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73 Articles

Editor’s Note North Queensland revels in success

WHAT a year for the city of Townsville! The North Queensland centre laid claim to being the number one rugby league city in Australia in 2015 after a season of unprecedented success. Townsville boasted the premiers in the NRL after the Cowboys’ sensational grand final victory over the Broncos; the runners-up in the Intrust Super Cup premiership (Townsville Blackhawks); preliminary finalists in the Holden Cup; NRL Club Champions; National Under-16s and Under-18s finalists and the national schoolboys champions (Kirwan State High). Almost a century ago the city of Toowoomba boasted they were the centre of the rugby league universe after beating all comers including Sydney premiers South Sydney and the touring Great Britain team; while Newcastle claimed a similar standing after knocking over Great Britain in 1962 and then upsetting St George…

Editor’s Note North Queensland revels in success

JOHNATHAN THURSTON OPPOSITION clubs take note: There doesn’t seem to be much chance Johnathan Thurston will rest easy now he has steered the Cowboys to a premiership victory. It is not that he is greedy or that he covets the silverware or acclamation. It is all about the challenge. How else can his 33 consecutive State of Origin appearances be explained, or his decade-long reign in the Australian Test team? Thurston views the challenge ahead and sets about achieving it. Next year the challenge will be to achieve back-to-back premierships, a feat that has eluded every premiership winner for the past 20 years. Having achieved his dream of a title with the Cowboys is not likely to diminish Thurston’s hunger to succeed. He showed no sign of shrinking to the challenge in 2015, despite…

1989 Players of the Year: Gary Belcher, Bradley Clyde, Mal Meninga, Gavin Miller, Kerrod Walters. Team of the Year: Gary Belcher (Canberra); Michael Hancock (Brisbane), Tony Currie (Brisbane), Mal Meninga (Canberra), John Ferguson (Canberra); Phil Blake (Souths), Ricky Stuart (Canberra); Steve Roach (Balmain), Kerrod Walters (Brisbane), Glenn Lazarus (Canberra), Paul Sironen (Balmain), Gavin Miller (Cronulla), Bradley Clyde (Canberra). 1990 Players of the Year: Gary Belcher, Glenn Lazarus, Cliff Lyons, Mal Meninga, Peter Sterling. Team of the Year: Gary Belcher (Canberra); Michael Hancock (Brisbane), Mal Meninga (Canberra), Andrew Ettingshausen (Cronulla), John Ferguson (Canberra); Cliff Lyons (Manly), Peter Sterling (Parramatta); Steve Roach (Balmain), Ben Elias (Balmain), Glenn Lazarus (Canberra), Paul Sironen (Balmain), John Cartwright (Penrith), Bob Lindner (Wests). 1991 Players of the Year: Greg Alexander, Bradley Clyde, Allan Langer, Ewan McGrady, Mal Meninga. Team of the Year: Michael Potter (St…

Team of the Year BIG NAMES PIP THE PREMIERS’ PLAYERS

PREMIERS North Queensland managed only two places in our 2015 Team of the Year. Only halfback Johnathan Thurston and second-rower Gavin Cooper forced their way into the 13 we determined was the pick of the season, based on form throughout regular competition, finals and representative arenas. But that is not to say the Cowboys did not have a host of contenders. Leaving out prop Matt Scott, for instance, is hard to justify and not being able to find a position for five-eighth Michael Morgan just doesn’t seem right. Lachlan Coote put his hand up for fullback and Jake Granville pushed for selection at hooker but neither could displace more illustrious rivals. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, for instance, was impossible to overlook for fullback after transitioning from the wing with such distinction at the…

Team of the Year BIG NAMES PIP THE PREMIERS’ PLAYERS

2016 PLAYER TRANSFERS

THE biggest news on the player transfer market happened relatively late when South Sydney boomed the re-signing of Clive Churchill Medal winner Sam Burgess just as most teams were preparing to launch into pre-season training. The return of the dual-international could be a game-changer for the Rabbitohs who went off the boil late in the 2015 season and were desperate for reinvigoration. Cross-town rivals Manly have been the most active in player recruitment, adding a number of leading players to their roster including Martin Taupau, Lewis Brown and Nate Myles, while offloading an array of talent. Premiers North Queensland have not added to their roster for 2016, however they have managed to retain their entire grand finalwinning squad from 2015 which is a rare feat in the modern day. The arrival of world-class…

2016 PLAYER TRANSFERS

HOW FAR THEY’VE COME

WHEN Johnathan Thurston kicked the golden-point field goal to secure the 2015 premiership for the North Queensland Cowboys, it was a triumph for the club celebrating its 21st year in the national competition. It was also the culmination of 101 years of rugby league history in a vast region of Australia that is truly a heartland of the game. Stretching from Sarina (and Rockhampton) to the tip of Cape York Peninsula and the Torres Strait Islands, west to Longreach, Mount Isa and the Northern Territory border, North Queensland is a vast part of Australia. The region’s geography varies from lush tropical coastal rainforest, a stepping-stone to the Great Barrier Reef, to the dry west with communities including major centres and regional towns. The ‘North’ has a unique character springing from these…

HOW FAR THEY’VE COME

Gallipoli frontline telling from a true league man

PERSONAL accounts of the soldiers of the Gallipoli campaign began to appear in Australian newspapers from early June 1915, more than a month after the original landing. Most took the form of letters to loved ones “reproduced with permission” and provided readers with the unequivocal truth of the desperate battle to gain a foothold on the peninsula on April 25. Those at home had read the first eyewitness accounts of the landing from British war correspondent Ellis Ashmead Bartlett, whose descriptive narratives were reproduced from London’s Daily Telegraph. Reports from Australia’s own official war correspondent Charles Bean appeared a few days later. Their accounts filled in many of the gaps for families and loved ones desperate for information from the front. Earlier reports were heavily censored, lacked hard facts and were…

Gallipoli frontline telling from a true league man

The Conlin injustice

CENTRE Arthur Conlin, who captained the Rabbitohs to their first two premiership titles in 1908 and 1909, has been denied his due recognition as a Test player, all because of a clerical error and confusion over his name. Until relatively modern times it was newspaper convention to name a person by initial and surname, so when A. Conlin was listed in Australia’s centres for two Tests against New Zealand in 1909, most observers believed it was the same A. Conlon who had toured Great Britain with the first Kangaroos of 1908-09. Newspapers were notorious for errors in names – often the result of transcribing lists hand-written by a club official. Some publications, such as sporting newspaper The Referee, attempted to set the record straight. In June, 1909, Hunslet wrote that “A. Conlin,…

The Conlin injustice

HAROLD ‘MICK’ CROCKER (1927-December 11, 2014) A champion lock forward or second-rower of the 1950s, Crocker was a key figure in the famous Test match won by Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on July 22, 1950 when the Ashes were prised from Great Britain’s grasp for the first time in 30 years. The Souths Brisbane forward debuted in the second Test in Brisbane when Australia squared the series with a 15-3 win then held his place for the decider, played on a quagmire surface in Sydney. With only minutes remaining, Crocker figured in the passing movement that led to the only try of the Test, scored by lanky winger Ron Roberts. Crocker went on to play 17 Tests for Australia, toured with the 1952-53 Kangaroos and played in the inaugural…

RETIRING PL AYERS 2015

Justin Hodges (Brisbane) Played 251 NRL games for Brisbane (2000-01, 2005-15) and Sydney Roosters (2002-04); won grand finals with Sydney Roosters (2002) and Brisbane (2006); played 24 State of Origin games for Queensland (2002-04, 2006-09, 2011-15) and 13 Tests for Australia (2006-09, 2011-13). The chance for Justin Hodges to end his career on the highest note possible disappeared in the dying seconds of the grand final, but Hodges handled the disappointment with class. He was among the first to congratulate close friend Johnathan Thurston on his success and one of the first to console team-mate Ben Hunt after his fortunes soured in the final stages of the decider. Hodges had his farewell from State of Origin months earlier, celebrating an epic Maroons performance in front of family and friends at Suncorp Stadium.…

RETIRING PL AYERS 2015

State of Origin

GAME 1: QUEENSLAND 11, NSW 10 Maroons draw first blood in close encounter WHEN it came to the crucial result-determining plays of State of Origin I, the Blues showed they still had some way to go to match the Maroons for control and execution – and that was the difference when the series kicked off at ANZ Stadium. The Origin ethos is to never give an inch and never give in and for more than 70 minutes it was observed equally by players from both states in a typically ferocious, frantically paced encounter that headed towards full-time with the scores locked at 10-all. After dominating possession and field position in the second half, Queensland made an admission with 10 minutes remaining that they were struggling to find a way through the Blues’ line…

State of Origin

IF New Zealand’s victory over Australia in the 2015 Anzac Test confirmed anything it was that Australia’s 42-year domination of the international game was at an end. Fresh from winning the 2014 Four Nations series, the Kiwis claimed their third consecutive win over their Trans-Tasman rivals, a feat not achieved since 1952-53. There were some doubts over the validity of the Kiwis’ 2014 win given the high drop-out rate from the Australian line-up. Missing from that Australian team were players of the calibre of Johnathan Thurston, Justin Hodges, Nate Myles, Brett Morris, Josh Morris, Matt Scott, Paul Gallen and James Tamou. This time there were no excuses as Thurston, Scott, Myles and Tamou returned to bolster an impressive looking Australian team. The line-up included newcomers Josh Dugan and Trent Merrin (St George Illawarra),…

COUNTRY 34, CITY 22 Halves hopefuls give their all A series of impressive performances by five-eighths and halfbacks in the City-Country clash at Wagga Wagga provided further food for thought for New South Wales coach Laurie Daley as he continued to wrestle with options ahead of the opening game of the State of Origin series. After the Blues’ breakthrough Origin success in 2014, questions over the halves created more discussion than any other position within the New South Wales team. Incumbent halves Trent Hodkinson and Josh Reynolds had support for a recall, but the fact the Blues scored only four tries for the entire 2014 series left question marks over the credentials of the Canterbury pairing. Daley had offered a pointer to his considerations by quarantining Hodkinson and Sydney Roosters halfback Mitchell Pearce…

PRE-MATCH forecasts that a giant NRL All Stars pack would steamroll a ‘weak’ forward division were shredded in 80 minutes by Laurie Daley’s committed Indigenous All Stars outfit. Despite the absence of internationals Greg Bird, Andrew Fifita, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs and Sam Thaiday, the Indigenous pack matched the NRL All Stars blowfor-blow and proved that when put to the test, motivation can mean more than muscle. Daley’s team was inspired by the week’s build-up, in which they mixed with Indigenous youth and reinforced important messages of health and education. They were moved by the level of support at Cbus Super Stadium and were determined to give their fans reason to cheer. Unlike previous All Stars games in which both teams were chosen by public vote, the NRL outfit was hand-selected by coach Wayne…

Eden Park, January 31, February 1, 2015 Bunnies bounce to another title SOUTH Sydney and Cronulla produced an exhilarating climax to a weekend of highenergy football when their showdown in the final of the second Auckland Nines tournament was forced into overtime. The Rabbitohs had been largely untroubled in their run to the decider and looked headed for another comfortable win when they scored on half-time to lead 10-4, but the Sharks—chasing their first silverware since they won the Amco Cup midweek competition in 1979—refused to wilt. They stuck close to Souths through the second half and when rookie Jack Bird scored from an intercept in the final minute, winger Valentine Holmes was left with a high-pressure conversion attempt from the corner to draw level. He made no mistake, creating the first…

World Club Challenge World Club Series

SOUTH SYDNEY 39, ST HELENS 0 Premiership defence starts in right fashion SOUTH Sydney continued their strength-tostrength ride following their grand final triumph of 2014 when they accounted for St Helens by a record margin in the World Club Challenge showdown at Langtree Park. Grand final hero Sam Burgess and another former team-mate, Ben Te’o, may have watched from the stands (sitting alongside co-owner Russell Crowe), but the Rabbitohs showed no signs of vulnerability as they eclipsed the British Super League champions in a spellbinding display. Halfback Adam Reynolds landed a field goal with two minutes remaining to lift the Rabbitohs clear of the previous 38-point winning margins achieved by Melbourne over St Helens in 2000 (the Storm won 44-6) and the Sydney Roosters, also against St Helens in 2003 (the Roosters won…

World Club Challenge World Club Series

England-New Zealand Test Series

First Test: ENGLAND 26, NEW ZEALAND 12 Hosts draw first blood after falling behind early ENGLAND’S hopes of restoring their pride in international rugby league appeared grim in the early stages of the series-opening first Test at Hull when the Kiwis charged to a 10-0 lead inside the first 20 minutes. Stephen Kearney’s New Zealand team had travelled to the UK without a tranche of star players including Golden Boot winner Shaun Johnson, Kieran Foran, Simon Mannering, Manu Vatuvei, Jason Taumalolo, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Elijah Taylor, all of whom were rehabilitating after injury. But Kearney’s makeshift team, which included Manly centre or winger Peta Hiku at five-eighth and Warriors rookie Tuimoala Lolohea at halfback, made a difficult task look easy in the opening stages as they rolled through the England defence for…

England-New Zealand Test Series

NOVEMBER November 25 Wandering no more Lyall Gorman, former chairman of A-League club the Western Sydney Wanderers, is appointed CEO of Cronulla. November 30 Still on top Australia top the Rugby League International Federation’s world rankings despite their loss to New Zealand in the Four Nations final. Australia are ranked first ahead of New Zealand, England, Samoa, France, Fiji, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, USA, PNG and Italy. DECEMBER December 2 Looking ahead An NRL committee—including CEO Dave Smith, ARL Commission chairman John Grant and past and present coaches—presents a statistical projection of rugby league in 2024 to the game’s competition committee as they consider ways to help shape the game over the next decade. December 8 Rules revamp considered The Daily Telegraph reveals the NRL’s rules and competition committee has proposed a series of radical changes; including four 25-minute quarters,…

One wild night in Arizona costs captain Sutton

January 20 A change at the top South Sydney coach Michael Maguire appoints Greg Inglis as captain for 2015, replacing John Sutton, who becomes the first premiership-winning skipper since Wests Tigers’ Scott Prince in 2006 to be replaced before the start of the next season. February 8 Bad boy Bunnies Reports emerge that John Sutton was stripped of the captaincy after a bar-room brawl involving former teammate Luke Burgess during the club’s high-altitude training camp in Arizona during November. The Rabbitohs are criticised for not making the incident public but are cleared by the game’s Integrity Unit, having informed it of the incident “as soon as it happened”. Sutton and Burgess reportedly spent the night in an Arizona cell but charges against the pair were withdrawn. February 10 Nothing to hide Former South Sydney CEO…

One wild night in Arizona costs captain Sutton

March 6 Double blow to open Manly’s season begins on a disastrous note when they are crushed 42-12 by Parramatta and halfback Daly Cherry-Evans informs team-mates he has accepted an offer to join the Gold Coast Titans on a four-year deal. March 1 For the kids The Sun-Herald reports junior football will undergo its biggest shake-up in 33 years with a range of rule changes from under-6s to under-12s designed to increase participation and ensure safety and enjoyment for young players. Stood down, but they stand up Four of the five Titans players stood down amid the club’s cocaine scandal demand to be selected for the opening round. The five players, Greg Bird, Dave Taylor, Beau Falloon, Jamie Dowling and Kalifa Faifai Loa were due to appear in court on March 5 and 9. The…

League takes hands-on approach

March 2 League the great & powerful The NRL’s Integrity Unit is handed a range of new powers to investigate behavioural issues. The unit will be able to confiscate computer data or smartphones and be granted “full and free access” to a club premises and any place “where records are kept”. The move follows an announcement by NRL chief operating officer Suzanne Young that South Sydney had been fined $20,000 for failing to inform the NRL Integrity Unit about a payment, which was legal, made to a bouncer at the centre of the club’s Arizona bar fight involving John Sutton and former team-mate Luke Burgess. March 3 Speak no evil The NRL bans coaches from discussing referees in their post-match press conferences. “[Referees] Being critiqued by coaches publicly is not the way the…

Round 1 March 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9

PANTHERS 24, BULLDOGS 18 BOYS IN BLACK GET OFF TO A FLYER DYNAMIC hooker James Segeyaro steered Penrith to a blazing start against grand finalists Canterbury, but the Bulldogs refused to go down without a fight. After a day of high temperatures in Sydney’s west, the mercury remained in the low 30s at kick off, which played into the hands of a mobile Panthers outfit. Segeyaro took full advantage of his speed from dummy-half to repeatedly ignite the Panthers’ attack. His highlight came two minutes after half-time, when he took a Bryce Cartwright offload and breezed past centre Tim Lafai and fullback Brett Morris to score, inflating a 14-0 half-time lead to 20-0 once five-eighth Jamie Soward added the extras. Young wingers Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and newcomer George Jennings were the first names on…

Round 1 March 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9

April 1 Early transfer The Canberra Raiders agree to release prop Dane Tilse from the final year of his contract to enable him to join Hull Kingston Rovers. April 4 Cleared to return Journeyman front-rower Richie Fa’aoso makes his return to rugby league with Wentworthville, almost 18 months after he was told his career was over following a fractured vertebra. April 6 Needs to recover Sydney Roosters second-rower Aidan Guerra faces a month on the sidelines after suffering a broken jaw playing against Cronulla. The Sharks’ Michael Gordon is cleared over the incident after the NRL’s match review committee ruled that the winger’s contact with his knees was accidental. April 8 Eels’ away-day blues Statistics published by The Daily Telegraph reveal Parramatta’s away record is twice as bad as any other NRL team. The Eels had won…

When Good Friday turned bad

April 3 Where it began The Good Friday grand final rematch between Canterbury and South Sydney erupts into mayhem when referee Gerard Sutton awards a controversial penalty in the dying minutes, allowing Rabbitohs centre Bryson Goodwin to kick a match-winning penalty goal. Bulldogs forward David Klemmer is sin-binned for dissent and captain James Graham reported for his late tackle on Souths halfback Adam Reynolds. A match official is injured leaving the field as angry spectators hurl plastic bottles from the grandstand. Four Canterbury players are cited over their roles in the incident. April 7 Taking responsibility Four Canterbury players: James Graham, Sam Kasiano, David Klemmer and Michael Lichaa lodge early guilty pleas to their charges in the aftermath. Graham (four matches), Klemmer (three) and Kasiano (two) receive a combined nine weeks in suspensions,…

When Good Friday turned bad

April matches: Rounds 5-8

Round 5 April 3, 4, 5 & 6 RABBITOHS 18, BULLDOGS 17 MEMORABLE CLASH TAINTED BY AFTERMATH THE grand final rematch between South Sydney and Canterbury ended in drama at ANZ Stadium as Bulldogs players vented their fury at match officials and angry supporters hurled bottles onto the field. As match officials were escorted from the field, one slipped and broke his shoulder while another also fell under a hail of plastic missiles. The disturbing scenes followed a controversial end to an encounter that featured an eight-point try, the sinbinning of Bulldogs prop David Klemmer and a serious knee injury to Rabbitohs halfback Adam Reynolds. Souths hooker Issac Luke was awarded an eight-point try after Bulldogs centre Josh Morris led with his foot and struck Luke in the head while scoring a try before half-time.…

April matches: Rounds 5-8

May 1 Flying into the future The Daily Telegraph reveals the Kangaroos have become the first Australian sporting team to use drones to film tactical moves at training. First time for everything NRL officials postpone the Anzac Test following record rainfall in and around Brisbane. It is the first time a rugby league Test match in Australia has been deferred. The game is rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, May 3. May 2 Pacific pride on dislpay Samoa beat Tonga 18-16 in a high-quality Pacific Test match on the Gold Coast, but not before Canterbury’s Sam Kasiano produces a matchwinning cover tackle on try-bound Tonga winger Jorge Taufua. Fiji also downed Papua New Guinea 22-10. The double-header draws a crowd of 12,336 to Cbus Super Stadium. May 3 New Zealand make history For the first time since 1953,…

Origin hype reaches fever pitch before Game One

May 15 A big loss Incumbent New South Wales State of Origin captain Paul Gallen is ruled out of the opening game of the series after failing to recover from a torn gluteus maximus tendon. Incumbents half as good Canterbury halves Trent Hodkinson and Josh Reynolds fail to impress in an audition for the Blues’ halves roles opposite Sydney Roosters pair Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney as the Bulldogs lose 24-10 at ANZ Stadium. Former Blues coach Phil Gould and Immortal Andrew Johns call for the Roosters’ duo to be named for Game One. May 17 Captain cleared Melbourne captain Cameron Smith faces a nervous wait after being placed on report for lashing out with his feet and striking South Sydney’s Issac Luke in the head in a clash at AAMI Park. Smith is charged…

Origin hype reaches fever pitch before Game One

May matches: Rounds 9-12

Round 9 May 8, 9, 10 & 11 WARRIORS 20, SHARKS 16 IN-FORM JOHNSON STEALS WIN AT THE DEATH A WEEK after steering the Kiwis to their decisive Test win over Australia, halfback Shaun Johnson produced a dazzling match-winning play for the Warriors in a thrilling contest against Cronulla. The lead changed six times and neither side could skip clear by more than four points from start to finish. The Sharks looked like they had won the game when prop Andrew Fifita shrugged off five Warriors defenders and rampaged his way over the line with only four minutes to play, but Johnson would not hear of defeat. Benefiting from the charge-down of a Jeff Robson kick by experienced second-rower Ryan Hoffman, the Warriors worked play into the Sharks’ 20-metre zone, where Johnson set…

May matches: Rounds 9-12

A month of highs and lows in Parramatta

June 8 Eels let it slip away North Queensland conjure one of the game’s greatest comebacks when they overcome a 30-6 deficit to beat Parramatta 36-30 at Pirtek Stadium to claim their 10th consecutive win. It took the Cowboys just nine minutes to erase the deficit and another two to take the lead. Second-rower Gavin Cooper crossed for one of the fastest hat-tricks by a forward ever when he scored three tries in less than seven minutes. June 10 Line in the Sandow Chris Sandow places himself at odds with coach Brad Arthur when he tells journalists “Everyone doesn’t pay to come and see me play structured footy. If he [Arthur] lets me play how I want, we’ll win more games”. The comments diminish the controversial halfback’s chances of remaining at the club beyond 2015. June…

A month of highs and lows in Parramatta

HEADLINES THIS MONTH • The end of the deadline • Cherry-Evans finally flips • Origin schedule slammed • Vale James Ackerman • Slater out for season • Sandow v Arthur • Cowboys streak stopped • Back to Belmore June 2 Deadline done The NRL announce the farcical Round 13 deadline that allows players to renege on deals they have signed with other clubs will be replaced with a 10-day cooling off period that will apply to all contracts. Into the bunker NRL head of football Todd Greenberg unveils plans for a high-tech video referee bunker that promises to deliver faster and more accurate decisions. The changes are expected to be introduced in 2016. June 3 Backflip heard around the league Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans turns his back on a four-year contract with the Gold Coast Titans to re-sign with the Sea Eagles in a…

Round 13 June 5, 6, 7 & 8

COWBOYS 36, EELS 30 RIDING THEIR LUCK WITH A MIRACLE COMEBACK NORTH Queensland staged an astonishing fightback at Pirtek Stadium when they scored five converted tries in 12 minutes to demolish Parramatta’s hopes of victory. The modest Monday night crowd was rocking in its seats when the Eels led 30-6 with less than 25 minutes to play, but those present didn’t count on the ability of Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston to bail his team out of trouble. The fightback began in the 57th minute when Cowboys winger Matthew Wright scored from a Parramatta turnover and then, in an astonishing eight-minute period, second-rower Gavin Cooper crossed for a hat-trick of tries— each coming off the boot of Thurston. When Thurston converted, the scores were level. Incredibly, the Eels had led by 24 just 10 minutes earlier. Centre…

Round 13 June 5, 6, 7 & 8

HEADLINES THIS MONTH n Queensland’s new records n Shoulder charge crackdown n Sandow jets out n Smith makes 300 n Johnson causes Warriors worry n Stone, Toovey sacked n Friend flip goes viral n New rules for interchange A month of division and controversy July 5 Two sides to every story Former Newcastle forward Alex McKinnon takes aim at Melbourne, Queensland and Australia captain Cameron Smith in a story on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes, claiming Smith was more concerned about a penalty against his team than the catastrophic injury McKinnon suffered in a game against Melbourne in 2014. Smith remains silent on the issue, continuing his preparation for the State of Origin decider, but Storm officials reveal Smith tried several times to contact McKinnon in hospital after the accident but was turned away. The story dominates the lead-up to Origin III. July 19 Chook…

July matches: Rounds 17-20

Round 17 July 3, 4, 5 & 6 SEA EAGLES 28, SHARKS 16 RETURN TO STRENGTH MEAN FINALS HOPES SOAR MANLY fielded their strongest line-up in weeks to climb off the bottom of the ladder with a resounding victory over Cronulla. At full-time the Sea Eagles weren’t talking about wooden spoons but what it would take for them to sneak into the playoffs. “We’re not used to being down here,” said coach Geoff Toovey. “But it’s a very close competition. If we put a few wins in a row together, we’re a chance of sneaking into that top eight.” The Sea Eagles were superior to a Cronulla side missing experienced duo Paul Gallen (NSW) and Michael Ennis (suspended) and who contributed to their own downfall with mistakes. Manly winger Jorge Taufua enjoyed a bright afternoon at Brookvale,…

July matches: Rounds 17-20

Manly refuse to be written off

August 1 Back on track Manly respond to another week of off-field turmoil following the sacking of coach Geoff Toovey by handing competition leaders Brisbane a 44-14 mauling at Central Coast Stadium. August 7 Don’t stop believing Manly continue their unlikely charge towards a finals place by scoring a comprehensive 28-8 win over South Sydney at Brookvale Oval. August 16 They couldn’t, could they? Fullback Brett Stewart scores a 78th-minute try to keep the Sea Eagles’ finals hopes alive in a 26-24 defeat of Canberra at GIO Stadium. The Raiders’ disappointment turns to anger when NRL referees’ co-ordinator Tony Archer admits Stewart’s try should not have been awarded because he was standing offside at the play-the-ball before supporting team-mate Daly Cherry-Evans. August 23 Momentum lost in upset Manly’s late finals run looks to be over after Parramatta spring a surprise 20-16…

Manly refuse to be written off

HEADLINES THIS MONTH n Fifitas suspended n TV deal trumped n Farah given ultimatum n GI surgery scare n Hayne making a mark n Hodges calls time n Second Super League? n Hasler’s costly sarcasm August 1 Dog day for SBW Blacklisted by Canterbury after he walked out on the club in 2008, code-hopping superstar Sonny Bill Williams is named in the Bulldogs’ Team of the Decade (2005-14) as part of the club’s 80th anniversary celebrations. Five Canterbury greats – Eddie Burns, Les Johns, George Peponis, Steve Mortimer and Terry Lamb – are announced as the inaugural inductees in the club’s Hall of Fame. Double centurion South Sydney co-owner James Packer presents Greg Inglis with a commemorative jersey to mark his 100th first grade game for the club. He becomes the 19th player to play 100 games for two clubs. August 2 Protecting the future The…

August matches: Rounds 21-25

Round 21 July 31, August 1, 2 & 3 DRAGONS 46, KNIGHTS 24 HIGH-SCORING HOME VICTORY STOPS THE ROT A BLAZING second-half performance allowed St George Illawarra to pull out of their nosedive and reclaim their place in the top eight after a seven-try demolition of Newcastle. The Dragons had plummeted from first on the ladder to 10th after seven consecutive defeats, however a dramatic return to form by halves Gareth Widdop and Benji Marshall sparked the turnaround. It was a freakish Marshall play when the game hung in the balance that helped decide the outcome. The Dragons were defending a shaky 28-24 lead deep into the second half when Marshall hoisted a bomb 25 metres from the Knights’ line. Widdop knocked the ball backwards but Marshall was forced to drop back to the Knights’…

August matches: Rounds 21-25

HEADLINES THIS MONTH n Finals fever n Roosters’ minor achievement n Burgess loses his bottle n Hodges freed n Hayne makes the cut n Painkiller problem n JT’s historical win n Semi the record breaker A busy month for the boys from the north September 7 Absent captains Melbourne Storm skipper Cameron Smith and North Queensland co-captains Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott are no shows at the NRL’s finals series launch in Sydney, which features the captains of the other six finalists. Smith admits to a virus, while the Cowboys pair cite injuries as reasons for their absence. September 15 Accolades continue for ‘JT’ North Queensland halfback Johnathan Thurston is named players’ player of the year for the fourth time at the Rugby League Players’ Association awards night. September 19 Terrific in Townsville Test prop Matt Scott leads North Queensland to a 39-0 demolition of Cronulla in the…

Round 26 September 3, 4, 5 & 6

RAIDERS 28, EELS 24 PRIDE ON THE LINE IN THRILLING CONTEST THERE was next to nothing riding on the final game of the season for the Raiders and the Eels – neither team could qualify for the finals and neither was in danger of finishing last – but they turned on a thriller for the fans at Pirtek Stadium. The lead changed four times in an end-to-end contest that was decided in golden point. Parramatta winger Semi Radradra scored twice to break the Eels’ 33-year-old club try-scoring record of Steve Ella, while Canberra centre Jarrod Croker ended the season as top pointscorer, moving past Sydney Roosters five-eighth James Maloney with a 16-point contribution to the win. There were plenty of heroes for the Raiders. Winger Edrick Lee held off three defenders to score in…

Round 26 September 3, 4, 5 & 6

Qualifying Finals September 11 & 12

STORM 20, ROOSTERS 18 Minor premiers slip at first hurdle THE Sydney Roosters scored one of the great tries of finals football but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Storm in a gripping opening to the playoffs at Allianz Stadium. Trailing by six points as the final 15 minutes approached, the Roosters were in need of inspiration when the ball was worked towards the eastern touchline where Michael Jennings had been engaged in a game-long duel with his Australian Test centre partner Will Chambers. The Storm No.3 had done a wonderful job containing Jennings to this point but Jennings finally slipped past him, dummied to beat winger Matt Duffie, evaded fullback Cameron Munster and shrugged off Cameron Smith’s attempted tackle as he stepped back in-field before passing off to halfback Jackson Hastings. It…

Qualifying Finals September 11 & 12

Semi-finals September 18 & 19

ROOSTERS 38, BULLDOGS 12 Chooks win the battle of the big men ACONTROVERSIAL decision to award Sydney Roosters forward Kane Evans a try early in the second half proved a major turning point in the semi-final against Canterbury. The Roosters held a shaky 8-4 lead against a club that was hardwired to fight against the odds and bolstered by vast experience in biggame conditions. Trent Robinson’s men might have exuded confidence and looked more likely to finish on top, however a four-point lead offered no security whatsoever. That all changed when referee Matt Cecchin sent a line-ball decision for review as a try after Evans had appeared to get the ball to the line despite seemingly being held by a scrum of Canterbury defenders. There was a suggestion Evans had fallen short before promoting…

Semi-finals September 18 & 19

Preliminary Finals September 25 & 26

BRONCOS 31, ROOSTERS 12 Brilliant Brisbane ahead of schedule WHEN Wayne Bennett returned to Brisbane in late 2014 he could not have imagined that the club he was rejoining after six years away would be ready to play in a grand final inside 12 months. He admitted as much after the Broncos knocked minor premiers the Sydney Roosters out of the reckoning in a magnificent team performance at Suncorp Stadium. There was rebuilding to be done, new players to indoctrinate into Bennett’s Broncos’ culture, new combinations to be forged – especially in the halves, where recruit Anthony Milford would have to learn to play alongside halfback Ben Hunt. Front-rower Adam Blair would also need to reinvigorate his career after three lost seasons at the Wests Tigers. It all seemed like a task that would be…

Preliminary Finals September 25 & 26

Grand Final October 4

COWBOYS 17, BRONCOS 16 Typical Thurston effort helps North Queensland to fairytale maiden title YOU’RE Johnathan Thurston. You trail the Brisbane Broncos 16-12 in the grand final and only seconds remain to conjure a winning play. There’s not a manual or a guidebook on the planet to help you get the job done, but it helps that you’ve been there before. Three weeks earlier, Thurston was in an identical position in an epic qualifying final against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium. As the seconds counted down to full-time, the Cowboys trailed by the same score – 16-12 – when Thurston took the ball 35 metres from Brisbane’s line, needing a miracle. He had troops to his right but opted for a high kick, hoping his chasers would pour through and claim the ball…

Grand Final October 4

Golden era dawns in North Queensland

October 4 The wait finally ends Johnathan Thurston boots a golden-point field goal to lift North Queensland to their maiden grand final victory, a heart-stopping 17-16 win over Brisbane. A crowd of 82,758 boosts finals series crowds to an all-time high. Thurston becomes the first player in 29 years to claim the Dally M-Clive Churchill Medal double. October 5 Just do it League legend Arthur Summons calls for Thurston to be immediately installed as the game’s next immortal. “He should be made an immortal before he retires,” Summons says. The debate over the game’s next immortal becomes a big talking point in the days following the grand final. October 9 Accolades continue Grand final match-winner Thurston claims his fourth Paul Bowman Medal as North Queensland player of the year. The award comes on top of his Dally M…

Golden era dawns in North Queensland

October-November

HEADLINES THIS MONTH n Champion Cowboys n Dave Smith calls it a day n ‘Big Sam’ back to Souths n All Stars revamp n Taupau’s theatrical departure n Farah stalemate continues n Cleary gets the chop n Packer may be sent packing OCTOBER October 4 Fool’s gold Defeated Broncos coach Wayne Bennett labels golden point “unfair” and a “lottery” and calls for full-match replays to decide drawn grand finals. October 5 A captive audience Television ratings figures for the grand final reveal the game attracted a national audience of 4,481,000, compared with 3.9 million for the AFL decider. The NRL audience was the second highest for a grand final behind the 2014 South Sydney-Canterbury clash. October 6 Bad to worse Shattered Brisbane halfback Ben Hunt accepts a one-match ban for his dangerous throw in the grand final. The penalty against Hunt for the 77th-minute tackle on Cowboys centre…

October-November

Other Competitions

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP Ipswich Jets soar to interstate triumph THE Ipswich Jets made it back-toback wins for Queensland teams in the State Championship decider after accounting for Newcastle in the preliminary match to the all-Queensland NRL grand final. Continuing the blazing run that took them to their first Intrust Super Cup title a week earlier, Ipswich scored the opening try after only two minutes when prolific hooker Matt Parcell crossed for his 19th four-pointer of the season and they were never headed. The Jets showcased their unorthodox style on the biggest day of the rugby league calendar and produced numerous instances of helter-skelter attack, short restarts and other trick shots that had become their trademark under the coaching partnership of brothers Ben and Shane Walker. A third Walker brother, 35-yearold Chris, also made a contribution to…

Other Competitions

Other Rep Matches 2015

JILLAROOS 22, KIWI FERNS 14 Newcomer Murphy leads Australia to victory CENTRE Mahalia Murphy announced herself as a star of the women’s game with a stunning debut in Australia’s victory over New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium. The 19-year-old indigenous player from western Sydney showcased her athletic ability by scoring three tries as the Jillaroos fended off a powerful Ferns outfit. A former student at renowned Sydney elite sports high school Hills Sports High, Murphy had dreams of emulating Cathy Freeman’s athletic achievements before drifting into rugby union and then rugby league with the Doonside Roos in the Penrith juniors. Her two second-half tries were crucial to the victory, the first breaking a 10-all deadlock after the Ferns had recovered from a 10-4 deficit at half-time, and the second when she zipped 70 metres from dummy-half…

PANTHERS 34, SEA EAGLES 18 Mountain men cap dominant year PENRITH claimed their second Holden Cup title in three seasons when they overcame hot conditions at ANZ Stadium to dispose of Manly in the grand final. The Panthers, coached by firstseason mentor Cameron Ciraldo, lost only four games all year on their way to taking out the minor premiership and then they barely put a foot wrong during the finals, piling on scores of 44 in their qualifying final (against Manly), 50 in the preliminary final (against the Warriors) and then 34 against the Sea Eagles in the decider. Manly posed a threat on grand final day after climbing from fourth place and recovering from their week one defeat in the playoffs to knock over fifth-placed Wests Tigers and second-placed North Queensland, and they…

THE Holden Cup National Youth Competition continued to provide the most prolific pathway to the National Rugby League in 2015 with 51 of the 55 players who made debuts in the NRL having previously played in the under-20s competition. The four exceptions were English international Josh Hodgson (Canberra), Fijian discovery Eto Nabuli (St George Illawarra), Matt Parcell (Brisbane via Intrust Super Cup) and Nathan Ross (Newcastle, who made his NRL debut at age 26). The intake of 2015 players lifted the overall number to graduate from the National Youth Competition to the NRL since 2008 to 459. That means 80.8 per cent of players who have kicked off their NRL careers since 2008 have previously played in the NYC. The 459 NYC players who have graduated to the NRL since 2008 represent 18.5…

Team of the Year

FULLBACK Tom Trbojevic (Manly) Talented fullback (or winger) who made a mighty impression at all levels in 2015. A tryscoring specialist who looks likely to take over from Brett Stewart when he eventually retires, Trbojevic scored 21 tries in 14 Holden Cup games and eight tries from nine games in the NRL in 2015. WING Gideon Gela-Mosby (Nth Queensland) Gela-Mosby enjoyed a phenomenal first season in the Holden Cup in 2015, smashing the competition’s try-scoring record by 10, with 39 tries from 25 games. The 18-year-old Cairns Kangaroos junior has already represented Queensland at Under-18s and Under-20s level. CENTRE Jordan Drew (Brisbane) Made his first grade debut for the Broncos in 2013 but has continued to develop his game in the Holden Cup and represented the Junior Kangaroos and Queensland Under-20s in 2015. The Nanango junior was included…

Team of the Year

Dally M Awards 2015

JOHNATHAN Thurston became the first player to win the Dally M Player of the Year award four times when he was crowned the NRL’s best and fairest player in late September. It was a title that was never in serious doubt. Thurston held a one-point lead over Wests Tigers prop Aaron Woods with 10 rounds remaining but bolted to victory by 11 points – a record under the current scoring system. The Cowboys’ maestro caused a headache for Dally M event organisers when he picked up a corked calf muscle in his team’s preliminary final defeat of Melbourne and was unable to attend the presentation ball at The Star in Sydney. A minipresentation dinner was hastily organised in Townsville, where Dally Messenger III, the grandson of the original Dally M, presented Thurston…

Dally M Awards 2015

Other Internationals

Fiji 22, Papua New Guinea 10 An intercept try to centre Fabian Goodall carried Fiji to safety in an historic Test against Papua New Guinea on the Gold Coast. An edge in experience carried the Bati to a half-time lead, but the Kumuls worked their way into the contest with back-to-back tries midway through the second half. The PNG side was drawn primarily from Queensland Intrust Super Cup outfit the PNG Hunters and the benefit of highlevel competition was evident in their attacking structures that led to four-pointers to winger Matt Trnka and prop Stanton Albert. Just when it appeared that PNG could overhaul Fiji’s 18-0 half-time lead Goodall sprinted 60 metres to score the decisive try. Earlier, Melbourne winger Marika Koroibete showcased his class to complete two sweeping backline movements. The Bati boasted…

New-look Broncos buck the weight of expectation

SIGNS that a rare achievement was brewing at the Broncos became apparent in June when they tackled themselves to a standstill to deny the Storm at Melbourne’s AAMI Park. The defensive effort that afternoon ranked among the finest in the club’s history. As the second half played out, there was a growing sense the Storm were slowly suffocating their prey, having trapped the Broncos in-goal on 11 occasions. Defending a two-point lead for the final 30 minutes of the game, the Broncos spent much of it on their own line and by full-time they had recorded a mind-numbing tally of 445 tackles, including 150 of them inside their own 20-metre zone. The performance was typified by lightweight hooker Matt Parcell, who gave away more than 30kg to Melbourne forward Felise Kaufusi…

New-look Broncos buck the weight of expectation

IN their second season under coach Ricky Stuart, the Raiders achieved improvement across the board – better attack, better defence and an improvement on the all-important bottom line, a rise on the ladder from 15th to 10th. But still there were gnawing disappointments for the men from the nation’s capital, who won only three of their 12 games at GIO Stadium and lost six of them by four points or less. Still, few believed such improvement would happen overnight. The Raiders’ brand had slumped heavily in recent seasons. The (necessary) sacking of Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson and the departure of rising star Anthony Milford had a negative impact on team morale and player recruitment. Canberra was a club with minimal upside for potential recruits and in 2014 the Raiders were frustrated…

A year of emotion and inconsistency

CANTERBURY always threatened to make a major impact on the 2015 premiership, but it seemed that whenever they developed worthwhile momentum there was a setback to bar their progress. Grand finalists in 2014, the Bulldogs strengthened their roster with the acquisition of Test star Brett Morris, winger Curtis Rona and hooker Michael Lichaa and before a ball was kicked, Des Hasler’s line-up sat among the leading contenders for the premiership. The first month of the competition did little to contradict that assessment. The Bulldogs won three of their first four games and sat in fourth position on the ladder, but the big test would come in Round 5 in the grand final rematch with South Sydney. The Good Friday clash at ANZ Stadium attracted more than 40,000 fans and the Bulldogs were primed…

A year of emotion and inconsistency

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Old and new heads make ideal balance AFTER two years of despair brought on by the drawn-out ASADA probe, a wooden spoon in 2014 and myriad other dramas, the Sharks emerged as a genuine force in 2015 after making a late charge to the playoffs. It may have been a rough start (losing their first four games) and a rough finish (losing their semifinal 39-0 to North Queensland), but in between the Sharks shed their image as grafters to develop into a formidable team that played football that was highly entertaining and equally effective. The key to the turnaround was the arrival of ex-Canterbury hooker Michael Ennis, rookie fiveeighth Jack Bird and the continued development of winger Valentine Holmes. In his 13th year in the top grade, Ennis arrived with a wealth of experience…

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

AVOIDING the wooden spoon represented a small victory for the Gold Coast Titans in 2015, after a year beset with trauma and incident. Injuries were a minor distraction for a club forced to deal with criminal charges against players, a financial crisis and the on-again off-again signing of marquee player Daly Cherry-Evans. The troubles began before Christmas when disciplinary action was imposed on co-captain Greg Bird (public indecency) and rookie forward Paul Carter (drink driving). They were minor issues compared with the bombshell news that five Titans players had been caught up in a Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into a cocaine-supply ring. Court attendance notices were handed to Bird, Beau Falloon, Jamie Dowling, Dave Taylor and Kalifa Faifai Loa to answer the charges, forcing the club to stand them down…

Manly Warringah

WHEN league Immortal Bob Fulton was appointed Manly’s strategic consultant in April the club was, by Sea Eagles’ standards, at rock bottom. They sat last on the ladder after starting the season with five losses from their first six games. Their two best players, halves Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans, had signed elsewhere and coach Geoff Toovey was fighting for his future. There was also a distinct possibility the club could claim the wooden spoon for the first time in its history. Fulton’s arrival brought instant stability to a club that was living dangerously. New attempts were made to persuade Foran and Cherry-Evans to stay ahead of the deadline in Round 13 and while Foran held firm on his decision to switch to Parramatta in 2016 it was a different story with…

Manly Warringah

IN a season in which the Melbourne Storm defied the critics to finish one game away from the grand final, nothing could have delivered greater satisfaction for coach Craig Bellamy and his staff than watching 20-year-old fullback Cameron Munster announce himself as the future successor to Billy Slater. Munster’s maturity, his speed-learning of his role and his thirst for hard work placed him at the top of the queue to fill Slater’s boots once the champion No.1 decides to call it quits. Slater made only seven appearances for the Storm after succumbing to a shoulder injury that required surgery but after signing a new deal with the club, he plans to stick around until 2017. Until then, Melbourne will need to ensure Munster is given every opportunity to develop. The Storm have struggled…

ONLY two teams have been lumbered with the wooden spoon after accumulating 20 competition points – and they are both Newcastle teams. It is the coldest of comforts for the Knights to know they do wooden spoons well, but the facts don’t lie: In 2005 and 2015 Newcastle finished with more competition points than any wooden-spooners in history. The story of the 2005 spoon was bizarre enough. Without Andrew Johns for the early period of the season the Knights slumped to 13 losses from their first 13 games before they embarked on an incredible winning run during the second half of the season. After his recovery from knee surgery and a broken jaw, Johns inspired the Knights to eight wins from their final 11 games, only failing to avoid the wooden…

North Queensland

THE North Queensland Cowboys tore up modern rugby league convention to claim their first competition title in 2015. Premierships are supposed to be won by the best defensive team across the season – or at least the second best – but the Cowboys weren’t even in the top four. History suggests a team losing its first three games can’t win the premiership. No team had defied this ‘rule’ since the Rabbitohs of 1953 but the Cowboys did it in 2015. Convention also suggests the team that concedes the first try as often as the Cowboys did in 2015 isn’t going to win the grand final. The Cowboys’ defence was the first to crack in 18 of their 28 games, including three of their four finals matches, yet they still finished on top. The…

North Queensland

I F only the Eels could have bottled the mood that pervaded the dressing room on the opening night of the season, harnessed the intensity they displayed that night against the Sea Eagles and reproduced that form on a regular basis. What a different outcome it would have been for a club who have now gone six consecutive seasons without reaching the playoffs. The Eels were full of hope that night, fielding four newcomers after an invigorating off-season that began with a week in Seattle, touring the facilities of the NFL Super Bowl champions and training at the University of Washington. Former Manly second-rower Anthony Watmough was pumped up to make his debut against his former club and winger Semi Radradra became the first player to score successive Round 1 hat-tricks as…

PENRITH’S 2015 season, decimated by an injury toll unprecedented in memory, ended with a stunning jolt when coach Ivan Cleary was handed his papers in October. It was a dismissal few saw coming. Cleary had been hand-picked by Panthers football manager Phil Gould to steer the club into a new era back in 2012, but after four seasons he was shown the door because, according to Gould, Cleary was showing signs of being worn down by the pressures of the job. “I’d just finished a review and felt we needed to make a change,” Gould said at the time. Before speculation of a replacement could emerge, former Brisbane mentor Anthony Griffin was named as Cleary’s successor, allowing a seamless transition from one coach to the next. Griffin was ready to take charge…

St George Illawarra

ST George Illawarra rediscovered their self-belief at an unexpected time and place in 2015, kick-starting their season at Canberra’s GIO Stadium as the forces were mounting against the club’s leaders. The capital had provided slim pickings for the Dragons for 15 years before the breakthrough victory in late in 2014. By then, Paul McGregor had taken up the coaching reins from Steve Price, and the long-awaited win in Canberra was a rare success in a season of moderate gains. This time even McGregor was under pressure when his team made the short trip from Wollongong to the ACT. The Dragons had started the season with lacklustre efforts against Melbourne and the Wests Tigers, their attack barely getting out of neutral to post a single try in each match. The Raiders were formidable opposition…

St George Illawarra

CO-OWNER Russell Crowe described Sam Burgess’s return to the Rabbitohs as a Christmas present for supporters and it’s almost impossible to characterise it in any other way. After a disappointing finish to their premiership defence, South Sydney were facing an uphill battle to recapture the spark that carried the club to glory in 2014. There were a number of factors that fed into the final outcome – off-field issues and a loss of hunger among them, but the departure of Burgess and second-rower Ben Te’o was considered the single biggest cause. Souths’ task to recapture their premiershipwinning form had increased in difficulty with the departure of hooker Issac Luke and creative second-rower Glenn Stewart at the end of 2015, leaving them to build for a new season without a vast amount of…

Sydney Roosters

HISTORY will judge the Sydney Roosters’ conversion of three minor premiership titles into one premiership win as a textbook case of under-achievement. While there may be some merit to the claim based on the club’s 2014 season, it would be a harsh assessment to paint the Roosters’ 2015 campaign as a failure. The Moore Park outfit was powering full steam towards a second title in three seasons by late August when disaster struck in their top-of-the-table clash with the Brisbane Broncos. Within a five-minute period of the Allianz Stadium encounter, the Roosters lost halfback Mitchell Pearce to a torn hamstring and prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves to a season-ending torn ACL. Until that point the Roosters were on a ninegame winning surge. The depleted outfit held on to beat the Broncos and to the credit…

Sydney Roosters

THE Warriors’ capitulation after Golden Boot winner Shaun Johnson broke his ankle six weeks before the finals suggests grim tidings for a club desperate for premiership success, but the New Zealand franchise has every reason to view 2016 with excitement. For a start, Johnson, the club’s superstar halfback should be back to peak fitness by the time the new season kicks off and joining him will be two of the most important signings in the club’s history. The chance to return home to play in front of family and friends every second week proved an opportunity too good to refuse for Aucklandraised fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and his move from the Roosters could ignite the Warriors like never before. Likewise, the arrival of former South Sydney hooker Issac Luke is another recruitment coup that…

WESTS Tigers fielded the youngest team in the NRL in 2015 and only the Canberra Raiders had less first grade experience across the season. At the end of the year the Tigers farewelled prop Keith Galloway (age 30, 210 NRL games), winger Pat Richards (age 33, 119 NRL games) and forward Martin Taupau (age 25, 66 NRL games), while the future of hooker and captain Robbie Farah remained clouded heading into the preseason. The 31-year-old holds the appearance record for Wests Tigers with 238 games. Conversely, only one recruit for 2016 is older than 27 and that’s 31-year-old Manly hooker Matt Ballin. The Tigers will field an even younger and more inexperienced team in 2016 as the consequences of several years of questionable list management practices continue to impact on the club. The…

Premiership Feats

GRAND-FINAL RECORDS Biggest winning margin: 40-0, Manly v Melbourne, 2008 Lowest scoring: Parramatta 4, Canterbury 2, 1986 Tryless grand finals: 1986, Parramatta 4, Canterbury 2 Highest scoring: South Sydney 42, Manly 14, 1951 Most grand final wins (team): St George, 14 Most consecutive wins (team): St George, 11, 1956-66 Most appearances (player): Norm Provan (St George), 10, Brian Clay (Newtown, St George), 10. Most appearances (referee): Bill Harrigan, 10 (1989-91, 1997*-2003) Most points in all grand finals: Eric Simms (South Sydney), 41 (16 goals, 5 field goals). Most tries: 4, Johnny Graves (South Sydney), 1951 Most goals: 8, Harry Bath (St George), 1957 Most points: 16, Harry Bath (St George), 1957 (8 goals) Most successful player: Norm Provan, 10 wins (St George) Most successful captain: Ken Kearney, 5 wins, 1956-60 (St George) Most successful coach: Wayne Bennett 7 wins, 1992-93, 1997*-98, 2000, 2006 (Brisbane), 2010…

Premiership Feats

Grand Final Teams

A SEASON without a Grand Final is unimaginable in today’s NRL but until 1926 the competition decider that we celebrate as the highlight of the Telstra Premiership was not part of the game’s agenda. The Grand Final only became possible after a vote of the NSWRL’s General Committee a week before Christmas in 1925. The new competition format was one of a number of changes introduced by the NSWRL in response to deteriorating playing standards. For the first four years of the premiership (1908-11) the NSWRL experimented with finals formats. In 1908 and ’09 there was a four-team finals series but in 1910 and ’11 it came down to a playoff between the two leading teams. The 1910 final between Newtown and South Sydney finished in a sensational 4-all draw but with a…

Grand Final Teams

NSW v Queensland

INTERSTATE MATCHES 1908-81 STATE OF ORIGIN PLAYERS’ RECORDS NEW SOUTH WALES ADAMSON Matt (Penrith): Matches 2 (0+2R). 2001 (0+2R). Points nil. AINSCOUGH Jamie (Newcastle, St George, St George Illawarra): Matches 12 (9+3R). 1996 (0+3R), 1997 (3), 2000 (3), 2001 (3). Two tries 8 points. ALBERT Darren (Newcastle): Matches 1. 1999 (1). Points nil. ALEXANDER Greg (Penrith): Matches 6 (4+2R). 1989 (2+1), 1990 (0+1R), 1991 (2). Two goals 4 points. ANASTA Braith (Bulldogs, Sydney Roosters): Matches 10 (9+1R). 2002 (1+1R), 2003 (1), 2005 (2), 2006 (2), 2007 (2), 2008 (1). Two tries 8 points. ANDERSON Chris (Canterbury): Matches 4. 1980 (1), 1982 (1), 1983 (2). Three tries 12 points. AYLIFFE Royce (Easts): Matches 3 (1+2R). 1982 (1+2R). Points nil. BAILEY Luke (St George Illawarra, Gold Coast Titans): Matches 15 (6+9R). 2002 (3), 2003 (0+3R), 2005 (1+2R), 2006 (1+1R), 2007 (0+3R), 2009…

NSW v Queensland

AUSTRALIA INTERNATIONALLY

BIGGEST WINS 110-4 v Russia at The Boulevard, Hull, November 4, 2000 82-0 v Papua New Guinea at Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville, October 7, 2000 86-6 v South Africa at Gateshead International Stadium, October 10, 1995 74-0 v France at Stade de la Mediterranee, Bezier, December 4, 1994 84-14 v Fiji at Marathon Stadium, Newcastle, July 12, 1996 66-0 v Fiji at McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield, October 14, 1995 64-0 v Fiji at Wembley Stadium, London, November 23, 2013 70-8 v Papua New Guinea at Eric Weissel Oval, Wagga, July 20, 1988 62-0 v USA at Glyndwr University Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, November 16, 2013 BIGGEST LOSSES 25-49 v New Zealand at Brisbane Cricket Ground, June 28, 1952 0-24 v New Zealand at Elland Road, Leeds, November 26, 2005 17-40 v Great Britain at Sydney Cricket Ground, July 19, 1958 10-33 v Great Britain at Princes…

AUSTRALIA INTERNATIONALLY

NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONALS

Below is the complete list of 788* players who have represented New Zealand teams under the control of the New Zealand Rugby League from 1907 to 2015. Teams in brackets indicate the club (or region) the player represented at the time of selection. The number immediately following the player’s name indicates his position in the New Zealand Internationals Register ABBOTT Edwin (201) (Waikato): Tests 2 (1932). One try 3 points. ACKLAND John (579) (Auckland): Tests 1 (1983). Points nil. ACKLAND Ron (354) (Auckland): Tests 18 (1954, 1957, 1959-63). One try 3 points. AH KUOI Fred (522) (Auckland, North Sydney, Hull): Tests 28 (1975, 1977-85). Five tries 17 points. ALFELD Robin (575) (Canterbury): Tests 1 (1983). Points nil. AMER Allen (405) (Canterbury): GB-France tour 1961. AMOS Jim (202) (Canterbury): Tests 1 (1932). Four goals 8 points. ANDERSON Doug (311)…

WINNING TEAMS TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP WINNERS: North Queensland MINOR PREMIERS: Sydney Roosters WORLD CLUB CHALLENGE: South Sydney AUCKLAND NINES: South Sydney HOLDEN STATE OF ORIGIN: Queensland HOLDEN CUP: Penrith NSW CUP: Newcastle INTRUST SUPER CUP: Ipswich STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Ipswich RON MASSEY CUP: Mounties GIO SCHOOLBOYS CUP: Kirwan INDIVIDUAL AWARDS DALLY M MEDAL: Johnathan Thurston CLIVE CHURCHILL MEDAL: Johnathan Thurston WALLY LEWIS MEDAL: Corey Parker RLPA PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Johnathan Thurston CLUB PLAYERS OF THE YEAR BRISBANE BRONCOS: Corey Parker CANBERRA RAIDERS: Iosia Soliola CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS: Brett Morris and Aiden Tolman CRONULLA-SUTHERLAND SHARKS: Wade Graham GOLD COAST TITANS: Luke Douglas MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES: Jake Trbojevic MELBOURNE STORM: Jesse Bromwich NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS: Kurt Gidley NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS: Johnathan Thurston PARRAMATTA EELS: Tim Mannah PENRITH PANTHERS: Tyrone Peachey ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA: Leeson Ah Mau SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS: Greg Inglis SYDNEY ROOSTERS: Boyd Cordner WARRIORS: Ben Matulino WESTS TIGERS: James Tedesco…

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