Round 26 of the 2014 NRL season was incredible. With so many games that actually meant something, and with so much on the line, the competition had a real buzz about it in the final round of the regular season. How many games did we watch this season that didn’t really mean much? When we…
I remember seeing pictures on TV of a packed Balmain Leagues Club on Grand Final day. I remember the spirit the Tigers had. The Tigers had a special group of players at the time, players that their supporter base really connected with. The Balmain Tigers went close, as close as you can get, but ultimately…
So the World Club Challenge has now been expanded and the World Club Series will become the latest cash grab by clubs on both sides of the world. Great, looks like League Freak needs to make another bloody banner for his site! The NRL Grand Finalists will join a third team and play one off…
You know, apart from the rules, the time keeping, the referees, the salary cap, the schedule and the venues…..nothing in Rugby League needs changed according to the NRL. No other sport on the planet decides to change it’s rules as often as Rugby League does. In some ways it can be a blessing, after all…
I don’t you know about you but I tend to watch Rugby League because I enjoy it. Last night I watched my Penrith Panthers put up a decent effort in the first half only to get blown away by the Melbourne Storm in the end. To be honest, from very early on in the match…
News Limited is reporting that Newcastle Knights back Dane Gagai wants to follow Wayne Bennett to the Brisbane Broncos, even though they sacked him two years ago for disciplinary reasons. Gagai’s move follows a trend of players that want to “head home”, and its is something I have no problem with. If that is what…
I remember once I scratched my knee up pretty bad when I got tackled on the cricket pitch area of a footy field when I was younger. I think Jordan Rapana has me beat though! Rapana is out for the rest of the season after suffering a skull fracture in the Canberra Raiders loss to…
I always find it strange when a coach bans a player from talking to the media. I guess it all comes down to perspective… From a clubs point of view a media ban is a sign of strength. They call the shots. They will say who can and can not talk to the media. Media…
Roy Masters is reporting that Cronulla Sharks players could be offered one month bans by ASADA as soon as this week. Masters writes that bans could be taken during the off season, would would basically only see a couple of players miss the Four Nations and everyone get off with a get out of jail…
Alright, I’ll bite. On Thursday, Daily Telegraph sports editor and NRL provocateur Buzz Rothfield set out his “50 ways to fix the NRL”. As expected they included the usual mix of whinging about refereeing, carping about the costs of attending games and futile plans to retain or lure back star players. However in a piece…
The Newcastle Knights have announced that assistant coach Rick Stone will take the reigns once again after signing him to a two year deal to coach the club starting next season. Stone was previously the Knights head coach but reverted back to an assistant coaching role when the club signed Wayne Bennett. I think this…
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that a photograph by Gregg Porteous shows Manly Sea Eagles forward Josh Starling allegedly eye gouging South Sydney forward Dave Tyrrell. Take a look at the photo and see what you think: The picture looks pretty damning but I think you have to be very careful when it comes to…
It should have been a proud moment for Castleford Tigers players and supporters to celebrate the club reaching the Challenge Cup final after defeating the Widnes Vikings 28-6. Instead it turned into a disgraceful scene that Rugby League should be thoroughly embarrassed about. After the full time siren, and as Castoeford players thanks their supporters,…
Two Rugby Union writers for the Sydney Morning Herald took a couple of shots at Rugby League today in the aftermath of the NSW Waratahs Super Rugby final victory over the Crusaders last weekend. I didn’t watch the game but apparently it was won by a penalty kick in the dying minutes. Of course, Rugby…
Josh Reynolds had a strange night last night in the Canterbury Bulldogs 41-10 loss to the Brisbane Broncos. Over the course of the second half Reynolds basically started digging a hole for himself that eventually led to him being sent to the sin bin late in the game. Take a look at the video: I…
A few days ago ESPN decided it would suspend Dan Le Batard for paying for these billboards to be posted around Akron, Ohio, home of former Miami Heat player LeBron James: While it is only a two day suspension most feel that it is an overreaction by ESPN for something that was obviously done in…
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the South Sydney Rabbitohs will take part in altitude training in the United States in November in an effort to find a competitive edge over other NRL teams. It is a great idea, but someone should really explain to the Rabbitohs how altitude training works. Basically, if you…
Well, Blocker didn’t hold back on this one! News Limited is running a a story today in which Steve Roach attacks Robbie Farah and calls for Wayne Pearce to be brought in to get the Wests Tigers back on track. Roach claims that everyone is walking on eggshells around Farah in an effort to not…
This one isn’t much of a surprise! ESPN is reporting that the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a trade that will see Love sent to the Cavs in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a projected 1st round pick in 2015. You knew this trade was a done deal when by…
Robbie Farah’s interview with Phil Gould on The Footy Show is sure to dominate Rugby League discussion over the next few days. So…here it is: Look, this isn’t a black and white issue. There is no right and wrong. I think everyone at the Wests Tigers, the board, the CEO, Farah….pretty much everyone has a…
Check out this hilarious Footlocker advert featuring NBA star James Harden and former NBA stars Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen that plays on the short memories elite players have: I wish my memory was as short as Scottie Pippens. I still remember him playing for my Houston Rockets….
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier have got into it during a promotional event to hype their upcoming fight. Cormier didn’t take too kindly to Jones getting in his face. He pushed Jones away, Jones dropped his title belt, and it was on! One of the best reactions to the brawl was…
Greg Inglis has told the Sydney Morning Herald’s Tom Decent that he would rate South Sydney premiership success higher than his personal representative achievements. No doubt Inglis’ feelings regarding his success at representative level compared to winning a premiership with South Sydney will upset people. What will get lost in the discussion is that this…
The real test of the Australian Rugby League commission is whether it has the backbone and foresight to take a whole of game approach to the Rugby League calender. In 2014 the NRL season is set up based upon an old model. When the NRL was first formed it had too many teams and wasn’t…
When the Gold Coast Titans joined the NRL as the competitions 16th club the good will was overwhelming. Even looking past and embarrassing name change from Dolphins to Titans early in the piece, the people of the Gold Coast seemed pretty happy to have a Rugby League team to support again. During their first few…
News Limited is reporting that the Parramatta Eels started formal contract talks with Jarryd Hayne in an effort to re-sign the star fullback to a long term deal. Hayne isn’t off contract until the end of 2015 but rival clubs can start negotiating with him on November 1st under NRL rules. That the Eels have…
Having loaded the Newcastle Knights with an ageing roster that needs completely rebuilt, and then undermining current Broncos coach Anthony Griffin to get the job he wanted, now Wayne Bennett is not doing any favours for the coach he replaced at the Newcastle Knights. When Nathan Tinkler took over the Knights ownership Rick Stone was…
From the moment that the Canberra Raiders committed so much money over so many years to a Ricky Stuart revolution, this moment was coming. As the Canberra Raiders capitulated at home to the New Zealand Warriors in front of job over 7,000 fans on Sunday afternoon you hot the feeling that the green machine was…
For well over a decade the National Rugby League ran on a strict budget. It was a competition that was under funded due to a terrible broadcasting deal that was put together while the game was negotiating from a position of weakness. In 2014 things are very different. The National Rugby League is a competition…
Coming into the 2014 NRL season my feeling was that the Penrith Panthers would be a decent regular season team, but when it came to playing finals football they just wouldn’t have an extra gear. Penrith have had a lot of things go their way in 2014. With a nice draw and no need to…