Rugby League trial games don’t mean a great deal in the grand scheme of things. No one should look too much into the results. Their main function is to help bring players up to match fitness and maybe work on a few combinations heading into the new season. Still, that hasn’t stopped Geoff Toovey from…
Each new season these days seems to see the arrival of a new Referees Coordinator, or Elite Performance Manager, as it is now known. Regardless of which title they use, it has been a long time since the NRL’s refereeing system resembled something coordinated. Or Elite. Full of hope and promise, they assure us they…
With all the excitement about the upcoming NRL Trials and 9s tournament, a huge story seems to have been over looked, the appointment of Tony Archer as the referee’s boss. Ok so it’s not a huge story and most people won’t care beyond knowing who to abuse on social media when their team hard done…
New Zealand has smashed Papua New Guinea 56-10 in Leeds. The Kiwi’s started in ominous fashion by scoring a try after just 2 minutes. They backed that up with a second try after just 6 minutes. I could go on and tell you about every try scoring play the New Zealand team had in the…
The North Queensland Cowboys season was very strange. Earlier in the season many had them tipped to be one of the premiership heavyweights. As they season progressed though the Cowboys just didn’t look right. I don’t think anyone ever questioned whether the Cowboys had the talent. They are always a dangerous team, they have a…
North Queensland Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston has accused the National Rugby League of widespread collusion in an effort to have an all-Sydney Grand Final. Thurstons claims came after the Cowboys had their season finish on the back of a disgraceful refereeing mistake that saw the Cronulla Sharks score a try on the 7th tackle in…
Below is the official statement from the NRL in regards to the 7 tackle try scored in the Cronulla Sharks win over the North Queensland Cowboys: The NRL has confirmed an error by the Match Officials resulted in Cronulla’s opening try being scored on the seventh tackle. NRL Head of Football, Mr Todd Greenberg, had…
The North Queensland Cowboys have been screwed over by a terrible refereeing decision that saw the Cowboys score a try on the 7th tackle. The Sharks won the match 20-18 so the mistake obviously had a major effect on the overall outcome of the match. The match was a back and forth affair with both…
The Cronulla Sharks have scored a try on the 7th tackle in their finals match against the North Queensland Cowboys. This is the second year in a row that this has occurred to the Cowboys in the finals. The error, which has been confirmed as a referring blunder, can be seen here in a picture…
The Newcastle Knights have been caught red handed wetting the ball before kicking off in an effort to make it more slippery for the reviving team to catch. It is a low, cynical move, and one that isn’t even all that original. This is something that started off in Super League not that long ago…
You won’t believe this, but after watching his Manly Sea Eagles get beaten by the South Sydney Rabbitohs 22-10 in Gosford on Friday night, Geoff Toovey blew up about the referee’s! “We need to have an investigation into this!” Toovey whinged to gathered journalists who were gleefully waiting to poke the angry bear with a…
When Paul Gallen put a combination on Nate Myles chin in State Of Origin one, it was a major talking point in the game. It didn’t matter what else happened in the contest, the way Gallen went after Myles was a moment every single person that watched the game wanted to talk about. The reaction…
The Canterbury Bulldogs have beaten the Manly Sea Eagles 32-30 in a Golden Point Extra Time game that was soured by poor crowd behaviour by Sea Eagles fans. With the Bulldogs dominating the first half and the Sea Eagles being slightly unlucky to not convert what possession they had, the Bulldogs looked in control for…
It is the worst case scenario and something that can not be tolerated by the Rugby Football League With scores tied up between Hull FC and Hull KR in their Magic Weekend derby game and just seconds remaining on the clock, Hull FC put a bomb up from just within their own half of the…
In an exclusive, League Freak has obtained a copy of an email that proves the decision by Matt Cecchin to send-off Jared Waerea-Hargreaves against Manly on Monday night may have been the pre-conceived actions of a raving madman that were inspired by a directive from above. The email, sent on Sunday from senior official Shayne…
Rugby League coaches never lose games. Ever. There is always something that gets in the way of a Rugby League coaches perfect plan to take down the opposition. Injuries, suspensions, the terrible schedule, the rep season….there is always some reason why a coach didn’t manage to get the win. Of course, the most obvious reason coaches…
First up let me say that Sam Thaiday had EVERY right to blow up over the decision to award Billy Slater a try last Friday Night but he had NO right to touch a referee in his protest. One of the first rules you are taught as a child in any sport is respect the…
An attacking player that is not in possession of the ball is not allowed to obstruct a defender. It is a really, really simple rule that has been over complicated. Do you know who is to blame for that? Coaches. You see for some reason when rules come up for review in Rugby League, we go and…
The Melbourne Storm have won their second trial match in 2013 in what was clearly a much needed hit out against the Leeds Rhinos. I’m not going to go into some huge breakdown of this match because it was only a trial game. The Storm had played one trial game before this match, against the…
There will be a number of rule changes that will come into effect for the 2013 NRL season. Their announcement has come at a strange time but then again, with the way the ARLC is making decisions, you can’t be all that surprised. From the NRL official web site the new rules are: Benefit Of The…
When you cross the white line and onto the playing surface of a Rugby League field, the risk level rises. Rugby League is a tough sport and there are about a million ways to get injured playing the game. When you take the field, you know the risks, and you accept them. When you become…
For well over a decade now the game of Rugby League in Australia has been crying out for a strategic plan. Something that the game can work towards to give fans, players and various investors in the sport something they can look forward to. Basically the game needed to build towards something, and so today…
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…
The Rugby Football League are very serious about winning the 2013 World Cup. So serious that they are looking to become pioneers. They are looking to go to extremes to get that winning edge. They are willing to go to all ends of the Earth to make sure they are the best prepared team bar…
G’day from Scotland! Whilst it is summer here, I’ve seen the four seasons over the past hour, and have just had my fix of Australian news, especially all things RL. And what a massive couple of days it has been! When it rains, it pours. When ol’ Huey decides to dump it on theARLC/NRL, grab…
Hi again. After a bit of positive feedback on the first article, I’m here again to rant. This week we have the so-called ‘Captain’s Challenge’. Whilst I understand that most players/coaches/fans have not been happy with the standard of refereeing this year (or for a number of years it should be said), this initiative will…
Last weekend the Penrith Panthers beat the Cronulla Sharks 21-20 in extra time. Both teams were missing a whole host of players and while the Sharks sit many places above the Panthers on the ladder, this contest looked to be evened out by a number of factors, the biggest of which was the Sharks poor…
So the NRL Referees have used Brad Fittler to get around their bosses, Bill Harrigan and Stuart Raper, to contact NRL CEO David Gallop and tell him they no longer have confidence in Harrigan and Raper. Hmmm… Firstly, what is David Gallop doing even sitting down at that meeting. Aside from the fact that Brad…
Game one of the 2012 State Of Origin series was a very interesting game for a number of reasons. I personally didn’t think it was the highest quality game, I think neither side played at their best, but both probably learned a lot from that first game and I think both teams will be thinking…
So here we are, the 2011 Four Nations Final. Australia vs England at Elland Road in Leeds. England are full of confidence after their big win over New Zealand in Hull. I watched the game and England did play well, but New Zealand were terrible. I don’t know how much England is really going to…