Welcome back, old friend.

The observant amongst you will have noticed that for a blog dedicated to rugby league for the past four seasons, there hasn't really been many posts on that given topic. Or any topic for that matter.

Thankfully that is all about to change.

Due to educational commitments my time over the past year and a half has been going into earning myself a shiny certificate from the worlds worst organised university. Needless to say entering a job market that has been one of the worst for a generation should give me plenty of time to write more about a passion of mine, and maybe even point this blog in the direction of a few potential employers as someone who is about to graduate with a journalism degree.


As part of the re-brand (so to speak) it's about time we caught up with the highlights of the action over the past twelve months.


Wigan dominated the 2010 season pretty much from start to finish. After their defeat at home to Huddersfield (where incidentally I pissed myself half laughing, half cheering when it meant the pies were denied the league leaders shield mathematically for another week) I said they would not go unbeaten for the rest of the season.


I was right in the sense that they went unbeaten for the remainder of the regualr season. However despite the loss of Danny McGuire early in the match, Leeds did the unthinkable and topple the league leaders away from home in the first round of the play offs. The rematch at Headingley two weeks later proved to be a one sided affair but it showed that despite their losses, Wigan are a remarkable side and Michael McGuire has done amazing things in the space of one season at the club. As expected, they went onto win the Grand Final over rivals St Helens.

Warrington shocked the attendants at Wembley by not only defeating Leeds in the Challenge Cup final, but by doing so with ease winning 30-6.


It was certainly a game to forget for those travelling down the M1, with 85,000 eagerly expecting a classic game of rugby league. It didn't come.


Warrington showed why they will be future Super League champions in that one game, ensuring the game was won before half time and the cup defended successfully. 


Many Warrington supporters will say their favourite moment of that match was Chris Hicks' try, as he plucked the ball from out of the air to score in the corner. For me it has to be Lee Briers' 40-20 halfway though the first half. I think even at that point, deep down, the game was won and Leeds didn't look up to the fight.

 Finally the World Club Challenge proved to be a disappointing affair again if you are a British supporter of the game. Or if you just love Wigan. 


After putting Sydney to bed in the 2010 NRL Grand Final, St George Illawarra came over to these shores for what the Aussie fans like to call 'a trial game.' 


In fairness to those convict armchair supporters, they do occasionally get things right. Wigan were outplayed from start to finish at the DW Stadium, despite winning 15-14 at half time. St George always looked the better side as they eventually wound Wigan down and kept restricting their field possession in the St George half of the field. It would have put a smile on Wayne Bennett's face, who had to fly back to Australia early due to a family illness. 


And that's your wrap of the key pieces of silverware that have been won over the past twelve months. I promise I'll update again soon, ta raa!

Copyright: Sky News, http://league.quins.co.uk 

Melbourne Storm - the immediet impact.

What a turn around for Melbourne Storm.

I don't think too many people expected a crowd of over 23,000 at the club's first home game since the scandal broke in the Australian media. On the day, many people threw down their memorabilia outside the club's HQ with emotions of anger, denial and depression.

Many expected this to be the end of rugby league in Victoria and Melbourne. It appears the exact opposite has happened, confirming that rugby league has a permanent home in AFL territory. Memberships for the club have surged at 100 per day since the news broke, with many of those who requested to cancel their membership having sent withdrawal emails asking to continue their membership.

This is fantastic news for the club and rugby league in general. Granted the club will not play for any points throughout the rest of the season (which is only fair as they are still over the cap) it seems the fans still want a rugby league club in Melbourne.

Overall its fantastic news for the short term future of Melbourne Storm. I'm fully hopeful the club can come away from the scandal better for it. The fans have shown their full support already knowing full well any future success from 2011 onwards will have been hard earned and honest.

The biggest news since Super League ruined the sport.

Wow!

Just, wow!

Rugby League really did produce one of those 'where were you when' moments. I remember where I was on April 22, when I found out Melbourne Storm had broken the salary cap and had been stripped of both NRL Premierships and Minor Premierships since 2006. I was being my typical student self. having just woke up, I switched on my laptop, accessed the News Now website and thought I had woken up on April 1.

I don't think there has been a punishment like it, and highly doubt there ever will be another like it. This was truly a once in a lifetime moment for rugby league fans in both Australia and across the world. On top of the stripped titles, the club will pay back $1.1million of prize money to be distributed between the 15 remaining clubs, and be fined $500,000.

To summarise, under the leadership of then chief executive Brian Waldron, Melbourne Storm operated their salary cap with two sets of books. One to show the cap invigilators, the other to show the real accounts for the club's finances. Once Waldron jumped ship to the new rugby union franchise in Melbourne, the new owners responsible for the running of the club blew the whistle and came clean. From what information was released, the club have over spent on the salary cap for the past five seasons, including a $400,000 breach in 2009, and a projected $700,000 breach for this season.

By all accounts it was a clever system, designed so that there was no possible way the NRL could discover it by themselves. It is also believed to the the brainchild of Waldron, and that none of the players in the past five years knew anything about it.

So where do we begin to dissect the news here?

Lets start with the punishment. Was it justified? Yes, it was. Is it fair on the players and fans? No, not at all.

The reason its justified is that as a club they cheated. Not everyone in the club was aware of the wrong doings, but the senior figures did, and as a result the club has been punished. However, it is deeply unfair on the players, who are only going to take whatever lucrative deal was offered to them individually. As a team and a group of mates, you do not talk about what each player is earning. Deep down you may know you aren't earning as much as the guy next to you, but it is never talked about. You get on with the job of succeeding on the field and playing well.

As for the fans, well they have been cheated. They have been royally screwed over by the club many of them have supported since 1998. The small consolation is, and this goes for the players too, David Gallop can never take away those feeling of joy that were being expressed on September 30, 2007 and on October 4, 2009. Whilst in hindsight those memories may now be tarnished, the thoughts back to that day will still live in the memories of players and fans alike.

NRL is back on our screens.

Forget trying to google a dodgy internet connection in order to see some live NRL action this year. The best domestic rugby league competition is back on UK screens thanks to Premier Sports.

Available to Sky subscribers only for the time being, Premier Sports looks like a re-branded version of Setanta Sports. The channel consists of plenty of Gaelic football and other Irish sports along side the weekly NRL matches.

Premier Sports will show three weekly NRL matches per week. But here is the good news for fans of the Australian game. Sky Sports will show the biggest five games in the NRL calendar. These games include the upcoming ANZAC Test match between Australia and New Zealand, all three State of Origin matches and the NRL Grand Final.

But here is a little tip. If you do not have Sky, Bet365.com and Ladbrokes.com are still streaming the non televised games live on their betting websites. All you have to do is register an account and your away. You don't even need to enter any credit card details in order for you to watch it. Simples.

NRL on the small screen - TV or PC?

Anybody been able to watch much NRL lately? Anybody aware the domestic season in Australia has even started?

Didn't think so.

Ever since the collapse of Setanta Sports a day before a crucial State of Origin game last year, the NRL has been shown on live streams via the Telstra owned Australian internet giant, Bigpond. It was very kind of them to allow us international based fans a chance to watch the greatest domestic league this sport has to offer.

Towards the back end of the season ESPN showed coverage of both elimination semi finals, and broadcast the Grand Final live in the early hours of the morning in the UK. That was the last time any NRL action was shown of British television screens. We are two rounds into the new season and there is no television deal that allows NRL matches to be broadcast of British television. It is a situation that should worry the NRL, as without good international figures it is another hurdle David Gallop must overcome if he is to negotiate a better domestic television deal with Australian broadcasters on behalf of all 16 clubs.

So far British fans of the NRL have had to settle for live streams via the internet, on either Bigpond or Bet365, who last weekend streamed live coverage for its account holders. Ladbrokes also did the same apparently for its own users. Their aim is to get its users betting during the match, but you can sign up and view via Bet365 without registering a credit or debit card. They do ask you to log in or register, but your account can be cancelled once a TV channel picks up the coverage. Not all games were shown on both websites, but there was a nice split with Bet365 showing Friday and Monday night games, while Bigpond showed every Saturday and Sunday games last weekend.

So while there is a legal way of viewing the NRL, this is a temporary measure. IMG Media have struck a deal with the NRL. IMG Media act as agent in order to try and sell broadcasters the rights to matches. It was IMG who sold the 2008 World Cup television pictures to broadcasters including Sky Sports in the UK and to the New Zealand sports channel by the same name. According to reports on another website, a deal in the UK is imminent.

I should stress a deal has been imminent for quite a few months now, so how imminent it will be before the pictures are shown on our screens remains to be seen.

Independent commission taking its bloody time.

Ever since Rupert Murdoch put his nose into the Australian game, things seem to have gone badly for the sport overall. News Ltd's interest in the sport sparked the Super League War, crippling the game in Australia and internationally setting it back years behind other sports such as the AFL and rugby union. While Super League and BSkyB's money on the other side of the world proved to be the ressurection what the game and the RFL needed, Super League has been a dirty word down under for the past twelve years. Many Australian fans feel News Ltd took their game away from them. A game based on community values, friendship and raw emotion.

Now after twelve years, News Ltd are willing to do some good for the game and sell their 50% share of the NRL providing the ARL sell their share. As a result a new independent commission is being set up (ironically with David Gallop and Colin Love at the head of it) to repesent the views of all 16 NRL clubs. The ARL is to be wound up and the money News earn from the deal will be pumped back into the game via the media conglomerate's own club, Melbourne Storm.

So finally it seems the game will be handed back to the clubs. The fans can happily wave goodbye to Murdoch and Co, while the clubs get to elect independent representitives to oversea the running of the game on a fair basis. Except, thats not whats happening.

The clubs want a bigger say in the way the profits are split, while ARL are being fussy over nominating two candidates for the new eight man commission. The way I see it, (and read carefully because this gets tricky) they want nominees from the New South Wales Rugby League and Queensland Rugby League and are rejecting News' offer. As a result, the 16 clubs are threatening to walk away from the NRL and set up Rugby League Australia unless the new commission is set up.

This is a blatent example of the way administrators shoot themselves in the foot. A good offer comes along that will eventually see the game being run effectivly for the first time in 115 years and our origina governing body throws out their dummy. No wonder the game is behind AFL and football. What is concerning is the proposed split that could happen on the 18th January next year. It would be the ikin to the Super League War, but with all 16 clubs walking away instead of oly half of them.

All the ARL have to do is nominate two candidates to sit on this new commission. Any two businessmen, or any two human beings. Hell, I'll do if they like. The last thing rugby league needs is another split twelve years after the last one (which may not happen until at least 2013 making it 16 years) and become further behind the AFL whilst it has to rebuild itself again. Its not fair on the players and its even more unfair on the fans who have had to put up with a lot over the last two decades.

NRL on ESPN.

ESPN will show the final three matches of the NRL finals according to rugbyleague.com.

No announcement has been made, as far as I'm aware, on coverage for the 2010 season. However, ESPN will show both Preliminary Final matches on the 25th and 26th September, with the first match being shown live. The Grand Final on 4th October will also be shown live at 7am.

This comes four months after Setanta Sports went into administration and ceased broadcasting less than 24 hours before the second of this years State of Origin game in Sydney.

While it was nice you could get a live feed via Australian internet provider, Bigpond, it was only a matter of time before the NRL secured a deal with a UK broadcaster to show NRL games. The UK has the biggest TV ratings for NRL games outside of Australia and the league will no doubt have wanted a TV company to show games from this season's competition sooner. But for rugby league fans in the UK, British-born or ex-pats emigrating, this is definatly good news providing you subscribe to the channel.

A brief lookback on 2009.

2009.

Eventful. Exciting. Pleasurable. And not without its fair share of controversy. So in the week leading up to the NRL play offs, its best to go over the highlights of what already has been a busy season so far.

I last left you in the aftermath of Martin Gleeson's transfer to Wigan, with a reported £100,000 plus Richie Mathers. I think its fair to say that for Warrington it was the deal of the century. While Mathers hasn't been the perfect fullback, he has performed above expectation considering what his form was like in Wigan's colours. Gleeson on the otherhand missed several games after their loss to Celtic and has done very little in the cherry and white overall since.

Speaking of Celtic, they're starting to remind me of the fictional Harchester United FC which was the focus of the TV drama series, Dream Team. Still only a baby compared to more established clubs, their catapult to the top flight in such a short space of time has seen them struggle to compete this season. An early Challenge Cup exit and with only three wins to their name in the league (Bradford, Wigan and Salford) they have failed to capture anyones imagination, especially the Bridgend locals if you were to read into their home attendance figures. Not wanted by many in Super League to begin the year with, their implosion will have no doubt put a smile on the fans of many Championship clubs. Espicially the fans of Widnes, Halifax and Leigh.
But the real drama occured in August when it was confirmed that no less than six of their first team players were to be deported on the basis of playing and staying in the UK on the wrong visas. The offence is estimated to have occured during the 2007 season in which Celtic were promoted to what was National League One. Captin Jace van Dijk, Tony Duggan, Damien Quinn, Darren Mapp, Mark Dalle Cort, and John Hannay are all alledged to have played under a working holiday visa illegally, despite this practise being allowed in the past and a UK Border Agency rule change preventing this practise between the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Who is to blame remains a closely guarded secret, which may be a first for Rugby League. This story has a million and one complications, as another semi proffesional club had, before the 2007 season, appealed to the UK Border Agency to let its players play under this type of visa and they were granted permission. This was reported in one of the trade newspapaers. So my own personal opintion of this is that is was an administrative error. Thats not to say Celtic shouldn't face the consequences whatever they may be, merely that they may have been careless in applying for visas for their overseas players.

Rugby League is never short of a scandal, and the Australian's have seen to it they are supplying more than their fair share of bad publicity. Countless players have been accused of assault, rape, disorderly behaviour and being intoxicated in a public place. In my opinion the media seem ot be having a field day with the NRL at the moment, reporting on every player that so much as sips a drop of shandy. And if, as an ex-player, you thought no one would expose the wrong doing you did during your day, you can guess again.
I honestly feel sorry for Matthew Johns. Not only has he lost his day job on Channel Nine, but he has no doubt had to relive memories and rebuild his family over events that have occured seven years ago while he was playing for Cronulla. The woman in question is no doubt cashing in on the story being sold to newspapaers. The original police investigation saw no one arrested or found guilty, so why she had to drag these events up is at this time is anyones guess. Although the timing is suspicious after Brett Stewart, Paul Gallen and others were accused of wrong doing in quick succession. Of course these stories do have consequences. I'm talking about the rumours that Coca-Cola were days away from signing a sponcership deal with the RFL to sponsor the Four Nations. League Express reported that a representative of Coca-Cola's visited Australia when a large proportion of player scandals were being unearthed and he reccommended that the multi-million pound company pull out of the deal. If I were Nigel wood at the time, I would have been furious as the RFL have done nothing wrong before the deal collapsed. Its merely Coca-Cola not wanting to tarnish their company's image by associating themselves with a sport that is in a bad light. But amazingly, I don't blame them for pulling the plug.

Now I think its time to talk about some rugby. Queensland secured their record breaking fourth straight State of Origin series win after game two in Sydney. Although in my opinion the player of the series was New South Welshman, Jarryd Hayne. For a player on the losing side, he was nothing short of sensational. A true inspiration which none of his team-mates wanted to follow. when it mattered, New South Wales were outplayed, out-enthused and showed no desire to perform at their best. Overall, NSW's performances can be compared to their captain's, Kurt Gidley. For two games he was more exposed and targeted than Katie Price's breasts on a nudest beach. And for the life of me, I cannot understand what goes on in a NSW selection commitee member's head. They chose to select both the ageing Trent Barrett and Brett Kimmorley in the halfs, while Peter Wallace and Terry Campese were there on merit what they did last season. For me, Jamie Soward can count himself unlucky not to be selected at five/eigth as he has clearly been the best number six in the NRL and as a result St George Illawarra have won the minor premiership, and are odds on to make the grand final.

But as for the NRL, fans in the UK have had a hard time of it over the past few months. Less than 24 hours before game two of State of Origin, Setanta Sports have the plug pulled on them by the administrators after the broadcaster spent millions of pounds it didn't have on football television rights. A well known internet forum almost went into melt down with fans desperatly trying to find illegal internet links that show the game. Thankfully Bigpond, an internet arm of Australian communications giant Telstra who sponsor the NRL itself, saved the day and showed a legal live feed for UK users only. And it would seem that until a UK based broadcaster is found, Bigpond will continue to show NRL matches live for UK users via the net on the following link; http://www.bigpondtv.com/nrllliveuk

More scandal involving rugby league, but this time it was the UK's turn to suffer the humiliation as Gareth Hock was found to have traces of a substance also found in cocaine in a urine sample he presented to random drug testers. Its not uncommon for rugby league players to take recreational drugs. Even the very best took them during their day, didn't they Andrew? Hock's only mistake was that he got caught and as a result he was banned for two years from playing the sport. However, I fail to understand why a young lad with a promising career in front of him would take such substances knowing he could get caught very easily. The RFL take cheating of this kind very seriously, as a result British Rugby League is one of the most scrutinous testers in the eyes of the World Anti-Doping Agency. There are people out there, not just youngsters, who would give their right arm to play Super League and yet Hock has thrown it all away with flour up his nose.

And finally congratulations must go to Warrington for winning their first Challenge Cup since 1974. Also Huddersfield must not be overlooked, as they have looked true dark horses in Nathan Brown's first season in charge, but on the day Warrington were the better side and such is the romance of the Challenge Cup that the best team on the day wins. Bt its seems to have been a year for unexpected successes. Both St George Illawarra and Canterbury have been fighting for the NRL minor premiership all year and as two of Sydney's most well supported clubs both teams successes have seen attendances rise in the NRL despite all the bad publicity. One only hopes that these two meet in the grand final because that is sure to be an exciting climax to the NRL season, and a match not to be missed.

Refereeing bathes in the spotlight.

It seems referees have taken the spotlight yet again over the past few weeks. While New Zealand, and in fact the rest of the world, were celebrating an Australian demise in Brisbane, Ricky Stuart was cursing and verbally abusing World Cup final referee Ashley Klien in a hotel lobby. Australian coach, Stuart, was unhappy with Klein's performance in the final while the rest of the 52,000 in Suncorp thought he had referees the game quite well and Australia had lost the World Cup fairly.

After such events, Stuart should resign as Australian coach as soon as possible and forever leave actions like this away from the international game. There is no place for verbal abuse at an official whether it be on the field, in the sheds or in a public place away from the stadium. A public apology is not good enough for a professional such as Stuart. He is a grown man and just because Klein is a Super League referee does not mean he should be put in the stocks. So to speak.

And on the subject of refereeing, the ARL's radical new attempt the introduce two referees on the field is gaining momentum. Yes thats right, two referees on the same field for NRL games. And while we're at it, change the play the ball to throwing it between the players legs in the middle of the field, bring the defence forward to only one yard from the "ruck", allow non ball handing attacking players to obstruct the defence and let attackers throw the ball forward.

Hang on, doesn't that sport already exist in America?

Anyway, two referees is not only pointless but also a pain in the anus. The reason we have one referee is so one man can call the decisions without consulting peers, therefore slowing the game down. Australian fans and critics have always complained about the game being slowed down, so why do they come up with ideas to make the problem worse? There is the argument that the referee has too much to look out for and gets offsides and forward passes wrong on a regular basis. But refereeing at a professional game is not difficult, as say, refereeing or umpiring any sport when assisted.

Here is the ideal scenario that the referee, touch judges, video referees and in-goal judges should follow. The man in the middle (wearing pink in Super League) focuses on the ruck and play the ball. He checks for infringement, if markers are square and correct play the balls. Touch judges check for offsides and forward passes. Both alternate tasks at half time, so one checks for offside and the other checks for forward passes. Simple. In-goal judges of course check for grounding of the ball and if a try has been scored while the video referee does the same job he has always done. While many want this technology scrapped, you must bear in mind the technology isn't getting the decisions wrong, its the person behind the red and green butons that is getting them wrong.

And on that note, there is no need for the NRL to bring in two referees. Whats Colin Love's number? Someone should let him know.

Manly put Melbourne to the sword - and stab them repeatedly .

The centenary domestic season came to an end on Sunday as Manly thrashed Melbourne 40-0 to become premiers for the first time since 1996. Brent Kite received the Clive Churchill medal after a domineering performance that saw Melbourne being pegged back time and time again. In my opinion, hat-trick hero Micheal Robertson should have collected it for himself. How often do you score a hat trick on Grand Final night? But there is no point in lingering over it, especially as any of the Manly seventeen could have easily done the same.

Although the scoreline didn't really reflect the story of the game, Manly were without a doubt the better side. At half time, the scoreline of 8-0 in Manly's favour and richly deserved. They battled on as a team and produced a well worked try that sent in Robertson for his first of the game. But as Phil Gould said on the Channel Nine telecast, the intensity in that first forty was little short of Origin standard. And it was brutal, but fair.

Specail mention is Irael Folou who was the Storm's only player who stood out. He was able to burst past Steve Matai twice in the game which Melbourne, on any other day, would have capitalised and scored. Not on Sunday. Not when Manly were as good as they were.

Matt Orford was worthy of a test jersey. As was Brett Stewart, David Williams, Glenn Stewart and Matt Ballin.

I feel for the person or people who will have to hand either Billy Slater or Brett Stewart that number one shirt. I believe it should go to Stewart, although thats not to say Slater didn't try. Slater himself had a pretty consistent game, but Stewart really did step up a gear. Twice he threw obscure passes that went straight to hand to give Robertson his first from between the legs of stewart, and a back-door pass to send Williams in with roughly ten minutes remaining.

So another season over for the NRL. And as ever, it hasn't lacked drama, works of genius and a little bit of magic.

NRL Grand Final.

There is more at stake than just a trophy for Billy Slater of Melbourne and Brett Stewart of Manly. Both players have been instrumental in getting their sides to the Grand Final on Sunday and now one must be ranked higher than the other with the best performer getting to wear that Australian jersey in Sydney on 26th October against New Zealand.

Quite often, selectors have chosen the more experienced player at international level, often believing that if they've done it once before then they can do it again. But in this case both players have been inseparable in terms of playing ability. Both can score tries, both can save tries and both have stood out time and time again.

However, the grand final does not rely on one man to win it for a club. It takes seventeen players each pulling their weight. Many seem to be in form at the moment with Matt Orford running the show. The Dally M winner hasn't let anything get in his way all year and is so influential to the Manly side. On top of that, Steve Menzies will say goodbye to the NRL after this game and will join Bradford for 2009. Hes a player who is as experienced as he is quality. Beating the club record, contraversially, for Manly most number of tries scored in a career last season, he will also hold the joint record for the number of apperances at first grade if he walks out onto the pitch on Sunday.

It will be a match that will be brutal, emotional and will provide plenty of drama. And will also give Manly another taste of success after twelve years waiting.

Goodbye, Sonny.

Finally the story of the year has come to a predictable end with the newly signed Toulon RU star agreeing a release from his Canterbury contract at the cost of $750,000. This in affect, closes the door on SBW participating in the world cup and any possible future back in the NRL even if he wanted to. With all the controversy that has surrounded the move, Sonny Bill will be about as welcome back in Australian Rugby League as an Englishman in a police uniform. On top of that, Canterbury have been successful in inserting a clause into Williams’ contract stopping him from playing in the NRL until 2013 leaving his options limited to Super League if he fails to make a success of the kick-and-clap game.

The move also puts an end to the court case that was being prepared while Sonny Bill was awaiting his injunction. As soon as the NSW court papers were in the hands of the former kiwi star, it was only a matter of seconds before he would ask, “How much do you want?” But crucially it spares the game from further embarrassment in the public eye, de-railing the NRL chiefs from selling a product that is by far the best in Australia. However before any of that is done, the NRL have to look at player salaries and the way contracts are structured.

While salary caps are set up in all four codes of football in the land of Oz, we are now competing with a global market whereas Soccer and Aussie Rules don’t compete with similar sports so its star names can use their skills elsewhere. Whereas the A-League only attracts footballers who can’t cope with a real contact sport and defunct legends on a nice retirement package, and the AFL is unheard of outside Australia, Rugby League is at a disadvantage to union down under due to its lack of worldwide appeal. If an NRL player wants to earn big money outside of Australia, his only option is half a world away in Super League. But even that has a salary cap, so to earn unlimited amounts of cash you have to look at either mainland European rugby union, or possibly All Black or Springbok union.

There’s no two ways about it though, NRL players are not earning as much as they deserve regarding their status as role models and their capabilities in endorsing products. Doing so can breach salary cap regulations but only from third party sponsors that already sponsor a player’s club. Relaxing these rules brings more money into player’s pockets, more interest from potential sponsors, more public interest in the game and therefore more money in the game overall.

Case closed, now where do I apply to takeover David Gallop’s job?

Sonny Bill is right to leave, but went the wrong way about it.

After watching Sonny Bill Williams’ interview on The Footy Show last night, I’ll swallow my opinions on his selfishness and greediness with a few finely cut slices of humble pie, after he left the NRL for a French rugby union side in Toulon. For the past two weeks SBW has been public enemy number one with both Canterbury fans, and fans of the NRL in general. Reporters, critics and fans have blasted the way he behaved by just walking out on the club days before he was due to play, and without notice to club officials, coaches or even teammates. But the reasons for his departure have never been clear. The assumption was, why would a player simply walk out on the NRL, especially as there is already a so called ‘player exodus’, without telling anybody, and especially if it didn’t involve a huge sum of money as it was days before Canterbury faced St George?

According to the man himself on the Channel Nine interview, he left for numerous reasons. The one that sticks in my mind the most is his criticism of Steve Folkes. Sonny Bill came out yesterday saying he was jumped on for associating with Muslims, such as Anthony Mundine. According to SBW, Folkes has said “Your not turning Muslim are you, your joking right? You’re kidding yourself if you’re taking advice off Anthony Mundine”. I agree with SBW in that Folkes has no right to “bag” Williams’ mates in that way. After which Williams’ decided to pick up sticks and move. It was his choice based on the treatment by a professional rugby league coach that was, if we are to believe SBW, totally unacceptable.

Now we all knew at the time St Helens had offered Sonny Bill a $1 million contract. How they could have afforded it at the time heaven knows, but what was leaked into the Sydney Morning Herald was a genuine contract, despite Saints’ claim it was untrue. However, SBW uses this as an example as to why he is not a greedy person and stayed on $400,000 a year with Canterbury.

Now I genuinely believe his excuse for leaving is legitimate. But I cannot understand why he left in the manner he did. He could have easily done what Jamie Lyon did in 2003. He was unhappy at Parramatta for one reason or another, he spoke to the club about his issues and the club released him. Now why didn’t SBW do that? Why didn’t SBW go up to whoever at Canterbury, said he wasn’t happy and the club would maybe sort things out for him and support him through whatever the problem was. But again, according to SBW, Todd Greenberg set the scenario that Rugby League is a business, and I have no doubt Williams’ felt the door was closed if he had a problem.

So what if Folkes is a “tyrant” and so what if Greenberg sees our game as a business? The players need to feel wanted at a club in a friendly environment and that all players are respected. But they cannot bottle it all up and walk away. They have to be vocal about their concerns and let people know how they feel in confidence. Sonny Bill failed to do that and now must face a legal battle that will bring both himself, and the game into disrepute. And because Williams walked out the way he did, he is public enemy number one. Its why he is $BW and Sonny ‘Dollar Bill’ Williams. While his actions were indecent, his reasons were justified.

Provisional Australian world cup squad announced for world cup defence.

The big news coming from the Australian provisional squad is that Michael Crocker and Danny Buderus are in it and are likely to participate in the world cup despite Ricky Stuart saying previously that he will not select those players fleeing away from the NRL. This is something I haven’t particularly liked about Australian selection policy of recent years. If a player is playing in Super League, he is automatically not selected and is typical of the Australian attitude towards the international game. While they can claim that it is difficult to monitor player’s progress on the other side of the world, it seems a very excuse to exclude a player who is possibly outplaying other NRL players in the Super League. But as well all know, the Australians don’t like the words ‘super’ and ‘league’ when used next to each other for several reasons that happened thirteen years ago.

However, in 2008 the Super League War is irrelevant and with the build up the world cup fast approaching, here is the squad that is likely to successfully defend the Australian crown, according to Fox Sports.

Braith Anasta, Greg Bird, Danny Buderus, Petero Civoniceva, Matt Cooper, Ben Creagh, Michael Crocker, Cooper Cronk, Ben Cross, Robbie Farah, Craig Fitzgibbon, Israel Folau, Paul Gallen, Kurt Gidley, Jarryd Hayne, Justin Hodges, Ryan Hoffman, Karmichael Hunt, Greg Inglis, Michael Jennings, Dallas Johnson, Brent Kite, Anthony Laffranchi, Darren Lockyer, Willie Mason, Joel Monaghan, Nate Myles, Luke O'Donnell, Josh Perry, Justin Poore, Steve Price, Scott Prince, Anthony Quinn, Steve Simpson, Billy Slater, Cameron Smith, Brett Stewart, Glenn Stewart, Brent Tate, Sam Thaiday, Johnathan Thurston, Anthony Tupou, Anthony Watmough, Carl Webb, Brett White, Craig Wing.

So out of those forty players, Ricky Stuart must pick thirteen to begin their world cup defence against Australia. Providing everyone if fit enough to play, your looking at this starting line up come 26^th October.

Billy Slater

Jarryd Hayne

Brent Tate

Greg Inglis

Israel Folau

Darren Lockyer

Jonathon Thurston

Steve Price

Cameron Smith

Willie Mason

Petero Civoniceva

Craig Fitzgibbon

Dallas Johnson

Karmicheal Hunt

Carl Webb

Danny Buderus

And one other, most likely out of Steve Simpson, Sam Thaiday, Luke O’Donnell and Ben Cross.

So while this was all happening down under, the Irish side named their forty man provisional squad. The big name in the squad is Brett White from Melbourne, who is about as Irish a Fosters. But then again, so is half the squad anyway.

Paddy Barcoe (Carlow), Dave Bates (unattached), Bob Beswick (Widnes), Damien Blanche (Wakefield), Declan Brady (North Dublin), Chris Bridge (Warrington), Mike Brodie (Treaty), Dave Buckley (York), Mick Cassidy (Barrow), Ged Corcoran (Sheffield), Gavin Dodd (Widnes), Lee Doran (Leigh), Liam Finn (Dewsbury), Simon Finnigan (Bradford), Karl Fitzpatrick (Salford), Dean Gaskell (Widnes), Stevie Gibbons (Carlow), Sean Gleeson, Jason Golden, Scott Grix (all Wakefield), Simon Grix (Warrington), Gareth Haggerty (Harlequins), Paul Handforth (Featherstone), Ben Harrison (Warrington), Graham Holroyd (Halifax), Wayne Kerr (Carlow), Stuart Littler (Salford), Tyrone McCarthy (Warrington), Shannon McDonnell (Wests), Michael McIlorum (Wigan), Shayne McMenemy (Western Reds), Eamon O'Carrol (Wigan), Kevin O'Rhiordan (Treaty), Michael Platt (Bradford), Paul Prescott, Pat Richards (both Wigan), Tony Stewart (Leigh), Ryan Tandy (Wests), Billy Treacy (Treaty), Brett White (Melbourne)

However, it is nice to see players being selected from the Irish Carnegie League. As this is a selective requirement put in place by the RLIF it comes as no real surprise. From a biased point of view, it is nice to see four Warrington players in there, including the injured Chris Bridge.

Make what you will, of his selection.

Sonny Bill’s empty threat fools no one.

Sonny Bill Williams (SBW) has reportedly threatened to challenge the legality of the salary cap in a New South Wales court. According to Fox Sports in Australia, this can have huge consequences across Australia’s four codes of football, league, union, AFL and soccer. All four codes currently regulate to a salary cap created by each governing body. But if SBW’s challenge were to be successful, it is feared clubs may cease to exist by putting themselves out of business striving to be successful. The salary cap was put into place to prevent such incident occurring as well as making the competition more competitive. However, it won’t just be Australian sports that will suffer. Its likely Super League players will also challenge, and then English union players will copy until it snowballs out of hand and all professional sport becomes like the English Premier League. It’s boring, predictable and with a few dominant teams.

However that’s worse case scenario. The reality is SBW’s challenge won’t get off the ground, which will leave him in a rut over his future providing Canterbury get a move on with this injunction preventing him from playing elsewhere but for the Bulldogs. His argument though, that the salary cap is preventing trade is not quite as bullish as you might think.

There is currently no limit to how much an individual player can earn from his employers (or club), however all twenty five squad players salaries must fit under the (current) $4.1 million salary cap. But each club must also spend a minimum of (again, currently) $3.75 million. These figures are per year, so for example, if a player signs a contract for $2 million over a four year period, then his basic salary for one season is $500,000. However there is a restriction to individual player sponsorship and endorsements. This is where I think these restrictions should be dropped for reasons I’ll explain later. A player can earn as much as they like out of third party sponsorships, except if the sponsor is already sponsoring the club the player is playing for. Therefore, the player’s earnings from that sponsorship go towards the club and player’s salary cap. An example would be, Cronulla are sponsored by LG, the mobile phone and electronics manufacture. If, say Brett Kimmorley was sponsored by LG then the money he earns from them goes towards the salary cap. If, however Brett Kimmorley were sponsored by Adidas that has no connection to the Cronulla club what so ever, he could earn as much as he likes from that particular company.

Now, back to Sonny Bill Williams. While I see his point that he is not earning as much as he would like and what he is probably worth, and I sympathise with him on that, but I see the salary cap as an essential form of keeping the competition stronger and keeping the clubs financially stable as they can be. But if the restrictions on player sponsorship were to be abolished, I very much doubt SBW would be in a rush to earn a few extra pennies and catch the next Quantas plane to France. The fact of the matter is, top quality players know how much they are worth and want to release that potential. And for the sake of the game, the David Gallop and the NRL need to realise that as well.

Why? Well this could be the key to the NRL’s recent problems. If a high profile NRL player is seen to be advertising or supporting a product, then people will buy that product. This is good for the company, as well as the player’s club attendances as people are more inclined to watch that player. Take another example. A youngster sees Darren Lockyer wearing a Nike shirt on telly, in the newspapers or wherever. That kid will buy that top to be like Darren Lockyer. He will then go and watch Darren Lockyer and boost the Brisbane attendances. It can even work the other way round. A kid sees a player in a recent NRL game and is amazed by what he sees. He, or she, then sees that player advertising a pair of trainers. The child buys that pair of trainers and, more importantly, keeps coming back to the player’s club to watch that player play. Obviously we have to start with what we have got, and that is using current competition and club sponsors who already have firm relationships with the sport. As the sport gets bigger due to increased attendances, public interest and whatever then the NRL branches out and looks for sponsors on a national scale, as opposed to just Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. By looking for sponsors nationally, the game generates interest in Perth, Adelaide and everywhere else across Australia and eventually making it a truly national sport.

So there’s your problem, Gallop. Let the players earn what they deserve, and you won’t be seeing the likes of Danny Buderus, Micheal Crocker, Micheal Monaghan and Matt King deserting your competition for more money and a better lifestyle in Super League. As well as that, you won’t see Mark Gasnier and Sonny Bill Williams drifting off to join French rugby union either.

Sonny Bill walkout leaves Rugby League in shock.

I had intended my next update would be summarising the aftermath of the Super League franchise announcement. However, that went ‘women’s breasts-up’ when I heard this on the build up to the Canberra V Gold Coast game via Fox Sports.

It has been confirmed in Australia that Sonny Bill Williams has walked out on the Canterbury Bulldogs, with reports suggesting that he is after a move to french rugby union Top 14 side, RC Toulonnais. The team, who have just been promoted to the French top flight after last season, are said to have, or about to offer up to three million Australian dollars to the Canterbury and New Zealand star. However, Todd Greenburg (Canterbury CEO) has said in a statement on the club’s website that they will file an injunction preventing SBW in playing for any other club if he does not wish to play for Canterbury anymore.

This comes weeks after Mark Gasnier left St George Illawarra for Stade Francais, another Top 14 side. With fears that too many of the NRL’s stars are leaving the competition for foreign soil, either Super League or rugby union, this announcement is only following the trend that has been plaguing the Australian game for the past two years, and no doubt reaching a new peak. But with one of the NRL’s exciting, dynamic and naturally talented players shifting shop to the south of France, the big bosses at NRL HQ must now react to this terrible emigration that is motivated by money and a change in lifestyle. But with strict rules governing player sponsorship and endorsements in the NRL on top of the salary cap, it was obvious players would pick up sticks and move away from the game to a competition where money is either no object, or is easier to earn and more is available.

Like I say, David Gallop and Colin Love now have to face the music and do something about this worrying trend before the NRL loses all of its top stars, and loses its appeal to the Australian public. Will they reduce salary cap and sponsorship regulations in favour of keeping its top players, or will they stick to their guns in favour of a more competitive competition but with fewer recognisable names? The NRL is in crisis, how will they react?

World Cup countdown enters double figures.

We are now less than a hundred days from England's world cup opener with Papa New Guinea. And with both Super League and NRL domestic competitions entering a very delicate stage with the play offs looming, competition for international honours will no doubt intensify. These next few weeks will decide if a player will or will not represent their country in the highest level the sport can offer. This may be due to poorer form than another player competing for the same shirt, or an injury.

England's Sam Burgess has already ruled himself out with a shoulder injury, and Darren Lockyer is looking doubtful to be 100% fit for Australia's clash with New Zealand on the 26th October at Sydney Football Stadium. And while Australia are 1/4 favourites to keep hold of their crown, this current stint beginning in 1975, they will no doubt be challenged all the way if they are to hold onto it yet again.

I for one, look forward to a tournament with a lot of pride, commitment, aggression and skill.

Focusing on Australia.

When I set this blog up, I intended it to cover all aspects of Rugby League. That includes foreign domestic competitions whenever any news should wind its way into my ears. But so far I have been increasingly taking any news from foreign competitions with a pinch of salt before turning the page in the League Express and start worrying about other things. This is especially true in the case of the NRL this year. So as Setanta Sports finally decide to show three regular season games for the first time this year in the build up to State of Origin II, I think its time I did a brief round up of how things are looking down under, starting with State of Origin II.

So it seems the Queensland selectors took my first piece of advice, drop Karmichael Hunt. Hunt has been selected to come off the bench for the maroons, probably to replace Billy Slater who somehow manages to keep the full back jersey. Steve Price meanwhile, is in for Carl Webb and a shuffle in the three-quarters means Darius Boyd is replacing Justin Hodges. But the big news is Darren Lockyer will play at five-eighth, however there is currently doubt over the fitness of Johnathan Thurston. Scott Prince has been drafted in as, what Mal Meninga calls “a safety net”.

South of the border, New South Wales were no doubt gutted to hear Jarryd Hayne will miss the second match and probably the series. Hayne received a three-match ban on Wednesday, which means he will have no chance of proving himself for selection in the lead up to the final match. Melbourne winger Steve Turner has been brought in to replace the Parramatta three-quarter. However the good news neutralises the bad, as Mark Gasnier was cleared to play centre for the blues after a hamstring scare. In the forwards, Craig Fitzgibbon starts at prop while Steve Simpson and Kurt Gidley will be benchwarmers for the second match. But after all of that I cannot see a blues victory, as the combination of Lockyer and Thurston will split the blues defence like an office paper shredder.

On the field, Sydney Roosters have had an impressive season after missing out on the play offs for the past two seasons. Brad Fittler showed last year his capabilities to be a coach guiding the Sydney side to a rather improved run of form compared to Chris Anderson’s. He has carried this on and managed to guide them to third place after seven games. Melbourne and Manly continue to dominate the head of the league ladder as well, just as they did last year but with more competition. Gold Coast have been the surprise form team this year in only their second season. Just missing out of the play offs in 2007, at one stage of the season they were leading the pack until a badly timed loss to Cronulla dropped them into joint second. Cronulla themselves were another side going strong in the early rounds of the competition, but never improved on early success slipping down a little before catching up with four other sides on sixteen points. Before the season started North Queensland were my tip for Grand Final glory. This seems to have been a mis-judgement as they are second to bottom above South Sydney, who are once again facing the wooden spoon after reaching the play offs last year for the first time since 1989.

Off-field its not good news for the Sydney clubs. NSW government has imposed new taxes, which are starting to cripple the leagues club’s income. Added to the factor of other laws such as a smoking ban and other similarities that are affecting British pubs in this country. League clubs are such a major source of income for Sydney based clubs due to the high amount of competition for supporters, as there are many different teams and sports going on in Sydney. Apart from the nine NRL clubs, there is the AFL’s Sydney Swans, Super 14’s New South Wales Waratahs, Sydney FC participating in the A-League and the New South Wales Blues in cricket. Although the last two are played in the Australian summer, it is still a burden on spectator’s pockets. So what do the Aussies do? Relocate a few Sydney sides? No. Do you not remember the ambitious idea Super League had in 1997? The three expansion clubs didn’t go down too well in Perth, Adelaide and Auckland. Melbourne came after the Super League War and, with league official’s brain in gear after successful attendances in State of Origin matches played at the MCG. But apart from stints eleven years ago, the ARL hasn’t really tried to expand the sport further apart than the eastern states. If the NRL were to relocate, the ARL has to start playing State of Origin matches in Perth, Adelaide and Darwin first, before setting up a club to locate there on a regular basis. But this is a complex idea for the stability of NRL clubs, whoever and wherever they may be. Not necessarily a solution.

Many happy returns to Australian Rugby League.

The best domestic competition in world Rugby League kicked off last week when South Sydney faced rival team Sydney Roosters. It was no coincidence that two of the Australian founder clubs (Roosters then being Eastern Suburbs) were to begin the centenary season down under. It was all smiles and jubilations as the two teams got stuck into each other like flour and butter. However, the injury to Craig Wing saw fans up in arms about the legality of tackling from behind. Wing was left with a dislocated shoulder after Riley Brown’s shoulder charge knocked it out of its socket. Now while this caused a stir, I stood back and looked at the tackle on a well known video sharing website. Having seen the footage that was broadcast on Channel Nine, the two Roosters’ players are about to complete the tackle when Brown hits Wing. Wing is crouched down attempting to get down and play the ball, but the only parts of his body touching the grass are his feet, added to the fact he is still moving trying to get to the ground. Therefore Brown’s tackle is legal, even if it is completely unnecessary.

The reason the NRL is the best in the world is due to brilliantly executed tries and humungous tackles. There is no finer example of huge hits than Josh Perry’s tackle on Ben Ross in the Manly V Cronulla match at Brookvale Oval. The tackle knocked Ross out cold and the Cronulla player missed the rest of the game with the possibility of missing at least one more. Perry however, did not come out of the tackle lightly. As Perry attempted to tackle Ross, both players clashed heads which is actually why Ross was knocked out. Perry came out of it with a nasty cut above his eye that was running with blood. In that match, Manly lost despite taking the lead. There was no real reason for them to lose it except Cronulla wanted to take the two points back to their beach. They basically played the better rugby after Ben Ross was taken from the field.

It was business as usual at Suncorp Stadium. Not for Brisbane, but for Penrith. They took the wooden spoon last year and look favourites to take it again after their abysmal performance against Wayne Bennett’s side, where Cory Parker broke the club record for the most number of goals scored in a single match. The second rower scored ten from ten beating Darren Lockyer’s and other former players’ record of nine from nine. Petero Civoniceva played against his old club for his new club and was the only Penrith player who had a half decent game.

Billy Slater’s hat-trick within twenty five minutes formed the foundations of a Melbourne win in their first home game since their Grand Final victory against Manly back in October. Played at the Telstra Dome in front of just over twenty thousand (making the overall attendance for an opening NRL round another record) who saw New Zealand Warriors fight until the death. The score line may actually look flattering to the New Zealand side, who had Steve price ruled out for eight weeks, as they struggled to compete with last year’s Premiers. Controversy was avoided just before the second half kicked off as Melbourne failed to return onto the pitch when the Warriors did, making the away side wait for the restart. New Zealand eventually made Melbourne wait for the kick off as they retreated to the sideline for a drink just as the home team walked out of the tunnel. The delay meant there was a half time period of just over eighteen minutes.

As it is Easter this week, Setanta Sports have delivered us English fans of the game a treat. There will be a double header on Saturday 22^nd March with Penrith taking on Canberra at 06:30 GMT, and Newcastle hosting Manly straight after until 10:30. As for the Sunday game, well no one seems to know. Setanta say they are showing Canberra V St George Illawarra (tough week for Canberra) while another site says SKY NZ will show New Zealand V Parramatta at a completely different KO time. Seeing as only one of those fixtures is right, I’d put my money on it being NZ V Eels. 02:45 GMT start, KO fifteen minutes later. But don’t hold me on that.

Aussie boss in criticising WCC shocker.

Craig Bellamy has done what all the other coaches in the NRL do at this time of year, and that is to criticise the current World Club Challenge format. Wayne Bennett did it last year and Tim Sheens did the year before and rightly so. The WCC is played at the wrong end of the year as many people have said because the start of Super League is five weeks before the start of the NRL. NRL sides are focusing on their domestic competition and not worrying about what is happening outside the eastern coast of Australia. The World Club Challenge has the potential to be a respected competition to find the best club side in the world, but are the RFL, ARL and RLIF actually doing anything about it? The answer is no.

And in fairness there are two sides to this argument. On the one hand the NRL Grand Final winners know they will be competing in the game five months before it actually kicks off so the “we’re unprepared” excuse flies right out of the window. The format was agreed by representatives of the NRL and Super League so when the match is organised these representatives should be echoing the views of the Australian clubs, not sitting in the corner staying silent while the clubs have to battle against the system each and every year. And let’s face it, if the NRL clubs were really unhappy about the format they would just boycott the event all together. It wouldn’t be the first time they Aussies have done things their way even if they weren’t successful at it. (The Australian Super League of 1997 springs to mind)

However there are factors that the Aussies try to blow out of proportion but they are very valid points non-the-less. For starters the match is always played on a bitter cold Friday night in the north of England. Not exactly the most attractive place to play Rugby League but this is because of SKY Television acting as puppeteers and controlling the RFL. However, the English cold is opposed to the Australian heat which isn’t exactly ideal Rugby League playing conditions either. As well as that there is the fact the teams have to travel half way across the world to play just one game and its always the Aussie clubs that have to travel. Why not those in Super League? Well, again the answer to this makes the competition a further farce. You see, despite the calls from Red Hall for the game to be played in Australia the RFL know it’s a good source of income for the match to be played in the UK. The RFL only concede major tournaments and matches that will get them money when common sense takes control. For example, it would be pointless to interrupt the ARL’s Centenary Season celebrations by hosting a World Cup on the other side of the world. Now the World Club Challenge has not been around and played as often for it to be given special celebration any time soon so it seems we could be stuck with it.

The idea that the game should be played at the end of the season is a sensible one. Both teams would be at peak match fitness having just played their Grand Finals. However for this to work, the NRL have to shift their season forward to accommodate this extra match and as not to overlap the international season which is also at the end of the year. But if I haven’t mentioned this already, the ARL and NRL fail to recognise Rugby League outside the eastern coast of Oz. They will run their competition as they like, organising fixtures and dates as they like and working them around Australian holidays if they so wish to do so.

So it seems the NRL won’t take the WCC seriously unless it is played at a different part of the year, but they won’t cooperate with the relevant governing bodies to see out these revolutionary plans of theirs that will finally decide in a fair manner who is the best club side in the world.

Their loss, I suppose.