The Independent Commission has been in place for just a few days and yet we are already seeing a lot of interesting development happen in regards to the next round of expansion for the National Rugby League competition. Already there is talk that Perth may be the venue for the end of season test match…
There is something about Rugby League that really pisses some people off. I can not think of another sport anywhere else in the world that is supposed to justify its existence, as well as its ability to survive long term, despite the fact the tough old bastard has been around since 1895. It is not…
Today it has been announced that the Sydney Cricket Ground will be upgraded with funding from the Australian Federal Government of $50 million, the NSW State Government tipping in $86 million and the SGC Trust itself spending $50 million as well. This will see the venues capacity boosted from 45,758 to 48,000. Wait, what? That…
Imagine that you own a Newspaper based in London. London is the biggest media market in the country, and the vast majority of your newspapers sales are in the greater London region. The good people of London are like any other people anywhere else in the world. They want to be informed about what is…
So Australia gets to play the soap dodging, Stella drinking, pasty faced whingers from northern England again, and like clockwork, the Poms are talking up their chances and using words like Pride and Confidence. After their win last week against a Welsh team that included 8 part time players, the soap dodgers are on top…
The headline in the Sydney Daily Telegraph reads “Rugby league versus rugby union game moves closer to reality”. Wow, that is interesting, considering that Rugby League administrators are dealing with their own internal issues right now while Rugby Union administrators or on their New Zealand junket watching lost of fat blokes roll around on each…
Welcome to the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup. The last World Cup in which Australia will compete as anything other than a minnow. You see, Rugby Union in Australia has a problem. It is a game that prides itself on retaining its supposed class superiority and this has seen the game remain marginalized across the wider Australian…
Phil Gould wrote an article on the weekend about junior Rugby League in western Sydney that basically went along the lines of, the AFL is a juggernaught, we are doing nothing to stop them, we need to spend more money, the sky is falling…..you get the picture. It has caused a lot of headlines and…
Am I the only one getting sick to death with the way the media keeps trying to manufacturer Rugby League stories lately? If you have been on the League Freak Juggernaut for long enough, you know I don’t like to stuff around. I like to get straight to the point and not mess about. I’m…
Mark Gasnier has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2011 season and get on with life after football. Gasnier told the media today that he knew going into this season that it would be his last. This is Mark Gasniers first full season of Rugby League, having returned by a stint…
As I write this, Willie Mason is getting ready to play the first Rugby Union game of his life. The previous conversion record for a Rugby League players to switch codes, play a game and walk into a Rugby Union representative team had been held by Iestyn Harris at 11 days. Mason has walked straight into the…
In 1999 the head of the ARU, John O’Neill said he would propose that the IRB give the ARU all the profits from its upcoming World Cup competition. This money would then be used to allow the ARU to “Buy Rugby League” in Australia. It was at a time of great upheaval in the game…
Rugby League in Australia is about to secure a broadcasting deal that will see it earn more than $1 billion dollars over the five years of the contract. The NRL salary cap will rise by an incredible $2.7 million dollars. Two new teams will enter the competition and first grade squads will rise to 30…
After being told by the Sydney Roosters (Of all clubs!) to just go away and not come back, Willie Mason made the decision to head over to England and play for a Super League club. It took many months and a lot of hassles over his visa, but eventually, a month into the 2011 Super…
The Widnes Vikings will participate in Super League again from 2012 and as you can imagine, their fans are ecstatic about the prospect of being in the top flights again. Recently we have seen players, commentators and fans pushing for Super League to raise revenues and the salary cap. Just about everyone within British Rugby…
English Rugby League players get no respect. They are under paid and they have very little profile in the media. Because of this, players find it hard to get any sort of decent personal sponsorships, and you know who is to blame for all of this don’t you? Well, take your pick…. The BBC, Soccer,…
In the wake of Kyle Eastmonds announced defection to Rugby Union at the end of the Super League season there have been a number of very interesting reactions. Calls to raise the Super League salary cap, to pay Super League players more money, to form a players unions, central contracts, expansion, contraction…..everyone has an opinion!…
The last 10 years have been a very interesting time in Australian sport. Over the last ten years we have seen Rugby Union, Boxing and AFL all covet star power of Rugby League players. Rugby Union was the first. Flushed with funds from its new found professionalism, it was a sport that was very much…
Last year the AFL made a decision that to them, Israel Folau was worth $1.5 million dollars a year. This made him the richest player in AFL history, and he had never played the game, at any level. Not even as a kid. This week, Kyle Eastmond has made the decision to take a big…
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…
He should never be allowed back. Ban him for life. We don’t want him anyway. He won’t be missed. Ah yes, you know what I’m talking about don’t you? No….not that incident I had at Bra’s N Things, which was blown way out of proportion by the way….I’m talking about players who go to Rugby Union….
As Akuila Uate, a Fijian born and raised player who only recently moved to Australia, was selected by the ARL to represent that Australian Prime Ministers XIII against Papua New Guinea, people who took any interest in seeing international Rugby League retain any credibility were up in arms. Having played for Fiji within the last…
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…
Brett Kimmorley has had a fantastic career. A Premiership winner, a State Of Origin veteran, a Test player, there are very few things Kimmorley has not won over the course of his amazing career. There is one thing though that I’m sure he would change if he got the chance. Newcastle Knights, Hunter Mariners, Melbourne…
You’re probably wondering why I have yet to write anything about the news that Mark Gasnier is looking to get out of French Rugby Union and now wants to come back and play in the NRL with the St George/Illawarra Dragons. Its basically because I don’t care either way. Gasnier left the Dragons mid contract…
Its a little ironic that a sport founded on the basis of an open market for players and compensating players for the time and effort they put into the game not finds itself in a position where it tightly regulates what players are worth and shouts down any attempts for a player to earn as…
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…
After a terrible start to their season, the Parramatta Eels made a decision that it would cease all contract talks with their off contract players until such time as the team turned things around on the field. The backlash was fairly swift. The players were not happy at all. They were filthy the decision was…
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…
I’m not sure where the push is coming from, I’m guessing lazy journos getting fed “news” from an anxious player managers, but there are been a bit of news recently regarding the future of Sonny Bill Williams. First there was talk he wanted to go back to New Zealand and play for the All Blacks….