News that covers Rugby League in Australia.
Remember last week when I said everyone in Brisbane was going batshit crazy? Well it seems the fun hasn’t stopped yet! Ivan Henjak was sensationally fired last night a few weeks out from the kickoff to the 2011 season. He will be replaced by assistant coach Anthony Griffin, who has only been given a deal…
Reports today in the Sydney Morning Herald and Daily Telegraph have linked a number of high profile managers with the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal. It has been alleged that managers signed off on two different documents, an official NRL contract, and a second contract that gave their clients, the players, the added extras that…
Yesterday the Gold Coast Titans gave the ultimate show of support to their coach John Cartwright. You can not fault the job he has done since the Titans entered the NRL a few years ago. They were competitive in their first season and over the last two years they have proven to be one of…
The NRL All Stars have defeated the Indigenous All Stars 28-12 with Josh Dugan being named the Preston Campbell medal winner as the man of the match. It was a game played at a really high intensity, just about every player looked sharp and while there were a few bumps, bruises and some blood spilt,…
Well the NRL All Stars game is played this weekend and I’ve got to say, I’m not feeling it. I think with the drawn out process that happens in regards to voting for players over the course of about three months, only to have many players pull out with injury, it just has lost me…
If your city was flooded for a week, you’d probably go a little bat shit crazy too. Thats the only way I can rationalize what has been happening in the Brisbane Rugby League scene recently with all sorts of things happening that make no sense at all. The randomness, the bitter feuds, the weird stories,…
He had only just arrived back in Australia after being delayed by “Visa Problems” but it didn’t take long for Brian Carney to throw in the towel and retire from Rugby League all together. Carney cited a loss of passion for his sudden retirement and to his credit he said he didn’t want to just…
I remember talking to a former Super League club coach a number of years ago and he said to me that during the off season, you’d be amazing at home much weight some players can pack on. In fact, even during the course of a couple of weeks on the sidelines through injury, a player…
I am a big supporter of the salary cap because quite simply, when the salary cap is working, every supporter can go into any given season knowing their team could be winning the Grand Final in 8 months time. The salary cap has two basic functions in Rugby League. The first function is to limit…
I’ve written many times before about the shambles that is the Newcastle Knights, club whom it seems only exists for the enjoyment of the playing roster. We’ve seen in the past player revolts because certain players have not been retained. Its amazing to think that only a few years ago the playing roster went berserk…
This is what it all comes down to… The Melbourne Storm, who still have Greg Inglis under contract, are happy to release him from his contract to play for another NRL club because it will help them with their salary cap issues. The thing is, they want him to pay a legal bill the club…
Its official, Joel Monaghan has apologized for the picture taken of him performing a sex act with a dog. He will be sacked by the Canberra Raiders some time over the next few days. There isn’t really much more that can be said about this whole thing. I mean, obviously pissed or not, Joel Monaghan…
Pouring rain, choking, bad refereeing…the 2010 Grand Final wasn’t a classic, but it was one too remember. While the crowd was probably split with 90% Dragons fans, 8% neutral fans and 2% Roosters fans who had been fans for a solid seven days by the time of the Grand Final. Now, just before we look…
A football club is a little bit like a sailing ship. The boat itself is the team. The captain of the ship is like the coach. The rudder is like the CEO and the keel, well, that is like the football board. Everything has its own job, and as soon as something fails, the whole…
Look out Sydney, there is gonna be a group of tens of Roosters fans hitting the town hard tonight! The Sydney Roosters have easily accounted for the Penrith Panthers in their qualifying final, running it in with a scoreline of 34-12. Only 23,459 turned up on a perfect night in Sydney to watch this game,…
I honestly believed that the West Tigers were busted, and on their way to an ambush in Canberra, however the Black and Golds lifted and managed a memorable 26-24 win and put themselves into the Semi Finals and a matchup with the St George/Illawarra Dragons. It was very much game on with Benji Marshall playing…
The St George/Illawarra Dragons beat the Manly Sea Eagles 28-0 on the weekend, and if you’re wondering why I’m only just writing about it, its because I didn’t watch the game. I’ve been told it was a pretty boring contest, that the Dragons did pretty well but probably could have put up a bigger scoreline,…
Week two of the NRL Finals series will see the 7th and 6th placed teams during the regular season host home finals games against the 3rd and 2nd ranked sides. There Wests Tigers have called for this set up to be changed. They feel that, a reward for finishing higher up the ladder during the…
Of the six teams that have so far taken part in the first week of the NRL Finals series, the Gold Coast Titans look the pick of the bunch. Their 28-16 win over the New Zealand Warriors wasn’t always set in stone, but when the pressure was applied they managed to kick on and put…
I hate the Sydney Roosters. I hate that a club with no fans and no junior league, with a false history tarnished by the fact that no one cares can be soaking up the funding that other clubs with actual supporters could use. However, who cares, because this game was sooooo good. The Wests Tigers…
Remember a couple of months ago when I wrote off the Canberra Raiders because they were just too inconsistent? Basically I said, I like them, but they can’t win the title because they can’t string performances together. When they do however, look out! The Raiders last night become the first NRL clubs to win six…
When I woke up this morning and read the headline “Brian Noble Looks To Swap Super League For The NRL” I felt sick. I didn’t have to read the article to know that such complete and utter stupidity could only be aiming towards one man. I mean, lets think about this for a second. An…
Like most teams that miss the NRL Finals series, consistency was the Achilles heel of the Parramatta Eels. After making last years Grand Final, the Eels had big hopes in 2010. They had lost a few players in the off season but they felt they had more than squared the ledger with the additions of…
On the list of the most frustrating footballers I’ve ever seen, Frank Pritchard has got to rank right up there among the very best. For most of the season the fire just doesn’t seem to be there. He is one step slower, he doesn’t have the impact, and quite honestly, he looks like he is…
In 2010 the Rugby League media in Australia has gone bat shit crazy. Between the formation of the Independent Commission, the Melbourne Storm Salary Cap saga, players demanding higher wages and Greg Inglis deciding he wants to live in Brisbane, the media has basically had a nervous breakdown in this part of the world. You…
Quade Cooper is an Australian Rugby Union player. Yes, Rugby Union still does exist in this country, if only barely. News came out this week that Cooper had held talks with the Parramatta Eels with an eye on switching codes. It came out at a time when he is negotiating with the ARU, and he…
Why do we have a salary cap? Two reasons. Firstly, in the game of Rugby League we need to stop our moronic club administrators from over spending. Pushed by ego, the need to make themselves seem like they are doing their job and therefore, being safe in their own job, administrators have no problems spending…
Well the predictions of doom and gloom over the crowd figure were off the mark but the predictions of a Queensland clean sweep were spot on. While New South Wales seemed to put up more of a fight, the fact is Queensland were not at their rampaging best and STILL managed to come away with…
Talk is that the crowd for State Of Origin number 3 in Sydney on Wednesday night will struggle to get a big crowd. Ticket sales have supposedly been slow, people are selling tickets on EBay for cheap, and while they are talking about a crowd of 50-60,000, I’m tipping more along the likes of 40,000….
It should have been the type of situation that would have any decent footballer licking their chops and reading for a big game. Facing off against a weakened opponents. No captain, no on field general. Their back forward missing, their best backs missing. All that would be left is a couple of experienced club players…