http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/nrl/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Lets-include-our-neighbour-in-the-fun-and-games/ One element of the Rugby World Cup came through loud and clear. This was a Pacific event. Three Pacific island nations competed to rapturous receptions. When the Tongan team arrived in New Zealand they were greeted by 10,000 members of the Tongan community who lined the streets from Auckland airport. From Papua New Guinea to Samoa to Niue there were Pacific players representing teams from Wales to Australia to the All Blacks themselves. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Lets-include-our-neighbour-in-the-fun-and-games/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Lets-include-our-neighbour-in-the-fun-and-games/#item7020 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/grand-final-exclusive-some-people-in-nsw-might-back-manly/ A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/grand-final-exclusive-some-people-in-nsw-might-back-manly/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/grand-final-exclusive-some-people-in-nsw-might-back-manly/#item6830 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-depressing-truth-about-footballs-gambling-addiction/ It is hard to believe the NRL, a code which galvanises communities in two of the largest states in Australia, could be staring at financial collapse because of the Gillard Government’s gambling reforms. It is hard to believe that the AFL, the national game which enjoys the status of a religion in four states and one territory, is also facing ruin because of the mandatory pre-commitment proposal to make gamblers think about how much they are prepared to wager on poker machines before placing a bet. It is hard to believe because it is simply unbelievable. It is hard to believe because it is rubbish. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-depressing-truth-about-footballs-gambling-addiction/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-depressing-truth-about-footballs-gambling-addiction/#item6795 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/pissing-away-the-future-with-pokies-then-and-now/ The Revesby Workers’ Club in Sydney’s far south-west used to do a lot for charities, pensioners and kids. It doesn’t anymore though, according to an article in the club’s latest quarterly magazine. “The poker machine tax is crippling us”, the club’s secretary says in the article. “We can’t afford to help the community anymore. We’re a club and our first duty is to our members – we have to provide amenities for them. It’s a shame we can’t do both.” Poker machine tax? Does that have anything to do with what NRL commentator Phil Gould was ranting about when the footy was on last Friday? Does it have something to do with that “footy tax” Eddie McGuire has been yapping about? Or whatever those WHO VOTED FOR A LICENCE TO PUNT? coasters at the club are all about? It sure sounds like it. But nope. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/pissing-away-the-future-with-pokies-then-and-now/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/pissing-away-the-future-with-pokies-then-and-now/#item6797 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-finals-bromance/ The impending footballing weekend is all about “bromance”, that modern term which refers to the state of male bonding when mateship goes all misty-eyed and meaningful. In the real world, men shake hands firmly, then brusquely ask “how’s it goin’ champ?”. Sport is different. When sportsmen step over that white line, they enter a beautiful parallel universe. They pat each other on the arse and tell each other “I love you like a brother”. And they mean it. Male team sport was made for man love. Not the Brokeback Mountain kind of love, (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but a special form of mutual admiration. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-finals-bromance/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-finals-bromance/#item6731 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-gap-narrows-between-the-two-big-codes/ Today’s NRL State of the Game report revealed a particularly impressive set of figures, which NRL CEO David Gallop didn’t hesitate to fire straight across the bow of the AFL. In particular, Gallop drew attention to the number of close matches in the NRL this year. As Gallop and the despairing AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou would know only too well, the AFL has had more blowouts than Summernats this year. And a lopsided competition is a predictable competition is a dull competition. While the NRL still lags well behind the AFL in terms of attendance, one of its key advantages is its dominance in subscription TV, where it boasts 74 of the top 100 programs so far in 2011. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-gap-narrows-between-the-two-big-codes/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-gap-narrows-between-the-two-big-codes/#item6664 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-salute-to-humble-honest-footballing-toilers/ As the finals near and we sort the footballing wheat from the chaff, let us pause to salute those players who are neither exquisitely talented nor thrilling to watch. The ones who are Commodores, not footballing Ferraris. The players who have to buy their own drinks in nightclubs, and probably even queue to get in. That is not to denigrate their contribution. Not by a long stretch. Average players are the infantry who make the generals look good. They are the quiet guy in the office toiling away uncomplainingly while the suits are out to lunch. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-salute-to-humble-honest-footballing-toilers/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-salute-to-humble-honest-footballing-toilers/#item6625 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-first-rule-of-fighting-clubs-is-cough-up-50k/ So Melbourne and Manly have each been fined $50k for their little bout of fisticuffs on Friday night. Good. Maybe that’ll teach them both a little humility. Fact is, the huge all-in at Brookvale Oval on Friday night had very little to do with the faint elbow nudge from the Storm’s Ryan Hinchcliffe which sparked it, and everything to do with the ill-feeling which has been simmering at both clubs for ages. Both clubs consider themselves hard done by at the hands of the NRL – the Storm because of the salary cap scandal and the Eagles because of the Brett Stewart affair. With NRL CEO David Gallop on hand on Friday night, those pent-up frustrations were just too much to contain. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-first-rule-of-fighting-clubs-is-cough-up-50k/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-first-rule-of-fighting-clubs-is-cough-up-50k/#item6596 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/roosters-lash-their-star-idiot-with-a-feather-again/ So Todd Carney will still be a Sydney Rooster, despite about 183 indiscretions this year. In other unsurprising news, Bondi Beach has waves and airheads. Carney is the troubled playmaker who last year won the NRL’s highest honour, the Dally M Medal. He won that award, and steered the Roosters from the wooden spoon to the grand final in his first year at the club, after a year out of the NRL due to numerous alcohol-related indiscretions. Carney spent 2009 playing park footy at the Atherton Roosters in north Queensland. He lived and worked in a pub, which might sound crazy, but in truth it had the effect of rubbing a puppy’s nose in its own poo. For the first time, he saw drunks through sober eyes, and he said it was a genuine shock. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/roosters-lash-their-star-idiot-with-a-feather-again/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/roosters-lash-their-star-idiot-with-a-feather-again/#item6468 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/oh-yeahhhh-oh-nooooo/ Well, Sydney pipped Melbourne by a nose this weekend for gripping sporting action. Check this amazing - and I mean amazing - pick up by Gold Coast Titans winger David Mead last night in his side’s surprise win over the Sharks. Wait, what I saying? No win over the Sharks is a surprise. Melbourne struck back with the humdinger at Etihad last night, where Essendon squeaked home by a point. Adam Goodes, who is both literally and figuratively the Swans’ poster boy (he’s on bus shelters all over Sydney) shaved the wrong side of the big stick after the siren. What a game. What a weekend. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/oh-yeahhhh-oh-nooooo/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/oh-yeahhhh-oh-nooooo/#item6448 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 A lot of people are upset that there is only one NSW side in tomorrow’s grand final, but in fact this is a great thing for the state. It means that for one day of the year all of us in NSW can put aside our petty rivalries and unite behind a single team. Obviously I am referring to the Auckland Warriors. However recent research reveals that a small handful of Sydneysiders will also be going for Manly. Previously this statistic had never come to light because it was not known that Manly was actually a part of Sydney. However local government divisional records from 1826 reveal that technically Manly is a “suburb’’ and not, as commonly thought, a wormhole to another planet where the dominant species is a Nissan Pathfinder.