hunsletgreenandgold

I agree but that's bypassed quite easily by 'NRL clauses' for a lot of players, who clearly still have ambition to go back there at some point. I think the most disappointing thing in this case is that the rumblings of being unsettled and/or seeking a return to the NRL came within a few weeks of the season starting - opposed to his form on the field attracting interest.

On the one hand i'm thrilled for him - on the other this is proper 'deep end' throwing after such a long lay off. At home to the Tigers is a nice fixture though - really hope he's able to take the opportunity.

I am also reminding myself some called for Rowley to get the England job

Closer to home - "they got the wrong Lewis" makes that video of Wayne Bennet asking who Lewis Dodd is all the more toe curling, when you consider in some circles it's believed they thought they were signing Mikey Lewis. May or may not be true but i'm happy to keep the folklore nature of it running.

Always feels like there's more going on at Saints than meets the eye - another example. To be 6 points off the top of the league with the injuries they have is by no means a performance issue, so it begs many questions.

He's going to get a shock when he realises PNG aren't another Western Sydney club

Article with a bit more info on the proposed/alleged deal https://www.afr.com/companies/sport/nrl-to-remain-on-nine-foxtel-under-mammoth-5b-deal-20260626-p60abt Edit: Just noticed @Damien posted the same article in the NRL Growth thread - but probs still appropriate here as well.

A genuine 50/50 game - which means there's a blow out score incoming.

It's clear Brain Mc is taking the approach 'if they qualify we want them' and whilst I think in one sense it gives us more options, unfortunately the weakest positions we had in The Ashes (FB and halves) remain the same options. Of all the 'plastic poms' I can only really see Talty and Hamlin-Uele missing out.

Bateman played for Townsville Blackhawks this weekend. Interesting to see if he can fight his way back into the Cowboys side.

I think it's a generational thing. Most of the lads i'm talking about are my age (late 30s) and were maybe 10 - 13 years old when Wildcats became a thing, at the time when they were first getting into RL, so offers some nostalgia. For them it coincided with entry to SL as well, so even though they were turbulent years there is a place for some at least to look back fondly on that era/branding.

I'm sure @Martyn Sadler has his ear to the ground with the latest on all this?

Throw back logos/badges offer far more authenticity to a throw back kit than they do without it. Of course most Wakey fans preferred the shift back to Trinity, but many also have a soft spot for the 'Wildcats' era. I reckon this will do well.

This is really sad news. When I was in my teenage years I was good friends with his daughter Alana. He was always kind and friendly and happy to talk RL right down to grassroots level, even though he was head coach at Wakey at the time. A true RL man til the end. RIP sir.

Not disingenuous at all. It's primary usage these days is as an NRL stadium. But to placate you here's 3 more examples.... NQ cowboys CountryBank Knights McDonald Jones Parra/Wests CommBank