By AAP
April 1st 2009 @ 6:06am
View The Roar's top rugby league writers.
NRL Tipping now live on The Roar. Join now.
Love new art, fashion, music? Check out Aussie site which unearths all things cool and creative.
Related coverage
Gallop blocks bookie payment to Minichiello
The NRL has blocked a bookmaker making direct payments to Sydney Roosters fullback Anthony Minichiello as part of a sponsorship deal, Rugby League Week reported on Wednesday.
Roosters chief executive Steve Noyce told the magazine the club wanted bookmaking firm LuxBet to employ the former Golden Boot winner as a spokesman in exchange for a $50,000 [...]
This article is over 2000 days old and has been trimmed.
Get Australia's best NRL opinion emailed daily.
Like this content? Buzz it up!
Free Email updates:
Our daily emails are only sent if there is content for the sport or that author. You can subscribe to multiple daily emails; or get the daily Roar email with all our content in it. We value privacy. More...


![So golf and rugby sevens are one step closer to be included in the 2016 Olympics. The response from the public has been mixed, with the majority of the criticism directed at the inclusion of golf. What constitutes an Olympic sport just got a lot more confusing.
The IOC claims a sport must have youth appeal, [...] Adrian Musolino: What constitutes an Olympic sport?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/what-constitutes-olympic-sport-th.jpg)
![In the end the Wallabies defeated England quite comfortably 18 – 9 to win the first Test of this Grand Slam tour. This was a Test the Wallabies had to win. And they won it playing inventive, attractive and skilful rugby with a confidence that grew as the Test developed.
The Grand Slam dream remains alive, although [...] Spiro Zavos: The Wallabies slam England in a terrific Test](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/how-wallabies-look-th.jpg)
![Any CEO will tell you that a major risk factor for an organization or industry is the loss of talent. Talent costs money to find and develop, and if you lose it, you not only lose the original investment, but also the knowledge and experience.
It’s a concept that Australian rugby is finding out about the [...] Andrew Logan: Where are all the good coaches? Somewhere else](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/where-are-all-the-good-coaches-ewen-mckenzie-th.jpg)
![If 2009 was meant to herald the return to dominance of the little man in rugby league, then to borrow a phrase from our tourism board, “Where the bloody hell are they?”
The game was meant to be faster, meaning we were going to see more players like Matt Bowen carving up tiring forwards.
However, what coaches [...] Steve Kaless: A good big man will always beat a good small man](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/good-big-man-josh-perry-th.jpg)
![With the Super 14 now a month in, it would seem as good a time as any to start marking the Australian teams, and see which, if any, teams might be heading for the pointy end of the competition ladder.
As I discussed last week, the quality of the rugby this year is a massive improvement [...] Brett McKay: The first month Super 14 report card for the Aussies](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/reds-quade-cooper-th.jpg)
![It couldn’t have been scripted any better. Sydney FC host Melbourne Victory in the final game of the final round this Sunday with two points separating the two biggest Australian cities. But what are they playing for – the minor premiership or Premiership? Listen to the media and you won’t get a straight answer.
Too often [...] Adrian Musolino: Time to get the lingo of the A-League right](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/carlos-hernandez-aleague-v4-th.jpg)
![The response to my pre-season article on Wednesday said it all. AFL fans really aren’t that bothered by the NAB Cup, and it is an attitude brought on by clubs not necessarily wanting to win the cup.
The AFL’s annual trial rules certainly don’t help, but the differing attitude of clubs towards the NAB Cup (which [...] Ben Somerford: Who actually wants to win the NAB Cup?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/bombers-magpies-anzac-chris-bryan-th.jpg)
![Over 100,000 will gather in Adelaide’s CBD today to watch Lance Armstrong, Cadel Evans and their pro-cycling buddies – impressive for a city with just over one million inhabitants. Adelaide, so often derided by its eastern seaboard brethren as a backwater has, in fact, contributed much to the wider Aussie sporting landscape, be it cycling, [...] Adrian Musolino: Australian sport owes much to little old Adelaide](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/adelaide-tour-down-under-th.jpg)
![Let’s make one thing clear. Robbie Deans knows rugby. 10 years of provincial rugby and five test matches proves he is capable of understanding the game at the highest level. He can coach – that surely isn’t in dispute.
He led the Crusaders to five Super 12/14 championships. No other team has even won the [...] David Wiseman: It’s time to go Wallabies](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/its-time-to-go-wallabies-th.jpg)
![$163 million for the services of one football player is excessive, and while the news of Ronaldo’s exorbitant transfer fee caused a ripple of amazement, there was also a feeling of disgust from many quarters. Is sport risking alienating itself from society due to the gulf in riches between them and us?
It’s a genuine [...] Adrian Musolino: Sports risking alienation from fans with exorbitant costs](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/sports-risking-th.jpg)
![Once again, the Champions League is dominated by English teams. This is all very surprising because by and large English sporting teams stink. They hardly ever have consistent sporting success.
Maybe it’s due to the scarcity of English players in the actual sides. Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United only had eight English players between [...] David Wiseman: Rename the EPL the Global Premier League](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/rename-epl-gpl-patrice-evra-th.jpg)
![God bless government bureaucracy! Until now, there was rarely any good news coming from the pen pushers and red tape merchants that patrolled our nation’s capital, but suddenly they are resembling the super heroes that reside in the Hall of Justice.
Fresh from writing us all cheques to save us from the perilous state the [...] Steve Kaless: The lighter side of visa paperwork](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/lighter-side-visa-th.jpg)



