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…
Well the Queensland squad was named a few weeks ago but now its a more relevant time to bring it up. The QRL named just a 22 man squad and that squad was: Shaun Berrigan, Matt Bowen, Paul Bowman, Tonie Carroll, Petero Civoniceva, Michael Crocker, Chris Flannery, Dallas Johnson, Darren Lockyer, Steven Price, Scott Prince,…
Well the City vs Country game has been run and won and the NSW selectors have chosen a 30 man squad for the upcoming State Of Origin series. Braith Anasta, Luke Bailey, Danny Buderus, Trent Barrett, Ryan Cross, Ben Creagh, Joel Clinton, Matt Cooper, Craig Fitzgibbon, Mark Gasnier, Craig Gower, Scott Hill, Nathan Hindmarsh, Ben…
Well I gave them a number of weeks to get their act together but they haven’t come good. The Panthers lost to a poor Raiders side on the weekend. I only saw the first half of the match..but still..you could see the problems the Panthers had despite their good start to the match. The Panthers…
Ive had alot to say this week about Stacey Jones as news emeraged he had quit on the Warriors completely and will head to France to play. Im not surprised, I suggested this move was on the cards about a year ago. What Im am surprised about is the attitude of NZ fans who keep…
Well first off, lets wrap up the first Rugby League Test match of 2005. Its wasnt the best Test match ever, but they are not all going to be gifts from God are they. I thought Australia did what they had to, they never got out of first gear and they got the job done….
The NZRL wants an Kiwi Origin series. They also want Kiwi’s to be allowed to play in the Australian State Of Origin series. The ARL meanwhile was surprised that the first test match played in 6 years in the second biggest League center on planet Earth attracted a crowd. Because of this, they are re-thinking…
From broken promises to leaked memo’s to over protective board members and fans to a decade of having won nothing…..South Sydney, The Rabbitohs….call them what ever they like, they are a terrible football club. The Bunnies have really shown this year how ingrained failure is at their club. Lets just look at what they have…
Well the RFL is starting to get serious about drug testing and its now handing out real suspensions for players that get caught. Well done to them. Now if only they could go back 6 months and take a look at the handful off excuses they accepted including two team mates that just happened to…
If you head on over to RLFans you’ll see the petition for Salford to get a brand new 20,000 seat stadium. This is a club that struggles to break the 4,000 mark, a club that’s barely of SL standard. They need a 20,000 seat stadium like I need an ego boost! Anyone that signs that petition has…
How good are Manly going. At the top of the NRL ladder, flying high and playing really well over some good opposition. As I watched them last weekend I thought about why they are so good…..and it hit me like an weekly Adrian Morley stiff arm that supposedly bounced off my chest! Manly brought players…
Much has been said about the Roosters forum this season. Some are puzzled as to why they are going so poorly but I have to say, I’m not surprised at all. The Roosters build their best sides on the back of two things. 1. They were one of the most athletic sides ever. Big, fast,…
The Bulldogs have Broken the cap again and they should get their $100,000 fine and told any breach in the next 10 years thats under $100,000 will result in the loss of 10 competition point. They weren’t the only club to break the cap, with a few other teams doing their bit as well. But…
Terrible! Penrith thoroughly deserves their record at the moment. Right now most of the side are playing like crap. The Panthers forwards have to take much of the blame if you ask me. They start games TERRIBLY and its not until the starters are replaced by bench players that the team starts to look good…
Well in case you didn’t know, the RLIF has been meeting this week and a few key announcements were made. First, news that Great Britain would be broken up into England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland heading into the 2008 World Cup was surprising. Just as the Great Britain Lions have started drawing sizable crowds in…
Keith Galloway has accept John Hopoate’s apology over this vicious attacking…..and thats the problem with the game today. Hopoate has spent nearly an entire season on the sidelines because of suspension. He has brought the game into disrepute more times then any other player I have seen in my lifetimes. Even in places like Victoria,…