It appears that Channel Nine has “bowed to public pressure” and has decided to bring back Phil Gould’s “iconic final word” for the State of Origin decider. There’s something inherently hilarious about a man – who’s certainly nudging, if not well exceeding, the age of 50 – standing alone under the goalposts pouring his heart…
Read More Phil Gould’s Pre-Origin Rant Is Back!It appears that Josh Dugan’s time at the Canberra Raiders is up, with the club likely to sack the fullback after yet another embarrassing alcohol-related incident. But rather than plead for leniency and pledge to turn over a new leaf, it appears that Dugan’s manager has already begun putting out feelers to get Dugan a contract with…
Read More Josh Dugan’s Master PlanThe NRL season kicks off tonight, I think. It marks another year towards my eventual divorce from the sport that, as a 15-year-old, I was completely obsessed with. I used to write letters to Rugby League Week. They were always published. There was something enthralling about getting your letter published in the rugby league bible;…
Read More I Didn’t Change, Rugby League DidThe details aren’t out yet – and they don’t really need to be – but already journalists are hypothesising that Ben Barba’s downfall is due to the ‘fishbowl existence’ he leads. That a “shy, retiring” boy from the country has been swept up in his own stardom and the alluring bright lights of the evil,…
Read More Blaming The ‘Fishbowl’ For EverythingKeen readers of this website will know I occasionally enjoy throwing some business-speak into the odd article. The 1990s and 2000s saw the increasing commodisation of sport as a “product.” Global CEOs have turned their hand to sports administration and are constantly on the look out for emerging markets; for a “greater slice of the…
Read More So What’s The Deal With The Whole ‘Co-Captains’ Thing?