Bunnies Boasting Big Depth
Peter Roy - NRLnews.com - 16/3/07

NRLnews.com spoke exclusively with Souths forward Joe Galuvao earlier this week about the feeling at South Sydney and his thoughts for 2007.

Galuvao spoke of solid training sessions and hard work; which must have the Souths faithful excited about their prospects this year. With a strong work ethic and impressive early trial form, such is the depth this year at South Sydney that New Zealand international Galuvao can't be squeezed into the lineup for the match against the Roosters.

We are talking about a guy that hits it up like a runaway train. This is an ominous warning for rival NRL clubs, that not only do Souths have the quality and facilities to compete, they have depth that runs deep - with the trend in recent years proving depth is a vital component to winning the NRL title.

Unlike many players, when NRLnews.com spoke with Galuvao he was not put off by missing the round 1 clash. Joe was more excited to talk about the new direction at South Sydney, and the prospect of the club starting with a clean slate in 2007.

Galuvao said that Souths have the luxury of several players competing for spots in many positions and he has never seen such high motivation levels before. "We think we can give it a real shake this season" Galuvao commented. Joe also touched on the new signings for 2007 and said players have bonded well during the pre-season - which is critical with such a large influx of new talent into the foundation club.

The softly spoken and well mannered Galuvao was a pleasure to interview, and NRLnews.com thanks him kindly for his time.

The team at NRLnews.com look forward to seeing the Redfern express carving them up in 2007.

Tigers happy to be underestimated
Adam Sutcliffe - NRLnews.com 15/3/07

Wests Tigers captain Brett Hodgson believes losing the defending premiers tag will help his team fly under the radar in 2007.

With the disappointment of last year still echoing in their minds, Hodgson believes his still young side can learn from the lessons of 2005. Hodgson will lead his team onto Olympic Park against last years pace setters the Melbourne Storm in the season opener tomorrow night. The elusive fullback does so, with the confidence that Tim Sheens has assembled the right mix of players and the right mix of planning to execute well this year.

While 2006 fell way short of their expectations, after such an explosive 2005 - Hodgson openly admits there are no excuses for their poor showing last year. Looking ahead, the Tigers are excited by the fact they have a clean slate and have seen the introduction of some exciting new players.

Former Parramatta utility John Morris now calls the Tigers home and has shown impressive form throughout the NRL trial game period. The Tigers have also welcomed Luke Harlen and Peter Lewis along with ex-retiree Jason Moodie for this season.

Star pivot Benji Marshall is hopeful that his injury troubles are behind him, and surely behind the scenes the Tigers coaching staff would be lecturing Marshall about wayward shoulder charges and tackles that could end his career at any moment.

The placement of Benji wider in the defensive line makes good sense and this will help his attack potency in 2007. While Hodgson admits the pre-season form was a little concerning, he remains positive about the season ahead. "Trials aren't the be-all and end-all, we've taken some positives out of the trials and know what we need to work on.

While many experts predict the Tigers to fall short of the top 8 this year, you get the feeling the young squad is more than happy to be out of the limelight once more and will be even happier to prove everyone wrong in 2007.

No stopping Jason Smith at 35
Adam Sutcliffe - NRLnews.com - 14/3/07

The elder statesman of the NRL - Jason Smith today turned 35 and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Smith is the eldest player in the NRL today, and is only 5 years shy of the all time Rugby League age record.
The oldest Rugby League player in Australia was Billy Wilson who played until the ripe old age of 40.

Smith is closely followed by Ruben Wiki at 34, Danny Nutley, David Peachy and Steve Price all at 33 years old.

Jason Smith has obviously seen a lot in his 17 years of NRL. When he debuted for the Bulldogs in 1990, there was no where near the pressure or the scrutiny we see in League today - and the training would only involve a few runs through the week. As his birthday neared, Smith copped flak from his Cowboys team mates through the week, as they realised some of them were only in nappies when Jason played his first League game for the Bulldogs.

Known for his vice's - Smith has said he has cut back to 2 packs of Cigarettes a day and now settles for only a 6 pack after training or games. Smiths carefree attitude is refreshing in the age of cloned Rugby League products.

When asked about the future, Smith said he has hopes to potentially play another year with the Cowboys if injury and stamina permits. While he may be 35 and a few lengths short on pace, Smith is able to create time and space like no other in the NRL.

A true craftsman of the game, his creativity will be invaluable to the Cowboys in 2007 - and if his combination with Thurston continues to develop, happy times are to be had by the Cowboys faithful.

NRL Season Officially Launched for 2007
Adam Sutcliffe - NRLnews.com - 14/3/2007

The who's who of Rugby League were on the Gold Coast tonight for the NRL's official season launch.

It's the first time the official season launch has been held outside of Sydney. The location for the launch party was the highest point in Queensland - the penthouse of the Q1 Super Skyscraper building, treating guests to breathtaking views.

The NRL's new TV commercial package for 2007 were also screened to attendees for the first time, this years adverts feature leading players in NRL game footage from the 2006 and these images have been transposed on to recognisable Australian landscapes.

Commercials will be hitting our Channel 9 screens from today, where we will see Hindmarsh running on the Telstra Stadium forecourt and Mark Gasnier sprinting along the Bondi Beach corso with defenders in tow.

The new concept took many hours to create and final product combined with the 'Thats My Team' tune looks and sounds very slick.

The launch party was also used to put the spotlight on the NRL new boys 'The Gold Coast Titans' - the Titan's were introduced to the crowd and aeroplane flyby's were performed with Titans banners being towed behind.

Scott Prince when interviewed said the preparation for the Titans in the lead-up to their first NRL game has been ideal. Prince said he has no concern for the teams depth this year and believes the players have bonded far quicker than everyone expected.

Conditioner Billy Johnstone has everyone in prime shape and the players are itching for kick-off.

A crowd of 50,000 is expected for the Titans vs Dragons match - and the same capacity is also expected for the local derby between the Broncos and the Cowboys.

How to get your Tips right in 2007

Rugby League is now the most evenly contested competition in Australian sport.

David Gallop and his team at NRL HQ have done an impressive job over the past few years with initiatives such as the salary cap and minor rule changes to negate any advantages certain clubs may have held over others.

Ultimately in NRL 2007, any given team can win on their day. This has made Rugby League even more of an excitement machine for fans.

Supporters have come back to live games in their droves, taking comfort in the fact their team has a fair chance of coming away with the win, and even the chance of an empty drawn result is slim with the addition of the golden point finish.

While this is all good news for fans, spare a thought for coaches and regular weekly tipsters who risk heart attacks every weekend as the games are played out.

In years gone by, tipping against the Bunnies or the Cowboys meant a relaxing sleep at night - or tipping the once star studded Roosters dynasty to win was an easy 2 points.

Now every game, every tip is a rollercoaster ride. Failing means facing the heat at the office the following week - when colleagues will laugh at your limited NRL knowledge.

Here at NRLnews.com - we have put together a few pointers to give you the advantage when tipping each week:

* Factor in injuries, do the homework and find out whos at full strength
* Bench players, many tipsters overlook this factor in a team
* Rep players in a side. Stars mean experience, this helps in the backend of games.
* Positions. Look at which players are playing 'out' of their normal positions.
* Weather - Dry: helps skillful fast backlines. Wet: look for strong forwards.
* Referee. Are they a flowing or penalty giving team? How does it affect each side?
* Goal Kicking. Which team has the best goal kicker?
* Team morale. Poor form or in-fighting can affect teams, kept abreast of gossip!
* Home ground. The old faithful. This is a major factor, crowds win games.

Now if this all seems a little daunting, or you don't have the time to do all the homework - just ask an office colleague who doesn't follow NRL. This will guarantee you will get the tips right.

Good luck with your tipping in 2007, keep visiting for our tip guide each week.

Feel free to post comments regarding the article below, no sign up needed.

Broncos Cleared of Cap Rorts for Now

The NRL today has initially cleared the Brisbane Broncos of cap rorts after auditor Ian Schubert visited the Broncos Red Hill base to perform some high level investigations.

Broncos boss Bruno Cullen said on-going rumours have tarnished the clean skin reputation of the Broncos – as club officials seek to address concerned sponsors and supporters.

It seems for now, the majority of supporters are sticking by the 2006 NRL Champions – and NRL News watches with interest as more detailed investigations are held.

It’s highly unlikely anyone will be found guilty, as speculation suggested that the hiccup involved a cash payment to a marquee player. Such a cash payment would be almost impossible to trace – and unless someone speaks out, the culprits are rarely caught.

Wayne Bennett talks NRL and Salaries
NRL News Rugby League

Here at NRL News we usually put forward unique articles and NRL updates, however we saw such a good article by Wayne Bennett in the Australian News Paper - we just had to publish it. Please read on, as it puts todays NRL Rugby League Salaries into perspective.

In the NRL right now, kids love Sonny Bill Williams. He's all of 21 and he even has has his own website. He's a giant in stature and in real life. At 191cm, he's half a centimetre taller than Muhammad Ali and 2kg heavier than Ali's preferred fighting weight of 100kg.

Sonny Bill, an amazing footballer. Wonderful footwork, one of the biggest hitters - his tackles are jaw dropping, great skill levels, blinding speed and the uncanny ability to offload no matter how many defenders are hanging off him. At this point of his career he runs the ball as well as any player in the game.

BUT.

Sonny Bill Williams isn't a creator or team orchestrator like Andrew Johns or Darren Lockyer or Benji Marshall, or even the way Brad Fittler did for the Roosters. He's not the main man, the one guy that can turn a team into a winning machine.

I've coached players in previous decades similar to Sonny Bill, but I wouldn't have won a game if I had a team full of them - silly as it sounds.

At one end of the foodchain, players like Sonny Bill need to be complemented by key players, the creatives, and by the nitty-gritty, so-called unfashionable players at the other end.

I have nothing but praise for Sonny Bill, yet disdain and scorn for the picture painted, admittedly by others, that he was not happy to be re-signing with the Bulldogs for $500,000 a season.

This is wrong. It's wrong for the game and it's wrong for the fans. It's wrong for the unfashionable player who's running through brickwalls and making four tackles in a row yet lucky to be on a fifth of the cash.

It's wrong for the father of five who's on $40,000 a year and trying to get his clan to the footy to give them something to cheer about.

And it's wrong for the club. Canterbury is a wonderful club and has been for a long time.

The issue is not about whether or not he should be well paid; it's how we as a game go about it and when we go about it. It's about not leaving people, fans in particular, feeling cheated.

You only have to look at rugby union and Lote Tuqiri pushing his teammate in the back. That's not Lote. I know him better than most. This is what it was: Months of protracted talks about his future exploding in a very public moment of sheer frustration.

I can tell you from experience that a player cannot perform when he is under this kind of pressure.

He's juggling his club, his manager, his family and his emotions.

They are all telling him different things. He's going to do this one minute, and that the next, depending on which meeting he's just come from.

Players from other clubs, wonderful players, I've seen them play shockers for weeks in a row and I'm sitting there wondering why. Then I pick up the paper and read they're renegotiating. This is where the fan loses as well.

The player manager comes in saying he wants this and this and there's five other clubs who'll pay it if you don't. That's the starting point.

At the Broncos, we are no chance of signing Lote Tuqiri.

Salary cap aside, I believe if he genuinely wanted to play rugby league again, he'd want to play for us again.

When Lote went to rugby union, certain league administrators said there were plenty of Lote Tuqiris that we'd soon find another. That was six years ago. If you see another just like him, please let me know.

They don't make too many Lote Tuqiris, just as they don't make too many Sonny Bill Williams or Mark Gasniers or Matt Giteaus.

In Melbourne for a recent trial game, I remember seeing all my players at the airport reading the one newspaper over one another's shoulders. You rarely see them do that. The story was about Sonny Bill and his manager saying he was worth $1 million. A season.

You can offer him, say, $750,000, but the trick is how you keep the other 24 players around him and stay under the $4 million salary cap.

Without them, it's going to be the hardest $750,000 ever earned. No fun at all.

Life's experience has taught me if you're not happy - no matter what money they give you - it's not worth it.

Lots of people make bucketloads of money but are terribly unhappy with their lives and themselves.

What makes you happy is being in good organisations and being there for the right reasons.

The greater the money, the greater the expectation.

No one's a miracle man every weekend.