News that covers Rugby League in Australia.
Look, I’m a fan of Russell Crowe and what he wants to do at South Sydney. While most try hard want to be celebs go to one Souths game every ten years and then feed of it for the rest of their lives like they are a loyal fan, Crowe actually attends as many games…
Lets sort the hype from the actual truth of the matter. When he left Rugby League, Matt Rogers was just a winger. He wasn’t a center, not up to fullback and defiantly not a half of any sort. He was a winger, plain and simple. On top of that, he was injury prone. So he…
There is no doubting Ricky Stuart is one of the top five coaches in the game today. His coaching record speaks for itself. So why then have the Roosters effectively got rid of Stuart (The official line is that both parties split by mutual agreement), the coach who took them to their first Grand Final…
While I may be on the other side of the planet at the moment, I could see Andrew Johns getting charge for dissent weeks ago. Surely Johns must have know he was treading a fine like a few weeks ago when everyone was getting on his case for the way he was talking to match…
News that Craig Wing is being chased by the Penrith Panthers shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. Wing, who’s form has not been great over the last 12 months, has found himself out of favor at Bondi and is pretty much being shown the door by the Roosters. The Panthers meanwhile are still looking…
You have to give credit to Rhys Wesser and Luke Priddis. No matter how Penrith players, both of these players always stand head and shoulders above their team mates. Penrith’s performances over the last few weeks have been nothing short of disgraceful. Its easy to point the finger at Craig Gower’s and his injury as…
The Brisbane Broncos will be looking for a new coach heading into season 2007 because Wayne Bennett will step down as coach. Having guided a young Broncos side to back to back titles in the early 90’s, Bennett enjoyed great success with a side full of champion players. As these players reached the prime/end of…
So the Warriors deliberately and systematically cheated the salary cap. They turned themselves in and were willing to cop the punishment. Somehow, the NRL decided to only take 4 premiership points away from their 2006 total. Thats like taking the free points from the bye away….a NOTHING penalty. And yet, according to some media outlets,…
What was Scotty Prince supposed to do? He’s had a tough career. If any bloke knows how quickly a career can end, its Scott Prince. There was a while there that Prince was only a 50/50 chance of ever coming back from a shocking leg injury and as he went to the West Tigers, it…
I was all for the NRL’s strong stance against the Bulldogs when it was revealed that they had cheated the salary cap. Not it seems the Warriors have done the same thing. If its proven that the Warriors organization at any time made payments to players, knowing those payments were not being put on the…
Yeah its just a trial, but the first footy match of the season was very much appreciated in my lavish surroundings. It was an entertaining game, some big hits and a surprise winner. While some say trial games mean nothing, I disagree. Ive seen to many teams in two many sports write off poor trial…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…