NRL Fantasy Team 2009

Melbourne have performed a Houdini act to get out of jail against a Newcastle side determined to repay their supporters’ faith, notching an unconvincing 20-14 NRL victory at Energy Australia Stadium.
Storm five-eighth Brett Finch strolled through some threadbare defence from dummy-half to set up a 70th-minute winning try for centre Dane Nielsen after the Storm [...]

North Queensland have launched a bold rescue mission to overrun Penrith 28-20 in their round two win at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Saturday night.
After coming short of gunning down a 24-0 deficit against the Broncos last weekend, the Cowboys were again staring down the barrel at 14-0 down in greasy conditions as Cyclone Ului edged [...]

A Manu Vatuvei hat-trick helped the Warriors notch their maiden win for the 2010 NRL season and extend Cronulla’s losing streak to a sorry dozen matches on Saturday.
Vatuvei’s impressive performance at Mt Smart Stadium backed up his opening-round brilliance, when he bagged two tries in a 24-18 loss to Gold Coast.
The big winger has now [...]

John Lang was given the reigns at South Sydney to make a difference after the controversial sacking of head coach Jason Taylor. It’s a long season, but after only two rounds Lang has taken the soft options and basically cut and pasted the failed Taylor plan.
Central to the Rabbitohs failure to miss the semis last [...]

As an ardent St George supporter, I’m afraid…. very afraid. I have watched both their games this year and on both occasions had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.
Is it groundhog season again? When will I wake up from this nightmare and be free to enjoy a victory without a big black cloud of [...]

St George Illawarra firmed as NRL premiership favourites after a Brett Morris hat-trick propelled the red and whites to a 26-6 win over Canterbury at WIN Stadium on Friday night.
The Dragons proved last week’s win over Parramatta was no fluke as they produced another flawless display to record their first win over Canterbury in Wollongong, [...]

South Sydney’s miserable start to the NRL season has continued with a heart-breaking golden point extra time 19-18 defeat at the hands of Gold Coast at ANZ Stadium.
Titans captain Scott Prince calmly slotted an 80th minute penalty goal to level the scores at 18-18 before landing the winning field goal in the second minute of [...]

Another Dragons game on the box, so another date with my nemesis. If rugby league is all about rivalries, well, as they say, “it doesn’t get any bigger.”
I’ll cut to chase. What is the story with the Saints fan who holds up the “GST, Great St George Team” sign?
Fair dinkum, it is driving me mad.
The [...]

Melbourne Victory have turned to Melbourne Storm’s NRL premiership skipper Cameron Smith for advice ahead of Saturday night’s A-League grand final against Sydney FC at Etihad Stadium.
Smith, who has captained the Storm to two NRL titles, including last season’s win over Parramatta, spoke ahead of Thursday’s training session.
“It was fantastic, he’s a well respected guy, [...]

League legend Brad Fittler has bobbed up as an interested spectator at St George Illawarra training.
The former Test star and Sydney Roosters coach sat through the NRL club’s session on Thursday before chewing the fat with coach Wayne Bennett, assistant Adrian Lam and Dragons players.
“It was good to have him down here,” Lam told AAP.
“I [...]