sidelined

There is this rep game on Friday night that is supposed to be City versus Country. You’d think it would be a good game to take to the bush. To show the powers that be that they remember league is played west of the Dividing Range. Yet, the game is to be played in Wollongong. [...]

The Centenary test squad has been announced. It is:

Billy Slater, Greg Inglis, Mark Gasnier, Justin Hodges, Israel Folau, Darren Lockyer (capt), Johnathan Thurston, Brent Kite, Cameron Smith, Petero Civoniceva, Ryan Hoffman, Paul Gallen, Greg Bird. Interchange: Carl Webb, Anthony Tupou, Willie Mason, Kurt Gidley
A notable omission is Nathan Hindmarsh. But his form (and the [...]

The ANZAC long weekend is upon us. Which means the first rep game, the Centenary Test is not that far away. Hence the bye returns this round for four teams. But with the comp becoming tight, even a reduced number of games does not take away the intrigue of who will win.
Onto the tips. [...]

Round 6 is the Heritage Round in which all the clubs celebrate their origins. And they do so by playing in their original (or close to it) strip. So don’t get worried if your teams seems to be wearing slightly different colours.
Round 6 also marks my first proper NRL outing of the year. I’ll [...]

Tim Smith has done the right thing. By taking indefinite leave to battle bipolar disorder he has sent a great message to us blokes. And that its okay to be open with your problems. That it is okay to take time out to deal with depression. It is not a sign of weakness.
The death [...]

I’m not that much into the whole swimming bizzo but there was a piece of such pure stupidity in today’s SMH that has turned my attention (momentarily) away from the footy.
It was a piece featuring quotes from Brian Stehr, the coach of Nick D’Arcy who is facing charges for assaulting another swimmer in a [...]

Look. I know I bagged Melbourne a bit last night but it is not a bad old town. Apart from the worshipping of false gods. I’ve found some English Super League on the hotel telly and that is helping to banish the pallor that hangs around my league spirit.
So, what do we have this [...]

We don’t mention politics much here but I found a a great quote in one of the discussions surrounding the death of ex-Labor minister, John Button.

Through the dark ages, which began in the late ’60s, serious Geelong supporters kept themselves buoyant with gloom, stoicism and solidarity. Before the 1989 grand final one of my sons [...]

What a weird country I’m currently in. I’ve seen these lovely parks with plenty of green grass what would make lovely fields for playing league. But no. It seems that these parks are dedicated to some strange ritual. It does involve something like a football but rather then running it over the try line, they [...]