When the gloves come off on the court
A one-on-one combative exchange, where tempers can flare and personalities clash, it's no surprise that tennis is often compared to boxing. Thanks to the…
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League fan. Roosters supporter.
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A one-on-one combative exchange, where tempers can flare and personalities clash, it's no surprise that tennis is often compared to boxing. Thanks to the…
Sport demands a winner. It’s the pay-off we expect for the emotional investment we put into our team or an individual we follow. We’ve…
Are there are some sporting dreams that are just so big that nobody has the nerve to proclaim them? Take that rarest of birds,…
Margaret Court hurls thunderbolts. They used to be tennis balls. Now, they’re words laced with fire and brimstone. The same steely resolve she displayed…
As we take in the Australian summer of tennis this year, part of the coverage of each match will be the regular cut-away shots…
Before a single ball is struck in anger at this year's Australian Open, consider this: it is the only time of the year that…
It’s easy to forget that the Australian Open was once on the cusp of having its Grand Slam status revoked. In 1925, the International…
With State of Origin looming large on the horizon, and NSW supporters full of hope, what better place to start the countdown to Game…
Friday, September 11, 2015, Flushing Meadows, New York. Serena Williams has just won the first set 6-2 in 31 minutes, in her semi-final against…
As the world's tennis top players leave their footprints all over clay courts in lead up events to the French Open, there is one…
I know the first State of Origin match is still a good month away, but it's never too early to start contemplating Origin and…
The intrigue surrounding men's tennis at the moment is at an all-time high. We're in the middle of an extraordinary renaissance from Roger Federer,…
Barely five weeks into this year's NRL season and intrigue and imbroglio are running rampant – not least, within the coaching ranks. Rumour and…
Roger Federer's stunning win at this year's Australian Open was a magnificent and unexpected addition to his legacy. However at 35 years of age…
The Greatest of All Time - GOAT - is a debate in sport that inspires heated discussion and more often than not proves inconclusive.…
Apparently around 6 million people tuned in to watch Roger Federer play Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open men's tennis final last Sunday. One…
As another Australian Open beckons, let's spare a thought for Ken Rosewall – the oldest man to ever win the event, the best tennis…
We all have favourite players we love and revere. These bonds are unbreakable and are forged within single moments that stay with us forever.…
Through nothing more than the circumstances of geography, as a small boy in 1975 my team was the Eastern Suburbs Roosters. That year they…
Now that the State of Origin dust has well and truly settled, with the focus back on the run in to the NRL finals,…
“Josh Dugan made his return for the Sharks on Sunday afternoon and is likely to take one of the centre spots being an incumbent with plenty of experience…”
If Laurie Daley was still the coach, I’d agree with this. But analysing Fittler’s comments over the last few weeks, Dugan will not be selected. He’s part of what Fittler is intent on removing from the Blues.
Eleven talking points from NRL Round 11
Maybe it’s just me, and no offence to either Croker or Scott, but does anyone seriously think Fittler would choose either of these guys? Then again, Gus has been hinting that we have no idea of the surprises in store from Fittler with his ‘wipe the slate clean’ approach he’s apparently going to take.
Cronk: Mitchell is ready to make the step up to Origin
Ok, but other than this, he’s a clean skin skin right?
Sorry Israel, I don't want you back in the NRL
Has the referee’s boss announced who will be coming into grade this week to replace Smith?
Cam Smith cops NRL ban for 'wishbone' tackle
They say there’s a very thin line between satire and truth – and I think this article proves it….
Queensland’s preferred Blues line-up
Couldn’t agree more on Graham – he’s part of the ‘poor character’ group that Fittler keeps alluding to. If Fittler ends up picking him and Blake Ferguson, he loses a little credibility in my eyes based on what he’s been sprucing leading up to this origin….
Mystery surrounds Jack de Belin's injury with Origin weeks away
Hey TB,
Have you got an opinion on moving Hopate to 5/8? He looks the goods to me.
Brisbane Broncos vs Canterbury Bulldogs: NRL live scores, blog
I don’t think you can lump Dean Pay in as part of the argument being put forward for the Bulldogs. He inherited this team and to me (and I’m not a Bulldogs supporter) its seems obvious that this year the Dogs are playing way better than last year. They actually are starting to resemble a team and getting back to playing some decent footy (granted, it’s still not consistent). Hasler did a lot of damage at the Dogs (not just with his contract shenangans) and I think Dean Pay is doing a pretty good job.
Has your club backed the wrong horse in 2018?
If the Dragons don’t get the following players in the Origin team then Freddie Fittler’s name is Laurie Daley:
Jack De Belin
Tyson Frizell
Tariq Sims
Paul Vaughn
Cameron McInnes
and you can throw Ewen Aitken in as a roughie.
Ben Hunt has surely got to get the nod as half.
The players who should miss out on form?
Cordner (but being the captain will save him)
Jackson
Klemmer
Graham
Woods (though in his last two games he seems to have come good).
As far as the Roosters are concerned, some of Trent Robinson’s coaching deficiencies are coming to light. He’ll be under pressure to persist with Jake Friend. Friend’s service out of dummy half is rubbish. A couple of years ago he was the Rooster’s best player. Now it looks as though he’s suffering a case of the ‘Aiden Guerras’ – and he’s taken over the mantle of the tiredest looking man in the world…and the rush ups out of the line (twice!) on Hunt was just dumb.
If the Roosters don’t drop their outdated structured form of attack they’ll finish the year around 6th or 7th at best and be out of the finals after Week 1.
Trent, it’s not that hard. Let JWH offload the ball and develop and encourage Matterson and Taukeiaho to offload and create some 2nd phase and have Teddy and Lattrell trailing up the middle.
Top five players in Dragons' Anzac win
…and the resemblance between Poppa Clay and Widdup is uncanny….
James Graham was lucky to be punted by the Dogs
Hadley has only one agenda – and he’s at the top of it. To get an idea of how self absorbed and ego centric this guy is, just listen to how he calls a game of footy on television (thanks to the geniuses at Channel 9). Everything is prefaced or commented upon based on himself and his irrelevant observations. He’s so far up himself, he’s got no idea how he comes across. Has anybody happened to have heard if he’s made a comment about Parra’s win on the weekend?
In defence of Brad Arthur
You’ve got to love the Roar and Rugby League. Where else would a side thread like this develop!
You think Billy Slater’s a grub - get over it
There should be a second contingency press corp. What they could do is hover off to the side of the regular press conference and when it’s over they could stalk the numbnut journos who ask these type of questions and grill them – could be quite amusing to watch.
WATCH: Broncos coach Bennett walks out on media
“Last night Aaron Woods was upright in the tackle and trying to offload as defenders looked to wrap him up. The ball bobbled about and Woods was adjudged to have knocked-on, which you could perhaps make a case for… except that Woods was facing his own try-line.”
I’m no expert here, but I thought that it’s still possible to knock-on if you’re facing your own goal line – if the ball is propelled towards your opposition’s goal line, even if you’re facing your own goal line, I believe this would be legitimately ruled as a knock-on.
Rugby league is not a rubbish game, it doesn't know what it is
When I think of Wally Lewis, I don’t think of his crap years at the the Gold Coast, so I don’t agree that he tarnished his reputation. When we think Lewis we still think of his Origin brilliance, immortal etc etc
The other champion from another sport worth bringing up to showcase the other side of the argument is Roger Federer. He was pretty much being written off around 2013-2015…same arguments about a tarnished legacy. Now look at him.
Thurston can do the same, as long as he has the desire and only he knows that.
Time for Thurston to retire – before it's too late
TB, it’s not often that I find myself disagreeing with your usual measured and well thought through observations, but I take issue with your description of Slater’s dive as ‘Chaplin-esque.’ I’ve studied the footage more than a dozen times and it’s more Buster Keatonish with a scintilla of Arbuckle sitting just below the surface.
You think Billy Slater’s a grub - get over it
A lot of these guys are way past their use by date. Rothfield is a disgrace and his mate Paul Kent isn’t much better. There’s no substance to what they write or say.
I’ll give you an example. On the weekend Paul Kent was asked on Triple M if he thought James Roberts was a chance for the NSW State of Origin team. Kent answered that if Fittler was genuine about changing the character of the NSW team that he should leave players like Roberts, who have a reputation for poor behaviour related to booze, out of the team. Kent was then asked who he thought should play in the centres. He answered Dugan! These guys have got no idea about what’s coming out of their mouths. The most frustrating thing was the moron on Triple M who asked the question, didn’t even pick up on the stupidity and hypocrisy of Kent’s answer. These are our Rugby League media experts. What a joke!
Let's stand by Todd Greenberg and #TalkTheGameUp
As a Roosters fan, I hope that if Robinson sorts out the issue with the forwards, he then starts thinking about a strategy that utiises the attacking weapons in his side – Tedesco and Mitchel. A good start might be getting the ball in their hands – and wouldn’t it be great if we had a forward with an off- load in him…..the mind boggles
It ain’t rocket science Roosters, the speared Sharks and the Storm back in the eight
Isn’t Billy Slater just doing what the Storm have done so well for over 10 years? He’s pushing the envelope as far as he can, and if the referees take no action, he’ll continue to do so. We get caught up in the ‘spirit of the game’ thing, but the fact is that some abide by it and some don’t. Melbourne never has. Until something has been deemed illegal, everything’s fair game. I don’t necessarily agree with it, and at the end of the day we all make a judgement on the character of people based on our own principles. That’s what Sterlo was doing. I personally applaud Sterlo’s stance and it will be interesting to see if Slater now pulls his head in, or if faced with the same situation, continues to milk the situation. Leopards don’t change their spots.
Slater's dive claims split NRL opinion
Hadley’s whole life is run on an agenda. He has no credentials except as a belligerent, bellicose, loud mouth pea-heart whose natural instinct is shout louder than the next person to prove he’s right.
He’s as dumb as a door and his comments are without any verification and designed to further advance whatever screwed up opinion he happens to be fixated on.
If the Parramatta Eels lose Brad Arthur, they lose me
No one will ever be as good so young and as good so old as Rosewall – a freak who deserves more acclaim in the pantheon of greats.
Can Roger Federer emulate the longevity of Ken Rosewall?
Yep…can’t remember seeing a more limited back line player for a long time. Can’t pass/won’t pass, predictable , has the vision of Stevie Wonder, and injury prone – and these are just his strong points.
How does Josh Dugan keep getting selected?
Out of all the candidates,I reckon Dean Pay, the outsider, ticks all the boxes and comes with the least amount of baggage and is the most likely character to implement a most sorely needed ‘no dickheads’ policy and start building a team based first and foremost on character – I can see him picking the likes of Nathan Brown and Dale Finucane and leaving out the likes of undisciplined egos like Wade Graham, Jarryd Hayne, Dugan, Ferguson etc
Andrew Johns, it is time to put up or shut up
Dugan is one of the most ‘limited’ upper echelon players going around. He has no football smarts or vision, which for a full back is a problem. His best attribute is getting the ball out of the dead ball area from a bomb but after that there’s not much happening. Why Daley kept sticking with guys like this is another mystery, but now that Daley’s been moved on, we at least we don’t have to keep pondering this one.
Has Josh Dugan played his last game in the Red V?
There’s no way Fittler will pick Dugan. Fittler is after ‘footballers’ rather than lumbering pick bodies who can’t pass. It’s also why he won’t pick Ferguson.
Latrell Mitchell and James Roberts show Freddy it's their time