By Ed Jackson
October 30th 2009 @ 1:33am
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Rees promises fight over NRL grand final
NSW premier Nathan Rees has promised Queensland counterpart Anna Bligh a “fight to the death” over the hosting rights to the NRL grand final.
Bligh said on Wednesday she was “playing hard” to secure the game’s showpiece after the NRL’s deal with the NSW government expires in 2012.
The Queensland government would reportedly pay up to six [...]
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![I was up in the early hours of Monday morning eagerly anticipating a big football match, but it wasn’t Arsenal-Manchester United but instead the African Cup of Nations final in Angola where Australia’s World Cup group opponents Ghana fell short 1-0 against Egypt.
Despite the Black Stars’ final loss, they were arguably the footballing story of [...] Ben Somerford: Five lessons about WC opponent Ghana from ACN](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/ghana-th.jpg)
![Australia start their seven ODI series today in Vadodra, India, but will sorely miss the in-form NSW batsmen Phil Hughes, Simon Katich and David Warner – the success stories behind NSW Blues recent triumph in Champions League T20 final.
Having farewelled the NSW Blues in Sydney last week for the Champions League T20 earlier this [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Australia will miss Hughes and Katich in India](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/phillip-hughes-bound-for-glory-th.jpg)
![The next chapter in rugby league looks set to begin in 2010, and while the symbolism may be huge, in reality it may just mean another day at the office.
With News Ltd and the ARL set to make way for an independent commission to run rugby league, many supporters are praising the heavens that they [...] Steve Kaless: New league commission really just more of the same](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/david-gallop-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)
![There are two things to talk about amongst English rugby league fans: one is the depressing state of the English economy and the second is the arrival in the NRL of Sam Burgess.
As I sat on a ridiculously expensive, yet on-time train (and compared to NSW, it actually existed), I pondered how closely the [...] Steve Kaless: Plummeting pound is a blessing for the NRL](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/plummeting-pound-blessing-nrl-burgess-th.jpg)
![The ELVs, the experimental law variations being trialled in the 2008 Super 14 tournament, should have been introduced in 1895.
The laws of rugby union were quickly evolving from 1871 to 1895 to turn the game from a predominately scrumming game to a passing game.
But when the Great Split in rugby occurred in England in [...] Spiro Zavos: The ELVs should have been introduced in 1895](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/western-force-highlanders-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)
![The spate of Twenty20 internationals has got me thinking about the upcoming World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies. Well, more accurately, it has got me thinking about who to have a bet on, because frankly, that’s all the tournament is good for.
I’m sure it will provide something of a spectacle and it’ll be a [...] Alec Swann: Black Caps to win World Twenty20 tournament](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/new-zealand-cricket-th.jpg)
![It’s about time someone told the AFL’s field umpires to concentrate on their jobs and stop trying to be coaches. With clubs employing as many as 17 coaches, fitness and development people on their staffs, the last thing the players need is to be lectured by another three on game day.
There are far too many [...] Bruce Walkley: Tell the umpires to shut up!](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/umpires-shut-up-shane-crawford-th.jpg)
![Whether you love or loathe the English Premier League, you have to acknowledge its rise to global prominence from the dark days of hooliganism as truly phenomenal for what is a domestic league. But the popularity of the EPL has overshadowed the development of the A-League, with many football fans sticking with the overseas product. [...] Adrian Musolino: The dominance of the EPL is hindering A-League growth](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/england-france-th.jpg)
![Pick one of the egg-shaped ball sports. A player has a kick for goal after the siren. If he makes it, they win, if he misses they lose. He misses and all and sundry do their best to say that the loss had nothing to do with this one kick.
There were plenty of opportunities [...] David Wiseman: Crunch plays separate the great from the good](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/crunchplays-tiger-woods-th.jpg)
![It turns out that Michael Phelps, the man who captured eight incredible gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, can also smoke a bong. Wow, amazing! Thankyou News of the World. I feel so much better about myself now that I know an Olympic champion is on the wacky tobaccy.
Great for Phelps isn’t it? [...] Benjamin Conkey: Why do athletes have to be good role models?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/phelps-th.jpg)



