Normally, I find nothing more exciting than a Test match. I grew up in an era of very good Test football where it was a real pinacle of the game. The mid season “ANZAC” Test though, its just not doing it for me any more. We throw two teams together with a five day preperation,…
Australian Test selectors have made few changes to the team beaten in last year World Cup Final. The team that wasn’t good enough will be given a chance to get some sort of false redemption against the World Champion New Zealand Rugby League team in Friday night in Sydney. New Zealand have made a few…
Rugby League began at Brunel in November 2007, when a few freshers who felt disenfranchised by the rugby union set-up at university thought about approaching the university about creating a separate rugby union side where they would feel comfortable. Before approaching the university with the idea however, they were convinced to instead set up a…
The Cronulla Sharks made a very tough decision when they decided to move half of their home games to Gosford. The Cronulla Sharks, more than any other team in the NRL, are a club thats very much grounded in its local area. They call its “The Shire”, and for many years the area turned up…
I’m a big fan of Mike Stephenson. Sure his call of the game on Sky Sports is over the top, but I think he knows who butters his bread and that he has made a very nice career on TV for being the bloke that goes over the top. Thing is, people see this persona…
The Penrith Panthers today extended Matthew Elliott’s contract through to the end of the 2011 season, despite the fact the highest position the clubs has finished under his coaching is 12th place. In charge of a club that has a wealth of talent, one that hand picks the best players from the worlds biggest junior…
Well the mid season Test match is not far off now and its time to start thinking about who you would select in your Australian Test team. Its sad to think that politics will come into play when picking the actual side. The Queenslanders will not be happy untill all 17 players are from Queensland…
There is a lot of talk lately about the poor form Darren Lockyer finds himself in early this season. While the Broncos have been a bit up and down this year, despite the fact they keep finding a way to win, Lockyer had really only shown a few glimpses of his usual for and thats…
I’ve always been a fan of Terry Campese. Even when he was struggling, I felt like he had what it takes to be a very handy player. To go from possibly being without a club in the middle of last year to making the 2008 World Cup squad was an amazing rise. He’s still raw…
So its Penrith at home hosting the Brisbane Broncos. The Broncos are one of the hottest teams in the NRL, sure they have played ugly at times, but they have also played the most outstanding football in the 2009 season as well. So to start the game Penrith look dangerous. They get a penalty 5…
The Warriors can never just settle, they always have to have something going on. We won’t go over history because we’d be here for years, so lets just look at 2009. The team is set. They had an amazing run in the 2008 finals, they got within one game of the NRL Grand Final, many…
There, I said it! Well we all know Parramatta suck, and have sucked for quite some time. So what is there problem? Well the current situation the club finds itself in wasn’t helped by former coach Michael Hagan. He was a terrible coach, a terrible leader and even now having moved on, he is publicly…
It might be something in the water, it could be a small gene pool, what ever the case England’s Rugby League players are covering themselves in glory like, very similar to the famous 2 girls 1 cup video. As Super League Imports all the criminals it can find from other competitions it seems in this…
I’ve always said my priorities as a fan lie in this order: The game of Rugby League, My Country, My State, My Club. That order is basically what allows me to have unbiased views on the game. Sure I rant and rave about Penrith every so often, but most of the time I’m being critical…
St Helens standoff Leon Pryce and and Warrington Wolves fullback Stuart Reardon have both pleaded guilty to assault. The BBC Reports that the two players had been drinking before they forced their way into the house of Reardons estranged wife, he assaulted her while Pryce assaulted her current partner. They did this after hearing that Reardon’s ex…
First they had 14 on the field, then they didn’t have 14 on the field, then the 14th player actually scored the try…..at this point who really knows what happened. It looks like the Bulldogs are going to lose their points and that’s fair enough. When this has happened in the past I’ve been against…
The two referee’s have changed the way the game is played and we have gone away from wrestling, forward play late in the game, and we are seeing free flowing, skillful football late in games. I think this has really hurt the Manly Sea Eagles. Manly have become successful by playing the percentages. Play smart…
Sydney Roosters Hooker Jake Friend was charged with high range drink driving a few days ago. As a “P Plater” he shouldnt have had any alcohol in his system at all. As a result the Sydney Roosters fined him $10,000 but chose not to suspend him. Now, a $10,000 fine for Jake Friend is huge….
The Brisbane Broncos are tired of being stuffed around by Karmichael Hunt and as a result they have terminated contract talks with the State Of origin Fullback. Thing is, they were weak about it. They have said that they are still willing to talk about keeping him, and that they don’t want to lose him,…
I didnt have money on the match, I actually tipped the Dragons to win the game, I just loved watching a great game of footy. Then it was ruined. The Bulldogs scored an amazing 60 meter, last minute, game winning try against the St George/Illawarra Dragons. It was a grand stand finish that sent the…
South Sydney have destroyed the Sydney Roosters by a scoreline of 52-12. It would a good start to the game for Souths and it just kept getting better and better, to the point where they basically scored at will by games end. This game also provided one of the greatest moments of sporting theater I…
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…
Hazem El Masri is now the greatest point scorer in Australian Rugby League history. The record was 2176 points and that was held by Andrew Johns. El Masri took the record in his 292nd first grade game in a remarkable career that has seen him become the gold standard for goal kickers. I think its…
The Manly Sea Eagles obviously live in a glass bubble, thats the only conclusion you can come to when you hear that they are pissed off about the handling of the Brett Stewart affair. So upset are the players that they have threatened to boycott the end of season Dally M Awards. So, lets think…
Billy Slater has jumped on the bandwagon and signed a contract extension with the Melbourne Storm. He will play with the club until at least the end of the 2012 season. You don’t need me to tell you how good Slater played last year and how he is probably a top 5 player in the…
Benji Marshall has signed a contract extension that will see him remain at the West Tigers until at least the end of the 2011 season. It seems the speculation grew very old with Marshall and he decided to get the deal done before the season kickoff against the Canberra Raiders on Monday night. This is…
If you are wondering why the NRL took until Wednesday to ban Brett Stewart for the first five rounds of the competition, just look at the Manly Sea Eagles board. The NRL gave the Sea Eagles every opportunity to do they right thing. They allowed them time to meet, twice, they even contacted Manly and…
Maybe its their way of waving a white flag well ahead of time, but still, this news just astounds me. After a complete and utter disaster of a World Cup, where France was only just pipped by England as the worst side in the competition, the French Rugby League have decided to replace John Monie…
The NRL today announced that it had signed off an some made up rule that would supposedly stop Benji Marshall, an off contract player who would have no obligation or ties to the NRL any more, from playing Rugby Union in Japan before returning to the NRL before the start of the 2009 season. How…
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the international waters, the idiots running this game destroy any hope or enthusiasm you might have had. Today the RFL announced the details for the Four Nations competition to be held at the end of the year between World Champions New Zealand, Australia, France…