News that covers Rugby League in Australia.
This is something we need to sit down and discuss now. With Ben Barba looking to leave the Bulldogs and head back to Queensland, we have now got to a point where a number of key players the club has invested time and money into have somehow found ways to leave the club. Sonny Bill…
After The Super League War the newly formed National Rugby League had a problem on it’s hands. It had more clubs than it wanted and all of them were spending more money than they had. Players salaries were completely out of control and the NRL knew it had to get spending on player salaries back…
He is one of the most marketable players in the game. When he is in form, there is no doubt Benji Marshall is also one of the best Rugby League players in the world. With the Wests Tigers ridiculously questioning whether they should upgrade the contract of the best player in their lineup, the NRL…
The Sydney Roosters have re-signed Sonny Bill Williams through to the end of the 2014 season according to the Daily Telegraph. Williams made a smooth return to the game and has managed to avoid the injury problems that have plagued his career in the past. Over the last few weeks in particular Williams has looked…
Parramatta Stadium will receive $20 million in funding for upgrades to the training, corporate and media facilities while the capacity of the ground will be increased by 3,000 to an overall total of 24,000. In the past I have been critical of the way that certain stadiums have received funding that did little more that…
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the Parramatta Eels made an approach to St Helens hooker James Roby to join the club for the 2015 season, only for Roby to knock them back. The Eels are on the look out for players anywhere they can find them after showing the door to over a…
After South Sydney’s exploits this season, Rabbitohs coach, Michael Maguire, looks set to become the most wanted man in the NRL at the end of the current NRL campaign. With South Sydney charging towards their first minor premiership since 1989, there is a growing concern among the Rabbitohs fans that they may lose their head…
Paul Gallen has been a fantastic leader for the Cronulla Sharks. At times he has taken opposition teams on single handedly up front, hitting the ball up without fear, making a million tackles, he has simply never let the Sharks down. At State Of Origin level it has been more of the same. Even as…
There are no excuses any more… With the NRL raking in around $300 million per season, and putting $40 million in the bank for future projects every year, there are no excuses for Rugby League to lose a single player to any other sporting code. Likewise, there is no reason why the NRL should have…
He is one of the true stars of the game, and yet the Wests Tigers are not convinced that they should pay any extra money to Benji Marshall and finalize a deal that would see Marshall remain a one club player. You get the feeling that if Benji Marshall wanted to head to another club…
Game two of the 2013 State Of Origin series was a disaster for New South Wales. Not too many of the Blues players could hold their head high after the 26-6 thrashing Queensland handed them. Two players stood out though… Aaron Woods and Nathan Merritt made their State Of Origin debuts after a groundswell of…
The Newcastle Knights have signed current Hull KR halfback Michael Dobson for the 2014 NRL season on a one year deal. Why? At 27 years of age, Michael Dobson is who he is. We know what he offers as an NRL player and we know that he isn’t about to come back and be a…
Game two of the 2013 State Of Origin series was an ambush. Queensland came out breathing fire and New South Wales simply could not stand up to the pressure. In the aftermath of such a complete and utter beat down, its always fun to rate the performances of players from both teams. I tend to…
Before he had even played first grade football, Mitchell Pearce was being anointed as the next great halfback in Rugby League. The son of former Balmain legend Wayne Pearce, he has the bloodlines of a legend. His size and ability to defend saw people compare him to Andrew Johns. This was timely as Johns career…
Queensland has blown New South Wales off the park in a dominant, devastating display to win State Of Origin 2 by a scoreline of 26-6. The Maroons ran out on the field breathing fire and the Blues simply were not prepared for the onslaught of what can only be described as perfect football. The Queensland…
It feels like a long time ago that New South Wales won game one of the 2013 State Of Origin series in Sydney. Unfortunately it didn’t take too long for the Blues to go from being on a high from winning the opening game to having to deal with one crisis after another. With Jarryd Hayne’s…
Melbourne storm five-eighth Gareth Widdop will not play again this year after dislocating his hip in the Storms 18-12 loss to the Gold Coast Titans. Widdop’s loss is a huge blow to the Melbourne Storms hopes of retaining their Premiership this season. His loss will also have a major effect on England’s World Cup plans…
The Melbourne Storm are currently looking towards the future and tonight we will see a glimpse of that. The Storm will have youngster Ben Hampton making his NRL debut at five-eighth against the Gold Coast Titans tonight. With current Storm five-eighth Gareth Widdop leaving the club at seasons end to join the St George/Illawarra Dragons,…
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Sam Tomkins will officially announce he will join the New Zealand Warriors in 2014 in a joint statement that will involve his current clubs the Wigan Warriors. Tomkins has been heavily linked to a number of NRL clubs in recent months, with most bulking at an asking price…
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…
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….
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…