The master of deflection has done it again, with Wayne Bennett’s attack on NRL refereeing shifting focus off his work for both the Dolphins and Rabbitohs. Plus, why Kevin Walters was right to rest players and more highlights and lowlights from the weekend of sport.
Zac Lomax has every right to be feeling confused and have more than an element of regret over his decision to quit St George Illawarra, writes DAVID RICCIO.
The Maroons should need no extra motivation heading into the Origin decider on home turf, but if coach Billy Slater is looking for some then these are 20 instances in which his team were bullied by the Blues at the MCG.
Far from ruining a club’s hopes of playing grand final footy, State of Origin is the making of a grand final squad and David Riccio has the numbers to prove it.
The gloves are off and don’t be fooled, Michael Maguire’s “glass houses” sledge would have really irritated Queensland coach Billy Slater MATTY JOHNS has declared.
The $40m injection into Leichhardt Oval might not be enough to tempt the Wests Tigers to play more than a token two matches per season at the historic ground going forward, writes BRENT READ.
Latrell Mitchell is a superstar, a rock star, a once-in-a-generation talent. And it’s time the NSW Blues started treating him this way, MATTY JOHNS writes.
Some rugby league fans felt short-changed after Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s send off rendered State of Origin I a walkover. David Riccio sits down with the man with a solution.
It was a seventh-minute tackle that defined an entire game – but did NSW deserve to have a player sent off? HAVE YOUR SAY
The AFL is clearly not shy about stealing good ideas from rugby league, so when is it going to toughen up and take back Origin, writes Caleb Bond.
Rugby league fans have spoken – they do not want the NRL to implement a change to the send off rule, even if that comes at the price of a one-sided Origin contest. SEE THE RESULTS
If there was a Dally M award for the No.1 competitor in the NRL this year, a Canberra Raiders veteran would be $1.01 to claim the prize. Phil Rothfield’s highlights and lowlights.
State of Origin success has made Billy Slater the hottest coaching property in the NRL, which is why Michael Maguire should ignore any phone calls from the Eels, writes David Riccio.
Dylan Edwards is a very easy person to admire, because every piece of praise he’s received he’s had to work for, MATTY JOHNS reveals how the NSW fullback bounced back from a horror form slump.
Michael Maguire could have taken the easy option and selected James Tedesco at fullback. Instead, the best 17 players, on form, will be running out for NSW, writes PHIL ROTHFIELD.
When Michael Maguire names his NSW State of Origin side on Sunday night, there will be one key advantage that the Blues have over Queensland.
Finally, the 20-minute wait for a beer and a pie will become a thing of the past, with Anthony Albanese and Peter V’landys stepping in with a $50 million deal set to save Leichhardt Oval, writes PHIL ROTHFIELD.
Too much responsibility, overplaying his hand and Cameron Ciraldo pulling the wrong rein, MATTY JOHNS reveals what hampered Matt Burton and how the Bulldog turned it around.
Nobody wants to silence Phil Gould, but his constant sledging of the NRL has finally reached breaking point, and the Bulldogs’ head of football can’t say he wasn’t warned.
In the never-ending drama between the two high-profile figures, a colleague of Peter FitzSimons has now entered the fray.
Cronulla risk establishing themselves as the NRL’s newest May premiers, with a massive five-week period against competition heavyweights to define their season. DEAN RITCHIE reveals why.
Despite his recent retirement from repeated concussions, Dale Finucane is against banning long kick-off returns. However, Australia’s most experienced sporting medico disagrees.
Sam Walker is a Queenslander through and through, but he’s found a home at the Sydney Roosters and has no plans to test the market when a halfback position at the Broncos becomes available, writes BRENT READ.
As we begin round eight of the 2024 season MATTY JOHNS says he has seen enough to put a pen through the premiership chances of over half the NRL’s clubs including three current high flyers.
On a day where concussion cast a shadow over rugby league, PAUL KENT writes it’s time the NRL looked more towards prevention than cure to save the game from grassroots to NRL.
The NRL returned to its favourite sport of shark jumping, this time charging Reed Mahoney for a smile and a wave. PAUL KENT says the plot has officially been lost.
The NRL is refereed more like an entertainment business than a sport nowadays, where nothing matters as long as the fans are excited. And the Storm-Roosters game exposed the game’s ‘close enough is good enough’ attitude, writes PAUL KENT.
James Fisher-Harris leaving a four-peat-chasing Panthers side to join the Warriors is a scary proposition for rival teams for more reasons than they realise, MATTY JOHNS writes.
It had to happen at some point and unfortunately for Penrith fans, this latest roster blow signals the end of their remarkable era of dominance. DEAN RITCHIE explains why.
Des Hasler’s dark arts entered the GIO Stadium post-game press conference when the Titans coach questioned the refereeing – a ploy he’s implemented before. Only this time, writes PAUL KENT, it backfired.
Late last week a sensitive conversation between Jason Demetriou and a player was leaked to the media. For the whistleblower, it was mission accomplished, another nail in the coach’s coffin.
The stance over Michael Jennings’ NRL return by people in power is deeply upsetting and will continue unless there’s a serious change in attitude towards women, PAMELA WHALEY writes.
While Jason Demetriou was busy running training sessions, he was missing clandestine get-togethers deliberately held away from Rabbitohs players that may still be affecting the coach, PAUL KENT writes.
Keith Barnes, the legendary Balmain Tiger who passed away on Monday, owns one of the most heartbreaking statistics in rugby league. But, PAUL KENT writes, it never fazed one of the game’s true gentle men.
You have a huge responsibility to every woman in rugby league and it’s why you can’t present Michael Jennings with his 300-game match-ball. Read Phil Rothfield’s full open letter to Andrew Abdo.
Rumours are circulating Phil Gould is trying to gain control of team selections from Cameron Ciraldo at Canterbury – and it wouldn’t be the first time he has pulled rank over an NRL coach, writes PAUL KENT.
It’s time to renew the debate over stadiums in Sydney, put a plan in place for the next 20 years and put a rocket under the state government, BRENT READ writes.
The only four-letter words coming out of Latrell Mitchell’s mouth on Friday night were said in frustration as Souths dramatically unravelled on one of rugby league’s biggest stages.
The NRL is constantly tightening its rules and punishing contact with the head. So why was Taylan May not charged? The Broncos and Reece Walsh have every right to ask what happened to protecting the head, writes Brent Read.
Leichhardt Oval has run its course. It is a relic. An eyesore, and the Wests Tigers owe it to their fans to walk away from the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ argues BRENT READ.
Rugby league once worried about an AFL invasion into Sydney’s western suburbs, but it’s turned out to be a myth, writes DEAN RITCHIE.
In the space of two questions at its multicultural round launch, NRL boss Andrew Abdo has exposed the hypocrisy of the woke politics infecting the NRL, writes Paul Kent.
Benji Marshall spent his final playing years watching Wayne Bennett, filling his notebook with coaching strategies and philosophies. But unlike Bennett, he doesn’t have 50 years of coaching experience to fall back on, writes PAUL KENT.
Penrith’s tremendous success could also be the club’s greatest downfall, as the longer a club enjoys a sustained run of success, the more complex the challenges it faces, writes MATTY JOHNS.
DEAN RITCHIE outlines the ways rugby league’s most ambitious innovation in 116 years can somehow become better next season.
The NRL is making noise in the US and while rival codes dismiss it as one-off, Las Vegas shapes a history defining moment that will permanently alter the sporting landscape, BRENT READ writes.
In a special Las Vegas edition of highlights and lowlights, BUZZ ROTHFIELD lifts the lid on referees for the season openers and the goalposts set to create a surprise for NRL fans.
Armed with a $3 million war chest, the Roosters are set to strike fear into their NRL rivals as they prepare to go big-name hunting. Their hit list includes a 2023 grand final star and emerging rugby prodigy.
Now that the NRL appears to have finally learned how to handle money, there is no longer any doubt about football’s best code.
The Canberra Raiders and Sydney Roosters will demand answers from the NRL hoping to get “proper justification and not some feeble response.”
Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/opinion