Having a week off to recharge from the bye did nothing to stop South Sydney’s season from hell descending further into the abyss.  Jason Demetriou received a stay of execution from the Rabbitohs after a spirited performance against Cronulla but the speculation about when, not if, he will get the punt will ramp up after Friday night’s thrashing in Melbourne.  The Storm romped to a 32-4 half-time lead before taking their foot off the throttle as they cruised to a 54-20 triumph to improve to a 6-1 record in first place. South Sydney’s record is the opposite, as is their position on the ..read more

For all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the now-traditional Anzac Day clash at the MCG, there has been one thing conspicuously lacking over the years: Essendon and Collingwood both being properly good. The Magpies finished the 1990s meekly; the Bombers haven’t made it past week one of the finals since 2004. The quality of the match as a spectacle has seldom suffered, but not since 2002 has one of these games felt as significant as 2024’s edition. This was a cracking game of football by anyone’s measure; there were rapid momentum swings, statement moments from star players, more than o ..read more

It might have been that simple all along. As much as the structures, coaching and roster come under pressure at the Roosters, the solution to their issues might well just be keeping Sam Walker on the field and building around him. The halfback, who was dropped last year, then injured, then concussed three weeks ago, was the clear star this crushing 60-18 Anzac Day win over the Dragons, picking up the man of the match by a distance courtesy of a mentality that only grows with the stage. The Chooks can often be overstructured, but Walker is a player without it when he is in this mood. His lack o ..read more

The short weeks are done and dusted, with six more games in the regular season before we head into finals. The Crowd extended their lead on the tipping panel last week ahead of Christy, while Nick stays on his heels. All four panellists came up with two from two last week and there are plenty of differences of opinion to keep things interesting this time around. Make sure you check out Christy Doran Crusaders, Chiefs, Drua, Force, Brumbies, Blues Jeez, it’s business time with tipping and similarly crunch time in the competition.  With five trans-Tasman fixtures, we’ll find out who’s who ..read more

Did it take three attempts? What about seven? What about thirteen? The Des Hasler era is up and running at the Gold Coast Titans thanks to a 27-24 boilover in Auckland, thanks to one of the all time great stands at the end, enduring almost 20 minutes of concerted pressure to take an unlikely win. The Titans could have won their last two, losing to Manly in a high-scoring affair and to the Raiders in golden point. They hadn’t won at all through seven rounds under their new coach, with only a bye to show for their efforts in 2024. More League Des on the board after epic final stand sees Titans ..read more

The Dragons’ recruitment issues have continued with the club set to lose out on the signature of reigning Rookie of the Year Sunia Turuva as he opted instead to link up with Benji Marshall and the Wests Tigers. The Panthers had long since acknowledged that they would not be able to offer Turuva as much as he would get on the open market, but few expected the Tigers to jump in. St George Illawarra had been offering the chance to play fullback, competing with Tyrell Sloan for the number 1 jumper, and had been ready to insert clauses into a contract that jacked up the Fijian international’s wage ..read more

Despite the short nature of his tenure as a professional manager, Arne Slot has established himself as arguably the most impressive manager outside of the top five leagues, as well as someone more than worthy of the interest he is receiving from clubs such as Liverpool. At his first coaching job, with Dutch minnows SC Cambuur, he took the club from 14th to 3rd as well as their best ever cup finish, beating giants Ajax and Utrecht en route to a semi-final, ultimately only losing to AZ Alkmaar on penalties, quite impressive for a second-division side. Then, the former midfielder moved to AZ, whe ..read more

Much is made of the Panthers’ star-studded squad that naturally features heavily when representative football approaches. Rightly so, with a host of premiership winning players near automatic picks. Yet time and again, when injury strikes or representative selection impacts availability, Penrith are forced to scramble without all their cream present and the sum of the parts takes over. Even the departures of Stephen Crichton, Viliame Kikau and Matt Burton don’t appear to have halted their momentum, with finals certain in 2024 and market favouritism remaining solid early in the season. It is th ..read more

The Melbourne Rebels may have traded while insolvent for more than five years, giving rise to potential breach of director duty claims for the $16.8 million in debts incurred since then, according to a report released by the club’s administrators. In his long-awaited report to Rebels creditors owed a total of $23.1 million, administrator Stephen Longley concludes: “My preliminary view is that the Company may have traded whilst insolvent from 31 December 2018, and that it is likely that all debts that remain unpaid were incurred which could result in an insolvent trading claim exceeding $16.8m ..read more

Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have blasted a hole in Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge as Everton powered their way to a priceless derby victory. Goals from Branthwaite and Calvert-Lewin either side of halftime secured a 2-0 win – a first over Everton’s arch-rivals at Goodison Park in almost 14 years – which lifted them eight points clear of the relegation zone with four games remaining. For Liverpool, manager Jurgen Klopp’s much-celebrated ‘last dance’ took a further turn for the worse after the club’s Europa League exit at the hands of Atalanta last week. Klopp’s side ..read more