THE RUGBY LEAGUE NEWSLETTER

Edition: 102. (35th for 1999)
Date Sent: Friday September 5, 1999.

The Weekly Newsletter is a free news and information service from
the World of Rugby League team. Matthew O'Neill compiles together
the newsletter with British News from Jonathon Knaggs and NRL
statistics provided by James Stewart
World Rugby League: http://rleague.com

Features this week: NRL Finals Series, Australian News, English
News, NRL & ESL Player Stats, Queensland Cup Semi-Finals, NFP Final
Round Preview, Website of the Week, WRL Information & Summary and
Newsletter Sponsor.

Full Fixtures: http://rleague.com/live
Live Updates: http://rleague.com
Tune in for live updates of all the NRL semi-finals this weekend.


NRL FINALS SERIES
---------
The Finals Series of the National Rugby League premiership begins
tonight when Sydney City play Canterbury at the Sydney Football
Stadium. The Roosters go into the match was odds-on favourites
against the September specialists.

There are two matches on Saturday; the afternoon match is Melbourne
at home to St George-Illawarra at Olympic Park with the night match
Parramatta v Newcastle at Parramatta Stadium.

Sunday's match will see The Sharks play host to Brisbane at Shark
Park. The match is elimination for the Broncos; they must win to
survive into next week.

The McIntyre finals system is complicated, but putting it simply,
Newcastle and Brisbane have to win at all costs. If the Sharks and
Parramatta lose, they'll get a second chance regardless of what
happens in their matches. The other four sides won't know their fate
until after the Sharks v Brisbane semi-final. The two lowest place
losers are eliminated while the two highest place winners proceed to
week three.

The final placings were: 1.The Sharks, 2.Parramatta, 3.Melbourne,
4.Sydney City, 5.Canterbury, 6.St George-Illawarra, 7.Newcastle,
8.Brisbane.

Well done to the eight clubs in making the NRL finals series, in
particular to the Sharks on securing the minor premiership for the
second time in their 33-seasons. Well done to the nine clubs who
missed out on the finals series for helping make the season a very
good one for the NRL.

More about the McIntyre Finals system:
http://rleague.com/newsa/00315a.htm
Full Preview of all finals matches:
http://rleague.com/nrl99/teams.htm
SportsTAB Odds: http://rleague.com/nrl99/sportstab.htm


AUSTRALIAN NEWS
---------
Compiled by: Matthew O'Neill.
Email: mailto:matthew@...
More Australian News: http://rleague.com/newsa

--- Ivan Cleary will play tonight for Sydney City against Canterbury
in the first semi-final of the Ansett finals series. Cleary wasn't
named in the original 16 players Phil Gould named but it was one of
the worst kept secrets that he was always going to play. Cleary is
most likely to play from the bench with Graham Appo retaining the
fullback spot. Brendan Hurst was tipped to take the final spot on
the bench but he won't play according to Gould.

--- Interchange forward Robbie Kearns is unlikely to play for
Melbourne in Saturday's home semi-final against the Dragons.
Melbourne coach Chris Anderson named a squad 21 for the match. The
bench is likely to be Matt Rua, Russell Bawden, Ben Roarty and Danny
Williams with Brad Watts, Paul Bell and Craig Smith likely to be
omitted. Kearns has been struggling with a thigh injury in recent
weeks.

--- Adam MacDougall is almost certain to be rushed into the
Newcastle side for Saturday night's do-or-die semi-final against
Parramatta at Parramatta Stadium. MacDougall wasn't originally named
in the Knights side as he is recovering from a broken arm but with
Jason Moodie in doubt with a rib injury, MacDougall will more then
likely come in for the Parramatta bound winger.

--- The Sharks v Brisbane and Parramatta v Newcastle semi-finals are
heading for sell-outs this weekend with interest in the other two
semi-finals remaining high. With the grand final at Stadium
Australia this year and continual increasing crowds leading into the
premiership decider, the NRL are confident the record season average
in 1994 will be broken this year. Despite all the off field trouble
that has plagued the game this season, the quality of the football
has been outstanding and fans have comeback to the greatest game of
all in big numbers, showing the great strength, character and
resilience in Rugby League.

--- Andrew Johns has won the Provan-Summons Medal for the Best and
Fairest player for the 1999 season voted by the public.

--- Congratulations to Melbourne's Matt Geyer for finishing the
leading pointscorer and Dragons Nathan Blacklock the leading
tryscorer. Geyer finished on 230 points, just one point more then
Penrith's Ryan Girdler. Blacklock finished the regular season with
20 tries, one ahead of Melbourne support king Robbie Ross.
Full NRL Stats: http://rleague.com/nrl99/nrl-stats.htm

--- Auckland are favourites to secure the services of Dragon's
winger Jamie Ainscough for the next three years and are believed to
be in the running to sign Parramatta's Kiwi Test star Jarrod
McCracken, both of whom targets for the Wests Tigers. Add those two
to the impressive signings of Ivan Cleary, Mark Tookey and Matthew
Spence plus the mid-season additions of Robert Mears and John Simon
and great finish this year, Auckland are looking set to give the
premiership a big shake next year under the proven successful duo of
Mark Graham and Graham Lowe.

--- The Sharks received a significant off-field boost last night
when television channel Fox Eight signed an incentive sponsorship
deal which will net the Sharks $100,000 if they make the grand
final. The club's gear sponsor, Sekem, and footwear supplier Brooks
also signed on for another year yesterday.

--- Manly and North Sydney have conceded they'll be forced to
reconsider their positions on joint ventures if Optus and News
Limited refuse to pay the $10 million funding owed to Australian
Rugby League clubs.
Article: http://rleague.com/newsa/00318a.htm

--- Leeds Rhinos have announced a second signing from Australia with
the capture of experienced Sydney City second rower forward David
Barnhill. The 29-year-old Barnhill, rated among the best forwards in
Australia, has signed a two-year contract and will make his Leeds
debut alongside fellow countryman Paul Bell - a centre recruited
from Melbourne Storm - in the Rhinos' Boxing Day fixture.
Article: http://rleague.com/newsa/00316a.htm

--- Melbourne halfback Brett Kimmorley has renewed his contract with
the Storm for another three years. The 22-year-old former understudy
to Newcastle's Andrew Johns said he was relieved to have signed the
deal before the launch of the Storm's finals campaign on Saturday
afternoon, when Melbourne hosts St George Illawarra.
Article: http://rleague.com/newsa/00317a.htm

--- North Sydney forward Josh Stuart will miss the first month of
next year's premiership after copping a four-game ban from the
judiciary last night. Stuart, who is now off contract, received his
suspension for a high tackle on North Queensland's Damian Smith.
Article: http://rleague.com/newsa/00319a.htm

--- South Sydney captain Sean Garlick finished his career with a
one-match high tackle ban on Parramatta's David Penna. Garlick
retired along with Mark Carroll after the Rabbitohs 34-16 loss to
the Eels on Sunday.

--- Auckland has confirmed the signing of Western Suburbs forward
Matthew Spence for the 2000 season. Spence played with Parramatta
between 1996-98 before linking with the Magpies this season.
Article: http://rleague.com/newsa/00312.htm

--- Rugby League and Sydney City Roosters star BRAD FITTLER will be
chatting live to all fans on Monday night in the Roosters Chatroom!
Brad will be online at 7:00pm. With the NRL finals series underway -
who better to talk to than the Australian Captain!
Check out http://www.sydneycityroosters.com.au for more details.

--- Parramatta and The Sharks remain joint favourites to win the NRL
premiership at $3.75 with Sydney City in the next line of betting at
$3.70. To read more about the odds for this weekend, visit our
SportsTAB page.
SportsTAB section: http://rleague.com/nrl99/sportstab.htm

--- Every Tuesday night, the sides are announced for upcoming
weekend NRL matches, stay tuned to the teams' page for when they
come through. They are uploaded to the website as soon as they come
to hand with predictions and a brief preview.
Weekend NRL Teams: http://rleague.com/nrl99/teams.htm

--- The Sydney Morning Herald website has a great page of NRL stats
that perfectly compliments the NRL Stats page on the World Rugby
League website. Courtesy of I&T Statistics, the SMH Stats page has
listed all the tackles, hit ups, etc, while the WRL NRL stats has a
very extensive points statistics with a complete list of player
records of all 17 clubs. Both well worth reading regularly.
WRL NRL Stats: http://rleague.com/nrl99/nrl-stats.htm
SMH NRL Stats: http://www.smh.com.au/league/stats


BRITISH NEWS
---------
Compiled by Jonathon Knaggs.
New Email: mailto:jonathon@...

--- Bradford Bulls where crowned as Super League Minor Premiers on
Monday lunchtime without even touching a ball as 2nd placed St.
Helens lost 36-32 against Gateshead Thunder. The Bulls will now have
a weeks rest in the play-off series as reward for finishing top.

--- Leeds Rhinos have announced a second signing from Australia with
the capture of experienced Sydney City second rower forward David
Barnhill. The 29-year-old Barnhill, rated among the best forwards in
Australia, has signed a two-year contract and will make his Leeds
debut alongside fellow countryman Paul Bell - a centre recruited
from Melbourne Storm - in the Rhinos' Boxing Day fixture.
Article: http://rleague.com/newsa/00316a.htm

--- Gateshead Thunder has further strengthened their squad for next
season by signing Hull Kingston Rovers' PNG International stand-off
Stanley Gene on a three-year contract. The current First Division
Player of the Year has scored 94 tries in 108 appearances in 4 years
with the East Hull club.

--- Great Britain and Ireland will warm up for their Tri-Series
games against Australia and New Zealand with a friendly against
Queensland State League club Burleigh Bears. Great Britain coach
Andy Goodway is expected to seek a trial match played in quarters
against the Bears for the fixture on October 16.

--- St Helens have secured the services of Auckland and New Zealand
Test winger Sean Hoppe for the next two seasons. Hoppe is a proven
tryscoring right-winger who fell out of favour with the Warriors
this season and is unwanted by them for next season.

--- Bradford forward Mike Forshaw is hopeful of being fit for the
end-of-season Tri-Nations series. The second-rower suffered a
fractured leg during the Bulls' 44-12 Super League win at Hull last
Sunday and was expected to miss the rest of the season. But the
injury is not as serious as first thought and Forshaw could be back
in time for the JJB Super League Grand Final on October 9 if
Bradford reaches it.

--- Huddersfield Giants have denied reports that they have signed
second row forward Wayne Richards despite his manager saying it's a
done deal.

--- Huddersfield Giants added Northern Ford Premiership Player of
the Month for July Mark Sibson from Bramley and Troy Slattery from
South Sydney to their squad last week, both players made try scoring
debuts in Sundays crunch 19-18 victory against Halifax which took
them off the bottom of the table.

--- Dewsbury chairman Bob McDermott has vowed to take legal action
to secure a place in Super League if his club wins the Grand Final
next month. McDermott, who is also chairman of the Association of
Premiership Clubs, is convinced Super League bosses will refuse to
promote Dewsbury even if the Ram Stadium meets the set criteria.

--- National Conference side West Hull had a lucky escape on
Saturday before their match against Thornhill when they were
involved in an accident in Dewsbury town centre. The team coach was
only minutes from the ground when the brakes failed as they where
going down a steep hill. The coach crashed into another vehicle
although none of the players where hurt the match was postponed as a
few of them went into shock. Both the drivers involved where taken
to hospital.

--- Fellow National Conference side Shaw Cross Sharks have appointed
former Great Britain star Deryck Fox as their new coach, Fox sacked
as coach of Rochdale earlier in the season saw his new team go down
34-0 against Ideal Isberg of Hull.

--- The RFL are to announce next month the 29 separate venues, which
will be used in next years Lincoln World Cup. The majority of
contracts have now been signed for staging the event and Marketing
Director Neil Coupland said the tournament would break all records
in taking Rugby League to a new audience.

--- Keep an eye on our Super League player statistic page to see
which Leeds, Warrington and Gateshead players respectively head the
points/goals, tries and drop-goal charts.
WRL ESL Stats: http://rleague.com/esl99/esl-stats.htm


NRL & ESL PLAYER STATS
---------
NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE
Final Season Stats
Statistics in brackets are games played
Leading Pointscorers
Matt Geyer (Melbourne) - 18t, 79g, 0fg, 230pts. Avg: 10.45 (22).
Ryan Girdler (Penrith) - 18t, 77g, 3fg, 229pts. Avg: 10.90 (21).
Daryl Halligan (Canterbury) - 7t, 86g, 0fg, 200pts. Avg: 10.00 (20).
Andrew Johns (Newcastle) - 7t, 74g, 4fg, 180pts. Avg: 9.00 (20).
Luke Williamson (Canberra) - 6t, 74g, 2fg, 174pts. Avg: 8.70 (20).
Jason Taylor (North Syd) - 3t, 72g, 2fg, 158pts. Avg: 6.58 (24).
* A further five players passed 100 points.

Leading Tryscorers
20: Nathan Blacklock (St.George-Ill). Avg: 0.91 (22).
19: Robbie Ross (Melbourne). Avg: 0.90 (21).
18: Ryan Girdler (Penrith). Avg: 0.86 (21).
18: Matt Geyer (Melbourne). Avg: 0.82 (22).
17: Brett Howland (Sharks). Avg: 0.71 (24).
17: David Peachey (Sharks). Avg: 0.71 (24).
17: Rod Silva (Canterbury). Avg: 0.71 (24).
* 17 players scored 12-16 tries.


Leading Goalkickers
86: Daryl Halligan (Canterbury). Avg: 4.30 (20).
79: Matt Geyer (Melbourne). Avg: 3.59 (22).
77: Ryan Girdler (Penrith). Avg: 3.67 (21).
74: Andrew Johns (Newcastle). Avg: 3.70 (20).
74: Luke Williamson (Canberra). Avg: 3.70 (20).
72: Jason Taylor (North Syd). Avg: 3.00 (24).
* A further 6 players kicked more then 40 goals.

Most Field-Goals
4: Andrew Johns (Newcastle). Avg: 0.20 (20).
3: Jason Smith (Parramatta). Avg: 0.20 (15).
3: Darrell Trindall (South Syd). Avg: 0.19 (16).
3: Ryan Girdler (Penrith). Avg: 0.14 (21).
* A further 17 players have kicked 1-2 field goals.

* Full NRL Stats - http://rleague.com/nrl99/nrl-stats.htm

Thanks to James Stewart for the more detailed stats.
Visit his website - http://rleague.com/bulldogs
The site has a new design done to it, well worth a look and complete
read of the most comprehensive club site on the web.

Individual club stat pages are available as well on the front page;
select the NRL club of your choice in the list box
http://rleague.com


ENGLISH SUPER LEAGUE
Updated: Thursday August 26.
Leading Pointscorers
Iestyn Harris (Leeds) - 15t, 116g, 1dg, 293pts.
Sean Long (St.Helens) - 20t, 101g, 2dg, 284pts.
Andrew Farrell (Wigan) - 5t, 79g, 1dg, 179pts.
Ian Herron (Gateshead) - 3t, 81g, 174pts.
Steve McNamara (Bradford) - 4t, 78g, 1dg, 173pts.
Danny Orr (Castleford) - 9t, 63g, 1dg, 163pts.
* A further 8 players have passed 100-points.

Leading Tryscorers
24: Toa Kohe-Love (Warrington).
22: Francis Cummins (Leeds), Matthew Daylight (Gateshead), Anthony
Sullivan (St.Helens).
21: Greg Fleming (London).
20: Sean Long (St.Helens).
* 11 players have scored 15-16 tries.

Leading Goalkickers
120: Iestyn Harris (Leeds).
101: Sean Long (St.Helens).
87: Ian Herron (Gateshead).
84: Steve McNamara (Bradford).
82: Andrew Farrell (Wigan).
71: Graham Holroyd (Halifax).
* A further 4 players have kicked more then 40 goals.

Most Drop-Goals
7: Willie Peters (Gateshead).
6: Lee Briers (Warrington).
5: Graham Holroyd (Halifax).
4: Tommy Martyn (St.Helens).
3: Gavin Clinch (Halifax/Wigan), Sean Long (St.Helens), Robert
Roberts (Hull).
* 25 players have kicked 1-2 drop-goals.

* Full ESL Stats - http://rleague.com/esl99/esl-stats.htm


QUEENSLAND CUP SEMI-FINALS
---------
Burleigh is the first team into the Queensland Cup grand final,
capping off a great weekend for Gold Coast based Rugby League sides.
The night before Burleigh defeated Redcliffe 24-18 to make the grand
final, Palm Beach-Currumbin High School drew 10-all with Parramatta
Marist in the 1st semi-final of the Aussie Home Loans Schoolboys
competition to make the final. Palm Beach made the final because
they scored the first try going on the countback rules.

Back to Burleigh, a great game on Saturday against minor premiers
Redcliffe at Dolphin Oval saw the Bears triumph and make their first
grand final. Inspired by Darren Anderson, Grant Adamson and Tony
Priddle, Burleigh came from 12-4 down early on to capitalize on
Redcliffe mistakes to triumph 24-18.

Next week in the preliminary final, Redcliffe will play host to
Norths Devils after they defeated Toowoomba 24-18 in the minor semi
final on Sunday. The winner of Redcliffe v Norths will play Burleigh
on September 11 in the Queensland Cup grand final at Lang Park.

Follow our Queensland Cup website for the most comprehensive
coverage of the second best competition in Australia. The Queensland
Cup is a great breeding ground for up and coming players. It was a
good boost for the Queensland Cup that Great Britain will play grand
finalists Burleigh in a practice match before they start their
tri-series campaign against Australia and New Zealand.

Website: http://rleague.com/qld99


NFP WEEK #1 FINALS PREVIEW
---------
Written by: Jonathon Knaggs.
Email: mailto:jonathon@...
Hunslet Hawks (2) vs Widnes Vikings (3).
Leigh Centurion (4) vs Featherstone Rovers (5).
Dewsbury have week off as minor premiers.

Prediction: Despite being amongst the front runners all season,
Leigh have slipped off the pace in recent weeks and have managed
some narrow victories, Featherstone on the other hand are firing on
all cylinders and are on a high, it should be another entertaining
game but I predict Featherstone will come out winners.

The other match see's two in-form teams, Hunslet and Widnes coming
face to face, it's going to be a very tough match and will be
extremely close. The sides have met once this season already at the
Autoquest Stadium with Widnes winning 32-24, this time though I
think Hunslet with home advantage will come out on top.


WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
---------
Website: Western Australia Rugby League.
URL: http://rleague.com/warl

Rugby League is often forgotten about in Western Australia and some
would think it doesn't exist anymore in Perth since the demise of
the Reds. Despite Perth not being a part of the NRL premiership,
Rugby League still has a presence in Western Australia and with the
hard work and dedication of people such as Jo Silver, the game has
managed to get a strong presence on the web with the original and
only website dedicated to Rugby League in Western Australia.

Earlier in the year, WA Under 18's defeated the NSW Combined
Independent Schools team, 16-14 in the developing states' division
final. The 18's success was on top of the euphoria in Western
Australian Rugby League circles after the Under 15's team was
triumphant in Darwin the week before. It proves that there is talent
in Western Australia that has sadly gone unrecognised.

The site was formed during the 1998 season due to a strong
continuation of reports sent by Jo that demanded a separate website
dedicated for results, news & comments on the WARL premiership. In
the future, the site plans to have a look back on the history of the
WARL and Perth Reds, a look at the great moments of Rugby League in
WA and a whole lot more.

To find out more about Rugby League in Western Australia, you can
visit the WARL website at http://rleague.com/warl or you can email
Jo Silver with any questions or queries at
mailto:josilver@...


WRL INFORMATION & SUMMARY
---------
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Matthew O'Neill
Email address: mailto:matthew@...
Rugby League site: http://rleague.com
ICQ UIN: 1444514
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