THERE can be no doubt that the most marketable Rugby League player in the world today is Reece Walsh.

His brilliant performance in the NRL Grand Final was followed by another outstanding display in the first Ashes Test.

He should be the poster boy of international Rugby League.

So I was struck by a sentence in one of the Australian newspapers last week.

“The coaching staff, led by former Broncos mentor Kevin Walters, have been so concerned about the buzz around Walsh on his first Kangaroos tour, that they have put a media ban on their hottest commodity as they attempt to manage the hype.”

Which other sport would try to prevent its hottest star from speaking to the media?

Could you have imagined the NFL’s New England Patriots coming to the United Kingdom a few years ago and putting a media ban on their great quarterback Tom Brady?

It doesn’t mean that Walsh was out of the spotlight entirely.

He has a great social media presence and last week there were examples of him interacting with youngsters in Liverpool and clearly having a great time with them.

Some people these days suggest that we don’t need the traditional media and that social media has taken over.

Prominent sportsmen can create their own agenda unfiltered by journalists.

That would of course be fine if Rugby League was a sport that commanded huge column inches in the national media.

But it doesn’t. We need all the space we can get. And the audience for the national media, which nowadays have a strong online presence, is likely to be a very different from the audience that might follow players on TikTok, for example.

If we prevent our leading players from speaking to the media, then I’m afraid we can hardly complain if the media ignore us.

Where now for the IRL?

WHAT has happened to the Rugby League International Federation, which now carries the title of ‘International Rugby League’?

Last weekend there was apparently a meeting of the IRL in London. But what was on the agenda?

There has been no official press release setting out what was decided. I’m not even sure whether the Chairman, Troy Grant, was even in the country.

We are now less than 12 months away from the next World Cup and no-one knows who is playing who, where or when.

Can you imagine that degree of uncertainty in any other sport when a World Cup is less than a year away?

I would love to visit Australia next year for the World Cup and I suspect that a lot of English fans would feel the same way.

Visiting supporters should be a great source of income for the tournament planners, as we saw with the recent British and Irish Lions rugby union tour earlier this year, which was planned 12 years in advance, allowing supporters the chance to save up for the once-in-a-lifetime trip.

And yet the IRL operates as though it is a secret society.

It’s very obvious that NRL supremo Peter V’landys is the real leader of the international game and it seems to me that the NRL taking a greater oversight and responsibility for international Rugby League is the way forward.

The development of the Pacific Championship to a stage where 45,000 people watched Tonga play Samoa in Brisbane is entirely the doing of the NRL, not the IRL.

All that remains is to formalise that state of affairs.

Welcome back Ian Watson

HULL KR won the treble in 2025 and the Robins are not standing still.

They have announced the recruitment of former Salford and Huddersfield coach Ian Watson as an assistant coach to Willie Peters after losing Danny Ward to London Broncos.

Ian enjoyed great success at Salford on a meagre budget, taking them to the Grand Final in 2019 and the Challenge Cup Final in 2020 (the latter being played in an empty Wembley at the height of the Covid shutdown).

Unfortunately he wasn’t able to replicate that success at Huddersfield, despite taking the Giants to the Challenge Cup Final in 2022, and he eventually left the club in July 2024 after a run of very poor results.

But that doesn’t alter the fact that Ian is a great judge of a player’s ability and is very analytical in his assessment of Rugby League teams.

I’m sure he will be a great asset at Hull KR and I wish him well for his return to Super League.

And on the subject of Hull KR, it was interesting to hear former Robins coach Tony Smith on the current League Express Podcast explaining why he believes that the club’s supporters are the best in the game.

Tony has coached at five different Super League clubs, as well as having led England and Great Britain.

The podcast can be found on YouTube or, if you prefer the audio only, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or other channels that host podcasts.

Gary on his bike

GARY HETHERINGTON has finally left Leeds Rhinos after 29 years.

Last Friday was his final day in the job and he will now devote all his attention to London Broncos in a bid to raise the profile of Rugby League in the capital city.

I wish him as much luck as possible in working with Darren Lockyer and Grant Wechsel to turn the Broncos into a Super League force.

Someone said to me the other day that the biggest negative of Gary joining the Broncos is that he will be missing from all the crucial Super League discussions that will take place over the next 12 months on the theme of whether the NRL should take a controlling stake in Super League.

At the recent gathering at Headingley to celebrate Gary’s time with the Rhinos, St Helens Chairman Eamonn McManus gave a speech in which he said that during his own 25 years with Saints, he and Gary have normally agreed on most issues, but when they disagreed, more often than not Gary was shown to be correct.

Let’s hope he’s back around the table soon.

Children of Courage

THE Yorkshire Children of Courage Awards 2025 were held at New Dock Hall in Leeds last month, celebrating 11 young people and a children’s charity for their bravery and resilience.

The event, which raised a record £100,000 for various Yorkshire causes, presented awards for achievements like fundraising, sports, and compassionate care.

Hull FC Community Foundation PDRL team member Corey Davies won the Sporting Superstar Award.

To quote Yorkshire Financial Planning, who sponsor the Hull PDRL team: “Corey Davies is an extraordinary young man living with Cerebral Palsy. 

“His ‘can-do’ attitude and unstoppable spirit inspire everyone around him. In 2025 alone, Corey earned his first international cap and was named Player of the Year for his team, a testament to his talent, resilience, and heart.

“We couldn’t be prouder of Corey, his family, and the Hull FC PDRL team for their commitment to promoting inclusive sport and empowering others through their work.

“Congratulations, Corey, a truly deserving winner!

“Thank you to everyone who joined us for this unforgettable evening, and congratulations to all the winners. The event was filled with incredible individuals and charities doing amazing work across Yorkshire.”

I couldn’t put it better than that.

Well done, Corey!