Author: The81stMinute
News outlets are rabid vampires ripping at the flesh of a game that keeps them alive
BY CURTIS WOODWARD @woodward_curtis Rugby league has taken plenty of abuse over the years. Ever since Mrs. Messenger gave Dally her blessing to switch codes, rugby league has been the victim of all kinds of skullduggery. You name it and rugby league has survived it. From the Super League War to sex scandals, salary cap […]
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Separated at birth: Why the rivalry between Penrith and Cronulla almost didn’t happen
BY CURTIS WOODWARD @woodward_curtis Penrith and Cronulla could not be any different. A world away from each other on opposite sides of a little thing called Sydney. Out west, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, all the way down to the south where land gives way to the Pacific Ocean. On Friday night, more […]
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Mitchell Pearce feels Ben Hunt’s pain but says Saints can beat Souths
Mitchell Pearce knows a thing or two about media and fan scrutiny so it’s little surprise the Newcastle half has come to the defence of embattled St George Illawarra playmaker Ben Hunt who returned to form last weekend against Brisbane. Despite eliminating the Broncos, Pearce admits the Dragons will do it a lot tougher against […]
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Bellamy admits 2018 has been “very challening” in more ways than one
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy admits 2018 has been “very challening” and losing Cooper Cronk to the Sydney Roosters has been a major factor. Despite that, the Storm are still sitting pretty in the preliminary final awaiting the winner of Cronulla and Penrith. “With the events of this year, it’s been a very challenging year […]
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From Albert to Villasanti: The heroes and villains of grand final day we will never forget
BY CURTIS WOODWARD @woodward_curtis Rugby league grand finals have a funny way of catching players in time. For one set of fans, they can be the heroes for all eternity with a miracle tackle or a rampaging run. Supporters on the losing side see them forever as the villain from a horror movie that plays […]
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I’ll always be a Westy but Cronulla is my home now: Moylan
Former Penrith Panthers captain Matt Moylan says he will always be a westy at heart but that won’t stop him from running out for Cronulla this weekend and attempt to eliminate his old team from the premiership race. Moylan and ex-Shark James Maloney were traded during the 2017 World Cup in November and neither have […]
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Rugby league wins ratings war against Aussie Rules
BY A.J NASH The NRL has won this season’s war against the AFL – on television anyway. More people watched rugby league over Aussie Rules in 2018 and it’s the first seasonal win for the NRL since 2010. “The NRL has also bucked the overall trend in the Australian TV market, “ Roy Masters wrote […]
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Sam Burgess once offered Tariq Sims into the car park in front of full dressing room
BY A.J NASH There will be no love lost between Sam Burgess and Tariq Sims this weekend if comments from Fox Sports’ James Hooper are anything to go by. According to Hooper, Burgess and Sims have some legitimate history and it all stems from some Sims “cheap shots”. “He and Tariq Sims have got a […]
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