Roar Rookie
Joined April 2019
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Will Dolphins star recruit Anthony Milford ever recapture the form that established him as one of the NRL’s leading men? After kicking off his…
The term ‘breakaway rebel competition’ is synonymous with rugby league, somehow permanently ingrained in the DNA of the code since its initial split from the 15-a-side code in 1895.
A few weeks ago AMD wrote a great article about the early history of determining the Sydney competition premiers, titled A forfeit, challengers and…
With the on-field action taking a back seat during the summer months, the headlines of the rugby league off-season are usually taken up with…
With limited opportunity for international rugby league to be played before next year’s World Cup, the Exiles look set to be brought back from…
The domestic season in the southern hemisphere might be done and dusted, but we're only just getting to the business end of what has…
In Round 3, the NRL boldly introduced changes to how ruck infringements are policed and reduced the number of on-field referees from two to…
After a weekend of runaway victories last week, Round 6 saw three matches decided by two points or less, the first extra-time finish of…
Round 5 of the English Super League saw four of the six matches decided by 20 points or more, with Leeds, St Helens and…
The World Club Challenge might have taken centre stage, but there was plenty of other rugby league action in the old dart over the…
Round 3 saw heavyweights Wigan and Saints return to form as a couple of upstarts from the early rounds were cut down to size,…
As the NRL sides toil away over the Aussie summer preseason the English Super League is already back in full swing. There was plenty…
It’s Round 24 of the A-League and with the whirlwind of the finals that is about to descend on the fortuitous top six, a…
It was Queensland’s first series win over NSW. Their win in 1922 was a one-off fixture while NSW had a few of their best out, but ’23 proved it was no fluke. Also unlike today Queensland had a livewire fullback in Eric Frauenfelder who caused NSW plenty of headaches
A footy flashback: 100 years ago in rugby league
Some of the media coverage has been over the top to say the least with some claiming that Walsh’s reputation is now in tatters. As others have posted here, the optics are poor for him but it’s hardly the crime of the century. If we were all judged so harshly for stuff we did when we were 20 there’d be a lot of reputations in tatters. Missing the chance to take part in an Origin cleansweep will burn deeply – it’s something only a select few players get to do in their careers – just ask Trevor Gilmeister who risked death to play in the ’95 dead rubber – the couple of weeks will do Walsh a world of good to freshen up and hipefully come back full of energy for the finals charge
‘Sometimes they never learn’: Reece Walsh cost himself Origin jersey - now he must show genuine change
There’d be an argument for changing game 3 if dead rubbers were generally poor spectacles but the fact is they’re usually still hotly contested. 4 of the last 5 dead rubbers have been decided by 6 points or less. The other issue is if the NRL wants to cancel the dead rubber then you’ve potentially got one state missing out on a home fixture provided the NRL wants to continue reaping the big bucks in selling an Origin fixture interstate. And state governments will be much less likely to want to stump up $8mil for a fixture that may or may not go ahead.
This year’s a bit unfortunate the way it’s panned out with a men’s dead rubber going ahead over a women’s decider but like the other posters here I believe the women’s Origin will expand to 3 games too, and this year will probably serve as the impetus to make it happen sooner
Cancel Origin III and let Blues and Maroons women's sides loose again to sort out who's the real winner
Shame he’s been rubbed out with a rare shot at an Origin clean sweep on offer but on the plus side for the Broncs he’ll get a few weeks to freshen up for the run home to the finals. There’s a real mental challenge for some of these young blokes to avoid getting burnt out once Origin’s come and gone, just ask Selwyn Cobbo
Judiciary hands down Walsh verdict over ref abuse - and it's not good news for Broncos and Maroons
Strange article. Since when was the Super League judiciary able to set precedents for NRL rulings anyway? The Walsh incident is worlds apart from the Griffen one
Judiciary hands down Walsh verdict over ref abuse - and it's not good news for Broncos and Maroons
Ennis was absolutely gushing in his praise of Moses after about 2 minutes of the game on Wednesday and wouldn’t let up u till the horse had well and truly bolted. I’d love to see DCE get picked for Australia just to see the 34-year-old claim back his mantle after losing out to the younger Cleary
KangaMaroons: Only a handful of Blues worthy of Test selection after Queensland’s Origin obliteration
There’s a some truth in that Cam. This might be going back a bit but I remember in 2000 with the boot on the other foot when the Blues managed their last clean-sweep that certainly wasn’t the case. The Broncos took out the premiership but guys like Tuqiri, Ikin, Carlaw and Campion couldn’t get a shot with the Kangaroos, while other Queenslanders such as McKenna, Hetherington, Price, Lang and the Smith brothers missed selection too. In all only 5 Queenslanders got picked for that year’s World Cup squad
KangaMaroons: Only a handful of Blues worthy of Test selection after Queensland’s Origin obliteration
Reyno’s played 14 from 15 games this year and has played 20+ games every season since 2016, he’s made the same number of appearances as DCE over this year and last so I can’t really see your point there. Alf came back to Origin at 35 playing on one leg and went alright, Reyno might not be Alf, but NSW strike me as a side that already has the talent across the park but could really do with his calm-headed leadership
NSW Origin II team: Hynes pays price for dip in form, Moses, Cook recalled, Pangai punted, rising stars to debut
Maybe, not sure if Reynolds and Wallace are the same class though
NSW Origin II team: Hynes pays price for dip in form, Moses, Cook recalled, Pangai punted, rising stars to debut
DCE’s got 2 years on Reynolds while Reyno is leading the competition frontrunners around the paddock, but apparently he’s past it?
NSW Origin II team: Hynes pays price for dip in form, Moses, Cook recalled, Pangai punted, rising stars to debut
Maloney was quality but he was prone to giving away cheap penalties, including in the Origin arena
NSW Origin II team: Hynes pays price for dip in form, Moses, Cook recalled, Pangai punted, rising stars to debut
From a Qld perspective I’m just glad NSW didn’t go with Reynolds who knows Walsh’s game and weaknesses better than most and as well as just every blade of grass on the Lang Park turf. He would’ve helped to take the edge off the hostile Qld crowd for his teammates too
NSW Origin II team: Hynes pays price for dip in form, Moses, Cook recalled, Pangai punted, rising stars to debut
If you’re judging on ’23 form the perhaps it’s a bit more even but based on form the last few years NSW have definitely held the upper hand talent-wise. The only QLD-eligible players (not including Cam Smith who was unavailable for Origin) to feature amongst the Daly M’s since 2018 have been Munster, Holmes and Papali’i
Chaos or calculated risks? History repeats with Brad Fittler’s constant selection gambles
Let’s not mention that “try” to Koroisau
Chaos or calculated risks? History repeats with Brad Fittler’s constant selection gambles
As a left field option Kobe Hetherington wouldn’t look out of place in a Qld jumper. Like Gilbert he’s a workhorse, mobile and doesn’t miss many tackles
Origin II predicted teams: Fittler fuming over Api's bad break as judiciary makes Tino call, another Blues hopeful goes down
Picking Reynolds and Hynes would make NSW far too likeable, let’s hope they stick with hotheads like Luai and Walker
Origin II predicted teams: Fittler fuming over Api's bad break as judiciary makes Tino call, another Blues hopeful goes down
Nice summary but I’m yet to meet any of these Aussies you speak of who are deriding what Ange may be about to achieve. Regardless of what happens at Spurs he will rightly go down as one of Australia’s greatest coaches/managers of any sport
Postecoglou is going where no Australian has been before - let's celebrate him
Maybe if Walsh had been lying on the ground unconscious then Luai might’ve got to him
'He's a bit weak ... I knew it was him because he ran away': Luai wants revenge for hair-pulling incident
Sailor could be a defensive liability and mistake-prone under the high ball early in his Origin career, his best football came at club level. It’s a shame he went to RU because we’d probably talk about him beyond doubt as one of Origin’s greatest now if he’d stayed
Queensland's Origin warriors: Players who were selected the most in each position
Agree RR, especially when the Broncs were handicapped by losing 5 of their best to origin you really can’t complain about a forward pass costing the Warriors the game. They had more than enough chances to win and just weren’t good enough
ANALYSIS: Depleted Broncos buck Origin trend as Reynolds inspires crucial win over Warriors despite last-minute drama
The kicking was patchy but creative at least. The chip and chase from inside your own 20 is a lost art in the modern game
Lessons from the 1989 NSWRL Grand Final: Mal's immortality, wingers being wingers, and buckets of sand
To generate some healthy financial competition perhaps the International Rugby League board can auction off hosting rights to the highest bidding Australian state. Qld will always stump up a truckload of cash for more rugby league, perhaps even opting for “magic month” by staging every fixture at Suncorp
France pulls out of hosting RLWC 2025 after government withdraws funding, with Australia lined up to step in
Golden point has ensured that the 1945 Balmain side’s record of 4 draws in a season will never be topped. Their home record for the season read 2 wins, 1 loss and 4 draws. Parramatta equaled the record in 1949 but played 4 additional fixtures
The rugby league records that will never be broken as Johnston closes in on Irvine’s mammoth try tally
South Sydney’s Les Brennan set a couple of records which will be hard to top: 29 tries in his debut season in 1954 when he turned out for 19 appearances, and a career strike rate of 1.33 tries per game across his 24 first grade games. Harold Horder holds the best strike rate for a player with over 100 first grade appearances with 152 tries from 136 games at 1.12 per game. If we include English footy Neil Fox’s career tally of 6220 points across 24 seasons will probably never be beaten. Alex Johnston will also still wind up a fair way short of Brian Bevan’s 757 career tries in just 670 appearances for Warrington/Blackpool
The rugby league records that will never be broken as Johnston closes in on Irvine’s mammoth try tally
By my count the Blues are up to 28 players used in the series, that’s got to be close to some sort of a record
Blues Origin III team: Fittler going down swinging the axe as besieged coach chops and changes in bid to save his skin