The first few weeks of a season don’t make or break a campaign, but they are telling. You can see who has come…
A Pacific Islands All Star Team will face England in 2012 with England to do a tour of Australia and New Zealand. With no international competitions having been planned for 2012, the year before the World Cup, this is seen as a way to expose England to some high quality opposition, give Pacific Islanders a…
If you head down to my local McDonald’s with ten of your mates, find a Kiwi bloke and start racially abusing him, you better expect to get punched in the face. Do me a favour though… If that is how you get your kicks, and you do end up being punched in the mouth while…
How could I describe the soul crushing exercise that is following a club coached by Matthew Elliott? Let me put it this way… I would quite happily watch Penrith get off to a win less start to the season, getting thrashed in every game, having no chance of making the finals and losing players to…
After a terrible start to the 2011 Super League season, Salford Reds fans had already had enough. They knew they needed a new coach and they wanted Shaun McRae sacked. Anyone that saw Shaun McRae appear on Sky Sports Super League coverage the night after the Reds had been utterly thrashed by St Helens must…
In the wake of Kyle Eastmonds announced defection to Rugby Union at the end of the Super League season there have been a number of very interesting reactions. Calls to raise the Super League salary cap, to pay Super League players more money, to form a players unions, central contracts, expansion, contraction…..everyone has an opinion!…
I was just like you ya know. Knock me down with a feather, Todd Carney was caught drink driving? Really? THAT Todd Carney? Todd Carney, yes that one, blew a Blood Alcohol reading of 0.05. That is the very limit of what you can have with a full license, but Carney only has a provisional…
In Newcastle, its not about what you know, its about who you know. The Newcastle Knights have been run for a very long time on the basis of just keeping everyone happy. Forget professionalism, forget winning, forget accountability….none of that matters. Just as long as everyone iust having a good time and they can all…
If you read this web site on a regular basis, you know what I think about the state of the Newcastle Knights. They are a glorified pub team. The place is run for the enjoyment of the players and who cares about things like professionalism or accountability. In steps Nathan Tinkler, who is very rich,…
Remember last week when I said everyone in Brisbane was going batshit crazy? Well it seems the fun hasn’t stopped yet! Ivan Henjak was sensationally fired last night a few weeks out from the kickoff to the 2011 season. He will be replaced by assistant coach Anthony Griffin, who has only been given a deal…
Reports today in the Sydney Morning Herald and Daily Telegraph have linked a number of high profile managers with the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal. It has been alleged that managers signed off on two different documents, an official NRL contract, and a second contract that gave their clients, the players, the added extras that…
The last 10 years have been a very interesting time in Australian sport. Over the last ten years we have seen Rugby Union, Boxing and AFL all covet star power of Rugby League players. Rugby Union was the first. Flushed with funds from its new found professionalism, it was a sport that was very much…
Last year the AFL made a decision that to them, Israel Folau was worth $1.5 million dollars a year. This made him the richest player in AFL history, and he had never played the game, at any level. Not even as a kid. This week, Kyle Eastmond has made the decision to take a big…
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…
First off let me say this. I don’t have a horse in this race. I wrote last month about The Split Between The AMNRL and USARL. I can honestly see both sides of the argument. I don’t think the USARL has been formed out of greed, and I do believe the AMNRL has the best interests…
Yesterday the Gold Coast Titans gave the ultimate show of support to their coach John Cartwright. You can not fault the job he has done since the Titans entered the NRL a few years ago. They were competitive in their first season and over the last two years they have proven to be one of…
The NRL All Stars have defeated the Indigenous All Stars 28-12 with Josh Dugan being named the Preston Campbell medal winner as the man of the match. It was a game played at a really high intensity, just about every player looked sharp and while there were a few bumps, bruises and some blood spilt,…