With NRL clubs now turning their attention to Super League players in an effort to boost depth in their squads, many within Super League had the same reaction. Raise the salary cap. Forgetting that a handful of clubs have gone belly up in Super League over the last few years with the salary cap set…
If Sam Tomkins wants to play in the National Rugby League he will need to learn how to do one simple thing. Shut the fuck up! Sam Tomkins has a weekly article he writes for the UK’s Mail Online. It is actually a pretty good read if only for the fact that he doesn’t hold…
There are two types of British Rugby League players. The first type are the ones that like to play make believe that they are something they are not. They talk a good game, but at the end of the day their goal is to be the most famous person in their local pub. Now, that…
The Daily Telegraph is reporting today that the Penrith Panthers inquired about the availability of Wigan fullback Sam Tomkins and were blown away by the price demanded for the youngsters services. After chasing Johnathan Thurston, and missing out, the Panthers now find themselves with over $1 million to spend under the salary cap and yet with no…
He is regarded by many as being the best player in Super League, and although under contract with Wigan for a few more years there is a general feeling that he is already looking at a move away from the club in the not too distant future. So, will we ever see Sam Tomkins playing…
So the 2012 Super League season wasn’t the best, and heading into 2013 there is nothing to indicate the upcoming season will be any better. Lets not start off on a bad note though! Sure the competition still doesn’t have a naming rights sponsor and clubs are bleeding red ink like every day is that…
Note: This deal fell through after the NRL salary cap auditor could not give the Eels a ruling on Folau’s true value under the cap. After waiting a while, Folau chose to sign with the Australian Rugby Union. Israel Folau has quit the AFL and will return to Rugby League. Brent Read of The Australian…
The Rugby Football League’s licencing system has come under fire recently after the financial collapse of the Bradford Bulls showed it up for what it really was. The grading of clubs in such black and white terms was completely ridiculous. Putting clubs into different categories was always going to lead to problems simply because so…
It has been generally accepted that 8 teams is too many for the Super League playoffs. There are simply not enough quality teams in Super League to justify so many teams qualifying for the finals series. Most people believe the ideal number of teams would be five, but that is a problem in terms of…
Wigan have defeated the Catalan Dragons 46-6 in what was a terrible advertisement for Super League. Wigan played well but to try and sell this as playoff Rugby League is just impossible. When you compare this to the incredible intencity we have seen from the NRL Finals series, it is like comparing night and day….
Its the business end of the season ladies and gentlemen and as we head into the playoffs there are so many questions to be answered. Will Warrington choke again? Will Wigan put in this year? Can Leeds come from no where and win it again? Who will beat St Helens in the Grand Final? One…
In 1908, Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand was officially born. So too, unfortunately, was the first reported attempt to fix a game. Northerners though were always keen for a punt, however one punter attempted to go one step further to get a win. Wigan were the competition heavyweights for season 1908-09, and rightfully…
The Administrator in charge of the Bradford Bulls has made members of the clubs front office and coaching staff redundant today, including head coach Michael Potter. Assistant coach Francis Cummins is the only member of the coaching staff left to prepare the squad for their next Super League game. What a mess. It is a…
Its time for me to confront this issue. Sam Tomkins is not the most well liked player in the British game. For all of the accolades people throw in his direction, he still is not well liked at all by British Rugby League fans. Just recently the BBC’s George Riley wrote a piece titled Why boo…
The Wigan Warriors forged their way to last seasons Super League title by pushing for every single edge they could possibly get over their opponents. Under the coaching of Michael Maguire they lifted their training standards, worked hard on their defense technique, and it payed off in his first season at the club with a…
English second rower Gareth Hock has been serving a two year drug suspension for cocaine use. Yesterday, Wigan announced that coming out of that two year suspension, they had signed Hock to a five year contract. What a disgraceful, embarrassing day, not only for Wigan Rugby League club, but for Rugby League in Great Britain…
They are the only awards that really matter. They don’t conform to a points system. They don’t just focus on one part of the season. The King Of Rugby League kick in from the very first trail game of the season and judging ends only after the last major game has been played. Players and…
Wigan are once again at the top of the pile in England after a dominant 22-10 win over St Helens in the 2010 Super League Grand Final. A sellout crowd of 71,526 filled Old Trafford to watch the two old rivals face off but it was pretty clear from early on that Wigan looked up…
Ditch digger or professional footballer? Hmmm, I know which one I would choose. With that in mind I can’t think of too many reasons for putting my choice in jeopardy, especially when one of those reasons is because I’m so fucking boring that a need to snort junk to have a good time. Thats just…
Death, Taxes, Super League clubs dying to sign an import… Ah yes, its that time of the year again, silly season in England just throws up so much comedy value. Whether its Sean Long’s utter desperation in his voice as he tries to convince people he wouldn’t be crushed if St Helens didnt re-sign him,…
Wigan and Warrington find themselves in a self made crisis that really worries me. The last time I saw a club in a position that these two find themselves in, it took about 18 months and the very rich and keen owner of them walked away and left them to fend for themselves. That was…
St Helens have defeated Hull FC 28-16 in the 2008 Challenge Cup Final. If you went to cook two minute noodles as the game kicked off, the microwave bell had yet to sound and Paul Sculthorpe went from the field injured. Going into this game Sculthorpe amazingly wrote in his newspaper colum that HE has…
I was going to let this slide but comments today from Wigans moron of a coach, Brian Noble have tipped me over the edge. Six weeks ago Tim Smith came out and say he had bipolar disorder. It was so bad that he needed to walk away from the game and get his life back…
This week has seen a tug of war between the NZRL and Super League clubs over the availability of two players for the upcoming Test match in Australia next week. Leeds fullback Brent Webb and Wigan halfback Thomas Leuluai were both selected by the NZRL. They were the only two Super League based players selected…
Anyone that had read my opinions in recent years knows I am 100% behind the Franchise system that Super League will have in place from 2009. Promotion and Relegation does not work and that can be seen in the financial position of a number of National League clubs who have gone broke trying to gain promotion. However,…
The Penrith Panthers have denied a report in Rugby League Week that they are making a bold bit to lure Wigan standoff Trent Barrett back to the National Rugby League. Barrett is rumoured to be unhappy in England and the Panthers have been rumoured to be ready to swoop in and sign him, however the…
Wigans loss in the Challenge Cup Semi final has had some immediate and massive ramifications with Wigan chairman Maurice Lindsey announcing that he will be stepping down from his role at the club at seasons end. Lindsey even to this day is still the most powerful Rugby League administrator in the game and like him or not, he makes…
The Catalan Dragons have scored an historic 37-24 win over Wigan in the Semi Finals to become the first French Rugby League clubs to ever make the Challenge Cup Final. Not even the sin binning of Stacey Jones late in the game could stop the Dragons as they outclassed a Wigan side that didn’t look…
The RFL has handed out a piddly four point penalty to Wigan after the club exceeded last years salary cap by an enormous £222,314. The RFL could have imposed a penalty of between 6-12 points but it seems a £222,314 is only worth four points. That means to qualify for the maximum penalty a club…
Well the relegation battle in Super League got a nice little fire lit under it when half the bloody teams in Super League were caught cheating the salary cap. So much for the level playing field. What ever the case it has set up a fascinating relegation battle with Wigan and Wakefield going head to head. Now…
