Super League News
The Leeds Rhinos have made some very strong statements in regards to the treatment of Rugby League Players by the UK Border Agency. After winger Weller Hauraki finally had his visa granted, Leeds were obviously upset by how long the process took. He missed last weeks game against the Bradford Bulls. This prompted Leeds Rhinos…
The RFL recently said that it would look to take the Challenge Cup off of free to air television and to a pay tv channel such as ESPN if the BBC did now come up with a decent offer in the next round of negotiations for the rights to broadcast the games longest running competition….
The complete financial meltdown of the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats should be the catalyst for a complete overhaul of the way Rugby League in Great Britain is run. The sad news is, it won’t be. By going into administrations before the season kickoff, and then receivership after the first round of the competition, the Wildcats have…
Nothing signals the start of a Super League season better than a round of derby games played in a city that doesn’t have a Super League clubs of its own. Yes, its that time of the year again, its Millennium Magic! Born from the days when the Challenge Cup went on the road and fans…
News that the Wakefield Wildcats need £500,000 by the end of January to ensure the survival of the club was confronting, and yet not a shock to Rugby League community. Over the last few years we have seen clubs at every level of the game in such financial peril that many have not survived. Where…
There is a lot of talk right now that the Rugby Football League are looking to establish an All Star Game between the English test team and a selection of players from Super League clubs. It would be very easy to suggest that the RFL have looked at the All Star Game in Australia held…
I’ve always said that coaching is an art, not a science. You either have it in you, or you don’t. Its hard to know the personality traits that come together in a person that makes them a good coach. I think to a certain extent, you need someone that enjoys helping others develop as a…
Wigan are once again at the top of the pile in England after a dominant 22-10 win over St Helens in the 2010 Super League Grand Final. A sellout crowd of 71,526 filled Old Trafford to watch the two old rivals face off but it was pretty clear from early on that Wigan looked up…
On Sunday morning Police were called to an apartment in Orrell after concerns for the welfare of former Great Britain hooker Terry Newton. Police found Newton dead, apparently he had committed suicide by hanging himself. Its all a very sad story and its one that quite honestly, you and I know very little about. For…
Every so often, the rivers of Pommy bullshit come so thick and fast that I have to step in and say something about it. This is one of those times my friends. It all started last weekend during the Challenge Cup Final, which was won by those insufferable idiots in Warrington. You know, the ones…
News today that the UK Times has dropped its Rugby League coverage its quite honestly a disgrace. The Times made the decision a few years ago to make a commitment to cover Rugby League. This decision came with great fanfare and was seen as a good sign for Rugby League in the UK. Many hopes…
George Riley of the BBC has revealed that the Rugby Football League is likely to strip a Super League license from one of the clubs currently in the top flight and hand it to a Championship club when the next set of licences are handed out. This news will come a a bombshell to a…
I’m a Hull FC fan, and today my team ran up a scoreline of 42-18 against the London Harlequins, despite the fact they were without a few injured players. This season Wigan looks strong, as does Warrington. St Helens are not in top gear, but they are still dangerous. My Hull FC are probably punching…
When I visited England back in 2006, I was lucky enough to visit Wakefield. Now, I say lucky in the way that, after being to Wakefield, I feel lucky every single day since that I don’t actually live in Wakefield! While there, I saw the stadium the Wakefield Wildcats play out of. It was a…
A lot of the time when a Super League club appoints a head coach, its basically just giving the job to the next guy in line. Many of the coaches in Super League, the English ones, are bloody terrible. Guys that love the sport, they want to continue making a living out of the sport,…
A salary caps job is to do two things. First and foremost, its designed to stop clubs spending more than they can afford. When the salary cap has not been in effect in sports, you see clubs falling over chasing dreams they simply can not afford. The second thing a salary cap does is even…
Sam Burgess is a young player who is already playing Test football for England. He is playing for the Bradford Bulls and basically, he could name his price, and how long he wants to stay there. Want a five year contract? It would be under his nose as soon as the printer could spit it…
On the weekend Gareth Thomas played his first Super League game since switching codes from Rugby Union. As a 35 year old Rugby Union player, there expectations were not high at all. In the whole world there are maybe a dozen people that could play in Super League at 35+ years of age, and all…
Cause and effect. It is something that gets over looked far too often in Rugby League. When you change one thing, it effects other things you possibly don’t want it to effect. Right now in Super League we are seeing how short sighted moves can effect areas of the game many did not expect. Slow…
There is a bit happening ins Super League right now, some things are interesting while others are just batshit crazy! I’m always interesting in hearing, not so much the news about who won and lost, but the news that effects the competition itself. We’ve had a fair bit of that lately! After a tough year…
Former Great Britain, Wigan and now Wakefield hooker Terry Newton has been banned by the Rugby Football League after testing positive to a banned substance. At this stage there is no word on what the substance was or even if it was performance enhancing or just some other illegal drug, however going by recent bans…
Well the Super League season has just kicked off and I supposed I really should make a few predictions and we’ll see how I’ve done at seasons end. I find Super League season previews very boring, simply because we all know right now who is likely to win the bloody thing! I throw in my…
I find very few things in this game completely outrageous. Maybe its the the way Rugby League throws up a yearly does of atrocities, it numbs you to certain types of news. Every so often though I read about something so ridiculous and I can not believe the lack outrage it causes. The BBC is…
In 2008 the National Rugby League organized a massive Rugby League fans day as Sydney’s Olympic Stadium. It was set out to commemorate the fact that the game would be turning 100 in Australia. Every player from every team was in attendance (Not and easy feat in a one of the worlds most widely spread…
If you don’t know whats been happening here is the very quick rundown. Six Huddersfield Giants players were arrested in relation to an alleged rape that occurred in Gosforth, Newcastle (England). All players have been released on bail until March 18th. Now for obvious reasons no person or web site can really say too much…
As you may or may not know, there is not an official push to remove the Challenge Cup from a list of protected sporting matches so that it does not have to be shown on free to air TV in the United Kingdom. The Challenge Cup may have its critics, but the fact is it…
It is always fantastic news when we see the game expanding, and you all know I’m all for spreading the word and getting new areas into the games higher levels. This ones got me asking some questions though…. The BBC is reporting that a South Wales consortium have made a bid to enter a Bridgend-based team…
They days in which the RFL could suggest that player contracts are a club issue and nothing to do with them are well and truely over. This week it has emerged that the Bradford Bulls have signed Matt Orford despite the fact they had already filled their overseas quota. Once they signed Orford, they told…
This move has been on the cards for a long time but finally, Matt Orford, who is off contract in 2010, well play in the UK for the Bradford Bulls. The Manly Sea Eagles still have a few players off contract for 2010 that they have yet to sign, Orford being the most expensive of…
The Melbourne Storm have agree’d to release workhorse lock Dallas Johnson freeing him up for a lucrative move to the Catalan Dragons in Super League. Johnson has played well at club, State and Test level over his entire career and won his second NRL Title in 2009 with the Melbourne Storm. Johnson is only 26…