Anita Bath

From memory the clubs that had nicknames as part of their official name were Rochdale Hornets, Featherstone Rovers, Bradford Northern, hull kingston rovers, wakefield trinity, workington town, liverpool city, blackpool borough. Belle Vue Rangers.

Freddie Fittler pulled out of consideration for Kangaroos job. Looking like it could be Cam Smith.

AfL also have a free admission for kids one month each season. I think its July. I wonder if those figures include paying for the commemerative freize at Suncorp marking the Matildas world cup campaign....where they finished 4th!

followed by 22,000 at the dolphins game. I suspect there were quite a few no shows at the broncos because of the travel disruptions (no trains on gold coast line), but that doesnt explain the 9000 shortfall.

Our game has improved but not enough to beat the Aussies at the national level. But their four time repeat champions seem to find super league teams hard to beat.

I suggest you watch the 1985 challenge cup final if you dont think Aussies have improved our game, or maybe ask Halifax fans about the aussies they brought over around that time.

Broncos announced the game v warriors Sat afternoon is sold out =52,000 or thereabouts.

To be a replacement for Cobbo he would have to play at Wynnum next year!

ground not big enough.

Cobbo signes for Dolphins for 2026. Wonder if they might look at an early release for this season to cover for Bostock. It was injuries and lack of depth that kept them out of the play offs last season.

I dont dispute it was the right choice...simply saying nrl clubs will take it into account when considering any moves and investments...it would still involve moving his family to the other side of the world leaving extended family and friends at 'home'.

His track record goes back to his time in the NRL. What you see is what you get.

By that time Panthers will be well established in the top 4. Next six weeks they have a bye and play each of the current bottom 5.

My point is that clubs will take into consideration his failure to complete his contract, as well as the circumstances surrounding that before deciding on whether to go after him and any contract offers will probably reflect that. Yes homesickness is very real, so clubs need to be confident the substantial time money and effort required to sign an international player represents a low risk investment. It wasnt as if he was leaving a heavily covid restricted Australia to return to a restriction free UK. So the exceptional circumstances were not Australia-specific. A friend of mine was unable to see (other than by zoom) his first grandchild because he lived in Bury and his son and partner lived in ormskirk. Returning to the UK helped resolve homesickness but not covid restrictions. A former colleague of mine moved from Canada to Sydney with his South African wife and two year old son to take up a new job two months before Covid. His wife was pregnant at the time. While Williams circumstances might have been exceptional, they were not unique, or even rare. At Canberra Williams had several other poms among his teammates who were in similar (not necessarily the same) position. The NRL and individual clubs also provided considerable welfare support for players and their families. He and his family may not have to cope with covid restrictions if he was to return to Australia but he would still have to cope with homesickness. Caveat Emptor

When have I said it was spurious? Him and his partner were homesick....something most folks experience when they move across the other side of the world. They werent able to cope with it and returned home mid contract. Where am I wrong?