News that covers Rugby League in Australia.
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…
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…
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…
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…
He was supposed to be one of the games best players, and he was paid accordingly, but Jarryd Hayne has gone missing and I for one am concerned for his well being. Jarryd Hayne used to be the fullback for the Parramatta Eels. A big, athletic player with a lot of skill. He had the ability…
Phil Gould doesn’t like the prominence that the Under 20’s or National Youth Competition gets within Rugby League these days. He has talked about it for years! He feels as though too much emphasis is played on the NYC and that the traditional reserve grade competitions in the NSW Cup and QLD Cup don’t get the attention…
The Manly Sea Eagles are proud of the fact that they are the MANLY Sea Eagles, and everyone else can simply go fuck themselves. That’s fine. Lets face it, that attitude has been very successful for them. I would suggest that the Sea Eagles need to start thinking ahead though. They need to start thinking…
New Zealand Warriors fans are just starting to feel it now… After three straight losses to start the season, Warriors fans are already asking how things could go so wrong so quickly. This time last year the Warriors were starting a new season with a new coach. They had played in an NRL Grand Final…
The Western Sydney Wanderers have had an incredible first season in the A League. A dream season! This time last year the thought of the Western Sydney Wanderers didn’t even exist! Now they sit at the top of the A League ladder, they have built a solid supporter base and on Saturday night they sold…
We now have a number. Today the NRL has announced that ASADA wish to interview 31 current NRL players in relation to the use of performance enhancing drugs. The majority of those players having played for the Cronulla Sharks during the well documented time that has seen the club become central to illegal drug use investigations. There…
Josh Dugan has been has been sacked by the Canberra Raiders. The Canberra Raiders held a board meeting today to discuss the future of both Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson. It has been reported that neither player showed up to defend themselves. After losing to the Penrith Panthers on the weekend it is like these…
It was only a few weeks ago that the sensational news came through that the Canterbury Bulldogs has suspended Ben Barba indefinitely due to undisclosed off field issues. At the time the Bulldogs refused to break and tell the media what was wrong. They were putting Ben Barba’s health first in a courageous move that was applauded by many within the…
Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson are two very talented footballers. Both are athletic players that add an explosive element to any team they play in. They both bring a real x factor to the game, they can make something out of nothing. Normally these qualities are something all teams would crave. However when it comes…
Damian Irvine has stood down as the chairman of the Cronulla Sharks this morning as the fallout from ASADA’s investigation into alleged performance enhancing drug use continues. Irvine will be replaced by former Sharks winger Glenn Coleman. I wrote yesterday that the Cronulla Sharks Board Has Done The Right Thing. The Sharks have made all…
It is interesting to see how the tone of the Cronulla Sharks alleged drug scandal turned over the weekend. When the Sharks board chose to sack a number of their football staff and stand down the coach, the decision was received with shock. For the players, the decision was met with anger, and that is understandable. These…
The Penrith Panthers are started their season off with an impressive victory, downing the Canberra Raiders 32-10 at Penrith Football Stadium. The Sunday afternoon heat took its toll in this one, and a glut of possession to the Panthers really kept the Raiders on the back foot all afternoon. The Panthers really had to grind this game…
Johnathan Thurston will see out the remainder of his career at the North Queensland Cowboys after signing a four year contract extension worth around $5 million. The deal makes him the highest paid player in the game and signals a return of huge contracts to Rugby League, something we haven’t seen since The Super League…
I have held back from commenting on the investigations by the Australian Sports Anti Doping Authority and Australian Crime Commission because up until now, there were not a lot of facts to go on. I simply didn’t want to say anything about the investigation until we knew more about what was going on. Now, I…
Professional Rugby League does not lend itself to building leadership qualities in the modern day player. Think about it… Rugby League is a team sport with a culture of breaking down the individual. If a player stands out in some way, they are very likely to become a target on the field. If you have…
As always in Rugby League, when bad something happens, its a crisis. We might as well stop playing the game all together and spend the rest of our likes throwing our arms in the air… With the Sharks facing some serious, troubling allegations that some are suggesting could see a number of players banned from…
Well the first game of the season is now in the books and I think there were a few things we got out of the Rabbitohs 28-10 win over the Roosters. While you tend to find that early season games can be a bit messy, this one wasn’t too bad. I have the South Sydney…
It took a long time to get there but the NRL has finally worked out a deal with Sky television in New Zealand that will see a wide range of broadcasting shown across New Zealand. The deal between Sky and the NRL will run for five years and will see New Zealand based fans get just about…
After an off season of hard work, 16 teams line up for a 6 month war that will see only one of them crowned as National Rugby League Premiers. This off season has been one of the longest I can remember. With no international series played after the clubs season, we had to wait a…
As we get closer to a federal election we will see the promises flowing thick and fast from both sides as they try to buy votes. One thing I expect we will see come into focus is the way we manage sports stadiums in Sydney and how much money is being spent to keep older…
Do you remember the first time you heard what had happened? It was a fantastic story. The type of story I’m sure you didn’t believe until you watched the news that night. The Canterbury Bulldogs poster boy and one of the biggest named in the NRL had got on a plane and left for France,…
Premier Sports has announced that they will carry every single NRL game in a deal that will run for five years. With just one week to go before the NRL season kicks off, this will be great news for Rugby League fans in Great Britain looking to take in coverage of the worlds best club competition. You can check…
A new area in Rugby League comes with a new marketing campaign and today as the National Rugby League launches the 2013 season the new television advert has been presented to the public. In the past I have been critical of the way the NRL has marketed in the game. You normally only got to see NRL…
With the season almost upon us this is a competition you will want to be a part of. Our friends over at Greg And Billy, the number one web site dedicated to Greg Inglis and Billy Slater, are running a competition in which you can win an official World Club Challenge programme signed by Australian…
Reigning 2012 Dally M player of the year Ben Barba has been stood down by the Canterbury Bulldogs indefinitely because of an undisclosed off field issue. Detail are very sketchy and this has all just happened less than an hour ago. If there are any updates I will post them here. You will be able…