Canberra Raiders youngster Josh Papalii has turned his back on New Zealand after being recruited by Queensland coach Mal Meninga to represent a state he once used to live in. Meninga has openly talked for a year about pressuring Papalii to turn his back on the country of his birth and that was helped along by the…
The Canterbury Bulldogs will take on the Melbourne Storm in the 2012 NRL Grand Final after beating the South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-8. The Bulldogs got off to a great start with an early try but from that point on it was all Rabbitohs. The Bulldogs looked right off their game, they dropped a lot of…
It’s week two of the Super League Playoffs and lets hope this weekend we see a game or two that isn’t over by halftime. I don’t think any of the teams that will play thios weekend really have a chance of winning the Grand Final. Leeds might once again come home with a wet sail…
The Melbourne Storm have destroyed the Manly Sea Eagles 40-12 in what was nothing short of an ambush! Manly basically got off to the worst start possible and looked really sluggish throughout the first half. Dropped balls, silly mistakes and a leg injury to Steve Matai knocked the Sea Eagles right off their game. If…
Have you ever wondered why it is only in recent years that clubs have pushed fans to buy club memberships in big numbers? Well its simple really… You see, when you get one of the plum jobs going around on the board of a football club, you want to keep it! Have you ever walked…
There is a lot of angst among media types at the moment in regards to the access they get to players and coaches and the quality of answers they get when they are fortunate enough to interview these people. I can see where they are coming from and to a certain extent, I agree with…
No one gives a stuff about teams that lose in the semi finals. They get so close to being in the Grand Final, and yet they are not even a footnote in history when it comes down to it. This week we have four teams all with stories to tell about their journey to get…
Okay, so the title of the article is done, time for polite to fuck off! Background: I’ve been a Balmain fan since 1988 and a Wests Tigers supporter since their inception. I say fan for Balmain because I loved that club. I say supporter for the latter, because as much as I want to tell…
On Thursday the 27th of September the 8th Australian Rugby League Immortal will be announced in Sydney. The current list of immortals and the year in which they were given the honour by Rugby League Week magazine are: Clive Churchill – 1981 Bob Fulton – 1981 Reg Gasnier – 1981 Johnny Raper – 1981 Graeme…
There’s a young bloke called Jack. He is just like any another other four year old boy. However last October Jack was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disorder that leads to muscles basically wasting away. Approximately 1 in every 3,500 boys worldwide is effected by this disorder that usually…
This is supposed to be the best of the best… Wigan 46 Cataland Dragons 6 St Helens 28 Warrington Wolves 6 Leeds Rhinos 42 Wakefield Wildcats 20 Hull FC 46 Huddersfield Giants 10 The closest winning margin during round one of the Super League Playoffs was 22 points. The average scoreline was 40.5 vs 10.5….
Conflicting reports today that winger Beau Ryan will leave the Wests Tigers and head to the Cronulla Sharks really to me sums up the way the Wests Tigers are being run at the moment. Its confusing. I wrote earlier this year that I felt the biggest problem the Wests Tigers had was that they had…
The Rugby Football League’s licencing system has come under fire recently after the financial collapse of the Bradford Bulls showed it up for what it really was. The grading of clubs in such black and white terms was completely ridiculous. Putting clubs into different categories was always going to lead to problems simply because so…
Well, the incredible success of my web site continues as today, LeagueFreak.com smashed its way through the 2.5 million hit barrier. It is just the latest achievement in what has been a big year for the site. A move to a new web server and a complete site re-design has seen the site take a…
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have smashed the Canberra Raiders 38-16 and are now one win away from making the NRL Grand Final. This was a really tough game early on and you got the feeling that Souths were more prepared for the early exchanges than the Raiders were. It was only about 15 minutes into…
It has been generally accepted that 8 teams is too many for the Super League playoffs. There are simply not enough quality teams in Super League to justify so many teams qualifying for the finals series. Most people believe the ideal number of teams would be five, but that is a problem in terms of…
Wigan have defeated the Catalan Dragons 46-6 in what was a terrible advertisement for Super League. Wigan played well but to try and sell this as playoff Rugby League is just impossible. When you compare this to the incredible intencity we have seen from the NRL Finals series, it is like comparing night and day….
The Bradford Bulls will stay in Super League in 2013 but me “monitored”, what ever that means. Probably would have been handy if they were “monitored” in the lead up to them going into administration, but hey, what do I know! This decision will rub a lot of people up the wrong way but it…
A sub standard crowd for an elimination final has watched the Manly Sea Eagles defeat the North Queensland Cowboys 22-12. This is a game that will be remembered for a very long time and for all the wrong reasons. First of all, as predicted Manly fans didn’t turn up in big numbers at all. 18kms…
Australia, New Zealand and England poach talent from other countries, and then they dare to suggest that no other country can offer them a decent contest, so they refuse to play anyone else. That is the current situation in international Rugby League right now. You have a bunch of growing Rugby League nations playing games…
Its the business end of the season ladies and gentlemen and as we head into the playoffs there are so many questions to be answered. Will Warrington choke again? Will Wigan put in this year? Can Leeds come from no where and win it again? Who will beat St Helens in the Grand Final? One…
For as long as I can remember, I have always had a great fondness and been captivated by martial arts, especially when displayed on the big screen. I know some people think these guys are just actors but I think just about all that will feature in my list are real life martial artists, this…
Week one of the finals season was sensational, it was one of the best opening weekends of a finals series I can remember. I enjoyed every single game and in week two of the finals, I think we are in for more of the game. Can the Bunnies rebound after a terrible performance? Will the…
He had a brain for rugby league, creative, speedy, successful and spent most of his life with a bullet in his chest. He was Duncan Thompson. Thompson was born in Warwick, Queensland on March 14, 1895. He joined the Australian Bank of Commerce in 1911. While at Ipswich he represented Combined Country in 1913 and…
You know, 18kms isn’t very far. That is the distance between Manly and the Sydney Football Stadium. I’m the first to say that the Sydney Football Stadium isn’t the best place to get to if you don’t live in inner Sydney. I have made the journey there many times before to watch NRL games, State…
Bradford Bulls prop Craig Kopczak withdrew from the Bulls squad before the clubs final game of the regular season against the Catalan Dragons. The move was an effort to have his contract terminated with the ailing club and it is thought that next season he will link up with the Huddersfield Giants, a move that…
The 2012 Australian Prime Ministers XIII team has been announced. They will face off against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby on September 23rd. This game is not just about giving Papua New Guinea a good hit out, it is also about promoting healthy lifestyles in Papua New Guinea and the players in the side are ambassadors…
The 2012 Super League Dream Team has been announced and its hard not to look at the side and feel that it is a reflection of the plumeting standards of Super League and Rugby League in Great Britain in general. Let’s face it, this lineup wouldn’t be competitive at all in the National Rugby League….
In 1908, Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand was officially born. So too, unfortunately, was the first reported attempt to fix a game. Northerners though were always keen for a punt, however one punter attempted to go one step further to get a win. Wigan were the competition heavyweights for season 1908-09, and rightfully…
The Canberra Raiders have beaten the Cronulla Sharks 34-16 in front of 24,450 at Canberra Stadium. This was a really entertaining game to watch and early on the Raiders had it all over the Sharks. The Sharks love an arm wrestle though and for all the quality posession and field position the Raiders had, the…