So we have all cancelled the early retirement plans and started stockpiling baked beans. The global credit crunch has had a world wide effect, but what impact will it have on the Australian sporting landscape? And if there is a football war going on, what will it do to the war chests?
Ireland are considered minnows at the upcoming Rugby League World Cup - and they certainly felt like it when they boarded their flight for Australia at Manchester yesterday.
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Broncos to have partial booze ban
The Brisbane Broncos will implement strict anti-alcohol measures at the NRL club for 2009.
Outgoing Broncos legend Wayne Bennett quoted the late Paul Newman when he finally drew the curtain on his remarkable 21-year tenure at the NRL club.
The honeymoon is over for North Queensland enforcer Carl Webb after he was arrested for drink driving the morning after he was married in Townsville.
He finally considers himself an Englishman, but Australian-born Tony Smith isn’t giving his new countrymen any favours in the build-up to their Rugby League World Cup assault Down Under.
Kangaroos veteran Craig Fitzgibbon has warned it won’t be all smooth sailing for hot favourites Australia when the Rugby League World Cup begins in two weeks time.
Exasperated Tongan coach Jim Dymock has branded the Rugby League World Cup’s rules a “joke” after two more NRL stars were rubbed out of his side a day after it lost Anthony Tupou to Australia.
Stacey Jones admits the body will struggle a bit when he comes out of retirement to play one last game of rugby league in honour of good mate Ruben Wiki.
Wayward former Canberra rugby league star Todd Carney has admitted to having a problem with alcohol and says his deal in England is up in the air because his work visa has yet to be approved.
The murky nature of rugby league’s international eligibility rules were exposed again today with Australian rejects Anthony Tupou and Jarryd Hayne both handed World Cup lifelines.
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While luck is something Ireland pride themselves with, it hasn’t been nice to them recently with the departure of star winger Brian Carney to rugby union and the injury to Melbourne premiership forward Brett White.
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Hep Cahill hails from Napier in the Hawkes Bay region on the North Island’s East Coast. People from Napier and the Hawkes Bay area have a special reputation for toughness in New Zealand: the region was the scene of some of the most savage fighting in the Land Wars of the 1860s.
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France and history go together well. They seem made for each other and this is why the French are one of the most culturally significant nations in the world - even in Rugby League.
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Eels star Jarryd Hayne will lead an island nation responsible for casting the darkest of clouds on Welsh Rugby Union last year, whilst also maintaining the impression that dreams really do come true.
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Samoa will enter this year’s rugby league World Cup as the lowest ranked nation in the tournament. But with the player roster at its disposal, John Akland’s team are in a prime position to give league’s ranking system a kick up the ass.
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As we all know by now, smoking kills. But it was the lack of cigarette sponsors in Tonga that nearly destroyed rugby league in the island nation following the disastrous 2000 World Cup in Britain.
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It is the time of year that makes every Papua New Guinean believe. Despite the poor infrastructure, financial debts and violence, The Kumals will fly to Australia to represent a nation that perhaps lives and breathes rugby league more than any other country.
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He is probably the biggest ‘Teddy’ in the NRL, but at last, Manly prop Josh Perry can grasp his claws on an Australian World Cup jumper.
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Everybody hurts, even Israel Folau, who witnessed first-hand his holy ride in the NRL take a severe battering at the hands of Manly in the Grand Final.
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Manly coach Des Hasler has been building the necessary foundations for this moment in history to arrive. The suffering has finally ceased and the celebrations across the peninsula are about to begin.
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So whilst we didn’t quite get the 3pm kick-off that traditionalists - and plenty of players - wanted, it would seem to me that the first twilight grand final has made little or no difference to the general experience of Grand Final Day.
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The NRL premiership will not be the only thing on both Brett Stewart and Billy Slater’s minds this afternoon. Although the two fullbacks will humbly admit it is of little importance now, the Australian No.1 jersey will also be on the line when both teams take to the ANZ Stadium.
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The pinnacle of a season of toil is the Grand Final, and the NRL has notched up some classic moments during the ultimate battle of attrition. The Manly-Melbourne decider this Sunday will be no different.
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David Gallop has finally gone too far. During the week Craig Bellamy was fined $50,000 for his comments regarding the punishment dealt to his captain Cameron Smith for the tackle made on Sam Thaiday. What a joke!
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Sea Eagles winger David Williams is living a dream that was not even supposed to be realised this season. A man by the name of Michael Bani was in stellar form for Manly and didn’t look like relinquishing his position on the flank anytime soon.
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A 2008 season filled with player departures, sex scandals, whinging and its fair element of terrific football has made the NRL’s centenary year one that will not be easily forgotten.
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The recent behavior of many footballers both on and off the field is despicable. So here’s one way to punish the teams more for these indiscretions: when the tribunal suspends players for a few matches, their team should then play those games a player down.
