So Im over here in Pommyland and the Challenge Cup is on this weekend. Great, I can go to my first Challenge Cup….in Twickenham….to see St Helens….take on Huddersfield…. Ummm…no. I think I’ll be saving my money on this one and going to a Challenge Cup Final next year that will hopefully provide some type…
On the same day that Danny Buderus announced that he would not be taking part in the 2006 Tri Nations in Australia due to personal reasons, Keiron Cunningham announced that he would retire from test football all together because…well, he wants to. Two international hookers of a similar age. One stepping down for the series,…
Ive said for some time now that Rob Burrow isn’t even close to being a halfback, and if you have watched his play over the last few weeks, surely now you must agree with you. Burrow’s game consists of running across field and then throwing a long looping pass to a flat footed player out wide. He…
While I may be on the other side of the planet at the moment, I could see Andrew Johns getting charge for dissent weeks ago. Surely Johns must have know he was treading a fine like a few weeks ago when everyone was getting on his case for the way he was talking to match…
Well the relegation battle in Super League got a nice little fire lit under it when half the bloody teams in Super League were caught cheating the salary cap. So much for the level playing field. What ever the case it has set up a fascinating relegation battle with Wigan and Wakefield going head to head. Now…
In an article in todays Sydney Morning Herald the ARL has come under attack for rejecting a proposal to have both an Australian Aboriginal team and New Zealand Maori team take part in the 2008 World Cup. For once, I agree 100% with the ARL. It was a complete and utter farce that the Maori…
St Helens… aka Liverpool to some silly silly people! But its not… St Helens is a medium sized town.. i guess, outside of Liverpool!!!!!! Its probably most famous for St Helens RLFC and The Glass Industry… but the glass industry inst as big now here as it formally was… so Saints are what we are…
News that Craig Wing is being chased by the Penrith Panthers shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. Wing, who’s form has not been great over the last 12 months, has found himself out of favor at Bondi and is pretty much being shown the door by the Roosters. The Panthers meanwhile are still looking…
I’ve been supporting the Wolves now since the middle of Super League VII in 2002. I got into it through a work mate of mine, who asked me to tag along to a game. It was versus St Helens. Me being a newbie didn’t know the rivalry we had with the Scousers. We lost…..but on…
You have to give credit to Rhys Wesser and Luke Priddis. No matter how Penrith players, both of these players always stand head and shoulders above their team mates. Penrith’s performances over the last few weeks have been nothing short of disgraceful. Its easy to point the finger at Craig Gower’s and his injury as…
Ah, so you’re wondering what Im doing here? Well isnt it obvious. Im building a web site baby. At this stage Im still testing things out, seeing what I can and cant do. Im making contacts and generally filling in space with crap like this. Why do you care though. You’ve just come here by…
RLFans is no more as League Freak is not only made a moderator, but is given his own subsite! The shocking news came amid reports that League Freak had died. Thankfully, these reports were not true and celebrations on the streets of Salford were put on hold as drunks and thugs came back down to…
The Brisbane Broncos will be looking for a new coach heading into season 2007 because Wayne Bennett will step down as coach. Having guided a young Broncos side to back to back titles in the early 90’s, Bennett enjoyed great success with a side full of champion players. As these players reached the prime/end of…
So the Warriors deliberately and systematically cheated the salary cap. They turned themselves in and were willing to cop the punishment. Somehow, the NRL decided to only take 4 premiership points away from their 2006 total. Thats like taking the free points from the bye away….a NOTHING penalty. And yet, according to some media outlets,…
What was Scotty Prince supposed to do? He’s had a tough career. If any bloke knows how quickly a career can end, its Scott Prince. There was a while there that Prince was only a 50/50 chance of ever coming back from a shocking leg injury and as he went to the West Tigers, it…
I was all for the NRL’s strong stance against the Bulldogs when it was revealed that they had cheated the salary cap. Not it seems the Warriors have done the same thing. If its proven that the Warriors organization at any time made payments to players, knowing those payments were not being put on the…
Yeah its just a trial, but the first footy match of the season was very much appreciated in my lavish surroundings. It was an entertaining game, some big hits and a surprise winner. While some say trial games mean nothing, I disagree. Ive seen to many teams in two many sports write off poor trial…
Well, we all heard the news this week. If you have followed my comments over the last year you know what I think of Matthew Elliott’s coaching. I mean, he seems like a nice enough bloke, but between selecting park footballs ahead of good youngsters, bulking up the side to the point where their lack…
News this week that the St George-Illawarra Dragons needed to release a number of players to get under the 2006 salary cap came as a surprise, especially as the club only just re-signed fullback Clint Greenshields to a one year deal and Luke Bailey to a similar deal just a few months earlier. The Dragons…
This is a very young story coming out of New Zealand but it seems the someone within the company that owns the New Zealand Warriors allegedly offered Warriors NRL players as a bargaining chip in their effort to secure the rights to a Pacific Islands rugby union side. Now, if this is the case, I…
Well, its that time of the year again. The time when we get many promises, little action and pretty much no information. The RLIF meeting happens this week and that means Australia and Great Britain sit down and decide what they will do over the next 12 months (As usual, long term planning!) and then…
For Great Britain the 2005 Tri Nations is over. Many people in the UK went into this series full of confidence. They felt that last years thrashing in the Tri Series Final was not an indication of their standing in the game. Thats why 2005 comes as a rude reality check for some. Personally, this…
Despite Trent Barrett being send to the sin bin twice, Australia looked pretty comfortable in their win over Great Britain. There was a lot of pressure on them heading into this game but as we have seen in the past, Australia just eats it up. I think the Australian side has played better and better…
Congratulations have to go to the West Tigers. This is a team spending well under the salary cap. A small side with a big heart. The key to the Tigers incredible Grand Final success was without doubt their defense. They just offered nothing to the Cowboys who’s pack outweighed the Tigers pack by over 30…
It wasn’t the best game you’ll see this season, but the 2005 Challenge Cup will be remembered for a long time by Hull fans. Hull secured their first cup win since 1982 after snatching a last minute try to win the match 25-24. A few random thoughts after watching the game: Hull is a VERY…
Suggestions that the move by Johns to be “excused” from playing the opening Tri Series match will just degrade the Australian test jersey are laughable. Let me get this straight. So in 1995 the ARL decides it wont select players that have signed up to the new Super League competition. It goes on to not…
After missing out on signing anyone decent, South Sydney is now tossing up poor signings with speculation they will make some TERRIBLE moves. Straight out of the Shane Richardson book of “Promises I Like To Make” comes talk that he is on the verge of signing ANOTHER Great Britain international. Lets me see, Paul Sculthrope,…
It was a stunning move that no one expected, but Andrew Johns stint with Warrington for a maximum of six games was enough to get fans on both sides of the world talking. In my opinion, Andrew Johns move to Warrington at the very least makes then the second best side in SL. In a…
Why do the Warriors suck? On the field, off the field, they just don’t have anything at all you can get excited about. As other NRL clubs battle it out for survival in a crowded market, the Warriors have an entire country all to themselves. Its not even as if its a bad market, its…
Well, the Panthers 2005 season is over and now its time to stand back and have a look at what happened to the club. After a brilliant, magical 2003 season and an exceptional 2004 season, Panthers fans held high hopes that going into 2005 the club would once again be one of the best teams…