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Australia will start their Women's World Cup campaign against Republic of Ireland at Stadium Australia after FIFA bowed to public demand and moved the fixture.
Samoa should be immensely proud of their momentous World Cup, a campaign that included making the final and an historic first-ever win over a…
NRL players should be out to get every dollar they can – I have no qualms with them playing hard ball to boost their…
One of the NRL’s biggest wins of the last few years has been Magic Round. A full set of eight matches played at the…
After another weekend of thrashings in the Rugby League World Cup, it feels like the tournament is faced with a chicken or egg scenario…
At a previous job, the looming threat of mass layoffs was explained by the fact the company had huge overheads – millions of dollars…
One of my all-time favourite rugby league memories is the 1995 World Cup final. I slept on the floor in my brother’s room, we…
It’s a shame that Ryan Matterson has been the first prominent player to decide he would rather sit out a few games than pay…
Late Sunday night saw rapturous scenes at the building forever known as the Newcastle Workers Club, due to its moniker the day nine people…
Still undecided as to who you should be supporting come this weekend’s NRL grand final? That’s okay, it’s never easy to come to a…
It’s the last game of the season, which means for the vast majority of footy fans, there is absolutely nothing left to cheer for.…
Roosters fans, I can somewhat sympathise your booing of Latrell Mitchell. Latrell was the raw talent your club recognised, nurtured and helped grow into…
Souths vs Roosters is done for another year, am I the only one sick of this rivalry?
There is a hot field when it comes to the matter of the worst-run clubs in the NRL this year. Apparently Jack Gibson had…
Head injuries in the NRL is a topic which needs nuanced debate, not screaming from the rooftops.
It’s wild that in a week in which Millie Boyle and Adam Elliott played in consecutive games at the same ground, all the chat…
In handing down Ricky Stuart’s punishment last week - the Raiders coach getting a $25,000 fine and a week-long suspension for… look, I don’t…
There are few things that piss me off more than people who complain about stadium upgrades while citing the lack of funding we have…
Gold Coast and Newcastle have one mission left - to avoid the spoon.
The NRL thrives in grey areas. It’s the ultimate administrative ‘get out of jail free’ card, being able to simply put forward the notion…
Where you getting that TB? Most recent I could find was on NRL.com last Wednesday, where Dan Walsh reported “Canterbury have applied for Paul Vaughan’s eight-game ban to be backdated… with a final decision on his availability still to be made by the NRL.”
https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/07/28/vaughan-signs-with-bulldogs-in-bid-to-resurrect-nrl-career/
Paul Vaughan to the Bulldogs? Cool, see you in Round 9 of 2022
That’s how opinions work: you take the available facts and then form an opinion. Then by using qualifying statements – like “it certainly suggests” – you reinforce to the reader that it’s not reporting, it’s an opinion.
As the available facts change, my opinion tends to as well.
But even if it’s proven that Suaalii’s injury was a freak accident that could have happened anywhere, it doesn’t change the point of the piece.
'Massive blunder': Why the NRL owes injured Joseph Suaalii an apology
Nicko,
“It’s sort of beside the point though.”
Apparently you did?
'Massive blunder': Why the NRL owes injured Joseph Suaalii an apology
I don’t think that’s the case. Souths pushed hard for Suaalii to play before he turned 18 and V’landys said he was open to it: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-may-bend-rules-to-allow-suaalii-to-play-for-souths-early-20200727-p55fws.html
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/south-sydney-email-that-paved-the-way-for-the-roosters-to-play-suaalii-before-18-20210315-p57axc.html
'Massive blunder': Why the NRL owes injured Joseph Suaalii an apology
Nah man, Souths were pushing hard for Suaalii to play first grade this year if he had stayed with them. It was the basis of the article I wrote about it last year.
'Massive blunder': Why the NRL owes injured Joseph Suaalii an apology
You can interact with the people who live in your home, but that doesn’t make them part of the bubble, which is why there were issues with the possibility other players’ partners attended the BBQ: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/nrl-news-andrew-abdo-warns-more-penalties-may-apply-st-george-illawarra-dragons-covid/f4262c92-4672-41c4-afa2-cd7b8e20bb6e
Why are the NRL bending over backwards to accommodate the Dragons?
No worries mate, enjoy the low road. Sounds like it’s a real hoot.
Why are the NRL bending over backwards to accommodate the Dragons?
You can interact with the people who live in your home, but that doesn’t make them part of the bubble, which is why there were issues with the possibility other players’ partners attended the BBQ: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/nrl-news-andrew-abdo-warns-more-penalties-may-apply-st-george-illawarra-dragons-covid/f4262c92-4672-41c4-afa2-cd7b8e20bb6e
Why are the NRL bending over backwards to accommodate the Dragons?
I would hate to be the kind of person who brings another person’s kids into an argument in search of a cheap laugh.
Why are the NRL bending over backwards to accommodate the Dragons?
It’s nice you’re so passionate about this Paul. Maybe take some of that energy and re-read the piece, then head to the link on the NRL website (that I’ve supplied) where they’ve outlined pretty much everything you’ve asked.
Why are the NRL bending over backwards to accommodate the Dragons?
*Sigh*
Prove it Max. Prove everything you’ve said. Point to evidence of your statements.
Why are the NRL bending over backwards to accommodate the Dragons?
Fair to say it’s Queensland wearing the black aprons in this particular pressure test though Ben?
NSW picking Mitch Moses is a wasted opportunity
Albo, you feel free to actually quote me (copy-paste is pretty simple) but don’t just make it up – giving context is also helpful.
As for pillorying Moses ‘as likely to be “crap at Origin”‘ (see how easy!), I’d point to the very first sentence of this piece.
NSW picking Mitch Moses is a wasted opportunity
Fair enough, it was closed and reopened. Reckon that wasn’t a bigger waste of time and resources than it just being sorted out straight away? The same people would have been re-interviewed, old evidence re-examined, likely requiring more trips for the IU from Sydney to the Gold Coast. This was a costly, time-wasting exercise.
Dave Fifita’s actions were a molehill, the club’s actions made it bigger than that.
It's not the crime, it's the cover-up: Why are the Titans getting off scot-free?
As for the Titans paying for the security system & it’s installation, is a no brainer, so they paid for it with Fifita to refund the cost to the Club. How is this different from a friend paying the initial costs & then being reimbursed by the culprit?
The club paid and then hoped it would all go away. Fifita only ended up paying for it because they got caught – that’s why it’s different.
As for addressing every other indiscretion by players at other clubs? I’ve only got two hands! But if you have a look through the archives, this is hardly the first time I’ve gone after an off-field issue on the basis the outcome and punishment was wonky.
And thanks for saying I’m better than this. I don’t know that I am, but it’s nice of you to say.
It's not the crime, it's the cover-up: Why are the Titans getting off scot-free?
Right, so you didn’t read the link: “The NRL Integrity Unit’s investigation is ongoing, but Fifita was expected to escape sanction given he was not charged by police. “However the NRL is now investigating a potential compensation payout…”
Regardless, four months is a bloody long time as well.
It's not the crime, it's the cover-up: Why are the Titans getting off scot-free?
The initial investigation was ongoing, then another layer was added in February when it was discovered the Titans had made the payment: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2021-gold-coast-titans-salary-cap-investigation-david-fifita-trespassing-incident/news-story/c7a6ef651ba205c03eefb26501e18348
If it was a cheap, easy process – a molehill – it wouldn’t have taken six months.
It's not the crime, it's the cover-up: Why are the Titans getting off scot-free?
Nathan Cleary didn’t face scrutiny from the MRC, who obviously decided it was an accident.
So when Cleary has pleaded guilty to kicking three people, as Munster has, we can talk “consistency”.
The new rule the NRL needs: Cameron Munster can't kick people
Cheap metres are earned by wingers and fullbacks, Klemmer is well ahead on the numbers that matter for a prop and his offloads were best in the game last year.
Stats matter. And for a prop, these are the ones that count – ask JFH.
Where's Klemmer and why Cleary: Two of my greatest gripes ahead of Origin
I’m saying that based on a sample size that’s more than fair, Nathan Cleary isn’t good at Origin footy. It’s pretty straightforward.
Thurston and Cronk got better, sure, but they also showed they belonged from the get go. It certainly wasn’t four series in before we saw anything half-decent from them.
Where's Klemmer and why Cleary: Two of my greatest gripes ahead of Origin
Did you read the numbers you typed? Like, do you see how NSW were ahead in all run metres bar G2 2018? Their post-contact are equal in terms of W-L (and NSW won G2 2019 by a mile). Qld only consistently won avg set distance, and averages don’t count for much if you make fewer total metres – they just suggest you didn’t have much ball.
So how are you getting NSW being “beaten” by those numbers?
As for Klemmer, one person’s stats are different to a pack or team’s – e.g. RTS is a genius whose numbers are consistently freakish but his club isn’t up to it. But you’d still pick Roger in just about any team.
Besides, the argument here is that Cleary has been behind a forward pack that got steam rolled. So is your point that he was brilliant behind a bad pack in 2018-19 but even his genius wasn’t enough to overcome the Qld dominance last year?
Pick your battles, dude. Maybe have a think about the numbers you use as ammo, too.
Where's Klemmer and why Cleary: Two of my greatest gripes ahead of Origin
Black and white is exactly how it’s supposed to be. Good enough or not. What rep player gets picked on the basis of “He’s not up to this standard, but…”
This year injury might be a reason to pick Cleary but after three years of him having never been dropped, it doesn’t really matter. He was always going to get selected.
He’s played more games than Keary, Walker and Reynolds put together. They all got dropped – so did Maloney, FYI – while we stuck with Cleary apparently because he was young.
Not the finished product? Needs time to learn? Will get better at this level? He’s had more of that than the other three.
As I said above, maybe it finally clicks this year but to date, it’s not a case of the jury being out or him being inexperienced, he’s just been crap at Origin.
Where's Klemmer and why Cleary: Two of my greatest gripes ahead of Origin
It’s okay, being the champ makes everything a little bit easier.
Paul Vaughan to the Bulldogs? Cool, see you in Round 9 of 2022