News that covers Rugby League in Australia.
The Canterbury Bulldogs incredible spending spree has continued with news that centre Josh Morris is set to re-sign with the club through to the end of the 2018 season. Morris spoke of his decision to remain at the Bulldogs with the Sydney Morning Herald. For most of last season there were very strong whispers that…
He was the young English bloke living is the shadow of Rugby League giants down in Melbourne. Now that Gareth Widdop has a team of his own to run at the St George/Illawarra Dragons, he is showing he might very well be a giant of the game himself. Widdop’s form has been sensational for the…
Wayne Bennett gave a really good interview to News Limited overnight in which he covered a few topics, including the concussion debate. Bennett’s feelings were that, like with most issues in the game, there is a certain level of out of control hysteria surrounding the concussion debate. Much of this hysteria is fueled by the…
The Penrith Panthers played well in their narrow 18-17 loss to the Melbourne Storm on Saturday night. They did better than even the most die hard Panthers supporter could have hoped for. They showed signs that their defense is up there with some of the better teams in the competition and overall there were a…
English forward James Graham has signed a contract extension with the Canterbury Bulldogs worth $2.8 million over four years. Graham is a key signing for the Bulldogs who earlier this week signed Cronulla Sharks test star Andrew Fifita on a rich deal worth $3.4 million over four years. There has been a lot of speculation…
The Wests Tigers have issued a strongly worded statement refuting claims overnight that the club may be relocated due to financial issues facing the Balmaim Tigers side of the join venture. The statement reads: Following an article today’s Daily Telegraph, Wests Tigers CEO Grant Mayer would like to refute the anonymous spokesman’s claim that the…
Peter Badel of the Courier Mail in Brisbane has told Triple M radio this afternoon that Manly Sea Eagles halfback Daly Cherry-Evans will commit his future to the club in a deal that will see him earn about $1 million per season. The deal would be put in place to hold off interest from the…
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that the Balmain Tigers need to raise $4 million within 2 years or risk folding, putting their joint venture with Western Suburbs at risk. The $4 million the Balmain Tigers need to come up with is from a loan the NRL gave the Wests Tigers joint venture. This loan came…
The Manly Sea Eagles have beaten the South Sydney Rabbitohs 14-12 in a scrappy game played in Gosford. Manly, who were plying without Brett and Glenn Stewart, didn’t play all that will in this match. Penalties and dropped ball plagued their 80 minutes with only a few big plays late in the game giving the…
The Penrith Panthers have reportedly released fullback James Roberts from his contract. Roberts is currently sidelines with a broken ankle and was thought to be in line to play first grade for Penrith this season. There is no word on why he has been released however you would guess with that talent he has shown…
Money. Everything I will be writing about in this article comes back to money. Just remember that. This week we have seen various journalists and media types attacking the National Rugby League over what they believe to be a lack of access to players, coaches and officials. Their argument is that journalists should get more…
By all accounts, Andrew Fifita struggled with his decision to leave the Cronulla Sharks and take up a rich four year deal with the Canterbury Bulldogs. There are reports that he broke down what he told his Cronulla Sharks team mates of his decision. As a club the Sharks have been through so much together…
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that ASADA has focused it’s investigation into the use of performance enhancing substances on four Cronulla Sharks players from the 2011 team, and that those four players will be issued with show cause notices by the end of the month. This is a significant escalation in the ASADA investigation. Any…
In the last 48 hours I have seen two different photos of two different players having a quiet beer at a pub. They were not doing anything wrong. They were not causing any trouble. They were just two people having a quiet drink. These players were, without their knowledge, photographed during what I would consider…
Andrew Fifita will become one of the highest paid Rugby League players in the world when he joins the Canterbury Bulldogs in 2015. The deal, which New Limited is reporting to be worth $850,000 per season over four years, will see him join the Bullodogs, shunning offers from the Cronulla Sharks, South Sydney Rabbitohs and…
Australian test captain Cameron Smith has signed a 4 year contract extension with the Melbourne Storm, ensuring he remains a one club player. The deal which is set to be one of the richest in the games history will be the final one of Smiths playing career. Smith had been at the center of a…
It is not very often you hear Peter Sterling give his opinion on anything that happens at the Parramatta Eels. There is a good reason for that. Peter Sterling knows that his opinions hold so much weight with the Eels supporter base that he can make or break the club based on a few simple…
One of the more exciting things to watch during the 2014 NRL season is how Sam Tomkins plays in his first season in the NRL. While his performances at the Auckland 9’s were mixed, we now have a full game played in anger on which we can review Tomkins play. So, how did Sam Tomkins…
With the 2014 season about to begin the supporters of 16 National Rugby League clubs have hearts filled with hope and minds filled with dreams. Right now, anyone can win the Grand Final. Basically, everyone is too bloody happy for my liking! I could have written a normal season preview but there are only about…
Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it! For years Rugby League was handcuffed by poor administration. The feeling was that the game needed to move away from an administration run by former footballers. The game needed to be turned into a business, run by business types, and when that happened Rugby…
South Sydney Rabbitohs owner Russell Crowe has opened up about the departure of forward Sam Burgess to Rugby Union, claiming that Burgess would have stayed in Rugby League had he been able to play for New South Wales in the State Of Origin series. That is all well and good, but Sam Burgess isn’t from…
If a Rugby Union web site offered me three times as much money to write about Rugby Union, I’d ditch you lot faster than Sam Burgess decided to ditch the South Sydney Rabbitohs! Sure I’d probably develop narcolepsy, I’d have to come up with some stupid back story about a fancy school I didn’t actually…
In his first outing as an NRL player Sam Tomkins performance at the Auckland 9’s would have to be described as mixed. There is a lot of interest in how Sam Tomkins goes in his transition from Super League with Wigan to the National Rugby League with the New Zealand Warriors. Some people want to…
The North Queensland Cowboys have won the 2014 Auckland 9’s with a 16-7 win over the Brisbane Broncos in the all Queensland final. The Cowboys were great throughout the Auckland 9’s tournament with Gavin Cooper, Kane Linnett and Michael Morgan all playing great football over both days. Paul Green starts his first grade coaching career…
When the Canterbury Bulldogs named their squad for the 2014 Auckland 9’s the first thing I thought about was Des Hasler telling some NRL official that he doesn’t care one little bit about winning the Auckland 9’s. The Bulldogs are not the only team to not quite put their best foot forward for the Auckland…
The Sydney Roosters have announced their 2014 Auckland 9’s squad. Its a mixed squad with co-captains named. Also, Freddy has made it! Interesting… Check them out: Mitchell Pearce (Co-Captain) Jake Friend (Co-Captain) Shaun Kenny-Dowall Aidan Guerra Kane Evans Daniel Tupou Samisoni Langi Jackson Hastings Dylan Napa Isaac Liu Nene Macdonald Jonathon Rueben Paul Rokolati Rhyse…
The Penrith Panthers have announced their 2014 Auckland 9’s squad. The Panthers look like they are going all out to win the Auckland 9’s title. They have named just about the strongest team in the competition in terms of first grade talent. Check them out: Matt Moylan Wes Naiqama Josh Mansour Isaac John Kevin Naiqama…
The Parramatta Eels have announced their 2014 Auckland 9’s squad. This squad I think is a bit of a dark horse. They have a lot of players in this side well suited to Rugby League 9’s football. Might be a team to watch out for. Check them out: Willie Tonga (c) Kenny Edwards Bureta Faraimo…
The Canterbury Bulldogs have announced their 2014 Auckland 9’s squad. Its pretty much what I would have expected out of Des Hasler. They look like they will be doing the bare minimum required. The highlight of this squad for me is the addition of Eddie Muphy! Check it out: Sam Perrett Mitch Brown Chase Stanley…
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have announced their 2014 Auckland 9’s squad. Captained by Ben Te’o, and featuring Lote Tuqiri, the side isn’t too bad but they have held back a few of their stars. Check it out: Nathan Merritt Beau Champion Alex Johnston Joel Reddy Dylan Walker Luke Keary Apisai Koroisau Dave Tyrrell Irae Simone…