Sports Prophet

Sure, but it’s not like he can’t command a very healthy salary in the NRL as well. If I recall correctly, he didn’t want to play for another NRL club (or maybe I’m thinking of Benji’s move to Union). How about this for a theory then… Joey: hey boss, it’s contract time. Politis: you’re a million dollar player Joey, but even my sneaky skills of skipping the salary cap can’t pay you that yet. How about this. Teddy has two years left to run. Why don’t you go and spend two years in Japan, earning over a million without having to bust yourself. Then, when Teddy either retires or I move him on, we bring you back in two years and sign you for great money for the remainder of your career.

I took some time now to YouTube some Japanese club rugby and the crowds are actually very respectable. Some subsequent research then leads me to believe that crowd averages in the top division are over 11k. That out does SL doesn’t it? I think what this move does highlight is the growth of another professional club rugby competition which has long rid itself of “emerging” status. The competition appears undoubtedly a significant player in the market which can entice some of the world’s best rugby talent to sign up. Japanese rugby is the beneficiary of a greater global RU strategy to expand the game in new, financially successful markets. A strategy RL historically either shies away from or does everything possible to hinder.

Another steps in, but there are so many centres in the NRL which Manu is far superior to, so there is no mistaking that at the end of the year, the NRL will be in an immediate net loss without him. Maybe he is getting more. I can only speak to the contract reported in the media. He will play in a sixteen game season or eighteen if his team makes the GF. What is the lure here? I agree, it must be cash. But his market value in the NRL must be pretty close to $1m now anyway. So the reported contract is somewhat inexplicable. There is no chance of him being picked for the All Blacks. The Olympics will be close to four years away by the time he joins. I hope he misses the challenge of the NRL sooner than he is expecting.

So it’s official, Joey Manu has decided a $1m contract to play RU in Japan is a preferable option to continuing in the NRL. It is a great loss for the game.

The Canberra Raiders drew a terrible 11,738 yesterday, being outdone by the 12,448 who attended nearby to watch GWS Giants the day before. An impressive 17,141 at Campbelltown will further the argument from Shane Richardson to permanently move the Tigers away from Leichardt. 14,433 at Parramatta is an atrocious figure for a club the size of the Eels. Their fans missed out on a cracker to see the blue and golds pick up the points in a tight one against the Cows. Warriors continue to be the pride of NZ, with a fantastic 23,076 turning out for an entertaining draw against Manly. 46,224 is a huge crowd by NRL standards but somehow I feel a little surprised that the Brisbane derby didn’t draw 50k. In the earlier Friday evening KO, the Storm had 16,065 at the game watching them sneak home against an improving Bulldogs. Well under their average of recent years. The dreaded Fri 6pm KO could have some explanation, but for a city like Melbourne, with a great location like AAMI, I don’t expect that to be as big an excuse as in Sydney. Across the city that same evening, the mighty Bombers were at 94% capacity with over 50k there to watch them win at Docklands. Newcastle did well to pull 21,940 against the tri-colour opponents on a Thursday night. A pretty good figure for a mid week fixture. That just leaves the still TBA Bunnies v Sharks crowd at Homebush. Having watched the game, I don’t expect there to be any impressive number given when the attendance finally is announced. Despite three very poor attendances there, the Brisbane derby ensured the weekly average stayed above 21,500 which is still more than the record breaking season average of 2023 IIRC.

These “disruptor” decisions are probably the most open for referees to interpret on the fly at the moment. Jesse Ramien who is a notorious disruptor was penalised for “jumping early”, yet he jumped later than the South Sydney player. I actually thought that attempt was one of his more legitimate attempts to actually catch the ball.

Just because a woman is a professional athlete, it shouldn’t mean we don’t act gentlemanly. As for Schuster… well he’s just a fat, lazy illegitimate child.

The best idea for Odsal and for its longevity as a sports precinct is for Yorkshire to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and then ideally have the stadium convert into a high spec 30-35k rectangular stadium with an eye to make it a Rugby League centre of excellence for the RFL and potential host both Bradford Bulls and Bradford City.

Fortunately RL has a very small media footprint.

Does Sonny Bill Williams count?

Say “what” one more time!

I don’t think supporters of many clubs are willing to turn out in their tens of thousands for Monday night footy. Maybe and only maybe if it was a school holidays type of thing and a real big deal made of it. I think the only available time slot for a 9th fixture is a third Sunday fixture with them all starting at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm. But no single club can actually help with that as the time slots are all shared around. So the point with Perth being, hosting Thursdays and Fridays are almost off the table as they are going to be 6pm kick offs at best. Then hosting early weekend fixtures is off the cards too as that would mean a midday/1pm kickoff. On another note, I think the Friday night fixtures should each be kicking off half an hour later at 6.30 and 8.30.

I’ve brought this up before. People calling Perth a great additional time zone are well off the mark. It’s actually not helpful at all.

Yeah I know the GM of the NRLWA over there really well. Great guy. He’s been at it for years. He was heavily involved with the SL war and has some great stories. He and his team do a great job with the minimal resources they’re given. Perth is crying out for an NRL club. Government is backing it. edit note: I see the NRL have again made it hard for the Perth public to demonstrate their affection for RL. The Dolphins v Roosters match there later this year will be the notoriously unattractive Friday 6pm slot.

Do we really need to read the “PNG is the only country in the world where RL is the national sport” line in a RL press article. I am actually sick of hearing it at every broadcast discussion or in every article I read about PNG and RL. RL is biggest in PNG. We know ok, it’s been repeated ad nauseam.