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RLCM Extracts
The Coach and Planning - With Brian Canavan - Sydney Roosters CEO
Well, how is the season progressing?
Is your team performing at the desired level or are there problems?
Are things going as you planned? Did you have a fully developed plan to start with?
It may be time to make a resolution about how you will plan a little more for next year's competition or attempt to improve in this season's performances.
Brian Canavan, Sydney Roosters' CEO, thinks this planning is very, very important. "It encapsulates all the knowledge and information you have in written form. The coach or coaching director at any level needs to get that planning structure right and then things will operate within that structure," he said.
Brian was speaking at the High Performance Camp organised by the NSW Academy of Sport at Narrabeen.
"The planning must be done pre-pre-season," he said.
"It is difficult to plan when you are in the middle of a season because you are too busy looking at next week's performance whether you are coming off a win or a loss."
In the planning stage then, Brian reminded his audience not to lose sight of the main reason the players are there and that is for enjoyment and improvement. This enjoyment or fun aspect may take different forms. It may be the camaraderie, the "character" players in the side or individual experiences. Whatever the form, the coach should be mindful of, and plan for, enjoyment throughout the
season.
As background to a planning philosophy, Brian talked about the main phases of athletic training being a pyramid of levels. The bottom level he called Multilateral Development. In the Rugby League context, this would mean the development of coordination, rhythm and agility, and applied to the age group up to 12.
The next level was seen as Specialised Training.
This saw the development of particular skills related to different positions on the field and applied to 14 to 16 year-olds approximately. The top level of the pyramid was labelled High Performance and involved the older and more elite performers.
Brian reminded coaches that their planning would differ according to the different levels that they would be working with.
So then to the planning: Using various analogies, Brian reminded his listeners that their players would come to them for a new season in an excited and enthusiastic frame of mind and ready to do their best, but ahead lay a rocky road for the coach.
Most players would go through an adaptation phase where they advanced and their performance improved.
Then, however, came the stage of diminishing returns where many performances reached a plateau or even diminished, and it was here that the coach's planning would bear fruit. The training regime is still needed but an effective plan allowed not only for active work but time also for rest and recovery.
"The body improves while it rests," he stated. "It loads up physiologically and mentally in anticipation of the next training session in which it will show an improvement."
At this stage Brian equated properly planned rest and recovery sessions as important as his original point about enjoyment.
"Technically," Brian said, "you need to be aware of the term Periodisation. This involves the division of the overall training programme into periods which accomplish goals."
He went on to say that the goals should be not just general but specific. They needed to state clearly what you wanted to achieve - even at different stages on the path to the premiership rounds.
They needed also to be measurable. To this end he talked of Micro and Macro Cycles. The former are the small blocks of activities which are recurrent and the latter, planned four-week blocks of training.
Taking pre-season as an example, Brian stated that this would involve two to three four-week blocks divided into pre-Christmas, post-Christmas and trials.
He added, of course, that this was for the top level and coaches of country teams and younger groups who would not have this luxury, would need to adapt their blocks to the level of time available to them.
In organising these blocks, Brian referred to three different methods of planning. The first of these, he called The Wave Plan.
This involved alternating waves of volume and intensity. Volume referring to 'how much and how many' of an activity and intensity to 'what level'.
Over the four weeks, the change in both is meant to follow a gradual curve or wave with intensity, such as more body contact, increasing in the later blocks.
Brian warned of over use of the volume aspect in particular. The Step Plan, Brian said, involved more radical change in volume and intensity in the first three weeks of each block and then a very important 'drop down, recovery week'.
The body has been challenged with significant increases in activity and the fourth week was for the mind to be challenged with different and lighter activities. This aligned with the 'body at rest'
theory mentioned earlier.
Brian also stated that overseas research pointed to a greater improvement in strength...... IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR COACHING YOU MUST HAVE RLCM DVDs, RLCM CD-ROMs and RLCM eBOOKS COLLECTION. Click Subscribe for Monthly RLCM COACHING DVD's.
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Latest News
Cartwright at a loss to explain worrying slump away from home - Coach John Cartwright was at a loss to explain yesterday's stunning capitulation to the Sharks in the NRL match at Cronulla, which saw the Gold Coast continue their worrying form slump away from home. more
Murphy's an optimist as team gamble pays off - Teenage Titans coach Steve Murphy's gamble on two SG Ball recruits paid dividends against Cronulla yesterday with youngsters Jordan Rankin and Lachlan Creighton pivotal to the gutsy 24-18 Toyota Cup rugby league victory at Toyota Stadium.
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THE BIG WRAP By Andrew Webster
Bennett employed as a Dog wrangler - THE Bulldogs are so desperate to talk Sonny Bill Williams out of joining rugby union they have recruited Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett to have a deep and meaningful with him about staying.
Bennett was approached by a board member last week, and it is hoped he will contact Williams before the mutha of all meetings between player and management at a restaurant somewhere in the St George district this week.
It is understood Williams and Bennett struck up a close relationship when the Broncos mentor was coaching the Kiwis team before the Centenary Test.
That said, it's strange asking the coach from one club to convince a star player to stay at another - but it shows the lengths the Doggies are going to so they can get the disgruntled forward back on-side.
Wayne's about-turn - While on Bennett, there are already murmurs at the Dragons about his close relationship with player manager George Mimis.
Bennett used to detest the Mr Nine Percenters but convinced Broncos prop Ben Hannant to sign with Mimis . who promptly got Hannant a three-year deal with the Bulldogs.
Bennett's arrival was seen by many at the Dragons as a way to break the triumvirate of chief executive Peter Doust, departing coach Nathan Brown, and Mimis, who acts for many Dragons players.
When Mimis stepped in to make a deal between the joint venture and the mastercoach, eyes rolled in unison.
End of the affair - South Sydney co-owner Peter Holmes a Court played the media game like few others in order to get his and Russell Crowe's privatisation bid up.
And again last year as the team reached the finals. But he has been conspicuous in his absence this week with the club in crisis. The Footy Show executive producer Gary Burns was desperate to get him on the show but Holmes a Court apparently said in an email that he just wanted to focus on the game against the Dragons yesterday. (Who knows? Maybe he could play halfback until Craig Wing returns).
As for Crowe, he told the program he would speak on the condition that former player Mario Fenech asked the questions - and he would only answer three.
Too early for Love - Tensions between NSW coach Craig Bellamy and NSWRL officials are intensifying, and the poor old media are the ones who are copping it (that's right: poor and old).
The NSWRL chairman, Colin Love, will announce the team at 7.20am tomorrow because the last time the team assembled it took an eternity for players to be informed of their selection before getting into camp.
Bellamy was furious about the delayed start to the side's preparations. It shall be funny seeing Love reading out the team to an empty room.
Lozza spitting chips - NSW selector Laurie Daley is filthy on Queensland Rugby League boss Ross Livermore for suggesting he is biased in his television commentary.
Livermore reckons Daley was out of line for labelling a tackle from Broncos and Maroons centre Justin Hodges on Eels hooker Mark Riddell as "one of the worst I've seen".
"Laurie is very angry," Daley's manager, Steve Gillis, told us. "To bring his integrity and credibility into question is very disappointing." Read more League HQ
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USA Rugby League - Axemen aim to build support, winning ways By Francine King, The Times-Union - The Rugby League team opens its third ANRL season with road games. When you bring two top-caliber international teams - and an Academy Award-winning actor - to town, people notice. Playing host to January's Australia Day Challenge between the Russell Crowe co-owned South Sydney Rabbitohs and England's Leeds Rhinos garnered the Jacksonville Axemen plenty of attention. It also grew the Rugby League team's fan base.
But Axemen co-founder, player and coach Daryl "Spinner" Howland knows attracting fans is one thing. Keeping them is another.
"We all see what happens to season tickets when the Jaguars don't play so well," Howland said. "We don't want to be in that situation. We want to be a team that is entertaining and wins games, especially for our home fans."
Howland said the Axemen, who started their third American National Rugby League season Saturday against the Philadelphia Fight, spent their first two seasons focused on building fan support. But now that they have between 2,000 and 3,000 fans, Howland said, the Axemen's priority is a winning season. They finished 3-6 last year.
One of Howland's efforts to produce that winning season was bringing in two import players. Shaun Murray and Brent Shorten, both 21, each have 15 years of experience playing Rugby League in Australia.
"They'll bring professionalism to the team," Howland said. "It'll be a completely different team. It's that big an impact."
Murray and Shorten have played together on several clubs in Australia, including most recently the Helensburgh Tigers. Howland said their transition to the Axemen has gone smoothly.
Because of construction affecting their home field at the University of North Florida, the Axemen will play an unusual schedule with four consecutive road games, then four consecutive home games. The Axemen's homestand begins July 12 against the Washington D.C. Slayers.
The Axemen will take next week off before resuming its road stretch June 14 against the New York Knights. Jacksonville Axemen Online
RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP TRAVEL UPDATE-UK PACKAGES ON SALE NOW
Official Travel Packages are On Sale Now for UK Supporters
MATCH TICKETS
All of our tour packages provide Category 1 Reserved Seating offering great views of the ground.
FIVE ORGANISED TOURS AVAILABLE - ON SALE NOW - BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT
Click here for details
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup to be held in Australia will be the biggest Rugby League event in the 100 year history of the game.
The Rugby League Experience is providing a range of packages for local, interstate and international visitors.
To be kept up to date with all the latest tournament and tour information you can register your interest here.
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Bradford 16-22 Hull By Chris Whyatt - After a poor first-half, Bradford pushed Hull hard to try and get level Hull booked their place in the Challenge Cup semi-finals after beating Bradford in a pulsating match at Odsal. Referee Steve Ganson had a busy first-half sin-binning three players before Matt Sing intercepted a Iestyn Harris pass 80 yards out to finish.
Todd Byrne finished off a brilliant Hull try before half-time then Sing added another after the break.
With intense pressure, Bradford hit back through Tame Tupou and Paul Sykes tries, but ultimately fell short.
From the start, the home side started on the front foot but Hull should have scored after swiftly moving the ball along the line from 10 yards out only for Danny Tickle to misjudge the crucial pass.
Bradford did put the first points on the board when Harris, kicking in the absence of the injured Paul Deacon, converted a simple penalty after Shaun Berrigan had strayed offside.
Indiscipline rapidly crept into the game and referee Ganson penalised Bradford for holding on as a Tickle penalty levelled for Hull.
With cheap penalties being given away, Harris bisected the posts from 30 yards before Tickle sent a long, 40-yard punt over the posts to keep Hull in touch.
Overworked Ganson soon lost his patience with the players' misdemeanours and sent Bradford's Ben Jefferies to the sin-bin for persistent holding before doing the same to Lee Radford for a niggling foul.
Harris added another penalty then Jamie Thackray was yellow carded for dissent.
But with Hull down to 11 men against Bradford's 12, the game exploded into life as Sing intercepted a drifting Harris pass and sprinted fully 80 yards with Dave Halley in hot pursuit for the game's first try with Tickle adding the extras.
Bradford continued to waste opportunities near the Hull touchline and, after Halley was sinbinned for preventing a quick restart, they paid the price.
Danny Washbrook dropped his shoulder 60 yards out, passed neatly to the onrushing Graeme Horne who, exploiting the angles, took on the full-back before putting an inside ball into the path of Adam Dykes.
Thackray was clearly back-chatting referee Steve Ganson after being told "it's not football" (great answer!)...
With bewitching movement, Hull had torn the Bradford defence apart and all Dykes needed to do was pass inside for Byrne to finish off a sensational try as the visitors took a 10-point lead into the break.
Hull picked up from where they left in the second half as, putting the ball through hands when feigning to kick, Radford then Tickle sliced through Bradford for Sing to touch down in the right-hand corner.
But, in front of an increasingly boisterous Odsal crowd, Bradford hit back.
Playing closer to Hull's tryline, some neat interplay on 45 minutes was rewarded with a superb offload from 19-year-old Sam Burgess which enabled Tupou to score.
Tickle converted his fifth five out of five before an opportunist Terry Newton 'try' was disallowed by the video referee for offside.
In damp and misty conditions, the pace of the game became ever more frenetic with Bradford pushing hard.
But Berrigan and a physical Hull stood strong in defence as much as Harris probed left and right with his passing and Thackray drove forward at the front when he could to relieve the stress.
But Paul Sykes's try brought the deficit back to six points with four minutes remaining though Harris could not finish the extras.
Hull then put in the six big tackles required to join Leeds, St Helens and Wakefield in the last four.
Bradford coach Steve McNamara said "It's hugely disappointing. We've not performed well at all. Sixteen points in those conditions is a lot to catch up but we should never have got ourselves in that position. They defended strong but we didn't throw much quality at them. Our skills were really poor."
"Terry [Newton] ran his blood to water. He tried desperately hard to get the side playing with more fluency."
Hull coach Richard Agar said, "We had to defend and it was quite heroic the way they just kept getting up to make last-ditch tackles.
"I thought we coped tremendously with the sin-binnings. It was 13 against 11 at one stage and all defensive patterns go out of the window. It was every man for himself. We gained a lot in attitude during that time. The way we thrived and buzzed off the errors we forced helped instil the belief in us to go on and win.
"We were still not pretty with the football but the attitude really shone through in defence."
Read more BBC Online
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The In-Form Jets Advance into Second Place - The Newtown Jets have moved up into second place on the VB NSW Cup competition table following their gripping 28-12 win over Wentworthville (Parramatta's feeder club in this competition) at Ringrose Park on Sunday.
The combatants were locked together at 12-all at half-time and Newtown held a narrow 16-12 lead with less than twenty minutes remaining, but the Jets kicked away late in the second half to claim a morale-boosting victory.
This was the Jets best performance this season, following on from last week's hard fought win against the Balmain Tigers.
Newtown's best players were forwards Mickey Paea, Ray Moujalli and Khalid Deeb, but all of the forwards dug deep and contributed in this no holds barred contest.
Halves Luke Millwood and Luke Branighan were Newtown's best backs with Branighan's second half kicking game proving to be a crucial factor in the Jets' late winning surge.
There is a general bye in the VB NSW Cup competition for the Queen's Birthday long weekend, and then the Jets return to Henson Park for what will be a monumental showdown with the unbeaten competition leaders, North Sydney.
The coveted Frank Hyde Memorial Shield for 2008 also goes on the line when these two centenarian clubs meet at 3.00pm on Saturday, 14th June at Henson Park. Newtown Jets Online
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CO-OPERATIVE RUGBY LEAGUE CONFERENCE NATIONAL
HEMEL STAGS 36 WARRINGTON WIZARDS 48 - Pennine Way - A try three minutes from time from Wizards' winger Stuart Pirrie saw his side go joint top of the table as they finally overcame a hugely spirited Stags outfit who played all but two minutes with 12 men.
Caine Wynyard, who has been Hemel's best in recent weeks, was sent off for a swinging arm before the match had warmed up and despite being in front only once, the home side came desperately close to taking a share of the points.
Within two minutes of the second rower's dismissal, the visitors were ahead, a sweeping move from left to right - that was characteristic of most of the afternoon's 15 tries - saw Matt Clarke go over out wide.
Outstanding Chris Mellor, who controlled and dictated play throughout, doubled the Wizard's lead in the 12th minute, but Kane Phillips replied as the half hour approached, signalling the resolve of the hosts.
Barry John Swindells converted but two touchdowns in six minutes in the lead up to the interval from exciting winger Carl Lloyd and Alan Reddicliff to make it 18-6 - Mellor landing only one goal - seemed to have established sufficient breathing space for the unbeaten Wizards.
After the break, a rejuvenated Hemel took control, hooker Gareth Swindells showing great strength and presence to bludgeon his way over from close in and, five minutes later, Craig Bailey went 50 metres on an interception and with Barry John Swindells goaling both, the sides were suddenly level.
Second rower Bailey, almost playing the role of two men in back row partner Wynyard's absence then tore over again in the 58th minute and the Stags were astonishingly in front.
Within four minutes, though, Warrington were level as Lloyd again finished an expansive move and as the Stags' rearguard began to understandably wilt, Mellor found a gap for his second touchdown with 15 minutes to go.
Scott Davidson did likewise soon after and the result seemed assured but Andy Curtain had other ideas, showing great resilience to get his side back into it with a forceful burst.
Pirrie quelled any final heroics from the Stags but there was still time for the sides to swap late touchdowns, Stuart McIntyre bringing Hemel back to within eight points before Jono Smith completed the scoring with Wizard's ninth try.
For Stags, Blake Kirby was at the heart of all their best attacks, in tandem with Kane Phillips and Bailey ran non-stop until the weight of numbers finally told. RFL Online
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Darren Shaw appointed coach of Rochdale Hornets - Former Sheffield Eagles forward Darren Shaw has been appointed as coach of National League Two club Rochdale Hornets.
The 36-year-old Australian, who was a member of Sheffield's 1998 Challenge Cup-winning team, takes over from Bobbie Goulding, who parted company with the club earlier this week after a run of five successive defeats.
Shaw, who has been given a contract to the end of the 2009 season, resigned as football manager at League One Leigh in April.
He is a former player at Rochdale and was assistant coach during Goulding's first spell at the club.
"Darren has been here before and he knows the club," said Rochdale chairman David Vining. Read more Sporting Life
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CO-OPERATIVE RUGBY LEAGUE CONFERENCE NATIONAL - WEEK 8 - MATCH REPORTS
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MORGAN CALLS FOR VIDEO REFS - Post-match reaction to St Helens' 24-18 victory over Hull KR. KEAR CHEERED BY CUP PROGRESS - Post-match Wakefield's 46-4 victory over Oldham.
RHINOS TARGET CUP GLORY - Matt Diskin admits Leeds have set their hearts on winning the Carnegie Challenge Cup this year. Read more Sporting Life
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CO-OPERATIVE RUGBY LEAGUE CONFERENCE - PREMIER - 31st May 2008 - MATCH REPORTS
MIDLANDS PREMIER
NOTTINGHAM OUTLAWS ended COVENTRY BEARS' long winning run with a fine 28-6 win at The Bay.
In front of a large crowd, the sides played out an intense, high quality game but the Outlaws always had the upper hand. In a tight first half marked by excellent defence from both sides, the Outlaws posted the only points of the period in the 17th minute, Tom Howley scoring in the corner, Ben Thornton converting.
In the second half, the Outlaws built steadily on their lead after Will Thomas crossed by the posts for Thornton to convert. George Strachan then extended that lead further with an unconverted try and after surviving some sustained Bears pressure, Thomas crossed for his second score to almost see the Outlaws home.
The Bears defeat was sealed when Chris McNamara scored with four minutes remaining. With the last play of the match, the Outlaws defence was finally breached by Coventry winger Ben Powis in the corner, converted by Graham Healey.
Fourteen tries including four for centre Adam Smith saw BIRMINGHAM BULLDOGS end their losing run with an 80-0 victory over a LEICESTER PHOENIX side still looking for its first victory of the campaign.
The Bulldogs had too much size and speed for a Phoenix side that never gave up despite being overwhelmed. The scoring began in the third minute with Ryan Wickett crossing out wide and Chris Gilmartin adding the first of his 12 conversions.
Smith crossed twice and Drew Harper, Mike Tait, Dean Platt, Wickett and Mike Jones all followed him over the whitewash for a 48-0 half time advantage.
Once Harper broke some stubborn Phoenix resistance in the third quarter for his second try, the points flowed again. Chris Barnforth, Glimartin, Smith with two and Jones ensuring the Bulldogs first win of the season.
NORTHERN PREMIER
CARLISLE CENTURIONS survived an early scare when, for the first time this season, they were trailing to the opposition, this time at 6-4 after thirty minutes of an entertaining and highly competitive encounter against NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS at Wallsend RFC.
Gradually Carlisle fought their way back into ascendancy, closing the first half in the lead at 8-6 before an inspired ten minutes at the start of the second half saw them post four unanswered tries to put the game beyond all doubt.
That lead was squandered by a spell of undisciplined play that allowed Newcastle a bit of hope as they recovered to 28-16 before a late Stalker special saw Martin score off a peach of a ball from twin brother Craig to close the game out and put Carlisle clear at the top of the Northern Premier table.
Other Cents try scorers in their 32-16 success were; Chris Harris and Craig Atkinson with a brace apiece and Richard Nicholson and Steve Potter. Craig Stalker registered just two conversions.
Two tries by Kevin Davey either side of half time were the impetus for JARROW VIKINGS' 32-26 success over PETERLEE PUMAS.
Scrum half Paul Roebuck gave Jarrow an early lead, Dan Dixon replying. Hooker Todd Riley edged the Vikings back in front in the 26th minute, James Cullen with the first of his two tries going over in response.
Davey's efforts were countered by Stephen Stockdale but Liam Hurst again edged Jarrow into a dominant position. Stand off Cullen hit back but Davey claimed his hat trick to secure victory, prop Craig Gilmore crossing late on for the visitors.
SUNDERLAND NISSAN posted their first win of the campaign with a 46-24 success at home to DURHAM TIGERS while LEEDS AKKIES got their season back on track with a resounding 80-6 win over WHITLEY BAY BUCCANEERS at Sycamores.
SOUTHERN PREMIER
A young ST ALBANS CENTURIONS side, with only five regular first teamers and a host of aspiring youngsters in it put up a spirited display before going down 54-6 at PORTSMOUTH NAVY SEAHAWKS.
The visitors held their powerful opponents until the third quarter when the impressive Naval side ran riot. Prop Mark 'bunny' Warren was the star for the Seahawks, crashing over for two tries on the day of his stag do.
Second rower Jim Barnes and centre Wesley Dugan each claimed hatricks as the Portsmouth side ran in 11 tries. Hooker Chris Reeves, winger Andrew Vance and stand off John Wood added their other four-pointers, Sam Foster kicking five goals. Saints' only reply came from full back Oli Fountain.
WEST LONDON SHARKS maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign and dominance in the capital derby's with a 52-18 triumph at LONDON SKOLARS on the curtain raiser to the National League Two match at New River Stadium.
IPSWICH RHINOS were made to fight all the way by ELMBRIDGE WARRIORS before registering a 24-22 win that keeps them in third spot.
WALES
BRIDGEND BLUE BULLS suffered there heaviest ever defeat going down 60-18 to a well-drilled and rampant BLACKWOOD BULLDOGS.
The reigning Welsh champions were again forced to field a host of new players giving eight their debuts and had no answer to the Bulldogs power and pace.
Things were looking bleak early on for Bridgend as Blackwood raced into an early 20-0 lead with tries from Gareth Ware, Grenville Jones, Paul Young and Trevor James with Jeremy Lloyd adding two conversions, but the Blue Bulls hit back brilliantly with scores from Paul Smithson, Lloyd O'Connor and Tevita Manaseitava.
Chris McGrath and Shaun Owen both came close to giving Bridgend the lead but the final say of the half went to Blackwood's Byron Williams and Lloyd again converted to give his team a 26-18 half time lead.
The Blue Bulls felt confident going into the second half as they had been in this situation against the Bulldogs in both previous encounters and gone on to win but Blackwood were rampant in the second half with tries from Byron Williams (2) Kristian Gay, Trevor James, Lloyd Hamer, Gareth Price and Gareth Ware.
Despite the heavy loss Bulls teenage duo Rhys Hawkins and Ton Johnson made a big impression while forwards Mark Orpin, Idris Hanmer and Lewis Tutt never gave up and tackled till the end.
At St Peters RFC, CARDIFF DEMONS banished the memories of WEST WALES SHARKS dramatic comeback in last fixture to record a 48-32 victory. Stand out performances from Chris Holcombe and Shane Goddard who scored two tries and six goals led Cardiff to their second win of the season.
As well as Goddard, Andy Lee, Curtis Cunningham and Kyle Blake all scored twice with Chris Holcombe also crossing. Cardiff blitzed the Sharks defence in the early stages, scoring three tries in quick succession but the visitors responded through Joe Bedden and Dylan Evans.
Touchdowns from Blake and Goddard's brace saw the Demons lead 34-10 at half time. With last years 33 to 32 defeat, after leading 30-6 at half time, fresh in the memory Cardiff were aware of the Sharks second half capabilities and despite losing the second period 22-12 Cardiff managed to hold on for the win.
Second tries apiece from Andy Lee and Kyle Blake were followed by Curtis Cunningham's double. The debutant winger shone throughout, and his second came after he supported a fantastic break from Lawrence Roycroft.
VALLEY COUGARS recorded there third successive victory with a 40-34 home win over NEATH PORT TALBOT STEELERS and the Nelson based team now sit proudly at the top of the table. It is a great turn around for the Cougars who were winless in this competition two years ago and aim to improve on last summer's semi-final spot. RFL Online
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Ogre to make last ditch Origin bid - SYDNEY Roosters prop Mark O'Meley gets one final chance to stake his claim for a NSW recall in State of Origin II when his NRL side meets the Wests Tigers.
Prince suffers form slump - GOLD Coast playmaker Scott Prince may have played himself out of a Queensland Origin jumper after producing his worst performance of the year on the eve of game two selection.
Dragons not looking too far ahead - ST George Illawarra captain Ben Hornby says the Dragons are playing with a new sense of belief but admits they are refusing to even think about finals.
Sharks take a bite out of Titans - LESS than a week after questioning his side's ability to stay in the fight, Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart lauded his side's mental toughness in their 30-14 win.
Second time Locky for Maroons - STATE of Origin II has become a whole new ball game because of the return of one man - Darren Lockyer.
NRL slams 'interlopers' from AFL - THE AFL has been branded an "arrogant interloper" after it tried to shift a Gold Coast rugby league match that was scheduled to go head-to-head against North Melbourne's next home match.
Prince to get shock Origin call-up - DARREN Lockyer's stunning comeback for State of Origin II is set to hand Scott Prince a shock recall to the Queensland side. Read more Foxsports
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Stuart defends Sharks' attack - Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart told Grandstand his side's 30-14 win over Gold Coast at Shark Park illustrates they do possess some attacking potency. The Sharks have been criticised as being too defensively-oriented but they poured on five tries against the Titans this afternoon, four of which came in the second half after they trailed 8-10 at the break.
The Sharks are now 7-4 after 12 rounds and they join six other teams, including the Titans, on 16 points. You can listen to Stuart's interview with Grandstand's Craig Hamilton below:
Read and listen more ABC Radio
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Dragons grounded despite winning streak - St George Illawarra half-back Ben Hornby told Grandstand the Dragons are not getting carried away after extending their winning run with a 26-12 defeat of South Sydney at the Olympic stadium in Homebush this afternoon.
The five tries to two triumph was the Dragons' third victory in a row and it has them sitting just two points outside the top eight with round 12 still to be completed.
The trio of wins includes the scalps of Melbourne and Manly and follows a horror start to the season where they won only two of their opening eight fixtures.
You can listen to Hornby's interview with Grandstand's David Packwood below:
Read and listen more ABC Radio
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Interview: John Ribot - Prominent sport administrator John Ribot told Grandstand that NRL clubs only have themselves to blame for their financial woes because they created a "false economy" through relying on gaming revenue.
Several Sydney-based clubs have voiced their fears recently they that may fold as a result of the New South Wales Government's increased poker machine tax, a concern that is shared by the NRL.
The tax has placed financial strain on leagues clubs that provide a large portion of the funding for a significant number of NRL sides.
You can listen to Ribot's interview with Grandstand's Craig Hamilton and Warren Ryan below:
Read and listen more ABC Radio
Positions Vacant
London: Rugby League Coach and Lecturer in Sport
Vacancy for Lecturer in Sport at Southgate College, London, including role as Head Coach of under-19 Rugby League team, working closely with London Skolars RLFC developing their youth acacemy players.
Full-time position Teach on a range of programmes in the relevant subject area, including:
BTEC Level 1,2 and 3 in Sport
Foundation Degree in Sports Coaching and Development
CYQ level 1 and 2
NCFE coaching, fitness and exercise
Must have UKCC Level 2 Rugby League Coaching Certificate (or equivalent from overseas NGB) and teaching qualification for 16-19 year olds on sport / PE courses.
Will coach team twice a week and take charge of matches in Student Rugby League and national youth comp.
Position starts 1 September 2008. Salary dependent on experience and qualifications. Approx £25-30,000 per annum.
For more details email laura.hall@...
THE RUGBY LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
We are proud to be the only travel company that specialises in the "Greatest Game of All". We bring vast experience of sending fans, just like you, as well as teams to the biggest games in Australia and abroad. As always, all of our tours come with our guarantee of providing you, the Rugby League fan, with the best value official packages in the market.
We now offer our STATE of ORIGIN 2008 tour packages comprising of :- Tickets, Travel and Accomodation for Game One Sydney - Game Two Brisbane - Game Three Sydney. This year we have a great range of travel packages for all three games of the series. All travel packages are Officially Licenced and include your choice of hotels, match ticket and a Rugby League Experience gift.
Click for
HOTEL OPTIONS, PRICES AND BOOKING FORM
STATE OF ORIGIN 2 QUEENSLAND V NSW - WEDNESDAY 11 JUNE 2008 - SUNCORP STADIUM BRISBANE The only match in Queensland this year will mean that Suncorp Stadium will be bursting at the seams. This package consist of one night accommodation with your choice of properties to suit your budget and taste. PACKAGES FROM $457.00
STATE OF ORIGIN 3 NSW V QUEENSLAND - WEDNESDAY 2 JULY 2008 ANZ STADIUM, HOMEBUSH BAY With all players looking to put their hands up for the Australian World Cup squad there will be no love lost in what could be the series decider. Get your mates together for this one night package with your choice of accommodation and optional tours and excursions. PACKAGES FROM $329.00
The 2008 STATE of ORIGIN Packages will not last long so please book early!
For more Rugby League Tour and Travel information click on the links below.
1 - UK CHALLENGE CUP FINAL - For those fans who want a once in a lifetime trip Challenge Cup Final at the world famous Wembley Stadium. Contact THE RUGBY LEAGUE EXPERIENCE PHONE: 1300 885 718 FAX: 02 9283 5898 EMAIL: tours@...
Click for 2 NRL GRAND FINAL - THE ULTIMATE GRAND FINAL EXPERIENCE CELEBRATE A CENTURY OF THE GREATEST GAME OF ALL AT THE 2008 NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE GRAND FINAL SUNDAY OCTOBER 5 ANZ STADIUM, HOMEBUSH BAY -
Our very popular Ultimate Grand Final Experience is for all fans of our game who are looking for that total Grand Final experience. The atmosphere and excitement of the weekend starts off with the Thursday night attendance at the Channel 9 Footy Show Grand Final Special, then builds as we have our exclusive " behind the scenes" tour of ANZ Stadium.
Our "Legends of League" Grand Final Harbour Cruise is a truly special day where you will lunch with some of the greats of our game. The weekend finishes off with the great spectacle of the NRL Grand Final complete with luxury coach match transfers.
Click for 3 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP 2008 The Rugby League Experience (RL Experience) is an Official Travel Agent for the Rugby League World Cup 2008.
We also have years of experience organising School and Club overseas playing tours and Club "End Of Season" trips so contact us for a quote for any Rugby League travel and we'll be happy to help.
THE RUGBY LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
POSTAL ADDRESS: P.O BOX 7345 ALEXANDRIA 2015
LOCATION: Unit 25, 110 Bourke Rd Alexandria 2015
PHONE: 1300 885 718 FAX: 02 9283 5898
EMAIL: tours@...
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Suite 1F First Floor Trust House 3070 Gold Coast Hwy
Surfers Paradise Queensland Australia 4215
Tel: +61 7 5538 9377 Facsimile: +61 7 5538 9388
Email: rlcm@...
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