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It’s a strange feeling to find myself in full-throated support for a team called “Queensland”. As a boy born a bare year before Artie Beetson belted Mick Cronin, I have been raised to loathe teams representing that state. Support QueenslandERS, sure – when they play… Read More »Passionate, visceral, irrational tribalism is vital for any competition to succeed. Is a lack of it damaging Super Rugby?

Sometimes, you have to see things through someone else’s eyes to get the true picture. Walking out of Brookvale Oval – sorry, 4 Pines Park – on Sunday afternoon with my parents, in town visiting from the UK, my father remarked upon the sold out… Read More »Leichhardt and Belmore are the soul of the NRL – fans should enjoy them while they still can

We have all self-diagnosed on the internet. A sudden pain under your arm, a throbbing headache. Type these symptoms into Doctor Google and you may have anything from migraines to period pains. The point (outside of seeing a medical professional) is that not all symptoms… Read More »Ilias not even half the problem as Rabbitohs’ woes run far deeper than struggling playmaker

The hooker in rugby league evolved from someone who lived up to their names by hooking the ball back in scrums to becoming a creative force.  They had little skill and plenty of toughness back when scrums were a contest when dinosaurs roamed a Sydney… Read More »The evolution of the hooker in rugby league taking a backward step – creativity drops as workload increases