Recent talk that the World Club Challenge will be expanded is interesting to me, simply because the calls to expand it are not coming from Australia. They are all from Great Britain. Because of this, I try to keep up to speed on what people are saying about the concept and looking for some sort…
The Melbourne Storm are the best Rugby League club in the world. That is not in doubt. Yet here we are in 2013 and the best Rugby League club on the planet is having to deal with the amateurs that run Rugby League in Great Britain, all in an effort to put money in their…
In life, the ability to say the word “No” is very important. In fact, I’d go as far as to say our ability to say the word “No” is what our entire society is based around. You see, for things to run smoothly you need some level of control. You need to be able to…
Performance enhancing drugs have been all over the sporting world lately. First came cycling’s fallen angel Lance Armstrong finally coming out of the PED closet on Oprah and confirming what we’ve all known for the last two years. Just as we’d all digested that, enter Ray Lewis and his alleged use of deer antler spray that may…
You might not know this but I have a very active Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/LeagueFreak When I made the Facebook page I called it “LeagueFreak.com” which seemed logical. It it meant to compliment this web site after all. The problem is that if you search for “Rugby League“, “NRL” or “Super League” on Facebook, you’ll never…
A week ago every sports man and woman within Australia was put under the suspicion of using performance enhancing drugs. It was described as the blackest day in Australian sport. The Australian Government forced CEO’s of all major sports in Australia to report to a joint press conference, the likes of which sport in this…
Yesterday I was contacted by a former amateur Rugby League player that told me about his experiences with the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs during his playing career. I asked him if, on the condition of complete anonymity, he would be willing to share his experiences with the readers at LeagueFreak.com. He agree’d to share…
Every single club in the NRL is looking for some type of edge. That is what makes the competition so good. The NRL is like the Formula One of the sport. All the new innovations and ideas first show up in the NRL and over years they filter down through the rest of the sport….
At his press conference on Tuesday, Sonny Bill Williams made an unusual break with the pre-fight pugilist’s charter by making the rare admission that he is worried. Thanks to this badly timed confession, I now too am brickin’ it. It appears that both of us neglected to search deeper than the first two links presented…
There used to be a time when the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs was a black and white issue. People that used them were taking chemicals into their body that they knew were banned by what ever sporting organisation they played under. These days though, things are a lot more clouded… The explosion of sports supplemental and…
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…
There is something to be said about getting the picture of another mans face tattooed on your thigh. It shows a level commitment and dedication to questionable decisions that not everyone has the ability to carry through the course of their entire life. That is where Josh Dugan is different to you and I… Josh Dugan is…
It has got to be frustrating to be a Canberra Raiders fan. Over the last few years the club has produced an incredible number of high quality junior players, and depth is not a problem at all at the club. In fact, few teams in the NRL have the type of depth in the halves…
Watching IBF Middleweight World Champion Daniel Geale beat Anthony Mundine for 12 rounds, it was pretty clear that father time had caught up with “The Man”. Unlike their first match up this time around Mundine was the slower of the two. He didn’t move half as well as he used to. His jab, once a weapon…
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…
An investigation by BBC Inside Out has found that Super League clubs have a combined debt of around £68.5 million. Sports Finance expert Rob Wilson explained the situation as “There are too many teams generating insufficient turnover and generating too much cumulative debt”. Incredibly, the Rugby Football League’s director of standards and licensing Blake Solly…
If you’re a winger in Rugby League and you want to command super star money, you’d better be a bloody good player. While Akuila Uate is a damaging ball runner, the 2012 season started to show the flaws that come up when the best in the game start to put you under the greatest of…
The Federazione Italiana Rugby Football League (FIRFL) presented the 2013 Rugby League season competitions on Saturday 26 January. On the occasion, FIRFL President David Massitti showed the exponential growth of our Rugby a Tredici in recent years. “Our Federation is walking on its own feet – says David Massitti – since November 2011 in fact…
Although the NFL and the NRL are two completely different sports, the skill sets can often merge without any problems. Below are the players from the 2012 season of the NFL that I believe would make up the best NRL outfit. The obvious deficiency in this side is the kicking game, as the NFL does…
The 2013 NRL All Star Game is being played at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium this year and I tend to think it needs to be a belter this year if this game is going to continue into the future. When it was first announced, I liked the idea. I felt like it was something Rugby League…
He may only be 22 years old but Shaun Johnson already carries the hopes of an entire fan base, with New Zealand Warriors fans looking for their young play maker to step up his game in 2013 and lead the club back to the NRL Finals. Johnson is one of my favorite players to watch….
My good friend The Mole is reporting that Craig Bellamy will reject a massive offer from the St George/Illawarra Dragons and re-sign a long term deal with the Melbourne Storm that is likely to see him finish his career with the club. In a chance to quote The Mole, he tweeted: “BREAKING: Moley can reveal…
The Penrith Panthers have released Michael Jennings from his contract in a move that has allowed the New South Wales State Of Origin center to sign for the Sydney Roosters on a four year deal. This is a great move for Jennings and the Sydney Roosters. During his entire career at the Panthers Jennings played…
The ridiculous “International Origin” series set up by the Rugby Football League has been scaled back to just one game in 2013, no doubt a sign the series is already on its way out. This year the game will be played on Friday the 14th of June at Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington. Tickets will…
There was once a time when summer in Australia meant it was Cricket season. No other sport existed during summers. There was no thought of the football season. It was all about Cricket and that is the way it always looked like being. Then something changed… As Rugby League and AFL both grew in strength…
Pre Season in any sport is the time in which the foundation qualities needed for the long season ahead are established. In a collision sport like rugby league the intense mental and physical challenges of the game need to be not only mirrored but exceeded in this period, allowing the player to feel confident to…
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If you are part of a management team that decides to give away the naming rights sponsor of a competition that is struggling for money for no money what so ever, you should be fired. When you go back to your superiors and tell them about the great deal you “negotiated” that will see you…
Congratulations to the Leeds Rhino’s for winning the 2012 Golden Boot Award! Wait, what? You see, over the last 48 hours when certain people have tried to justify naming Kevin Sinfield as the best player in the world, they have all, without fail, pointed to the record of the Leeds Rhinos. Why? Even my new…
World wide fame comes with many different perks, and one of those perks is that you wake up some days and you are featured in the English press. Nigel Wiskar is a writer for the Mirror.co.uk and he did a write up on the reaction to Rugby League World making the laughable announcement that Kevin Sinfield is…