Queensland currently reigns over the most dominant period of State of Origin since the concept’s inception in 1980. Coach Mal Meniga has arguably the greatest pool of talent to choose from and has built a team that has at times destroyed the best NSW could muster in the past 7 series. Billy Slater, Cameron Smith,…
5 rounds into the 2013 season and it looks like it’s a three horse race for the Minor Premiership in the form of Melbourne, South Sydney, and Manly. Newcastle, Roosters and Cowboys fans would argue that their sides are well within the running but general consensus is that the top 3 sides are a class…
Are you looking for somewhere new that you can argue about Rugby League without worrying some precious moderator is going to ban you because you bagged their favorite team? Well you need to join my brand new forum: http://www.leaguefreak.com/Forums/ These forums are fully integrated with the LeagueFreak.com web site. That means that if you are a member…
Going into the 2013 NRL season you would have been hard pressed to find someone that didn’t have the Canterbury Bulldogs down as one of the premiership favorites. Their less than idea start has horrified some within their fan base and it begs the question, is it already time to start worrying about the Bulldogs…
Not too long ago there was a time where Queensland were considered to be selecting players from a much smaller player pool than New South Wales had at their disposal. Back before Queensland decided to turn its back on born and bred Queenslanders and started selecting players from Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Fiji, Northern…
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…
New South Wales, we need a Todd Carney contingency plan. It seems a rambunctious youth of whiskey and lead-footing combined with the rusting capabilities of the Shire’s ocean air is slowly beginning to render his body brittle and unreliable. Right now, our incumbent five-eighth is sidelined with a busted ankle that will keep him out…
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…
The season may only be a month old but already some players have enraged fans by their complete inability to have any impact on their teams performances. Some of these players are highly paid stars while others are has beens that should have been put out to pasture a long time ago. Rugby League is…
I know you can’t get enough League Freak in your life, you’re only human! The good news is that now you can get your dose of League Freak on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeagueFreak I’m looking to get a heap of new followers on this Facebook page and to do that, I need my readers to share the…
From the point of view of a card carrying pessimist such as myself, the major talking point from last weekend’s round of NRL will not be the glorious half-ton that my re-tootled Roosters poured on to the outstripped Eels at Allianz Stadium on Monday night. Inside my cynical headspace, this titillating 80 minutes of tri-coloured…
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…
He was supposed to be one of the games best players, and he was paid accordingly, but Jarryd Hayne has gone missing and I for one am concerned for his well being. Jarryd Hayne used to be the fullback for the Parramatta Eels. A big, athletic player with a lot of skill. He had the ability…
Once again The Glorious League Freak has caused waves on both sides of the planet, and all I needed was my mobile phone. In announcing my EXCLUSIVE news that Josh Dugan would be signing for St Helens, I managed to dupe thousands of people into believing that it was true. The reactions to my April…
When the NRL signed its billion dollar broadcasting deal, Rugby League fans knew there would be a few comprimises. People don’t hand over that type of money and not ask for something in return. After years that saw the game under funded, the ARL knew it has to get the maximum amount of money it…
Former New South Wales and Canberra Raiders fullback Josh Dugan will be playing for St Helens, possibly as soon as next weekend, after contract talks with the Brisbane Broncos broke down on Sunday. Dugan, who was recently sacked by the Canberra Raiders, became embroiled in an argument with Raiders fans on social media on Saturday…
Phil Gould doesn’t like the prominence that the Under 20’s or National Youth Competition gets within Rugby League these days. He has talked about it for years! He feels as though too much emphasis is played on the NYC and that the traditional reserve grade competitions in the NSW Cup and QLD Cup don’t get the attention…
The Manly Sea Eagles are proud of the fact that they are the MANLY Sea Eagles, and everyone else can simply go fuck themselves. That’s fine. Lets face it, that attitude has been very successful for them. I would suggest that the Sea Eagles need to start thinking ahead though. They need to start thinking…
New Zealand Warriors fans are just starting to feel it now… After three straight losses to start the season, Warriors fans are already asking how things could go so wrong so quickly. This time last year the Warriors were starting a new season with a new coach. They had played in an NRL Grand Final…
The Western Sydney Wanderers have had an incredible first season in the A League. A dream season! This time last year the thought of the Western Sydney Wanderers didn’t even exist! Now they sit at the top of the A League ladder, they have built a solid supporter base and on Saturday night they sold…
We now have a number. Today the NRL has announced that ASADA wish to interview 31 current NRL players in relation to the use of performance enhancing drugs. The majority of those players having played for the Cronulla Sharks during the well documented time that has seen the club become central to illegal drug use investigations. There…
For those who haven’t yet read Ms. Wilson’s ‘article’ yet, the basic premise was that The Sharks were undeserving of their position in the NRL and should be kicked out or relocated. She sighted the fact the club was in crisis, along with ‘terrible crowd figures’ and a fan base that simply doesn’t care. 17,000…
The start of the NRL season is supposed to be a spectacular detonation of exhilaration and engrossment that results from the combination of various beefs from both on-field and off. With most players clearly on horse drugs, explosive knee-jerk sackings at administration level and indecisive young men everywhere struggling to keep their word on contract…
Josh Dugan has been has been sacked by the Canberra Raiders. The Canberra Raiders held a board meeting today to discuss the future of both Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson. It has been reported that neither player showed up to defend themselves. After losing to the Penrith Panthers on the weekend it is like these…
It was only a few weeks ago that the sensational news came through that the Canterbury Bulldogs has suspended Ben Barba indefinitely due to undisclosed off field issues. At the time the Bulldogs refused to break and tell the media what was wrong. They were putting Ben Barba’s health first in a courageous move that was applauded by many within the…
Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson are two very talented footballers. Both are athletic players that add an explosive element to any team they play in. They both bring a real x factor to the game, they can make something out of nothing. Normally these qualities are something all teams would crave. However when it comes…
Damian Irvine has stood down as the chairman of the Cronulla Sharks this morning as the fallout from ASADA’s investigation into alleged performance enhancing drug use continues. Irvine will be replaced by former Sharks winger Glenn Coleman. I wrote yesterday that the Cronulla Sharks Board Has Done The Right Thing. The Sharks have made all…
There are some really cool things about being a grown up. You get to eat what you want, you get to go to bed late, and you don’t have any homework that you need to hand in to avoid getting in trouble. That is, unless you play Cricket for Australia! Now lets look past Australia’s…
It is interesting to see how the tone of the Cronulla Sharks alleged drug scandal turned over the weekend. When the Sharks board chose to sack a number of their football staff and stand down the coach, the decision was received with shock. For the players, the decision was met with anger, and that is understandable. These…