The wait is finally over! Rugby League returns this weekend, but for the first time in National Rugby League history, the season is being launched in the entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas.

In a bold gamble by the NRL, Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo have managed to secure a 5-year deal that will see every club take part in Las Vegas. In 2024, it will be the South Sydney Rabbitohs vs. Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Brisbane Broncos vs. Sydney Roosters showcased at the 65,000 Allegiant Stadium. Rugby League’s biggest names, Reece Walsh, James Tedesco, Latrell Mitchell, and Tom Trbojevic, will be looking to play their best games in front of a live and TV audience of Americans. 

Vegas Rugby League will look a little different to back home, with the dimensions of the playing field being six metres shorter and five metres narrower than a regular league field, being 68 metres wide and 100 metres from tryline to tryline. An eyecatcher will be the goal posts, which are going to be that typical NFL yellow style in a way to attract the American eye.

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles vs South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sunday March 3, 1:30pm AEDT

Seibold’s Sea Eagles will be looking to start the season with a win under new halves, pairing Luke Brooks and Daly Cherry-Evans. Tom Trbojevic will be looking to have a huge year on the paddock, as this will unlock the best form from Manly in pursuit of playing consistent football in 2024. A strong forward pack and blistering back line now mean it’s up to the Manly halves to spell the magic and play finals footy. 

South Sydney will be looking to bounce back in 2024. After sitting first with the finals in sight in 2023, in came injuries and suspensions, leading to the bunnies bouncing out of the 8, finishing with a disappointing 9th. Coach Jason Demetriou has a lot on his plate this year, and with the addition of Jack Wighton to the squad, he will need to fit him while making sure Lachlan Ilias hits the ground running in hopes of forming well-performed combinations with Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell. 

Sydney Roosters vs Brisbane Broncos, Sunday March 3, 3:30pm AEDT

Once again, the Bondi boys will line up with a star-studded team, with the addition of ex-panther Spencer Leniu adding extra grunt to their 2024 pack. 2023 was a disappointment for Roosters standards, missing the top 4, and with combinations taking a while to get into gear, you would think this year the likes of Brandon Smith, Tedesco, Walker, and Keary take it up a notch to solidify a top 4 finish. This is Jared Waerea-Hargreaves final season with the Tricolours, closing in on 300 career games. The squad will do their all to send JWH out a winner and lift the Provan-Summons trophy for his fourth time. 

The 2023 runners-up, Brisbane, will be looking to go one further this year by lifting the Provan-Summons trophy, which they agonisingly had their hands on, only for Nathan Cleary to steal the show in what was a memorable grand final comeback. Having lost key players in Tom Gilbert, Herbie Farnworth, and Kurt Capewell, players will have to step up and fill that void while working alongside one of the most electrifying players in Reece Walsh. 

The Mock Sports Top 8 predictions

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No doubt rugby league fans would have been disappointed if it weren’t for the two best teams going head-to-head for the Provan-Summons trophy this Sunday; it’s simply mouth-watering. Both Penrith and Brisbane finished the competition with 42 points (18 wins, 6 losses). Both clubs played each other twice, snagging a win each, which now proceeds to a decider at 1-1.

The matchup cannot get any sweeter: Walsh vs. Edwards, Reynolds vs. Cleary, Haas vs. James Fisher-Harris, and Carrigan vs. Yeo. We can’t forget about the Father-and-son matchup of Ivan and Nathan Cleary against Kevin and Billy Walters. Where’s my popcorn?!

Whichever way you look at it, you simply have to applaud Penrith for making their fourth straight grand final and eyeing an historical three-peat; it’s become clockwork for the riff! The team is such a professional outfit; each player knows their role, their defence is enervating, and their attack is exceptionally special, with play after play coming off a string, led by the Prince of Penrith, Nathan Cleary. Each year, they’ve lost players to other clubs, making us fans wonder: will they drop off this year? If you lost two big-name players, Api Koroisau and Viliame Kikau, you would think they would be huge losses. It really hasn’t worried Penrith; their system is so elite. Mitch Kenny and Scott Sorenson took over those positions and have filled those roles to perfection!

Brisbane have been an absolute joy to watch this year; the exhilarating Reece Walsh, the damaging Payne Haas, and the calm head of Adam Reynolds have made for an exciting Rugby League outfit. Its wild to think that in 2020 the Broncos were handed the dreaded wooden spoon. Fans were literally throwing wooden spoons on their training field at Redhill! Three years later, they are on their way to Accor Stadium, looking to claim their seventh premiership. They’ve lit up Suncorp all year; the big question now is: can they light up Accor? They’ve only played three games in Sydney all year, claiming all victories; the big task is now upon them. Will Reynolds get revenge after his loss to Penrith in 2021? It’s going to be an almighty game for the ages.

2023 GRAND FINAL TEAM LISTS

PENRITH v BRISBANE

1. Dylan Edwards VS Reece Walsh
2. Sunia Turuva VS Jesse Arthars
3. Izack Tago VS Kotoni Staggs
4. Stephen Crichton VS Herbie Farnworth
5. Brian To’o VS Selwyn Cobbo
6. Jarome Luai VS Ezra Mam
7. Nathan Cleary VS Adam Reynolds
8. Moses Leota VS Thomas Flegler
9. Mitch Kenny VS Billy Walters
10. James Fisher-Harris VS Payne Haas
11. Scott Sorenson VS Kurt Capewell
12. Liam Martin VS Jordan Riki
13. Isaah Yeo VS Patrick Carrigan

Interchange:

Penrith – 14. Jack Cogger 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Luke Garner

Brisbane – 14. Tyson Smoothy 15. Brendan Piakura 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Keenan Palasia

THE MOCK SPORTS GRAND FINAL PREDICTIONS

POTTSY:

Grand Final Winner – In my eyes it’s going to be a flip of a coin. If Brisbane play to their strengths by dominating in the forward pack and not fall into Penrith’s systematic trap, they most certainly can cause an upset. Realistically, I think the class and grand final experience of Penrith will just get them over the line and go on to claim their 5^th premiership, to become three-peat champions! Penrith 16-10.

Clive Churchill – Nathan Cleary.

CASHY:

Grand Final Winner – I got to go with Penrith. Am I a genius for saying so? No. But anybody with eyes can see that they are just the best club top to bottom, inside and out, any way you look at it the boys from the Rith are the best in the NRL. A 3rd straight Premiership seems a formality at this point.
Penrith 22-16

Clive Churchill –  Stephen Crichton

NICKO:

Grand Final Winner – The boys from the Rith are just too good. They should be getting the job done, albeit probably in a tight one, as the Broncs are better than Parra were this time last year.
Penrith 24-18

Clive Churchill –  Dylan Edwards

The post 2023 NRL Grand Final Preview – Penrith Panthers VS Brisbane Broncos first appeared on The Mock Sports.

There is no doubt the Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos have been the standouts all year, with consistent form seeing them sit nicely at the top of the ladder. Most certainly there have been some surprise packages with the likes of the New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights firming for a top 8 finish. The Sydney Roosters and Parramatta Eels had the biggest fall during the season, which now sees them having to win all games to mathematically make the top 8.

PRETENDERS OR CONTENDERS

North Queensland Cowboys – PRETENDERS

During the pre-season people tipped the Cowboys to win the premiership, but the start of their season said otherwise. They looked as though they were no chance to make finals, but with such a slow start and getting absolutely flogged by the Wests Tigers 66-18 at Leichhardt Oval, you could put a line through the Cowboys. To their credit, they have managed to turn their season around and just last month they gave a return serve to the Wests Tigers beating them 74-0 at home!

The run to finals will be a tough one for North Queensland. They’ll be missing Valentine Holmes and Jeremiah Nani for some time. They finish off the regular season up against Penrith, at Penrith which is no doubt the hardest challenge on the NRL calendar. If they can win that game just before finals, it will bring significant confidence to North Queensland.

Parramatta Eels – PRETENDERS

The runners-up from last season have no doubt had a mixed year. The departure of Reed Mahoney was always going to be a loss, with Parramatta playing around with the hooker role, going from Josh Hodgson to Brendan Hands to now Joey Lussick. Parramatta will be blessed to have star playmaker Dylan Brown back on the paddock after he was dealt with a serious off-field incident, seeing him sit on the sidelines, as he did his time.

Parramatta will certainly want to find some real hot form as their finals have come a month early for them, having to verse Brisbane, the Roosters, and Penrith to finish off the year. It’s very much a long shot for Parramatta. They know how to beat Penrith, but will they even get the chance to verse them? It seems like a bridge too far for the blue and gold.

Cronulla Sutherland Sharks – PRETENDERS

The Sharks looked well and truly locked in for a top four spot mid-year until a few losses crept up on them. All year the Sharks have struggled to beat top eight teams, they comfortably beat bottom eight sides, but when the challenge gets hard it seems Cronulla will fault. A significant turning point I noticed with Cronulla was when Nicho Hynes returned from his first Origin game. It seemed the blame got put on Nicho for the defensive misread on Cameron Munster, who put the final nail in the coffin for the Blues at the Adelaide Oval. Coming back to club land a Nicho-led Cronulla looked off and it’s only now they’re finding their form again.

They verse the Titans and go on to play three top 8 teams which could be a blessing or curse for the Sharks. Time will tell.  

South Sydney Rabbitohs – CONTENDERS

At the beginning of the season, I had South Sydney in my top 4. I thought they would continually build and progress well into the finals. Reality is, Souths had a hot and cold season with the loss of Latrell Mitchell halfway through the season due to a calf injury. Souths flew down the ladder. They now look to finish with a top eight spot, but it all depends on which Souths rock up on the day. Last week against Cronulla they copped a disappointing loss, looking out of touch with many errors. It simply wasn’t their night.

If one team can make a charge to the finals though, I’m going to say Souths can. Their run home is Dragons, Newcastle, a BYE, and the Roosters. If the likes of Damien Cook, Latrell Mitchell, and Cody Walker get to devastating form, there is no doubt they can shake the competition and match it with the likes of Penrith or Brisbane.

Newcastle Knights – PRETENDERS

Newcastle have been another surprise package for me as they definitely had a slow start to the season. The addition of Kalyn Ponga to the halves was an experiment that didn’t work. Thankfully Adam O’Brien pulled the pin on that and with Ponga sitting out of State of Origin with the move back to fullback, he has been in career-best form. Newcastle have certainly been flying in hot form with Bradman Best, Jackson Hastings and Dominic Young setting alight the side.

They finish with three home games to end the season, which will significantly boost the Knights’ chances of winning all their games, knowing that McDonald Jones Stadium will be a packed-out fortress. I see Newcastle making the eight, but when push comes to shove, I don’t see them doing a whole lot come finals.

Canberra Raiders – PRETENDERS

Ricky’s Green Machine have had a mixed bag of results this season, who desperately need to get back to their winning ways before the finals approach. The news of Jack Wighton departing the club at season’s end for the Rabbitohs really fired up the Raiders and soared them into the top 8 collecting consecutive wins throughout the season.

They have to verse Melbourne and the Broncos before the finals which will be challenging games. Furthermore, their points differential of -74 could come back to bite them… 

Melbourne Storm – CONTENDERS

Melbourne have been hot and cold all year with their star players not performing at their all-time best. However, they have managed to still float in and around the top 4 this season. A fully fit Melbourne pack with Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster leading the side, they are sure to get into their winning ways.

After being off the football field for a year, it was nice to see the return of Ryan Papenhuyzen in the Queensland Cup. If he returns to the Melbourne squad, with some Bellamy magic I give the storm a sniff to be smokey’s to roll into the Grand Final.

New Zealand Warriors – CONTENDERS

The Warriors have no doubt been the surprise package for everyone this season. The biggest signing during the off-season was picking up an assistant coach from Penrith, Andrew Webster. He has spectacularly turned this team around overnight into premiership contenders. The Warriors have a nice run home versing teams sitting in the bottom 8 and they play 3 out of 4 games in New Zealand. The form of Shaun Johnson has been so good to watch. It’s the SJ of old and with the Dally Ms around the corner, he has got half his hand around the medal.

On their day, the Warriors can beat anyone, and I can see them shaking teams come finals time. Their position in the top four is most certainly locked in. Up the Wahs!

Brisbane Broncos – CONTENDERS

The Broncos have been my favourite team to watch this year as they continue to deliver exciting rugby league football. As soon as Reece Walsh signed to return home to Brisbane, I knew he would bring the full package, the fresh kid on the scene who has no quit in him, is always there to assist or score a try. He’s got a bit of Billy Slater about him, this kid! The likes of Payne Haas, Ezra Mam, Patrick Carrigan, and Adam Reynolds are enough to get Bronx fans excited about finals football.

After falling short in ninth position in 2022, the pain still burns for the Brisbane boys. I see Broncos there on Grand Final day.

Sydney Roosters – PRETENDERS

The Roosters have no doubt been the most disappointing team this season. Hopes were high and many tipped them to be there on grand final day, it looks as though they won’t be making the top eight. Nothing went right for the chook’s year, with too many chops and changes in the halves by Trent Robinson, there was never clear consistency. I think the biggest mistake was dropping Sam Walker. The young playmaker is still finding his stride in the squad. On the back of that having Joseph Sua’ali’i play centre was another crucial error.

After beating Manly last week, it’s now or never for the Roosters who need to win all their remaining games by significant margins and hope other teams lose. It would be a mathematical masterclass. They’ve been well off the mark for Roosters standards this season. Time to look towards 2024.

Penrith Panthers – CONTENDERS

The Panthers have once again been the best team all season and most certainty have the blueprint to beat any team, on any day. Just when you think 2023 could be the downfall after losing their key playmaker in Api Koroisau, Penrith did not change and continued its winning ways. Penrith’s nursery continues to bring through younger players such as Soni Luke and Sunia Turuva who have made a name for themselves, cementing their position in the squad.

Come finals time I expect it to be déjà vu for the Penrith boys. Timing their run right will be pivotal for the Panthers to be there on grand final day for the fourth consecutive year. At this rate, it’s Penrith’s premiership to lose.

The post Pottsy’s Predictions – The Run Home To The 2023 NRL Finals: Pretenders Or Contenders first appeared on The Mock Sports.

In what was a back-and-forth contest with controversial calls, sin bins, hair pulling, and jumper pulls, we sometimes wish the Biff was back for Origin as it just isn’t the same as the old days. Queensland went into this game as outsiders, living up to the underdog mentality as they always do. Queensland won 26-18, taking a significant advantage into Suncorp Stadium for game 2.

QUEENSLAND MAROONS

All throughout the week, Billy Slater was constantly questioned about his selections in Reece Walsh and his outside backs. Boy oh boy they delivered on the big stage! Walsh looked like an Origin natural, catching bomb after bomb and taking courageous hit-ups. He was on fire! The Queensland halves in Munster and DCE showed why they get Origin. I felt like they controlled the game perfectly, kicking in the right corners, with Munster inserting himself into the game when his team needed him the most, in the last 10 minutes running down the left short side to fend off Nicho Hynes, delivering Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow his second try of the night.

In what looked to be a dire result for Queensland, Thomas Flegler got sin-binned in the 68th minute with the Blues up by 2, all NSW had to do was defend and hold on. The scrutinising runs from Queensland’s forwards simply said no, they will be willing to take on the Blues with 12 men and this is when Tino, Cotter, Carrigan, and Collins went rampaging. It is the epidemy of Queensland spirit, that never-say-die attitude, to score two tries with twelve men on the field. Credit to them they were the better team on the night!

3-2-1 PLAYER RATINGS QLD

3- Reece Walsh

Walshy was very solid at fullback, making James Tedesco look like he was on debut! He continually leapt high taking high balls after high balls, looking dangerous every time he ran, and he got a try assist and two-line break assists capping off a brilliant origin debut. The kid can play!

2- Reuben Cotter

Cotter caught my attention all night as he was on the field for the full 80 minutes giving his all for the Queensland jumper. A total of 48 tackles were made by him, stopping every Blue that came his way. He laid a critical platform for the halves by laying out each of his 10 damaging runs.

1- Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow

The one player who caught my attention all night was the Hammer! He was on fire! He was by far the leading outside back on the field, claiming the most run metres of 147. Each run was damaging breaking four tackles and scoring two deserving tries.

NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES

Most New South Welshmen go into the game in the hope of a big win over those Queenslanders! Yet again, the Blues found a way to lose, in the worst possible way. Playing against twelve men they had the victory in their hands. Crucial errors and defensive lapses are what I took from the game. Having the most errors from both sides and letting in very soft tries on the edge, it was going to be a long night. It was exciting to see the Blues get back in front in the second half. This was all the result of some luck with Api Koroisau scoring a 50/50 try. This was very questionable as he dropped the ball on the ground.

I think the biggest issue with the Blues was the structure of the side. They looked very clunky as Tedesco overplayed his hand getting in the way of Nathan Cleary who struggled to get some attacking flare rolling. There was one glimpse of brilliance when Penrith star Luai linked up with Liam Martin to score the first try for the Blues. Looking ahead to game 2, I would only make a few changes, such as bringing in Latrell Mitchell in for Tom Tryboveic, who I believe is carrying an injury, playing with sound attack all night. Blues fans were upset with Captain James Tedesco’s performance and notably so, he slipped around in defence, overplayed his hand, and to cap off the night he let Roosters teammate Lindsay Collins leap over him which delivered the match-winning try to Munster. I would still use Tedesco for game 2. Even though it was only one game, he has shown before that he can deliver in big situations.

3-2-1 PLAYER RATINGS NSW

3- Brian To’o

Brian brought his clubland form into Origin with a strong performance. DCE kicked down to him all night and in return, he ran the house down for more than 200m and broke six tackles. He won’t lose his Blues position anytime soon.

2- Api Koroisau

I think Api had a very strong performance trying his heart out to get the attack rolling, aiming up in the centre of the field. He would have enjoyed being out there with his former Penrith teammates. He created plenty of opportunities and earned a try to get the Blues in front. Notably, he made 40 tackles in the middle. Expect Api to play hooker for game 2.

1- Liam Martin

Martin was my most impressive player for the Blues since he was so physical and aggressive in attack and defence. Once he came off the bench, he ran the ball creating a sense of excitement as he opened up opportunities. He ran 6 times for 62 metres and made 31 tackles. Deservingly he scored a try, capping off a standout performance for the defeated Blues outfit.

The post Blues Suffer Defeat at the Hands of the Mighty Maroons: 2023 State Of Origin Game 1 Review And Ratings first appeared on The Mock Sports.

The round provided upsets galore with the Wests Tigers taking the cake for not only the game of the round but for the Tigers the game of the century. This ignited historical scenes as they played their last game at the sacred Leichhardt Oval for Luke Brooks’ 200th NRL game.

BRONCOS V PANTHERS

In what was a low-scoring defence-orientated affair, Penrith were a class above Brisbane who went down to a Nathan Cleary special. He steered his side to victory earning himself a try under the post, the most line breaks, and sealing the game with a cheeky field goal, as Penrith won 15-4. Nathan Cleary has now become the youngest player to reach 1,300 points as he consistently aims to become the best player in the game. From an outsider looking in, Cleary and his boys are treading along nicely, as they are a team still a pack above the rest. If Penrith time their run to perfection they’ll be extremely tricky to beat as they aim to become the first team in the NRL era to win a three-peat.

The Broncos always found it challenging to compete with the Premiers as Adam Reynolds was side-lined for this game. Respectful efforts were shown as they threw their best effort at the line, but Penrith’s defence was relentless. On a positive note, Selwyn Cobbo, Patrick Carrigan, and Reece Walsh continue to play well, becoming very pivotal for the Broncos.

Source: Sporting News

DRAGONS V ROOSTERS

A game that could have turned both ways, the Dragons were playing for pride as pressure was at an all-time high. Having lost 6 in a row and lost their coach Anthony Griffin earlier in the week, a response was needed. The Saints steamed out of the blocks gaining a 12-point advantage at halftime as they shook the out-of-form Roosters. Ben Hunt steered the boys to a 24-22 victory as his kicking game was on point. This allowed the forwards to heavily aim up to the chooks, to which Jack De Belin, Blake Lawrie, and Jayden Su’a laid the platform. To top off a crucial victory at Kogarah, the highlight of the night was certainly the match-winner. The Red V were down by 4 points with a minute left on the clock when Tyrell Sloan delivered a kick to Mathew Feagai on the left edge to seal the victory.   

The Roosters are in a world of pain. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any lower losing to Penrith in Penrith last week, they now lost to a coachless Saints. This is now rock bottom. The first half was a football team that could not get out of first gear, making numerous errors upon errors and a lack of desire to stretch their arms to show some attack simply didn’t happen. Victor Radley was very lucky to not have been sent for 10 after his brain snap. He aggressively choked and headbutted his way to being on report. His disciplinary mistakes don’t seem to be getting better, and this is costing the Roosters dearly. Radley is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. The second half was better as Keary and Tedesco both scored two tries to get the Chooks into a winning position, but unfortunately a lack of desire to wrap the game up at 22-18 hurt. To make matters worse Brandon Smith will be out for up to 8 weeks after sustaining a thumb injury.

RABBITOHS V EELS

Just when you thought Souths were on cloud nine and looked unstoppable, Parramatta comes along. They took it to the in-form Souths who had no answers for the Eels as their forward pack was destructive with Brown and Moses simply outshining their counterparts. Mid-week Mitchell Moses finally put pen to paper signing a lucrative contract until the end of the 2026 season with an extension option until 2028. The Eels triumphed 36-16, showing that they can still perform against heavy competition. Just like every year consistently winning is their issue. If they can fix that, I expect Parra to soar back into the top eight by season’s end.

Souths would have felt uncomfortable playing a home game at a ground they’re not accustomed to in the form of Allianz Stadium. They made uncharacteristic errors and were on the back foot for most of the game. For Latrell’s standards, he had a quiet night out the back, defensively it was a costly error from Latrell, as Dylan Brown sprinted to the ball in the in-goal, scoring a crucial try, giving a comfortable lead for Parramatta. Walker and Ilias were outclassed with the boot as pressure mounted on them to get the ball rolling, which never took off. For Souths, this is probably the loss they needed. It’s a good wake-up call as they had an impressive six-win streak.

SHARKS V KNIGHTS

Up Up Cronulla! The class of the Sharks were simply too much for Newcastle as they claimed a 26-6 win at their home away from home at Coffs Harbour. The left edge of Cronulla was terrorising as Kennedy, Mulitalo, and Tracey all exposed the soft defence of Newcastle, touching down for four points. Cronulla cruised down the middle of the field with ease, paving the way for Nicho Hynes and Will Kennedy to work their attacking magic. Cronulla now sit equal first on points on the competition ladder. This exposes the comp to their slick and smooth attack, showing Cronulla have what it takes to cement themselves in the top four.

Newcastle would be disappointed in themselves showing up to Coffs Harbour with that performance for the locals. Coming off an impressive win last week against the Titans, many thought the Knights would be up for this game causing a possible upset. They struggled in attack looking clunky and disorientated asking no questions of Cronulla’s defence. The main man Ponga had an okay game scoring the only try for Newcastle, however, Ponga was dealt with another head knock which could sideline him hurting his chances for this year’s State of Origin. Dane Gagai was another Knight who questioned his own origin selection for the Maroons. He defensively was woeful contributing to the three left-side tries from Cronulla.

WESTS TIGERS V COWBOYS

Leichardt erupts in historical scenes as the Wests Tigers play their final game at the sacred Inner-West ground. Leading into Luke Brooks’ 200th game for the Tigers, I tipped them to win, but to win 66-18 no one would have expected that. It was honestly the most impressive game I have seen the Tigers win; their attack and defence were on par as they delivered their highest-ever club score in the Wests Tigers’ history. Notable players were Luke Brooks who finished with two assists, a line break and over 150m. Starford To’a played his finest ever game absolutely terrorising Valentine Holmes finishing with two tries, one assist, 15 tackle busts and 200m. It’s a joy to see the Tigers finally getting wins on the board, you could tell by looking at the hill fans were soaking this up and deservedly so, after a rough start to the season, the Tigers could get a roll on and crawl their way up the ladder.

Just as you thought the Cowboys may have turned things around by getting recent wins against the Roosters and Dragons. That thought turned into dust as they got demolished in an embarrassing night for North Queensland. Having no answers in defence with players running out of line, it simply opened the floodgates for the Tigers to hit the half-century. The Cowboys missed a whopping 56 tackles, which is not first-grade standard. Only having 34% of possession it was challenging for the Cowboys to be in the game at all. Conceding five tries in just 14 minutes at one stage, it wasn’t their night. The Cowboys simply don’t like playing in Sydney it seems. So far, they’ve played in three losing games totalling 125-38.

Source: West Tigers

DOLPHINS V STORM

Munster and Hughes did it again combining for a solid 24-16 win as they held on to a late surge from the Dolphins. Coming off a win against the Broncos, the Storm fronted up with the forward pack running amuck. This allowed Hughes to get into his work, setting up two try assists, one of which was an impressive grubber try for Munster. This saw Melbourne take a 24-4 lead at halftime. Melbourne’s best performers included Nick Meaney, who ran for 150 meters and converted all goals. As speculation continues on whether Ryan Papenhuyzen will return this year, it’s satisfying for Melbourne to know they have a handy Meany cementing that fullback position for now.

It was a Phin’s down sort of night as errors and discipline crept into their performance. This was the first time the former Melbourne Storm contingent who now play for the Dolphins were up against Melbourne, so it was sure to be a heated game. Notably, Felise Kaufusi wanted blood as he stiffed arm Christen Welch straight in the face being sent to the sin bin in the first minute of the contest! As a result, Kaufusi must wait nervously to see if his reported hit will sit him out of Origin 1. Having the most errors of 12 and a low completion rate, it was not their night, although Jamayne Isaako and Jeremy Marshall-King were standouts.

BULLDOGS V TITANS

The Doggies delivered a fantastic comeback for the Bulldogs faithful who attended Accor Stadium on Sunday afternoon winning 20-18 over the Titans. It was a shaky start for the dogs down 14-0 at halftime, but the man of the moment Tevita Pangai Junior stepped up when his team needed him the most sparking a remarkable comeback. Junior ran for 213 metres, had two tackle breaks, two offloads and 34 tackles. He displayed an impressive display in the front row of sheer aggression, intent, and power. As the clock ticked down with three minutes left a desperate Canterbury outfit threw everything at the Titans. Luckily, Jayden Okunbor picked up a lofty ball from Karl Oloapu leading him to trot over and score the match-winner.

The Titans seriously need to work on playing a full 80 minutes of rugby league football. For the fourth time this year, they have blown half-time leads, seemingly falling asleep in the second half. David Fifita had a cracker first half, but the big boy seemed contained well in the second. Old boy Kieran Foran tried his best, but it was a let-down from halves partner Tanah Boyd who struggled at times in his passing and kicking game. It is likely that the Titans would have won if they simplified their game. If they kicked well into corners, and defended well, attacking points would have come off the back of that.

Source: Getty Images

RAIDERS V SEA-EAGLES

On what was a freezing Sunday afternoon in the nation’s capital many experts would have tipped Canberra to be better suited to the conditions and continue their five-game winning streak. Manly came to play winning an impressive 42-14, as it was Tom Trbojevic’s day out. He scored a hat-trick, running for 245 metres, and taking 3-line breaks. Turbo looked back to his full potential just in time for Origin. Notably, it was a pleasure to see Josh Schuster back in the manly outfit. He had one of his finest games producing three try assists and scoring a well-deserved try for himself.

Canberra deservedly copped the loss they needed as their five-game winning streak came to an end. Canberra opened the scoring but from there on, it was all Manly. Disappointingly, the green machine missed 44 tackles, made 12 errors, and conceded eight penalties. If I was to pick one standout for Canberra it would be to Elliot Whitehead. The Englishman continues to play top-level rugby league as he scored the opening try, had 41 tackles, and the most line breaks. Canberra will look to bounce back next round as they travel to Sydney to face the Bunnies, who will be without Origin star Latrell Mitchell.  

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Jarome Luai, Kalyn Ponga, Latrell Mitchell, and Hudson Young were notable standouts across the round. No doubt all men are on the verge of Origin 1, which kicks off at the Adelaide Oval on the 31st of May.

Storm v Broncos

Melbourne bounced back Thursday night delivering a well-earned victory 24-16 over Brisbane who looked strong in the early stages until Reynolds was taken off injured due to a head knock. Hughes and Munster got back to their damaging ways with the pair all over the attack from start to finish. Munster crossed over to open the scoring in the 11th minute. Hughes notched two try assists, 100 running metres, and a line break. Feeding off Hughes was a powerful performance from Will Warbrick who bagged two tries and cemented that wing position.

As for Brisbane, there were glimpses of brilliance, especially from Reece Walsh, but Melbourne simply controlled the football all night. The controversial sin bins were another talking point of the night. Three Broncos got sent for 10, notably Patrick Carrigan was sent for a so-called ‘hip-drop’ on Payne Haas which had many viewers confused as there wasn’t much in it. Carrigan was dumbfounded by the decision, as it was a soft call that didn’t even make it to the match review committee’s charge sheet the next day.

Bulldogs v Warriors

A crowd of 14 thousand at Accor Stadium saw the Bulldogs succumb to the Warriors 24-12 in what was an impressive victory for the Shaun Johnson-led outfit. SJ continues to impress finding his form of old, forcing line dropouts and exposing the Bulldogs’ defence with a lovely grubber into the in-goal that Josh Curran landed on opening the scoring. Notably, Addin Fonua-Blake had a game to remember scoring 1 try and getting 162 metres for 12 runs.

The Bulldogs were disappointing, they had the team to match it, but their attack was very flat and offered no spark. From what I take from this, the scoreboard pressure dug the dogs into a dark hole that they simply couldn’t get out of. Matt Burton tried to do everything he could, he didn’t receive much help. Time to see whether Ciraldo will shake up the halves, welcoming Kyle Flanagan back into the squad.

Panthers v Roosters

Penrith won 48-4 over the Roosters who offered nothing to the back-to-back champions on a dewy Friday night at the foot of the mountains. Many fans wanted a tight content with a response from the Chooks. What the fans got was a dominant Jarome Luai performance as he scored a try and set three up. He steered the ship around letting Cleary take a back seat and convert an impressive 8/8. The highlight of the night was Scott Sorenson. He was on fire! The backrower claimed two tries and never stopped dominating the Roosters’ defence all night, leaving the tricolours scratching their heads all night.

As much as the Chooks would have liked to respond with a close victory, they ultimately delivered their worst performance all year. No attack was ever shown, with an out-of-position side looking very lost. Over the past two weeks, they have scored only two tries at the back end of the game. This should be a huge concern considering the players they have. It was commendable to see Trent Robinson take responsibility for this loss. He must take it back to basics with all players and proceed from there. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Sam Walker, and Joseph Manu are now injured which will make it challenging to string a convincing performance against another lost outfit in the Dragons, this Friday night at Kogarah.

Rabbitohs v Wests Tigers

South Sydney won a 20-0 dominant game against the Wests Tigers who held on defensively until the 73rd minute which saw Souths run away with the victory. Latrell Mitchell had another great game claiming a try, a try assist, seven tackle breaks and 12 individual points. The right side is getting talked about more this year as Campbell Graham dominates that edge taking the spotlight off try-scoring freak Alex Johnston on Souths left side. Overall, it was a solid win for Souths as they gave the Tigers zero hope of scoring. This cements the Rabbitohs as premiership favourites, sitting firmly in first place.

The Tigers’ effort should be commended in this game, as the score could have been a lot higher. They held on for most of the game but unfortunately, things slid away with ten minutes to play. The Tigers completed and defended well, but it all came down to Brandon Wakeham and Luke Brooks who offered nothing in attack. If the Tigers are to turn these close contests into victories, they will have to put themselves under pressure and take a risk in order to see tries.

Cowboys v Dragons

A beautiful Saturday afternoon of rugby league at Queensland Country Bank Stadium saw the Cowboys find their form, winning back-to-back games for the first time this year. Dominating 42-22 over the Dragons it was a pleasure to see Val Holmes, Murray Taulagi, and Scotty Drinkwater displaying exemplary games. One of the most talked about topics of the night was Heilum Luki! He was on fire dishing out two tries and running for 185 metres in the impressive victory. The 22-year-old raised the eyebrows of Queensland coach Billy Slater who will have him contesting on the back of the instant energy, size, and skill he could offer to the QLD forward pack.

Captain Ben Hunt would have been the most disappointed with his team’s performance. On a night that should have been remembered for Hunt’s 300th game, a milestone that only 46 other players have achieved. All eyes were on coach Anthony Griffin. The way Griffin handled young playmaker Jayden Sullivan was a disappointment, after being sin-binned in the 20th minute with the Saints conceding three tries in his absence, Sullivan never returned to the field. He ultimately decided for Hunt to play halfback and had Moses Mbye play hooker for the remainder of the game. After a disappointing 6th straight loss in the competition, questionable decisions from Griffin will only lead to questions from worried fans, who deserve better. UPDATE: Since the time of writing, Griffin has been sacked by St George.

Raiders v Eels

The Green Machine are flying under the radar claiming their 5th straight win, defeating Parramatta 26-18 on a freezing night in the nation’s capital. Overall, the Raiders dished up a solid performance, notably Hudson Young had a fiery game in the second row scoring 1 try, 103 run metres, 2 tackle breaks and 27 tackles. Another fiery character who played well was Corey Horsburgh who claimed the most tackles for Canberra on the night. If both men keep up their consistent form, no doubt both Freddy and Billy will grab the phone to call these lads for this year’s Origin series.

Parramatta had a decent crack, but Canberra was too classy in the end. Missing Mitchell Moses was the biggest loss as Parra had to adapt to Jake Arthur running the show. Parramatta didn’t have the finest ball handling that night dishing up 12 errors and completing at 63%. Notably, the officiating was average, leaving the Eels hung to dry with a 10-3 penalty count. Parramatta will be looking to turn things around with a big performance this Friday as they take on premiership favourites South Sydney.

Knights v Titans

Newcastle came to play on Sunday with an impressive team performance coming off the bye. The star of the pack Kalyn Ponga dished up his most impressive performance all year just in time for the QLD Origin selection. Winning in a high-scoring affair 46-26, Ponga set up three tries, scored one of his own and ran for 175 metres as the Knights recorded a resounding victory on home soil. Bradman Best was criticised over the week for his trip to Bali, but that clearly didn’t affect his form as he was at his barnstorming best with no Bali hangover in sight, returning with a notable Bali sleeve tattoo he crossed over for two tries lighting up McDonald Jones Stadium.

The Titans once again this year gave away another lead, this time opening the gates up for Newcastle who scored three tries in the 15 minutes, effectively putting the game to bed. Concerningly, Gold Coast missed a staggering 48 tackles in the contest, the majority coming in the second half. The shining light from all the negatives would have to be young star Alofiana Khan-Pereira who is making a name for himself. We can’t forget about David Fifita who was Titans’ best on the field scoring two and having the most running metres from both teams, being 234.

Sea-Eagles v Sharks

The Battle of the Beaches was a close game with Cronulla winning 20-14. A packed-out Sunday afternoon on the hill at Brookie was a sight to see. It was a gritty victory for the Sharks after a disappointing loss last week to the Dolphins. Nicho Hynes continues to show his fine form as he looks to get into a Blues jersey. The Sea Eagles scored a few late consolation tries but it wasn’t enough to win, as Cronulla held on to claim two competition points.

Manly would have liked to win that game but their attack never took off. Once again it is concerning to see Tom Trbojevic on the field as he clearly isn’t 100% fit to play. At one stage Cronulla attacked hard down the right side leaving Tommy in the shadows as he simply wasn’t fast enough for the outside backs. It appears his injuries have caught up with him recently, and his confidence is low. Manly diehard and podcaster Edward Simpson of Hello Sport fame was notably concerned saying “He isn’t playing to his ability right now. His playing within himself. I don’t know if that’s PTSD, he just isn’t himself right now.” I personally think it wouldn’t hurt for Anthony Seibold to rest Tommy or give him a spell in the NSW Cup to grow his confidence. Hopefully sooner rather than later Tom is back to his destructive ways again. His simply great for the game.

The post NRL Round 11 Review: Key Takeaways And Memorable Highlights first appeared on The Mock Sports.

Close matches and blowouts still kept the crowd on their seats with an expressive 3 days of Suncorp being sold out, totalling more than 147,000 fans in attendance. Queenslanders don’t have a reason to cry with all 4 Sunshine State teams winning, notably the two biggest upsets of the round were the Cowboys defeating the Chooks, and the Dolphins convincingly defeating the Sharks. Phins up baby!

BULLDOGS VS RAIDERS

The opening game of the magic round was a high-scoring match with the green machine just holding on to get two points.

The Raiders have been in fine form winning 34-30. The emotional news of Jack Wighton departing for South Sydney in 2024 clearly hasn’t affected their consistent form on the field. They have claimed their fourth straight win. It’s great to see Jarod Croker out there doing what he loves pushing for 300 NRL games!

The Bulldogs had a crack but there wasn’t enough in the tank to get the dub, Matt Burton played solid kicking sensational bombs all night, up and comer Jacob Preston is cementing his name in the squad claiming two tries and becoming a great ball runner. In a year or so, you’ll definitely see the Dogs of war playing finals.

SEA EAGLES VS BRONCOS

A home game for Manly definitely was strange being on Broncos’ soil, leaving the Manly boys feeling far away and lost from their real home!

The addition of Reece Walsh returning to the Broncos this year has taken their attack to the next level. Currently sitting first on the ladder, morale is high, and the wins keep coming. Selwyn Cobbo was a fine standout claiming a hat-trick off of a flamboyant attack. It’s a pleasure to see Adam Reynolds age like fine wine, steering the ship around to claim an impressive 32-6 win giving Manly no chance.

Anthony Seibold’s men aren’t in the prettiest spot at the moment. Tensions at the club are notable with talks of Josh Schuster being shown the door as in-house rifts are made public. The biggest issue I see is Tom Trybojevic. Tom clearly isn’t in fine form at all. He is getting through games but optically he must be carrying niggling injuries. Returning from his hamstring injury there is no doubt there would be self-doubt for Tommy to play at his highest level in case of re-injuring himself, respectively his in-second gear and I wouldn’t pick him for the Blues come Origin 1.

WARRIORS VS PANTHERS

The back-to-back champions must have gone into this match feeling that they could suffer three consecutive losses.

Penrith played solid claiming an 18-6 win against a defence-orientated Warriors who never threw the towel in. Dylan Edwards was a star out the back as he had an impressive performance, having the most run metres and line breaks. It’s going to hurt Penrith when inbound Chook Spencer Leniu leaves. He showed why he was one of the premier impact players. Coming off the bench he had thirteen impactful runs while claiming a try in the 74th minute.

The Warriors have improved tenfold in 2023. They are defensively switched on and Shaun Johnson has the form of old displaying solid rugby league. Coach Andrew Webster has kept the Warriors in the game for 80 minutes. It will be a considerable improvement this year. The only downside I see is them falling short of the better teams seeing them just outside the top eight come October.

SHARKS VS DOLPHINS

This was by far the upset of the round! Arguably the greatest rugby league coach of all time Wayne Bennett coached his 900th game and that fired up the Dolphins.

After coming off a close golden point loss to the Raiders, it was clear the Dolphins wanted to bounce back. However, against Cronulla, many punters wouldn’t have thought so… winning 36-16 was a great display of fiery attack. Young gun Isaiya Katoa is finding his footing every week setting up some fantastic tries. Valynce Te Whare’s debut is what dreams are made of. The steamroller got the crowd cheering. He was on fire scoring two tries and has no doubt cemented his centre position.

Cronulla had an absolute shocker against the Dolphins. Countless errors and poor defence resulted in a poor loss, but it was the loss they needed. Having won three in a row with Hynes flying in fine form it’s a positive wakeup call and reality check on where they stand.

STORM VS RABBITOHS

The most talked about game of the round has definitely answered the question of whether or not Souths are genuine premiership contenders. After winning 28-12, I for sure regard them as my premiership favourites.

Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker once again displayed a fantastic duo with four try assists between them. They performed at their finest gifting Alex Johnston two tries. Old bull Thomas Burgess shows he still has what it takes by having a significant impact off the bench with 139 metres from fourteen runs. If Souths keep up with this winning form, I don’t see how they won’t be in the top four, knocking on a grand final appearance.

Melbourne significantly wasn’t good enough, there was no rhythm and communication between the boys leading to a loss of note, it left Craig Bellamy scratching his head at stages trying to figure out where to next. Munster loves playing at Suncorp, but Saturday night wasn’t his night, when his not on Melbourne aren’t on, he didn’t give much in attack. I expect a huge game from Munster when they take on the Broncos at AAMI Park on Thursday night.

WESTS TIGERS VS DRAGONS

The battle of the merger clubs was meant to be the poo-slinger game of the round, but I saw it as an entertaining fixture resulting in a close fixture with Dragon’s coach Anthony Griffin’s job on the line.

Wests Tigers are on cloud nine after winning 18-16! Having now claimed two wins in a row for the first time in 379 days, confidence is building within the squad. That’s all it takes just one win to get on a roll. It’s great to see Luke Brooks playing solid footy, they’ve all simplified their roles to essentially run, tackle, and attack hard. You can see the fire in them with their defensive display to end the game by saving a try in the corner. It’s the one percenters that win you rugby league football. They face South Sydney this Saturday which will be their biggest challenge all year.

The Dragons were extremely poor! A flat Ben Hunt at full-time torched his own side as ‘dumb,’ leading all eyes to Griffin who no doubt has one foot out the door for departure. Having now lost five straight matches, it has got to be a concern for the Red V. When will they get a win on the board and how long does Griffin have left as coach? In the pre-season, I tipped them for the wooden spoon, and I won’t change that at all.

ROOSTERS VS COWBOYS

A must-win game for the Cowboys is what they desperately needed. Having only won three games all year and coming off a thumping by the Sharks they had to win.

The Cowboys showed glimpses of their electrifying 2022 season, getting their form back on track. They gave the star-studded Roosters nothing, beating them 20-6. Chad Townsend, Valentine Holmes, and Reuben Cotter were back to their best. On Fox Sports, Cooper Cronk said, “The way the Cowboys are defending, there’s shades of their defence from last year.” Fuelled with confidence now, this game will propel the Cowboys in the right direction.

For my boys, the Roosters. Where do I start? It was challenging to watch 80 minutes of football as the Chooks gave nothing in attack or defence. This game leaves more headaches for coach Trent Robinson who has to figure out the team’s spine quickly as they have Penrith this Friday night. The forwards are 100% giving their all on the field, this comes down to the halves and backs. Walker was unfairly dropped, he needs time to develop consistency with Luke Keary. The Manu experiment in the halves hasn’t worked and needs to be moved to his natural position, the centre. It’s concerning that with all the stars in the team, it’s clear the attack isn’t working at all. The one positive was the long-awaited return of Billy Smith who had a cracking game running riot!

TITANS VS EELS

The Goldy boys are no doubt flying under the radar after claiming a gutsy 26-24 win over Parramatta.

Gold Coast held on to win back-to-back games as veteran Kieran Foran scored two tries in the first-half spelling magic on Suncorp. The powerhouse of David Fifita was again on fire and will no doubt be looked at by Queensland coach Billy Slater for this year’s Origin series. Young Gun Jayden Campbell was my standout. Having no fear, he flew through the sky taking absolute screamers under the high ball, consistently took runs and most importantly put the icing on the cake for the Titans, delivering a beautiful cut-pass to Philip Sami to seal the game.

What’s the matter Parramatta? It seems that just as things look favourable for the blue and gold, they claim a loss. Consistency has always been the biggest killer for them, and it hasn’t changed this year. In theory, the squad could have easily beat Gold Coast today, but costly errors, Guthersons stupid sin bin, and Moses missed conversions were sufficient reasons. Positively, Sivo scored three tries, and it was great to see Andrew Davey claim a try in the final minutes of the game, coming from a man who bounced from Manly to not starting at the Bulldogs to finally earning time at Parra.

The post The NRL Magic Round Spectacle: Key Takeaways and Memorable Highlights first appeared on The Mock Sports.

For our final edition of this retrospective, we get to look at the 6 clubs that managed to forge their way through the fire and merge with one another to remain in the league for years to come, with the majority of them still being in the league today. Let’s get into it!

Balmain Tigers: 1908-1999

Talking about the Tigers, the boys from Balmain have a long-standing history in the competition, as they were a founding member and are even still in the NRL, in the form of the Wests Tigers merger with Western Suburbs, more on that later.

The team was founded in 1908 as one of the first-ever rugby league clubs and the roster was made up almost exclusively of the Balmain Rugby Union team and they were quickly nicknamed the Tigers after their intended Black and Gold hoops resembled more of an Orange and Black tiger look and the rest is history. The club was quite successful in their early days, consistently finishing in the top half of the table and managed to win 6 out of 10 possible premierships from 1915-1925. They could have been 1909 Premiers as well if they had bothered to show up to the game as an agreed boycott of the game between the Tigers and Souths was quickly backed out of by Souths who rocked up and collected a free title via forfeit, classic Tigers botch up that.

The next 70 years of their history was a rollercoaster of emotions for fans with years spent at the bottom and plenty of years at the top, especially in the 80s, as despite the team failing to produce a single premiership, they played finals just about every year and almost every home game at Leichhardt Oval was sold out. Steve Roach and Paul Sirronen led the charge as the stars with the likes of Benny Elias playmaking up a storm and captain Wayne Pearce keeping the team in line. They managed back-to-back grand finals in 88 and 89, but couldn’t capture the elusive title. Then the 90s came and the troubles started to emerge.

After 1990 they didn’t make the finals once and their on-field troubles mirrored their financial troubles behind closed doors. They even tried to move the team at one point, becoming the Sydney Tigers and playing out of Parramatta with terrible results and they quickly reverted back to their roots. At the turn of the millennium, the league made it clear that teams were on the chopping block as the competition was to be cut to 14 teams and stragglers everywhere scrambled to get the cash to make them financially viable or seek joint ventures to stay afloat. There were talks of a merger with Parramatta, boy what a sight that would have been, but instead the members voted to go with fellow foundation club Western Suburbs Magpies. Even though it was revealed that the NRL was happy to keep Balmain on as one of the 14 teams, the merger made the most financial sense and members were appeased to still have their team in the competition in one way or another.

So it was set, 2000 was to be the year of the West Tiger and their final game was to be played at the end of the 1999 season. 15,240 fans packed into Leichhardt Oval to watch their Tigers win over the Eels in a spirited contest.

In the merger, the club got to keep the Tigers identity and colours, as well as the Leichhardt Oval home ground which was a major positive for fans and the club still performs under the Wests Tigers moniker to this day.

Illawarra Steelers: 1982-1998

Illawarra is a proud rugby league region and they tried to enter a team into the top competition at the time, the NSWRL, many times starting in the 1950s and popping up countless times until they were finally admitted in 1982 during a time of expansion that also saw Canberra join the league.

The first season wasn’t kind to the two new expansion teams as they shared the bottom of the table, Canberra taking the wooden spoon in last and the Steelers grabbing 13th place. This became a regular occurrence for the Steelers as they won the wooden spoon 3 times in their first 8 years, but it didn’t stop the Woolongong faithful from turning out every week to watch the boys in red and white.

Over the years many of the game’s top talents made their way to Illawarra with their most notable alumni being Trent Barret, Craig Fitzgibbon, Shaun Timmons, Rod Wishart and Paul McGregor, all of whom had successful careers after leaving the Steelers, with the latter 2 staying on with the merged St George team afterwards.

Speaking of the merger, this came about towards the back end of 1998 and like many clubs post Super League, they had little money to work with and with the NRL’s rapid plans to decrease the league to just 14 teams made up of the strongest clubs around, Illawarra went looking for a joint venture. They managed to snag one with the St George Dragons and the two clubs decided to join forces going forward as the first-ever NRL merger was made. It is also perhaps the strangest, as they are further apart geographically by far. The 2 HQs are a good hour and a half down the highway apart and it has created quite a disjointed club dynamic.

Many Illawarra fans claim the merger was more of a takeover, as St George kept basically every element of their identity including logo, jersey design and home ground with the only reference to Illawarra being the regions named being tacked onto the end, with most fans failing to say it whenever referring to the Dragons. The only element of the old Steelers that is left is the fact that the Dragons will play sporadic home games at WIN Stadium in Woolongong. Either way, they managed to survive potential bankruptcy and are still in the league, so that is something for Steelers fans to hold onto.

North Sydney Bears: 1908-1999

North Sydney is one of the oldest clubs in Rugby League history as they are one of the nine foundation clubs and were formed out of the Northern Suburbs Rugby Union team in 1908. Before being dubbed the ‘Bears’ they were initially known as the ‘Shoremen’ as they were the only team that was from Sydney’s North Shore and teams had to travel quite a while to play them due to the lack of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which wasn’t built for 25 years. They weren’t named the Bears until 1959 when the Big Bear Supermarket began sponsoring them.

Despite being one of the most popular clubs in the game’s history, with a strong legion of fans to this day, they never actually had much success on the field. 92 years in the competition and they only amounted to 2 single premierships and 7 wooden spoons, with most of their years spent in mid-table purgatory. In 1921, the Bears had arguably their best-ever season when coach Chris McKivat led them to an undefeated season that resulted in the club’s first-ever premiership. Their second? That followed just a year later with a dominant 30-point win over Glebe in the 1922 final. Unfortunately, after that, their form fell by the wayside again and that was the final time the club tasted Premiership success. That’s right, they spent the next 77 years without a single premiership, talk about droughts.

But despite the fact that on-field success was sparse, the red and black unit produced a plethora of generational talents. Billy Moore and Ken Irvine would have to be the most notable of the Bears alumni with both playing plenty of games at State of Origin and International levels. Irvine actually holds the all-time try-scoring record for the club, managing to snag 171 tries in just 176 games, a pretty good hit rate if you ask me!

Towards the end of the 90s the club was starting to look pretty dire financially and coupled with the fact that they couldn’t perform on the field there was a bid made for the club to move up the highway and be located in Gosford and be known as the Central Coast Bears. It all looked set, every party was happy, until it was decided that the NRL was going to be reduced to 14 clubs, which meant teams like the Bears who were on the outer were set to be kicked to the curb. To avoid this tragic end, they managed to put together a merger with Manly and the joint venture of the Northern Eagles was born, but that was doomed to fail, more on that later.

Since being removed from the competition, the Bears have managed to keep their league’s club open and retain a strong legion of fans, who helped pay off their extremely deep debts. Due to the fact that they’re still around in the NSW Cup, many have called for their return to the competition and they have entered bids on multiple occasions. Honestly, they’re probably the most likely defunct club to make their return to the comp. Their bids have ranged from the straight bat option of the proposed Central Coast Bears team of the 90s making a return, with the Perth Bears and Adelaide Bears also being floated as options. The wildest bid would have to be their most recent with the club being nomads with no set home ground and simply being known as ‘The Bears’ with their home games played in essentially every market that the NRL have looked at having a team without ever pulling the trigger – Perth, Adelaide, North Sydney, Gosford, the Riverina, Wagga Wagga, Coffs Harbour, Darwin and various other country regions. Yes, that is crazy and no, it will almost definitely not happen. But we can only hope that one day the Bears return to comp in one way or another.

Northern Eagles: 2000-2002

This was just never going to work, was it? North was forced into this merger, but Manly was not. They had fans, enough money and competition backing, so why would they strap themselves to one of the most struggling clubs in the league?

Players from both sides had to be tossed aside due to the salary cap and the new joint venture club lost the likes of John Hopoate, Ben Ikin, Gary Larson and Craig Field. Due to this, their on-field performances were average at best. They never finished higher than 9th and there were tonnes of backstage drama going on in the boardroom that didn’t help. The fanbase was constantly split, as the games were played at Brookvale (Manly’s Home) and Gosford, embracing the Central Coast Bears idea, but further alienating the original North Sydney Bears army.

So nobody was on board and questions were constantly raised at why the merger had even taken place at all. The league seemed to agree and moves began to be made to revert the clubs back to their original identities. However, North Sydney didn’t end up surviving this and they were tossed by the wayside, while Manly would continue on in the league to this day.

The only thing that the Eagles could really claim as a success is that the whole merger drama managed to skyrocket the Manly Sea Eagles’ popularity after every fan came out of the woodwork to demand their return to the competition.

St George Dragons: 1921-1998

St George tried to be one of the foundation clubs but they couldn’t manage to get a team together due to pressure from their local Rugby Union team. However, after many many attempts, they got entry into the league in 1921.

They struggled pretty early as many of the clubs did when first entering the league, picking up the wooden spoon twice in their first 10 years in the league. But at the turn of the 30s, everything changed for the Dragons and they started to be really competitive. So competitive that in the next 50 years they managed to set premiership records and remain a consistent presence at the top of the table.

In this time the halls of St George were graced with the presence of legends of the game by the names of Johnny Raper, Norm Provan, Reg Gasnier and Graeme Langlands. They were all superstars in their own respective eras, especially Norm Provan, who of course was so iconic that he is now cemented in history on the Provan-Summons Trophy – the trophy awarded to the NRL Premiers every year. Not to mention that along with Provan, the 3 other names mentioned – Langlands, Raper and Gasnier are all immortals of the game, the highest possible honour any player can be awarded.

Merger talks for St George began in 1995 when they started to believe that it was the only way of long term survival with the Super League on the horizon and talks were held with Sydney Roosters to combine forced and become the Sydney City Saints, which would have been a super club of epic proportions. But those talks fell through and attention was quickly moved to a potential merger between the Dragons and Illawarra and Cronulla under the guise of the Southern Sharks. But obviously that didn’t happen due to fan backlash from the Dragons side. But in 1998, a merger was finally found and a deal with Illawarra was complete and the St George-Illawarra Dragons was created. Unlike the Steelers, the Dragons got to keep their entire identity in the merger and their fans are fully represented at every turn, in what many Steelers fans would call a hostile takeover.

At least they were right about something in that the merger in the fact that it was crucial to long term survival and the Dragons are still around to this day.

Western Suburbs Magpies: 1908-1999

The little battlers that could. The boys from the West. The mighty Magpies. The Western Suburbs Magpies were the final foundation team to find themselves removed from existence and ask just about any of their fans and they’ll talk your ear off about how much of a crime it is the they’re no longer around.

Much like the North Sydney Bears that we disucessed earlier, despite an extremely strong legion of fans, they kind of stunk on the field. 92 seasons, 4 premierships, 8 times runner up and a solid 17 wooden spoons. Yep, they won the spoon on average once every 5 years or so, which explains why the modern day Wests Tigers are doomed to forever be locked into the bottom half of the table.

To be fair to Wests they were torpedoed by the league at almost every step of the way. See, back in the day, a club’s players had to live within the team’s recruitment zone and every time a new club was added, a large chunk of Wests’ territory was snatched up by the incoming club. For instance, when Canterbury were introduced, almost half of the Magpies’ 1934 Premiership side were forced to play for the Bulldogs, because they lived within the new Canterbury cachement zone. This was a problem that saw many of the smaller clubs go under, especially the likes of Newtown and Annandale.

The 30s was a great time for Magpies fans as they finally seemed to recover from constant lower table finishes to win a couple of premierships. One came in 1930 when captain-coach Jim Craig led them to a dominant 12 win out of a possible 14 games season that culminated in a dominate 27-3 victory over St George in the Grand Final. As mentioned, one came in 1934 when Frank McMillan captain-coached them to a victory over East Sydney 15-12 in front of a packed out Sydney Sports Ground. After that, it was struggle street again until 1948 brought in another premiership when they defeated Balmain 8-5 in the final.

The 60s brought a great time for the Pies as they were dubbed ‘The Millionares’ as their hugely successful Leagues club had a plethora of pokies money to line the pockets of the Magpies recruitment wallets and the club was able to bring in greats such as Harry Wells, Dick Poole, Kel O’Shea, Ian Moir, Noel Kelly and Arthur Summons. Arthur Summons in particular went on to be an icon for the club and is immortalised in history as apart of the Provan-Summons trophy due to their iconic ‘Gladiators’ moment after the 1963 Grand Final against St George.

The 70s was another iconic era as it saw the introduction of Roy Masters and Tommy Raudonikis and the face slapping era of Wests were born and they were seen as the toughest group of players that ever took the field. However, they couldn’t produce a premiership and only disappointment came for the fans of the Pies for much of the era, but it is still fondly remembered by fans. This lack of onfield success and the sudden drop off in Leagues club profits caused the beginning of the end for the white and black crew and they quickly relocated to Campbeltown to try and stay afloat. But the on-field troubles continued and they suffered back to back wooden spoons in 1998 and 1999, heck of a way to go out.

To survive, like many others, they seeked a merger with another, more successful club. Talks with South Sydney and Canterbury fell through and eventually a negotiation with Balmain was finalised and the Wests Tigers were born. Unfortunately, they were on the side of the merger that lost their identity as Balmain got to keep their colours and mascot and the only element that the Pies got to keep were sporadic home games at Campbelltown and the name of ‘Wests’.

But the Magpies still live on in the Ron Massey Cup and the NSW Cup and still play out of Lidcombe Oval with plenty of fans in the stands for most games, especially the reunion game tey play every year where old players come back to the ground and get treated as heroes. They’ll most likely never see NRL action again, but nobody can deny that Western Suburbs Magpies have a lasting legacy on the competition.

Well, that’s the retrospective complete! All 17 clubs that no longer find themselves at the top level of Rugby League and where they find themselves today. Were/Are you a fan of any of them? Please share your memories in the comments!

If you enjoyed my retrospective series make sure to share it with your mates so the great history of these clubs are not forgotten and comment below what you want to see me dedicate a retrospective to next!

The post Every Defunct NRL Club: A Retrospective – Part 4: The Mergers first appeared on The Mock Sports.

Thursday 8:00pm: Eels vs Storm

To open the 2023 season the Eels host the Storm at home and I’m expecting this one to be a cracker. Eels have won 5 of their past 6 against Melbourne however, Parra is missing some firepower they have had over the years in Reed Mahoney, Isaiah Papali’i, Ray Stone, Marata Niukore and Ryan Matterson (who is suspended). They look easily worse than last season but I can’t right them off as they still have a lot of promise in their 13. The likes of Gutho, Moses, Brown, RCG and Paulo will be huge for the Eels in this game and are critical for the team’s success. Unfortunately, for Parra, the Storm looks red hot coming into the season and are flying under the radar for the comp big time in my opinion. Munster, Hughes, and Grant are only going to get better this season and the gains of Katoa and Sims are huge. They will blossom at Melbourne under Bellamy, especially Katoa. They are very dangerous and when Papi is back it can only get worse for the opposition. I have Storm winning this one in a tough battle.

Result: Storm 1-12: $3.00

Friday 6:00PM: Warriors Vs Knights

One of the more average games of the round with this matchup with both teams expected to come in the lower bottom half of the table. Not much to discuss here, both teams are on the same kind of playing level. On paper, the Knights are better slightly however, their performances over the years have been extremely below average. I don’t see a blowout going to either side but the Warriors have a home advantage and do perform in NZ however I’ll lean ever so slightly with the Knights to win on the back of a Jackson Hastings and Lachie Miller masterclass. I really like these two signings for Newcastle and I think it will help them edge over the line in some close games.

Result: Knights 1-12: $3.75

Friday 8:00PM: Panthers vs Broncos

Onto the big Friday night game with featuring the Panthers and the Broncos in Penrith. I’ll try to keep this one short and sweet as I think Penrith will be way too strong on Friday night. They will come out with a chip on their shoulder due to their recent loss against St Helens. The Broncos are flying under the radar this season so I won’t be expecting a blow out however, Penrith are looking ready to win and control the game as they always look to do.

Result: Penrith 1-12: $3.00

Saturday 3:00pm: Sea Eagles vs Bulldogs

To kick off the Saturday games the new-look doggies take on Tommy Turbo and the other lot. Manly are rubbish without this bloke and I’m not saying players like DCE and Jurbo aren’t great players. Tommy being in this side allows this team to do what they do best with the footy. The spark and flare he adds to this side will be too much for the dogs in my opinion. The dogs have another year to go before they are a top 8 side in my opinion so I don’t have high expectations.

Result: Manly 13+: $2.90

Saturday 5:30pm: Cowboys vs Raiders

Big season for both teams. NQLD were a game away and a few missed calls away from playing in the Grand Final last season and personally, I don’t see them slowing down. No changes to the side, bar the loss of the Hammer however, I don’t see that coming back to hurt them. Raiders are in for a big year as well with an easy draw. I see them making the 8 off the back of Wighton, Papa & Tapine. Can’t see them winning this one though as the Cowboys look very switched on as always and No Papali for the Raiders as well which hurts.

Result: Cowboys 1-12: $2.95

Saturday 7:30pm: Sharks vs Rabbitohs

The Sharks face Souths without Nicho Hynes. I go for the Sharks as well and the only way we win this is if our backs just bully Souths through the middle which is a big ask. Sharks are not a one-man team by any means but Trindall is seriously bad in games against big teams. Souths will dominate the majority of the game and most likely run away with it. Latrell, Walker, Cook, Murray etc will have stellar performances as well which isn’t a bold prediction but I just think they will play to prove a point that they are in it to win it all this season.

Result: Souths 13+: $3.00

Sunday 4:00pm: Dolphins vs Roosters

Now, I’ll keep this very short. The Dolphins are f*cked and won’t win more than 3 games. Roosters are the Roosters. If Roosters don’t win 13+ that is very concerning.

Result: Roosters 13+: $1.53

Sunday 6:00pm: Tigers vs Titans

This is going to be a good game. Both teams look better than last season and it will be interesting to see how this pans out. The advantage edges toward the Tigers in my opinion as the Titans don’t have a true 7 and are coming off the back of an extremely underwhelming year. The Tigers looked outstanding in the second trial and they seem to have an entirely different mentality towards their footy. If that’s any sign of what’s to come I’ll take the tigers in a high-scoring close game.

Result: Tigers 1-12: $3.10

The post NRL Weekly Preview – Round 1: Which Teams Will Start Off On The Right Foot? first appeared on The Mock Sports.

The boys from AFL town have become the most successful club of the new millennium, benefiting from an unbelievable system in which supremo Coach Craig Bellamy has built a reputation of turning no-hopers into vital Premiership puzzle pieces.

Guys like Bryan Norrie, Jaiman Lowe and Sisa Waqa really had no right to win an NRL Title. Only at Melbourne, I suppose.

But these blokes……well, I guess Bellamy couldn’t weave his magic on these fellas.

Then again, he never stood a chance really.

George Rose (2014) – 9 Games

If you don’t love George Rose, then please show yourself out.

Big Georgie Rose was and will forever remain a Rugby League icon. Who would be carved into the Mt Rushmore of Rugby League is always a fun discussion, but goddam if George Rose doesn’t get a start then this is not a world I want to live in.

Alright, I’ll settle down, but I mean come on, it’s George Freakin Rose. You can’t blame me.

The big cuddly bear was far more famous for his career at Manly, where he became one of the most popular players of modern-day NRL. However, the Prop Forward appears in the Storm Set Of Six, due to his rather underwhelming stint in Melbourne.

Rose didn’t last long in Victoria, a blink and you’ll miss it tenure if you will. Rumour has it, his muscles still haven’t recovered from the famously brutal Bellamy pre-season he endured.

You ruined a good man Craig.

Jackass.

The post The Set Of Six: NRL Mediocre Players – Melbourne Storm first appeared on The Mock Sports.