Gains: Danny Galea (Wests), Reece Robinson (Broncos)
Losses: Phil Graham (Roosters), Glen Turner (retired), Nigel Plum (Panthers), Adrian Purtell (Panthers), Stuart Flanagan (Sharks)
2009 finished 13th
2010 Squad: Michael Brophy, Glen Buttriss, Terry Campese, Justin Carney, Jarrod Croker, Josh Dugan, Andrew Edwards, Shaun Fensom, Danny Galea, Bronson Harrison, Marc Herbert, Dan Joyce, Brett Kelly, Cy Lasscock, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Scott Logan, Drury Low, Sam Mataora, Josh McCrone, Josh Miller, David Milne, Joel Monaghan, Joe Picker, Michael Picker, Dave Shillington, Nick Skinner, James Stuart, Joel Thompson, Troy Thompson, Trevor Thurling, Dane Tilse, Alan Tongue, Daniel Vidot, Travis Waddell, Matt Ward, Josh White
The Bunnies demolished an under strength Manly last night in the first trail of the season but all the talk was about Rabbitohs new prop Sam Burgess.
Russell has done well in securing Burgess. Along with Dave Taylor, the Bunnies have an excellent pack. I’m a few weeks off doing my season preview for South Sydney but anything less than a top eight finish in 2010 will a disastrous season.
I’m already looking forward to round 6 where the Eels take on the Bunnies. Fui Fui and Sam have some history as the vid below shows. That will be one hell of a forward clash.
Gains: Denan Kemp (NZ Warriors), Tim, Natsuch (Knights), Rohan Ahern (Roosters), Scott Anderson (Storm)
Losses: David Taylor (Souths), Karmichael Hunt (greed), Aaron Gorrell (Released), Palmer Wapau (QLD Cup), Tonie Carroll (retired – again), Will Tupoa (Cowboys)
In 2009 the Broncos finished 6th.
2010 Squad: Rohan Ahern, Scott Anderson, Kurt Baptiste, Gerard Beale, Matt Britt, Andrew Clayton, Dale Copley ,Mitchell Dodds, Israel Folau, Matt Gillett, Alex Glenn, David Hala, Justin Hodges, Josh Hoffman, Ben Hunt, Denan Kemp, Nick Kenny, Kurtis Lingwoodock, Darren Lockyer, Dunamis Lui, PJ Marsh, Andrew McCullough, Josh McGuire, Steven Michaels, Tim Natusch, Corey Norman, Corey Parker, Mitch Rivett, Lagi Setu, Ashton Sims,Tariq Sims, Tim Smith, Michael Spence, Aaron Summers, Ben Te’o, Sam Thaiday, Peter Wallace, Guy Williams, Antonio Winterstein, Jharal Yow Yeh.
Would you believe it footy starts again this Sunday? The Bunnies and Sea Eagles step out in the first trial game of the season. Full list of trial games are over the fold. Keep reading →
Where Willie Play?
The Daily Telegraph are reporting that Willie Mason is looking at the Cowboys after Manly have decided against gambling on Willie.
If I was a Cowboys fan I’d be doing whatever I can to prevent this. Sure there might be one game now again when their fire but based on the past few seasons, a forward pack with Mason and Webb would not trouble may sides.
Willie Mason had the potential to be one of the greatest second rowers the game has seen. But only his ego was up for it. His inconsistency on and off the field meant he couldn’t live up to his hype and his talent has been sadly wasted.
Tigers may win the Lote-ry
After reports that Lote Tuqiri may stay in English rugby comes word that he may indeed be returning to the NRL.
If Lote does play for the Tigers, to not make the eight will be a major disappointment for the Tigers. Keep reading →
The SMH has good coverage of yesterday’s summit involved involving the 16 NRL clubs and their proposal for an independent commission to take over the game.
There is also an interview with Titans’ CEO Michael Searle who has been the driving force behind bringing the clubs together.
There are two answers from Searle that I’d like to highlight. Keep reading →
The NRL clubs have got together and demanded that an independent commission bet set up by the start of the season. The ball is now in the ARL and News Ltd’s half of the field. There are some political wrangling but this would be a great change for Australian rugby league.
My only concern is that the grassroots will need to be looked after. But getting rid of the baggage from the Super League will strengthen the NRL competition. And signs are good for a salary cap increase which is something the games needs.
This document outlines the proposed steps for restructuring.
This should not be happening. The limitations of the salary cap have been evident for some time. Post super league, the cap was necessary to reign in players salaries. But the strict provisions of the cap are now hindering the NRL in keeping its best players.
Sure some of Thurston’s comments such as seeing himself as a Wallaby sound more like a threat to drive up his price. Given the state of rugby, I doubt Thurston has any real desire to play a boring game that will utilise bugger all of his skills.
But Thurston should be able to maximise his earnings from League which the salary cap prohibits. He is a marketable player and should be able to do third party deals. The fact that these deals count towards the salary cap is ridiculous. The NRL should ease these restrictions at once.
The NRL’s resistance to changing the salary cap is disturbing. It suggests an inflexible, unimaginative management. This is not what Australian rugby league needs.
If the independent commission ever gets off the ground, the salary cap and removing limitations of third party contracts should be a priority.
Before getting to the games this weekend, has the NRL finally achieved got to the stage where traditional suburban grounds just can’t handle the crowds for some games now? I’m not totally convinced that we have. The end of the season does get fans out to the games. The key will be to see what happens at the beginning of the new season and during the middle parts of 2010 when Origin tends to overshadow club games. If games are switched to the SFS for example and the crowds follow, then we may be onto something. A key factor will be clubs increasing membership numbers. That may take a few years but that will drive the NRL to being able to host regular season games at a full SFS or a near chockers ANZ.
But I do not want to see the demise of the suburban ground. A Sunday arvo at Leichhardt is one of the great days out at the footy and the NRL will be mad to try and take that away from the fans. But flexibility for clubs to change grounds for the big clashes should be encouraged. For such a difficult year for the game, the end of season shows the promise of a more growth for the game.
