News that covers Rugby League in Australia.
The Parramatta Eels have handed coach Brad Arthur a two year contract extension, and fullback Clint Gutherson a three year contract extension, just days after the club was thrashed by the Melbourne Storm by a scoreline of 64-10. Arthur, who had just a 46% success rate in 137 matches as the Eels head coach, becomes…
In this episode we look at Stephen Kearneys coaching record in the NRL. The Warriors haven’t had a great season in 2019 so we ask the question, is it time for a coaching change? We talk about who is available, who would be the right type of coach for Warriors, and who they should avoid!…
It is an idea ripped off from the Rugby Football League in England and now the National Rugby League had taken it and run with it. Magic Weekend! A whole round of games played at one stadium. What might be a decent idea in England makes absolutely no sense at all in Australia. With so…
As we head towards the disruption of the State Of Origin series, at the one third mark of the season, we have seen enough of each and every NRL clubs to know where the form starts, where it ends, and which teams are legitimately struggling in 2019. Some teams, like the Penrith Panthers, looked like…
Latrell Mitchell was once again outstanding for the Sydney Roosters last night, scoring 26 point as the Roosters put the hurt on the Wests Tigers at the Sydney Cricket Ground. There has been a lot of speculation about Mitchell’s future, with South Sydney said to be ready to offer him the huge money they have…
It was the heavyweight showdown between two old guys to decide who would be victorious over the other. There was also a footy game to be played between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Brisbane Broncos! More and more we are seeing mainstream media focus on NRL stories that just do not resonate with the…
Yesterday I took my first trip to Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta to call the NSWRL Junior Rep Grand Finals as part of the SWR Sports Rugby League call team. I haven’t been to Parramatta Stadium in many years. I use to go there all the time as a teenager as most of my friends were…
When you look back over the last 15 years of the Cronulla Sharks the club has offered up a bit of a mixed bag of results. Going from a team everyone would like to see win its first NRL title, to being one of the most disliked clubs across the game due to the ASADA…
The 2004 season was one full of turmoil for the National Rugby League. With off field scandals, rule changes and talk of big name players going to Rugby Union, it seemed like 2004 was a whirlwind of media noise that in many ways the game still feels the repercussions of to this very day. In…
Former Australian Rugby Union player Ben Darwin from Gain Line Analytics joined the Fergo and The Freak podcast to talk about how his company uses Rugby League statistics to measure team cohesion and find the holy grail of analytics use in sports. Team chemistry. Team chemistry has been a bit of a blind spot in…
The Penrith Panthers came into the 2019 season full of confidence that they had a big season ahead of them. After a great 2018 season, which still wasn’t enough for the club, everyone at the Panthers was looking for more heading into this season. The club had gone out of its was to pick up…
Phil Gould is set to depart the Penrith Panthers, with a club board meeting set to make it all official tomorrow. Gould came into the club as General Manager at one of the lowest points in the clubs history. At the times the Panthers were a complete basketcase. Gould took his time consulting with officials,…
When Greg Inglis announced his immediate retirement from the NRL and the South Sydney Rabbitohs questions were raised about the affect on the Rabbitohs salary cap. Inglis made it clear he would not be receiving the remainder of his salary for the remainder of the 2019 NRL season. This gives the Rabbitohs over a million…
The Canterbury Bulldogs have had to deal with a lot of media bias against the club over the years. Whether it be due to falling out with the media by denying access to coaches or players, or just the fact that the large supporter base of the club gives the media a big potential readership…
Despite the not so subtle whinging by the Wests Tigers, no one can deny that the brand new $300 million dollar Bankwest Stadium venue at Parramatta belongs to the Parramatta Eels. Built on the Eels traditional home ground that was once Cumberland Oval, and then Parramatta Stadium, Bankwest Stadium sits smash bang in the heart…
The Brisbane Broncos second post Wayne Bennett era hasn’t exactly got off on the right foot, with the clubs slow start to the NRL season compounded by a number of high profile out of form stars and constant criticism by former club legends. Going into the 2019 NRL season online casino sites had the Brisbane…
As the NRL looks to expand the competition ahead of the next broadcasting deal a number of locations are being looked at across Australia. The problem is, I think we need another team in New Zealand sooner rather than later. The New Zealand Warriors would benefit from having a little bit of competition in New…
Great players don’t have the same career trajectory as everyone else. Their highs are much higher than every one else, and their lows are sometimes not all that low. How great players deal with different parts of their careers can be telling, and they all seem to have different ways of coping with the fact…
Do you love betting online with a fanduel sportsbook? You might just be interested in the life of Kalyn Ponga, who can easily be described as the coolest kid in the block. He was born on March 30, 1998, in Port Hedland Western Australia and developed an interest in sports at the age of eight…
Did you play rugby when you were young? You weren’t alone. Millions across the world who love the sport either play it, watch it or bets on it with online betting at Bethard anytime then way. However, rugby is not just a sport for adults but also to children. Kids have been given the perfect…
If you want a coach to come into your struggling club and make them a finals team, Wayne Bennett is your man. Bennett has an amazing ability to instill a sense of confidence in a playing group, no matter what level they play at, and can take an OK set of players and turn them…
You’ve got to hand it to Phil Gould, he has done an amazing job when it comes to handing the “Cleary situation” at the Penrith Panthers. To be able to sack Ivan Cleary and keep hold of a younger Nathan Cleary was big in itself. As Nathan showed signs that he wasn’t just going to…
The Roosters are crowing after vanquishing the Storm in the Grand Final and they have been installed as early favourites to defend their crown next season. Cooper Cronk fought through the pain barrier and Luke Keary delivered the performance of his life to lead the Chooks to a convincing 21-6 victory over the 2017 champions…
The 1990s was an important decade for State of Origin’s outreach, and its reputation for being entertaining, unpredictable and volatile on the pitch. The development of those crucial ‘competitive edge’ areas was catalysed by the first Melbourne-based game in 1990, and then further grown the likes of ranking kasyn by what is thus far the…
The Rugby League is one of the two codes of professional rugby, which aims to provide a faster and more entertaining game for the fans. It is a highly popular sport in the UK and Australia, becoming a hit with punters at sports betting sites. Hundreds of great players have graced the game with their…
With 13 games gone in the regular season, things are very tight at the top of the NRL table with just four points separating top side St George Illawarra Dragons and the Brisbane Broncos in eighth place. In terms of qualifying for the next phase, only the Parramatta Eels look to be cut adrift: Brad…
Yeah, I’m back. I find it really tough to ever tip against the Melbourne Storm. They are the best run club in the game, the best coached team, they have an experienced captain that only knows how to win every competition he takes part in, and they replace anyone they lose with the best young…
When Cooper Cronk made it known that he was keen to continue his NRL career in Sydney you would have hoped that every single Sydney based club at the very least held a meeting to discuss bringing him on board. It isn’t often a proven premiership winner, an origin star, and one of the first…
The Newcastle Knights once again finished at the bottom of the ladder for the third year running in the last campaign, taking out the dreaded wooden spoon yet again. However, 2017 saw a lot of positives come out of it and it looks like Nathan Brown is about to see some rewards for the faith…
South Sydney Rabbitohs are Australia’s most successful side, having won more premierships (21) than any other club in the country. However, Michael Maguire’s current crop of players are struggling to find their best and have just completed a miserable 2017 campaign, which has seen them once again fail to rediscover their best. The Sydney-based club…