When is a Great Britain squad not really a Great Britain squad? When it has more Aussies in it than Scotland, Ireland and Wales….combined! The RFL recently announced the 24 man squad that will take part in the first Great Britain Lions tour in years, and there was a big problem with the squad! You…
The very first episode of the Fergo and The Freak podcast has arrived! In this episode we talk about the history of international Rugby League, from its very beginnings, the establishment of the Rugby League World Cup, we look at the changes that need to be made, eligibility rules, and how we would change the…
There is no greater honour than representing your nation. That is what they keep trying to tell us anyway. The passion of playing for your country, joining together as a team representing an entire nation who…oh hang on, I’ve got a better offer elsewhere. I’m off. Do your best without me. I might even play…
From the people that brought you ideas such as “You can switch which nation you play for immediately after a World Cup”, the RLIF will conduct and immediate review of international eligibility rules. Now my first questions is…why? I am the first person to say that the games eligibility rules are completely broken. Just take…
Rugby League representative arena has been turned into a bloody mess because the game is full of spineless administrators as well as greedy coaches and players. I have been writing about the absurd eligibility rules within the game for well over a decade now. During that time there have been slightly weird tweaks to the…
Oh yeah, we got our man! Semi Radradra has turned his back on the nation of his birth and will line up for the mighty, the amazing, the incredible “Australian” Kangaroos when they take on those horrible bastards from over in New Zealand who….ah who cares, this is all about Australia! Uh, Tonie Carroll? What…
Fijian born Parramatta Eels winger Semi Radradra has made it know that he would like to represent Australia after becoming an Australian citizen. That is great news. Australia is a really good Rugby League nation to play for. It pays its test players more money than any other test playing nation and tends to win…
Fijian born and raised winger Semi Radradra has expressed his desire to represent New South Wales and Australia. This despite the fact that he has only been in Australia a few years and even under the new State Of Origin eligibility rules he does not qualify to play for New South Wales. The worst part…
News Limited is reporting that Ben Te’o will switch codes at the end of the 2014 NRL season and play Rugby Union, possibly in an effort to turn out for England at the next Rugby Union World Cup. This move has been quietly on the card for a while and even as late as yesterday…
I know State Of Origin is the crown jewel of Rugby League and I am an avid New South Welshman myself, but I do feel that it is killing the international game of Rugby League. Say for example you give Anthony Milford a choice to play for Samoa or QLD and Australia, there are so…
Imagine the headlines… New South Wales selects Sonny Bill Williams in game one of the 2014 State Of Origin series. I think the entire country would go into a meltdown. International eligibility rules state that after a World Cup, the most important international tournament we have, every single player is allowed to switch nations. I…
Earning a representative jersey of any colour should be the proudest moment of a players career. It should be acknowledgement of the fact that a player has reached a new level in their game and that their ability has been recognized by entering a rare club of talented players that get the chance to play…
Money is the reason that State Of Origin eligibility rules were slowly undermined by both states since the inception of the State Of Origin concept in the early 1980’s. people can talk about passion until they are Blue or Maroon in the face. The fact is that from day one coaches and officials looked at…
Luke Keary has had his appeal against his State Of Origin eligibility denied by the National Rugby League. Keary qualified for New South Wales under the current rules but decided he wanted to play for Queensland. He was the first big test of the current rules and it’s seems the NRL was not willing to…
Yes, this is still dragging on… After being told numerous times that Luke Keary qualifies for New South Wales and not for Queensland under the new State Of Origin rules, the Queensland Rugby League have decided to take a new approach. They want the rules to be broken so they can have Luke Keary anyway….
Another day, another Queensland whinge! This time its Wally Lewis having a cry over the State Of Origin eligibility rules that use many different factors to determine that Luke Keary should play for New South Wales and not Queensland. Lewis told New Limited that the NRL’s ruling, based on what Luke Keary has told them…
It is pretty clear that people with Queensland Rugby League want to have their cake and eat it too. This time around it is Queensland Rugby League chairman Peter Betros and Queensland selection boss Des Morris who have had a nice long whinge to News Limited about South Sydney youngster Luke Keary not being eligible…
Gorden Tallis has weighed into the State Of Origin eligibility debate by claiming that the current rules are a farce and designed to allow both New South Wales and Queensland to keep selecting New Zealanders. Tallis made the claims in his News Limited column and I tends to agree with what he has had to…
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…
South Sydney youngster Luke Keary will meet with NRL Head Of Football Todd Greenberg in an effort to break the brand new State Of Origin eligibility rules and play for Queensland. Keary, who under the new rules qualifies only to play for New South Wales, is being supported by the Queensland Rugby League. There is…
Would you be shocked if I told you that Queensland was whinging once again about State Of Origin eligibility rules? This time the issue surrounds South Sydney youngster Luke Keary. Keary was born in Queensland but moved to New South Wales at a young enough age that he no longer qualifies to play for Queensland….
There has been numerous complaints about eligibility rules for players of dual heritage or the grandfather rule calling it a farce even by Mr League Freak himself, yet so far we have seen the strongest and closest World Cup yet. International Eligibility Rule states a player may represent a country if it is their country…
The 2013 Rugby League World Cup kicks off in a few weeks time and it should be a fantastic tournament that brings people together from many different parts of the world. It should be a moment in which Rugby League celebrates the real work that has been put in to get Rugby League established in…
You’ve got to wonder about Rugby League administrators sometimes…. Rugby League International Federation secretary Andrew Hill has suggest that in an effort to provide the best World Cup possible, the RLIF would be willing to allow the likes of Sonny Bill Williams and Benji Marshall to play in the World Cup even if that meant…
Newcastle Knights winger James McManus will play just his second State Of Origin match next Wednesday night in a move that sees the in form winger make a decision I completely understand. McManus, who was born in Scotland, has turned his back on a walk up start in the World Cup for his nation of…
Castleford Tigers standoff Rangi Chase has opened up to TheSun.co.uk about the abuse he received after making the decision to play for England. Chase has described his treatment as “discriminatory” and pointed to examples in other sports where people born and raised outside of England turn out for England. You know what Rangi, I’ve got…
France have named a 40 man squad with an eye on the 2013 World Cup. The squad will be trimmed back to 23 players by World Cup kickoff. The 2008 World Cup was nothing short of a disaster for France. Under the coaching of John Monie France were arguably the worst performed team at the…
It is the eve of Game 1 in the 2013 Rugby League State of Origin series. Dubbed as the most anticipated series ever – which is what it is labeled as every year. New South Wales have the double home ground advantage at ANZ Stadium this year as the Queensland juggernaut look to make it…
Queensland currently reigns over the most dominant period of State of Origin since the concept’s inception in 1980. Coach Mal Meniga has arguably the greatest pool of talent to choose from and has built a team that has at times destroyed the best NSW could muster in the past 7 series. Billy Slater, Cameron Smith,…
In life, the ability to say the word “No” is very important. In fact, I’d go as far as to say our ability to say the word “No” is what our entire society is based around. You see, for things to run smoothly you need some level of control. You need to be able to…