Well, we all heard the news this week. If you have followed my comments over the last year you know what I think of Matthew Elliott’s coaching. I mean, he seems like a nice enough bloke, but between selecting park footballs ahead of good youngsters, bulking up the side to the point where their lack…
News this week that the St George-Illawarra Dragons needed to release a number of players to get under the 2006 salary cap came as a surprise, especially as the club only just re-signed fullback Clint Greenshields to a one year deal and Luke Bailey to a similar deal just a few months earlier. The Dragons…
This is a very young story coming out of New Zealand but it seems the someone within the company that owns the New Zealand Warriors allegedly offered Warriors NRL players as a bargaining chip in their effort to secure the rights to a Pacific Islands rugby union side. Now, if this is the case, I…
Well, its that time of the year again. The time when we get many promises, little action and pretty much no information. The RLIF meeting happens this week and that means Australia and Great Britain sit down and decide what they will do over the next 12 months (As usual, long term planning!) and then…
For Great Britain the 2005 Tri Nations is over. Many people in the UK went into this series full of confidence. They felt that last years thrashing in the Tri Series Final was not an indication of their standing in the game. Thats why 2005 comes as a rude reality check for some. Personally, this…
Despite Trent Barrett being send to the sin bin twice, Australia looked pretty comfortable in their win over Great Britain. There was a lot of pressure on them heading into this game but as we have seen in the past, Australia just eats it up. I think the Australian side has played better and better…
Congratulations have to go to the West Tigers. This is a team spending well under the salary cap. A small side with a big heart. The key to the Tigers incredible Grand Final success was without doubt their defense. They just offered nothing to the Cowboys who’s pack outweighed the Tigers pack by over 30…
It wasn’t the best game you’ll see this season, but the 2005 Challenge Cup will be remembered for a long time by Hull fans. Hull secured their first cup win since 1982 after snatching a last minute try to win the match 25-24. A few random thoughts after watching the game: Hull is a VERY…
Suggestions that the move by Johns to be “excused” from playing the opening Tri Series match will just degrade the Australian test jersey are laughable. Let me get this straight. So in 1995 the ARL decides it wont select players that have signed up to the new Super League competition. It goes on to not…
After missing out on signing anyone decent, South Sydney is now tossing up poor signings with speculation they will make some TERRIBLE moves. Straight out of the Shane Richardson book of “Promises I Like To Make” comes talk that he is on the verge of signing ANOTHER Great Britain international. Lets me see, Paul Sculthrope,…
It was a stunning move that no one expected, but Andrew Johns stint with Warrington for a maximum of six games was enough to get fans on both sides of the world talking. In my opinion, Andrew Johns move to Warrington at the very least makes then the second best side in SL. In a…
Why do the Warriors suck? On the field, off the field, they just don’t have anything at all you can get excited about. As other NRL clubs battle it out for survival in a crowded market, the Warriors have an entire country all to themselves. Its not even as if its a bad market, its…
Well, the Panthers 2005 season is over and now its time to stand back and have a look at what happened to the club. After a brilliant, magical 2003 season and an exceptional 2004 season, Panthers fans held high hopes that going into 2005 the club would once again be one of the best teams…
The Penrith Panthers announced last week that they would release State Of Origin forward Ben Ross because of salary cap issues the club was having. Needless to say, this news wasn’t very well received by Panthers fans. Just weeks after signing Preston Campbell to a one year deal, the panthers now find themselves having to…
A lot of debate this week has centered on wether Andrew Johns should be included as an Immortal while he is still playing the game. Many good judges say that Johns is the best player they have seen and most accept that he is the best halfback of all time. However, the step up from…
I enjoyed Channel Nines 25 years of Origin presentation last week. While I had seen most of the footage and heard all of the stories, it was something good to watch. I have to say it was a bit self indulgent of Nine to commemorate themselves part way through the special. It showed why Nine…
Well, Penrith had a good win over the Melbourne Storm on the weekend in what was probably their best performance of the year. The Storm didn’t play their best football but its the first game in 2005 that has seen the Panthers put in an entire 80 minutes worth of effort. Penrith are now not…
I have a sure fire way to get a version of Rugby League into the Olympics and at the same time, get the sport played in a number of different countries almost straight away. Touch Football. If you have ever played Touch Football (Also known as “Touch Rugby”) you will know that its basically Rugby…
Every so often sport tosses up one of those moments even the casual observer has to witness for themselves. When Andrew Johns runs out onto Telstra Stadium on Wednesday night….it will be one of those moments. Andrew Johns is the best player I have ever seen. He has dominated the game at every level and…
If Queensland have their way the State Of Origin trophy will belong to them on Wednesday night. Their quest to wrap up the series though has taken a beating with Brad Thorn struggling to overcome a sternum injury. After losing prop Steven Price for the series to a knee injury, the Queenslander’s couldn’t afford to…
Well, Sonny Bill Williams came back from injury this week and five minutes after running onto the field he was off again with an injury that could keep him out of the game for over a month. I think its about time Bulldogs officials realize that for all of his talent, Sonny Bill is still…
Well, Andrew Johns has made his return and Brett Kimmorley is badly out of form. Craig Gower just isn’t playing well at all while Matt Orford has never shown the ability to lift his game to the next level. So what should NSW selectors do this week when they announce the side to hopefully win…
NSW selectors this week MUST make changes to the NSW forward pack. In the first game forwards Jason Ryles and Luke Bailey were completely dominated by QLD. This wasn’t helped by a poor bench that saw second rower Steve Simpson having to fill in as a prop when either Ryles or Bailey left the field….
Well it was bound to happen. The NRL expands the comp to 16 teams, and the West Tigers start whinging because they were “Forced” to merge. When the ARL and SL merged in 1998 the goal was to cut the competition back to 14 teams. Because of this, some teams were forced to merge while…
You know, following a crap club like Penrith really toughens you up. You get to a point where nothing surprises you. So as the Panthers romped away with the lead against Manly, I had a big smile on my face. For the first time this season Penrith looked in control. They had worked hard and…
OK, so they were followed by about 6,496 others, but still, thats a pathetic crowd for ANY club. With so many people willing to point the finger at Melbourne when they get 8,500 people to a game, you have to wonder where the critics are when Souths get even less to a game! Where are…
You have to hand it to some of these players….they really think they can have their cake and eat it too. So last week, Braith Anasta heads over to have a meeting at the headquarters of the ARU and predictably, there are about 1000 journo’s following. Who would have thought….I mean, it was just a…
Well, its finally here. The NSWRL announced an 18 man NSW Blues Origin side on Monday and its a good looking lineup: 1.Anthony Minichiello 2.Matt King 3.Matt Cooper 4.Mark Gasnier 5.Luke Rooney 6.Trent Barrett 7.Brett Kimmorley 8.Luke Bailey 9.Danny Buderus (capt) 10.Jason Ryles 11.Nathan Hindmarsh 12.Craig Fitzgibbon 13.Ben Kennedy Interchange: 14.Craig Wing 15.Steve Simpson 16.Andrew…
The Queensland Rugby League always announced their team an hour after NSW has announced their side: 1.Billy Slater 2.Ty Williams 3.Shaun Berrigan 4.Paul Bowman 5.Matt Sing 6.Darren Lockyer 7.Johnathan Thurston 8.Steve Price 9.Cameron Smith 10.Petero Civoniceva 11.Michael Crocker 12.Brad Thorn 13.Tonie Carroll Interchange: 14.Ben Ross 15.Carl Webb 16.Chris Flannery 17.Matt Bowen I’m a bit worried…
How bad are the Panthers going? Its funny because when the Panthers win, Im ok. But when they lose, it just ruins my whole week. If you went on League Unlimited last week you will have seen that I predicted the big Dragons win before the game. The Panthers defence is just tragic at the…