News that covers Rugby League in Australia.
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…
Every single club in the NRL is looking for some type of edge. That is what makes the competition so good. The NRL is like the Formula One of the sport. All the new innovations and ideas first show up in the NRL and over years they filter down through the rest of the sport….
There is something to be said about getting the picture of another mans face tattooed on your thigh. It shows a level commitment and dedication to questionable decisions that not everyone has the ability to carry through the course of their entire life. That is where Josh Dugan is different to you and I… Josh Dugan is…
It has got to be frustrating to be a Canberra Raiders fan. Over the last few years the club has produced an incredible number of high quality junior players, and depth is not a problem at all at the club. In fact, few teams in the NRL have the type of depth in the halves…
If you’re a winger in Rugby League and you want to command super star money, you’d better be a bloody good player. While Akuila Uate is a damaging ball runner, the 2012 season started to show the flaws that come up when the best in the game start to put you under the greatest of…
The 2013 NRL All Star Game is being played at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium this year and I tend to think it needs to be a belter this year if this game is going to continue into the future. When it was first announced, I liked the idea. I felt like it was something Rugby League…
He may only be 22 years old but Shaun Johnson already carries the hopes of an entire fan base, with New Zealand Warriors fans looking for their young play maker to step up his game in 2013 and lead the club back to the NRL Finals. Johnson is one of my favorite players to watch….