Today on Twitter I mentioned once again that I believe the Cronulla Sharks should relocate to Brisbane. I point to the way they have struggled over their entire history financially and the way they are squeezed into a small area of Sydney with no room to grown. In Brisbane they would be one of just…
The Australian Aboriginals Vs NRL All Stars game is a great concept that ticks so many boxes. Its a fantastic focus for the kickoff to the Rugby League season. It has great fan interaction as people can vote for who they want to play in both sides online. It is a game that can be…
For the majority of the history of Australian Rugby League, New South Wales versus Queensland representative matches were a test of the relative current player pool in those two states. If you were an Australian living in New South Wales, you played for the Blues. If you lived in Queensland, you played for the Maroons….
It is a sad day in Rugby League today with news of the passing of Queensland and Australian Rugby League legend Arthur Beetson. I met Beetson once at a function at St Marys Rugby League club. I got a few autographs and he signed off with “Enjoy The Game”. That pretty much summed up the…
Imagine that you own a Newspaper based in London. London is the biggest media market in the country, and the vast majority of your newspapers sales are in the greater London region. The good people of London are like any other people anywhere else in the world. They want to be informed about what is…
Mid way through the 2011 NRL season Chris Sandow signed a massive contract to play for the Parramatta Eels that come under fire by a lot of people who said he simply wasn’t worth it. At the time I wrote an article saying Chris Sandow IS Worth It. On the weekend Brad Fittler was quoted…
Just days after the announcement that James Maloney would not be re-signing with the New Zealand Warriors at the completing of his contract in 2012 comes word that the halfback has signed a three year deal with the Sydney Roosters from 2013. Maloney is a good buy for the Roosters and will partner Mitchell Pearce…
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…
I’m looking at Rugby League on a world wide basis, and I can not for the life of me understand why the RFL has any influence on the decision making process at international level. The RFL and its shambolic track record. An organization that can not even properly administer its own tiny little club competition….
So Australia gets to play the soap dodging, Stella drinking, pasty faced whingers from northern England again, and like clockwork, the Poms are talking up their chances and using words like Pride and Confidence. After their win last week against a Welsh team that included 8 part time players, the soap dodgers are on top…
Australia has defeated World Cup and Four Nations holders New Zealand by a scoreline of 24-12 in Warrington in a game that was marred by poor refereeing and a dangerous tackle that will probably not receive any punishment at all. This was an interesting, if not exciting game to watch. Both teams to me looked…
If you follow me on Twitter, you will know that this is something that I have brought up a few times and I am not happy about. As of today, the Penrith Panthers do not have a captain, CEO or a major sponsor. Earlier this week The Daily Telegraph looks at the latter in an…
Lets get right to a point that needs to be made. The Four Nations does not determine the best team in the world. We already have a competition for that, its called the World Cup. If Australia wins the Four Nations and wins every game by 50 points, the World Cup will still be sitting…
Well the last year or so has been a big one for this web site. It was around about a year and a half ago that LeagueFreak.com reached the milestone of 1 million visitors. Well, two day ago the web site ticked over the 2 million visitors mark! I’ve noticed the growth in numbers over…
The headline in the Sydney Daily Telegraph reads “Rugby league versus rugby union game moves closer to reality”. Wow, that is interesting, considering that Rugby League administrators are dealing with their own internal issues right now while Rugby Union administrators or on their New Zealand junket watching lost of fat blokes roll around on each…
First of all I want to tell British Rugby League fans to stop being so reactionary. What has happened has happened. You can blame this and that, but at the end of the day the real problem is that the foundations that the game in Great Britain is built upon are completely rotten. Until the…
The Rugby Football League have announced a team which they will run out as a representative of England today, and there are a few interesting things to come out of it. The big news of the day is that Joel Tomkins asked to not be considered for selection for “Personal reasons”. Thise personal reasons are…
Rugby League in Great Britain is complex. It is small minded and yet at the same time it has this inflated opinion of itself. It is closed off and proud of its ability to not need any outside influences, and yet pounds its chest in triumph at the capture of a foreign player or coach….
The Australian squad for the Four Nations was named today and there are some very interesting selections. I said earlier today on Twitter that I would be shocked if New Zealand didn’t win this years Four Nations tournament, and a look at the Australian squad confirms all of my thoughts. The team is made up…
The Manly Sea Eagles are the 2001 National Rugby League Premiers after a dominant display in their Grand Final showdown with the New Zealand Warriors. I was going for the New Zealand Warriors in this match and they looked pretty good early on. In fact, the first 30 minutes of the match reminded me a…
Grand Finals are life changing experiences. For players, it is about that life long goal they have always had to reach the great pinnacle of the sport. It is a chance to live a childhood dream. For coaches, it is about going over everything a million times in their heads. As their team walks out…
So here we are, the last weekend of big NRL games for the season. I say the last weekend of big games for a reason. Next week, next week is more than a big game. Next week will be life changing. We are now down to four teams and I have to say, I liked…
It is like something out of a comedy sketch. For some reason in this country, sporting competitions see their major game entertainment as some type of pissing contest. Its almost as though the actual entertainment value of an act is not really of any relevance, its more the size of the name that the act…
It is finals time in the National Rugby League and Super League. This is the business part of the season, where the game and its sponsors get the most attention. Yet here we are, in 2011, and teams on both sides of the world are refusing to talk to the media. They are under self…
It was the outcome I expected, and yet, I still feel as though this hasn’t fully played out yet. After getting a low altitude chopper ride down from Brisbane to Sydney yesterday to avoid issues with air pressure that can be an issue with his injury, Darren Lockyer has this morning ruled himself out of…
West Tigers halfback Robert Lui has been charged with an alleged assault. Police turned up to Lui’s home to find his 21 year old girlfriend with a swollen face. You may remember that in September last year Lui was also charge with assaulting his girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time with his child, just after…
It was a fantastic week of Rugby League and one that will be remembered for some time. The Warriors vs Tigers game was fantastic. The Broncos vs Dragons game was even better! There were so many great stories as a backdrop to these games as well. It is what makes this time of the year…
This is when the NRL Finals series get really good! If you win this week, you are one week away from playing for a place in the Grand Final. If you lose, you leave the country. There are a lot of story lines to follow for this weekends two games. Can the West Tigers keep…
Now I must admit that I like the Super League playoff process… well, most of it. Remove that God-awful ‘club call pick a team to play even though we all know they’re gunna choose the lowest-ranked side’ rubbish and I think you’ve got a brilliant formula. And we’ve seen pieces of magic that remind you…
Welcome to the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup. The last World Cup in which Australia will compete as anything other than a minnow. You see, Rugby Union in Australia has a problem. It is a game that prides itself on retaining its supposed class superiority and this has seen the game remain marginalized across the wider Australian…