New Zealand Warriors

He may be one of the brainchilds of the hugely successful Indigenous All Stars concept but Gold Coast Titans boss Michael Searle says he never wants to see an indigenous rugby league team play a Test or the World Cup.
Searle says State of Origin has nothing on the passion shown by the Indigenous All Stars [...]

He’s back. Following months of uncertainty, Willie Mason officially announced his NRL return at Townsville on Tuesday after accepting a lifeline from North Queensland.
And the results could only be described as classic Mason.
At his first press conference in Cowboys colours, Mason took a shot at the “fat businessmen” at other NRL clubs who knocked back [...]

There was little subterfuge as the NRL went into counterattack mode on Monday in a bid to protect its western Sydney heartland from the raids of the AFL.
The best the game has to offer were all on show as the NRL All Stars side held a coaching clinic for more than 300 school kids in [...]

Outspoken former Kangaroos captain Gorden Tallis says Australian halfback Johnathan Thurston risks becoming rugby union’s new marketing meal ticket if he switches codes next season.
“They don’t need these players in their game, they just want them for marketing,” said Tallis as speculation continued to mount about Thurston’s future in rugby league with the Cowboys sweating [...]

The opening round of season 2009 saw the St George Illawarra Dragons faced with the uneviable task of playing the Melbourne Storm at Olympic Park – a match which saw the Red V display the credentials necessary that would see it lift the Minor Premiership 26 weeks later.
It was Wayne Bennett’s first game in charge [...]

New research has found Australians believe many of the nation’s elite athletes are drug cheats. More than 2520 people were surveyed over the phone in the first Australian study of public attitudes towards sports doping.
The joint survey by two universities and Roy Morgan Research found the most commonly held public view was that a quarter [...]

Disgruntled North Queensland fans will change their tune as soon as controversial NRL player Willie Mason “runs over a few people” on the football field, according to new Cowboys teammate Carl Webb.
Some North Queensland fans reportedly threw away their supporter gear in disgust once news filtered through that Mason had signed a one year deal [...]

It was only 20 minutes but English import Sam Burgess packed enough into his cameo to suggest the hype may well be justified as South Sydney opened the NRL pre-season with a 42-12 win over Manly at Redfern Oval on Sunday.
In a game devoid of NRL regulars, Burgess was the star attraction for the home [...]

The long wait finally ended for Preston Campbell when the Indigenous All Stars team went into camp on the Gold Coast on Sunday.
But the man who helped inspire the All Stars concept still couldn’t believe it.
An idea first floated 12 months ago by Campbell and Titans boss Michael Searle became a reality when the Indigenous [...]

Queensland selector Des Morris says any potential return to State of Origin by Lote Tuqiri would not be impeded by any grudges held over from when he switched to rugby union in 2002.
Tuqiri’s return to the NRL with Wests Tigers on Thursday is timely for Queensland with international centre Justin Hodges in danger of missing [...]