As the NRL salary cap rises and more Super League clubs go bust, we are going to see more English players heading down under to play in the worlds best competition. In January I listed the to ten English players in Rugby League. A lot has changed since then. After all, you’re only as good…
He was the young English bloke living is the shadow of Rugby League giants down in Melbourne. Now that Gareth Widdop has a team of his own to run at the St George/Illawarra Dragons, he is showing he might very well be a giant of the game himself. Widdop’s form has been sensational for the…
Craig Bellamy has constructed his lofty reputation by producing country club lobster from Burger King yield. The Storm maestro has a sharp eye for the discarded, neglected and misunderstood orphans of the rugby league streets. He spots them through the cold night sky and takes them in with a base contract and a hug before…
The NRL is back for another season and opening round was a real cracker, apart from the Sharks vs Titans game on Monday which was well and truly a shocker of a game. Here is my team of the round. (I am not a stats guy, its all about the eye test) Fullback: Greg Inglis…
How It Will Finish 1. Roosters 2. Bulldogs 3. Bunnies 4. Storm 5. Sea Eagles 6. Warriors 7. Sharks 8. Panthers 9. Knights 10. Cowboys 11. Titans 12. Broncos 13. Tigers 14. Dragons 15. Eels 16. Raiders Roosters: Did a magnificent job in keeping their premiership winning side together. Luke O’Donnell is the only player…
Heading in to every season there are many intriguing story lines and talking points. This season is no different. Although we sometimes concentrate on what is happening off the field, we should remember that it’s is what the players are doing on the field that matters most. Here are my top ten most intriguing players…
From South Africa to Wembley Stadium, England’s 2013 Rugby League World Cup buildup and results were interesting to say the least. The Rugby Football League invested a lot of time, money and effort to make sure that England got the best preparation for the 2013 World Cup. No team that has come before had a…
Continuity is a very important thing in sport. The ability to settle on a lineup and make the fewest changes you can possibly get away with has seen many sporting teams over the years beat more talented rivals who chopped and changed their lineup for what ever reason. In the 2013 Rugby League World Cup…
Australia Look Scrappy In Win Over England Australia have kicked on their World Cup campaign with a scrappy 28-20 win over England. England got off to a great start in the match as Australia played some lazy football. The Kangaroo’s were doing a lot of arm grabbing in defense while going wide looking for easy…
Daniel Nichols looks back at the 2013 NRL season for all 16 clubs. Today he looks backs at the St George/Illawarra Dragons season. Finished: 14th Predicted: 14th Fan Prediction: 6th What Went Wrong: What a difference 2 years can make. Under Wayne Bennett the Dragons won their first ever premiership as a joint venture and…
It wouldn’t be a World Cup if there wasn’t an English team looking to shock the world and win it all. They are improving, they are one of the teams to beat, they have prepared well and are ready to take on the world…all of that… The problem for the English Rugby League team is…
26 weeks have passed and the competition has been halved. For the next month we will be entertained by the best 8 teams in the competition, all vying for the Provan-Summons trophy. So, what might be in store for the most competitive competition in the world? On Friday we see the Rabbitohs take on the…
England coach Steve McNamara has warned that NRL based English players have a lot or work to do if they want to be part of the English World Cup squad. McNamara has just returned from an all expenses paid junket to travel around Australia to supposedly watch English players play. He said that the form…
It has been a long pursuit but finally the St George/Illawarra Dragons have finally captured the signature of Canberra Raiders halfback Sam Williams. Williams is part of a very good halves rotation at the Raiders. The 22 year old has only signed a one year deal with the Dragons but I’ve not doubt he will…
He is one of the true stars of the game, and yet the Wests Tigers are not convinced that they should pay any extra money to Benji Marshall and finalize a deal that would see Marshall remain a one club player. You get the feeling that if Benji Marshall wanted to head to another club…
Reports that the New Zealand Warriors were interested in signing Leeds Rhinos academy captain Jordan Baldwinson really upset Brian McDermott. The realization that the Leeds Rhinos are just a big fish in a small pond, and that NRL clubs will sign every single player they decide they want from Super League really hasn’t say well…
Melbourne storm five-eighth Gareth Widdop will not play again this year after dislocating his hip in the Storms 18-12 loss to the Gold Coast Titans. Widdop’s loss is a huge blow to the Melbourne Storms hopes of retaining their Premiership this season. His loss will also have a major effect on England’s World Cup plans…
The Melbourne Storm are currently looking towards the future and tonight we will see a glimpse of that. The Storm will have youngster Ben Hampton making his NRL debut at five-eighth against the Gold Coast Titans tonight. With current Storm five-eighth Gareth Widdop leaving the club at seasons end to join the St George/Illawarra Dragons,…
The Melbourne Storm went into KickYourArse.com mode on the Cronulla Sharks tonight, running out huge winners 38-6. The Storm were brilliant in the first half, racking up 28 points over a Sharks team that were just not in the contest at all. The most resistance the Storm faced all half was when a Seagull walked…
England has named a weakened, second string 20 man squad ahead of their exhibition match against the “Exiles” side in the International Origin match set for the 12th of June at Warrington. The side will not include England best players including Sam Burges, Luke Burgess, George Burgess, James Graham, Gareth Widdop, Jack Reed and Chris…
There is a stark reality that Super League fans and clubs need to accept. The days of buying decent players from the NRL are over. The days of picking and choosing who they would like to have in their sides are long gone. The days of big name imports have gone the way of the…
English born Melbourne Storm five-eighth Gareth Widdop has signed a four year deal to join the St George/Illawarra Dragons from 2014. The deal is said to be for around $500,000 per season. This is the first big name signing the Dragons have made in years. It is also a very brave move by Widdop who…
He is regarded by many as being the best player in Super League, and although under contract with Wigan for a few more years there is a general feeling that he is already looking at a move away from the club in the not too distant future. So, will we ever see Sam Tomkins playing…
So here we are, Grand Final week and in a few days time lives will be changed. As a fan this whole week reminds me of 2003 when my Penrith Panthers made the Grand Final. I was never nervous at all, just confident.I enjoyed that entire season and I wouldn’t change a single thing about…
No one gives a stuff about teams that lose in the semi finals. They get so close to being in the Grand Final, and yet they are not even a footnote in history when it comes down to it. This week we have four teams all with stories to tell about their journey to get…
First of all I want to tell British Rugby League fans to stop being so reactionary. What has happened has happened. You can blame this and that, but at the end of the day the real problem is that the foundations that the game in Great Britain is built upon are completely rotten. Until the…
Rugby League in Great Britain is complex. It is small minded and yet at the same time it has this inflated opinion of itself. It is closed off and proud of its ability to not need any outside influences, and yet pounds its chest in triumph at the capture of a foreign player or coach….
So here we are, the last weekend of big NRL games for the season. I say the last weekend of big games for a reason. Next week, next week is more than a big game. Next week will be life changing. We are now down to four teams and I have to say, I liked…
Last season felt like most of the competition was in transition and only a couple of teams were really primed for a real shot at the title. This season we have a number of different clubs ready to roll. The Storm are looking for redemption. The Dragons are looking to prove it wasn’t just a…
New Zealand have easily accounted for England 24-10 in front of a pretty decent crowd in Wellington. With both teams wearing historic jerseys and really going all out for a few photos to mark the occasion, its was interesting to see James Graham snarl “Don’t touch me” to a ground coordinator who was just trying…