When Benji Marshall was last off contract, he could have left the Wests Tigers quite easily. With bigger money being offered elsewhere, Marshall did something really admirable. He re-signed with the Wests Tigers on a long term deal for a lot less than he was being offered overseas. The only thing he wanted was for…
In my living memory as an NRL fan there’s never been a year where the game hasn’t been brought into controversy because of appalling behavior by one (usually more than one) of its players. James Tamou, George Burgess and Blake Ferguson have all found themselves in trouble with the law in a short space of…
We all know that the NRL is better than the Super League – its more competitive, more intense and games are of a higher quality…so they say. However, after reading plenty of books recently where the accomplished facts of other sports have been widely challenged, I’ve been wondering just how much that holds true when we play the…
When Dr Marwan Koukash took over the Salford City Reds, he clearly wanted to do everything possible to make the club a success. It didn’t take him long before he was making changes to the clubs management, including getting rid of the coach to bring in Brian Noble and making changes to the front office,…
Normally the Bulldogs hosting the Roosters would be a big game. Especially when you consider where both teams are on the competition ladder and that Sonny Bill Williams was making his return after walking out on the Bulldogs all those years ago. Instead, the Friday night clash between these two clubs felt like an afterthought….
We’re now only a few hours away from the Bulldogs vs. Roosters game which will kick off round 15 of the Telstra Premiership. The Roosters have been flying high all season and after a slow start the Dogs have won 7 of their last 8 games. As well as being Friday Night footy and a…
Well before Sonny Bill Williams signed with the Sydney Roosters the word was that he would not be playing the Canterbury Bulldogs at home as he didn’t want to give them an opportunity to get a big crowd to the match and basically put money in the clubs coffers. When he played against the Bulldogs…
A few weeks ago I wrote an article titled What To Do With The London Broncos. I am a passionate supporter of Rugby League in London. Rugby League across Great Britain simply needs a Super League presence in London. Recently the Rugby League Down South Podcast had an in depth look at the London Broncos,…
He was a great Rugby League player, one of the best in the world. He was offered an impossible amount of money to switch to AFL. Now, after just 13 games, Israel Folau has walked into the Australian Rugby Union test team, his form making it impossible for the ARU to offer his position to…
After another episode of num-nutted naughtiness, the flavour of empathy tastes of nothing but lime splice. The majority of the rugby league community feel really sorry for the Canberra Raiders footy club. After a period of being disrespectfully whipped by a couple of Gen Y bad eggs, the public has flooded forums and airwaves with…
When Mal Meninga woke up on Monday morning and saw that Blake Ferguson was in trouble with the police and Josh Dugan has been out with his good buddy on the drink before they went into NSW State Of Origin camp, he must have thought all his Christmas’ come at once. Granted, as a Queenslander…
You have to give credit to the Leeds Rhinos marketing department. They saw an opportunity to make some money by releasing a tribute jersey commemorating the best player in the world in 2012. I have to say that it is a credit to the club to show such humility. To recognize their true standing in…
Its been an interesting few weeks for Rugby League with different on and off field incidents giving people a reason to tell all and sundry why they hate the game. From Russell Packer pissing all over himself to Paul Gallen punching the hell out of Nate Myles. From allegations of assault aimed at Ben Te’o…
Australia has qualified for the 2014 Soccer World Cup in Brazil after defeating Iraq 1-0 at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. After a tense first half, and with a huge amount of pressure being applied in the second half by Australia, Josh Kennedy put Australia into the World Cup with a sweet header that gave the…
The Queensland Rugby League team have made a few changes to the team that lost the first game of the 2013 State Of Origin series. Ashley Harrison and David Shillington have been dropped in a strong statement by Mal Meninga while Daly Cherry-Evans and Josh Papalii make their State Of Origin debuts. Here is a look…
South Sydney forward George Burgess has been charged with two counts of willful damage to property after allegedly smashing a car window in Cairns in the early hours of Monday morning. Burgess has been stood down by the Rabbitohs and the NRL Integrity Unit will be handed all of the details of the incident ahead…
This day had been coming for a long time… For what ever reason, Rugby League loves to forgive its own when they make a mistake. Some would suggest that is a strength of the game, that Rugby League always looks after its own. There comes a point though when the game need to choose between…
Jamie Soward has been released by the St George/Illawarra Dragons with immediate effect. The move will allow him to join Super League club the London Broncos as a replacement for Craig Gower who recently left the club. Soward’s fall from grace at the Dragons has been dramatic, and I think unfair. While his form was…
The Penrith Panthers have captured the signature of young Cronulla Sharks star Tyrone Peachey. Peachey has signed a 2 year deal with the Panthers that will take him through to the end of the 2015 season. Peachey will join Jamie Soward and Brent Kite and one of the Panthers “big” recruits for 2014. The Panthers…
It took a matter of hours for Blake Ferguson and Josh Dugan to get into trouble after being reunited as State Of Origin team mates. The allegations against Ferguson, with Dugan mostly said to be a passive third party, are still sketchy. Something is alleged to have happened at a nightclub, a woman was involved,…
The Rugby Football League went out of its way to free up this weekend so that England could play the Exiles team and have the best possible chance to prepare for the World Cup at seasons end. That makes me wonder, what happened to Scotland, Wales and Ireland this weekend? Why did the Rugby Football…
If you are rich and you buy a Super League club, try to get people that can run that club for you who know what they are doing. That would be the advice I would give to Salford Reds owner Marwan Koukash after the UK’s Daily Star ran a story suggestion that Salford plan to raid…
It was only March 14 this year when I wrote about the Canberra Raiders sacking Josh Dugan following the infamous roof top drinking session with his partner in crime Blake Ferguson. While Ferguson copped and find, a week in reserve grade and seemed to see the episode as a turning point in his career, Dugan…
Note: Blake Ferguson was replaced by Nathan Merritt after Ferguson was charged with indecent assault. The New South Wales Rugby League has announced the team that will take on Queensland in the second game of the 2013 State Of origin series to be held at Suncorp Stadium is Brisbane. After winning game one at ANZ…
Once again the International Origin match has failed to provide the game with what it needs. England has not got the hit out it wanted, the Exiles team is getting worse and worse as the quality of Super League imports falls, fans are simply staying away and not buying into the concept…there is simply no…
The Canterbury Bulldogs have beaten the Manly Sea Eagles 32-30 in a Golden Point Extra Time game that was soured by poor crowd behaviour by Sea Eagles fans. With the Bulldogs dominating the first half and the Sea Eagles being slightly unlucky to not convert what possession they had, the Bulldogs looked in control for…
England has beaten the Exiles in the 2013 International Origin match 30 in front of just 7,926 supporters in Warrington. England dominated the first half while the Exiles looked terrible. While the Exiles looked the better side in the second half, they never really looked like they were going to make a game of it….
With all the doom and gloom engulfing the Shire club is it hard to find positives for the Sharks. What started as an encouraging season has turned as players spend more time worrying about allegations than football. As 17,500 Sharks fans cheered the team on to a moral boosting victory over the Titans the Sharks…
In the lead up to the International Origin match between some English players, Rangi Chase, and a bunch of old Super League imports, England fullback Sam Tomkins has fired a broadside at Super League imports: “They will want to prove they’re the players that make the competition, the overseas players that come over and sign…
Channel Nine has named Canberra Raiders winger Sandor Earl a one of the players being investigated by ASADA for the use of performance enhancing drugs. Channel Nine claims that Earl is under investigation from an incident that allegedly occurred during his time with the Penrith Panthers in which it is claimed the player sought treatment…