English born Melbourne Storm five-eighth Gareth Widdop has signed a four year deal to join the St George/Illawarra Dragons from 2014. The deal is said to be for around $500,000 per season. This is the first big name signing the Dragons have made in years. It is also a very brave move by Widdop who…
For over a decade Rugby League in Australia found itself living on a tight budget. The aftermath of the Super League War actually saw salaries shrink considerably. This was followed up by under funding after the game signed off on poor broadcasting deals, and it created a situation in which teams were spending the least amount of…
It is very rare that a terrible coach can manage to win a Premiership. It does happen from time to time (Hello Michael Hagan) but for the most part, the best coaches normally share the spoils. With the NRL salary cap strictly policed and teams not recruiting youngsters from all over the place, the biggest…
Before I get into the specifics I must admit that I am a huge fan of Sam Tomkins and would welcome him into the Cronulla backline today, tomorrow or yesterday. He is a world class talent and I hope to see him in the NRL next season to test his skills against the world’s best…
Rugby League Week is reporting that Sam Tomkins could find himself playing for the New Zealand Warriors next season. It would be an incredible move for the young Wigan fullback, a brave move. The New Zealand Warriors have the salary cap space to spend to get Tomkins. They also have a coach in place that…
St George/Illawarra Dragons half Jamie Soward has signed a four year contract with the Penrith Panthers started from 2014. I think this is a very good signing for the Panthers. Soward has a fantastic kicking game. He will bring a cool head and Premiership winning experience to the Panthers halves. It has become clear in…
After broadcasting 45 grueling years of steamy side-glances from bush league thespians, Channel Nine has made a major alteration to sick day protocol by cancelling the daily screening of worshiped soap Days of our Lives. Unconfirmed reports from nameless sources say that CEO David Gyngell had grown tired of the program’s suffering standards, so he decided to allow his…
This week we have seen a media backlash against the game in regards to access to players and coaches. In some ways it is understandable. I’ve talked before about the almost paranoid stance the game takes to the media at times, mostly driven by coaches. A lot has been written about Darius Boyd over this…
This Sunday afternoon, Coffs Harbour will play host to the annual City Vs. Country event. Whilst the concept is a fun one and brilliant for the local area hosting the game, its fast losing credibility as a genuine Origin selection tool. The presence of Origin certainties Jennings and Hoffman takes up 2 spots that could…
Despite some distasteful trash talking at the scrum base and some disobedient novelty Steedens, another coat of restoration polish was applied to St George Illawarra on Sunday thanks to a blue-collar negation of the Wests Tigers. Now with three straight wins, the famous Red V jersey is once again returning to being more palatable as…
I can not wait for this weekends clash between the only two undefeated team in the NRL, the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Melbourne Storm. These are the two teams I tipped to make the Grand Final. So far this season, they both seem to be set to make yet another of my predictions come…
Roosters fans get upset when you say there isn’t many of them. Looking past the trumped up crowd figures or the fact that the club only survives because a handful of rich old men like having a play thing to occupy their time on the weekends now that playing Golf is out of the question,…
So, we’re three days removed from the ‘Showcase of the Immortals’ Wrestlemania 29. It’s time to look back and rate the matches. The show closed with John Cena winning the WWE title after a night which featured matches that ranged from the enthralling all the way to the disappointing. The event mixed the WWE’s best…
New Zealand’s hopes of scalping rivals Australia in the Canberra test next Friday have been dented after playmaker Benji Marshall was confirmed injured for at least a month with a toe injury. Marshall, 28, picked up his toe ligament strain during Wests Tigers’ 26-12 defeat to Melbourne on Monday night. Although the extent of the…
Wakefield fullback Richie Mathers took commitment to the next level last weekend when he ruptured a testicle against against Wigan and played on despite the pain. It was a knee to his right testicle that did the damage…and yes, it feels kinda strange to know exactly which testicle it was. Like we need any more…
In 2008 Sonny Bill Williams walked out on the Canterbury Bulldogs in the middle of the night. He left the club at the worst possible time and he did it without a second thought. He took the most cowardly way out any sportsman could possibly take, and he has zero remorse ever since. In 2013…
Monday night saw the banality of the universe maintained with another two competition points to the Melbourne Storm, a result which took the club to a record-equalling 13th consecutive win. Yes siree, 2013 so far has been enterprise as usual for Craig Bellamy and his cartel of systemised androids. Death, taxes, yada yada yada. Like…
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…