Sport and control of the media

In today’s modern “professional era” of sport, it is accepted that sport and the media go hand in hand. While there remains a “grassroots” level of sport, separate from the media environment, the world of sport is dominated and in many ways controlled by the media. In countries such as New Zealand, with Rugby Unions struggling financially, sport depends on the lucrative financial offerings the media offers through things like broadcasting rights in order to survive. Traditionally, issues of sport and the media are analyzed from this perspective, the role the media plays in the professionalization of sport and how sport has changed, for better or worse, as a result. Little attention however is given to the other side of the equation, it is easy to comprehend why sport has aligned itself with media outlets over time, the benefits are exhibited to us almost any time we turn on our television, but what do the media outlets gain from this? In this essay I will attempt to shed some light on this perspective by exploring the way the media, in particular News Corporation, has turned sport into one of the building blocks of its media empire, showing just how vast the organizations reach into sport extends. Then I will illustrate two examples, one of failure and one of immense success, which show just how valuable sport is to media outlets and why the topic of sport and media demands further attention in the media studies field.

The media and sport have a long, mutually beneficial relationship. The yellow jersey worn by the leader of the Tour de France is in recognition of the yellow tinted paper the French paper L’Auto was printed on. In 1908, L’Auto, struggling to compete against the opposing Le Vélo, concocted the idea of a race around France to boost circulation. The race, dubbed The Tour de France “proved a success for the newspaper; circulation leapt from 25,000 before the 1903 Tour to 65,000 after it; in 1908 the race boosted circulation past a quarter of a million, and during the 1923 Tour it was selling 500,000 copies a day” (Mishra 2010) demonstrating one of the earliest examples of the substantially lucrative bond between media and sport. Advancing to more modern times “According to research by A.T. Kearney, the worldwide sports market was worth $64 billion USD in 2009 (Zygband & Collignon 2011). The research “finds that the global sports industry is growing much faster than national gross domestic product (GDP) rates around the world”. Despite this however, the world of sports media seems somewhat ignored or taken lightly in the media studies literature “Sports journalism is an increasingly significant feature of the press yet is subject to considerable criticism, as summarized by the familiar jibe that it is the ‘toy department of the news media’ (Rowe 2007). As a result of this approach, the power of sports within the media environment is often not afforded the consideration it demands. Of course, we are not starved for sport in our regular media serving, far from it particularly in sports mad countries such as New Zealand, but what is behind the sports broadcasting remains woefully unexplored. New Zealand provides a prime example of the issues sport and the media create within a political economy context. Much is made of the effective monopoly Sky holds over the New Zealand pay Television market, and it is through holding the broadcasting rights to sport, particularly Rugby, that this is achieved. Of Sky’s 846, 931, as of the 30^th of June 2012, which equates to roughly half of the households in New Zealand, 76% were subscribed to the sports package (Sky Annual Report 2012). Without the rights to sport, the Pay Television landscape in New Zealand is nigh on impossible for a competitor to enter which forges the effective monopoly. Rugby in itself is a monopoly, there is only one “Rugby” to go around, there is only one Super Rugby, there is only one Tri Nations and thus controlling the broadcasting of Rugby allows for this monopolization to occur. Indeed for all of the flak that Sky takes for its control of the Pay Television market, any entity that somehow managed to outbid Sky for the rights to the most prized sports in the country would likely then be in control of said monopoly themselves. In 1995, Rugby entered the professional era, the Rugby Unions of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia tasked with finding a way to meet player salary demands “sold their test match television rights to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation” (Hope 2002 pg. 236), the rights for what we have now come to know as the “Tri Nations” and “Super Rugby” competitions were subsequently sold on to the pay Television network Sky with Television New Zealand having “nowhere near the resources required to mount a competitive bid” (Hope 2002 pg. 247). In 1997, News Corporation proceeded to purchase a 48 percent stake in Sky. This is all very much by design and is not an example exclusive to the New Zealand environment, rather, it is part of the blue print of Pay Television success laid out by Murdoch himself, as Craig Robertson (2004 pg. 293) quotes Murdoch, speaking to the 1996 annual News Corporation meeting “sport “absolutely overpowers” film and all other forms of entertainment in drawing viewers to television, especially pay television” adding that “We have the long term rights in most countries to major sporting events, and we will be doing in Asia what we intend to do elsewhere in the world – that is use sports as a battering ram and a lead offering in all our pay-television operations”. This battering ram approach can often be seen in the advertising of Sky in New Zealand where access to sport, primarily the All Blacks, is the major point of focus, often leading to special offers of a period of time in which new subscribers will have access to the sports package for free. McKay and Rowe (1997 pg.69-70) suggest “there is no one in the media world who has a greater commitment to the commercial exploitation of TV sport than Murdoch”, controlling or part owning the TV rights “British and “Euro” soccer, rugby league, rugby union, West Indian and Pakistani cricket, and American football via British-based Fox-tel (40 percent Murdoch-owned); premier league soccer, boxing, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, racing, major tennis events, American football, and British and American basketball via British-based BSkyB (40 percent Murdoch-owned); American football via German-based Vox (49.9 percent Murdoch-owned); golf, tennis, Australian-rules football, rugby union, motor racing, and the 1996 and 2000 Olympics via Australian-based Channel Seven (15 percent Murdoch-owned); and Chinese soccer, badminton, Japanese baseball, cricket, World Cup soccer, motor-cycling, motor racing, rugby union, tennis, and table tennis via Hong Kong-based Star TV (64 percent Murdoch-owned). In America, Murdoch’s Fox Sports includes the rights to the MLB World Series, the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl, but what is more impressive, as Marc Gunther (1998) explains, “is the way Fox became the dominant player in local sports, by accumulating stakes in 22 regional sports networks that collectively own the local TV rights to 70 of 76 Major League Baseball, NBA and NHL teams... They stitched together enough regional sports channels to create a national network, built around home-team loyalties”. In this endeavour to control the local sports market, Fox encountered a problem in Detroit where regional sports channel PASS refused to sell “So the Fox team called a trick play—they outbid the Post Co. For the cable rights to the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red wings and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, elbowing PASS off the field” (Gunther 1998). In refusing to sell to Fox they still owned the channel, but subsequently had no sports to offer, which in turn lead to them selling out to Fox at an even cheaper price. Murdoch paid $311 million to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team due to the Dodgers being “all but essential for Fox’s Southern California sports networks” (Gunther 1998), thus giving Fox “a voice in deciding where the Lakers, Kings, Knicks, and Rangers are seen too, virtually ensuring that they won’t show up on a competitor”, the significance of those particular teams being they are based in either Los Angeles or New York, the biggest media markets. While Murdoch is no stranger to lists of the most powerful people in the world, in 1996 “he became the first person to top the Sporting News’ list of the one hundred most powerful people in sport for two consecutive years” (McKay & Rowe 1997 pg. 70). Sport provides a cost effective way for networks to fill air time while reaching customers in hard to reach demographics like young males, it also stands tall against the modern threats to television in piracy and time shifting. The “live” nature of sport means people are much less inclined to download or record a sporting event to watch at a later date. With sports undeniable popularity and its resistance to such threats, it is easy to understand why Murdoch sees sport as part of the foundation of his media empire and thus why we need to investigate these issues further so we can better understand these attempts of exploitation.

Having established the clear value attributed to sports media by Murdoch and the position of sport within the media landscape, I now turn attention to two of the biggest debacles that have occurred as a result of Murdoch’s efforts to obtain the sporting rights he desires to power his television networks. “With the introduction of digital television in Europe, the preexisinting pay-television monopolies, like BSkyB, faced a more competitive market” (Robertson 2004 pg. 293) the solution, as Robertson explains, was exclusive football rights “perceived as critical to re-establishing near monopolies in a digital television market”. With ONdigital entering the digital cable market, BSkyB faced a risk in the form of competition “with sufficient financial resources to outbid BSkyB for exclusive football rights when its present contract expired” (Robertson 2004 pg. 297). Tasked with finding a solution to counter this potential threat, News Corporation attempted to purchase the world famous Manchester United Football Club with an offer “a 51 percent premium over the club’s stock price” (Robertson 2004 pg. 293). With control over the biggest and most profitable Football club in England, News Corporation would have obtained a very influential voice when it came time to negotiate contracts for broadcasting rights of Premier League football and even if those rights were to be broken up and negotiated on a team by team basis, they would be in control of the star team in the country. However, “To the surprise of sports fans, politicians and shareholders alike” (Larsen, Grice 1999) the 623 million pound bid was blocked by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission ruling it anti- competitive, “saying it would have an adverse effect on the wider football industry” and that “Under almost all scenarios considered by the MMC, the merger would increase the market power which BSkyB already has as a provider of sports premium channels” (Larsen, Grice 1999) this despite guarantees from both BSkyB and Manchester United “that sensitive information regarding television rights would not be exchanged during future negotiations with the Premier League” (Robertson 2004 pg. 304). This decision carried with it several political implications, further emphasising the importance of sports and media. The new Labour government in England had identified Football as its way to show commitment to community and had established the “Football Task Force to investigate the sport at its grassroots level and to assess the loss of community in football” (Robertson 2004 pg. 305), making the bid “an important test of its commitment to be the government of the community and its construction of football as a community/working-class institution”.  Furthermore, the bid tested this commitment in the battle between “the power of the nation-state over a global media operation” (Robertson 2004 pg. 205) after Murdoch had enjoyed a close relationship with past Labour governments, with his Sun newspaper endorsing Labour in the 1997 election and Labour dropping proposed tougher laws on cross-media ownership and employment rights.

“With the advent of pay TV in Australia in 19995, competition for the broadcasting rights to sport intensified in the drive to develop a viable subscriber base” (McGaughey & Liesch 2002 pg. 386-387), and News Corporation attempted to obtain the rights to Rugby League in Australia to build its Foxtel subscription base upon. However, they encountered a problem in the form of another Australian born media giant Kerry Packer and Optus Vision who had already obtained the free to air and Pay Television broadcast rights to Rugby League’s national competition. In what McGaughey and Liesch deem “one of the more recent and dramatic examples of illustrating the commercial power of and potential dissension in the sports-media nexus” (2002 pg. 386) Murdoch sought to manoeuvre a way around Packer’s refusal to give up the rights he so desperately craved as “due to the game’s wide popular appeal in Australia it would have been very difficult for either to achieve significant enough subscriptions for a pay-TV network to survive without it” (Falcous 1998) particularly in the traditionally League oriented Sydney and Brisbane markets. Foxtel’s solution was to create an entirely new competition to compete against the existing ARL, known as “Super League”, with the ensuing debacle dubbed the “Super League War”. News Limited “invested $350 million in 1995 buying players and officials, purchasing and privatizing clubs (or franchises as they became known), and selling the rebel competition to the press, sponsors, and the public” (Phillips & Hutchins 2003 pg. 223) creating an extreme monopolistic situation in which, as Phillips and Hutchins (2003 pg. 224) quote Inside Sport “Murdoch owns the players that make up the Murdoch teams that make up the Murdoch-sponsored league that play the matches that feed the Murdoch TV networks that sell the Murdoch products that are endorsed by the Murdoch [news]papers” explaining the true reach of Murdoch’s empire. The true value of obtaining the rights to Rugby League is put further in perspective by Hutchins (1996 pg. 152) “The Foxtel-Optus Vision battle for dominance in the fledgling Australian pay TV market has been the most costly ever in the Australian media industry, and possibly any other industry. The accumulated losses of Foxtel and Optus currently stand at an astonishing $330.1 million, having only secured between 100 000 to 115 000 subscribers each” emphasised by Phillips and Hutchins (2003 pg. 224) “more money was spent competing for Rugby League than the accumulated income of the game from gate receipts, sponsorship, merchandising, legal gambling, television, and radio broadcast fees since its establishment in 1907”. As Hutchins (1996 pg. 152) explains however, “This level of competition is not simply a programming matter – it is about strategic position for profit-generating technologies accessible through pay television hook-ups. Pay technology allows heavy penetration of the lucrative multimedia, long-distance telephony markets, and new interactive services coming on-line”. Thus while the purchasing of these rights may cause a heavy financial blow initially, the plan is to build a core of subscribers to your network who will proceed to spend further money through News Corps future offerings, spread across many outlets, sport is the lure with which said subscribers are caught. The Super League and ARL operated in competition for one season before player contract issues and protests and slumping audience numbers forced a reconsideration and subsequent merger between the two parties creating the NRL. After coming on to the scene with nothing, News Corp successfully navigated their way into obtaining “50% control of the NRL while retaining partial ownership in several clubs, secured broadcasting rights for 25 years for its pay television station –Foxtel—and through ownership and partial ownership of other commercial companies, provided money and sponsorship for former Super League clubs and the reunited competition” (Phillips & Hutchins 2003 pg. 225). News Limited also maintained complete ownership of its own club the Melbourne Storm, who many years down the track were part of the salary cap scandal which saw the organization stripped of several championships on account of paying its players above the total amount of salary the NRL rules mandate. “Through its partial ownership of Foxtel and other businesses, News Limited had consumed or partially consumed all parts of the sport: the administration of the sport, the media organization televising the sport, and the companies sponsoring the sport” (Phillips & Hutchins 2003 pg. 225).

While much of the focus in media studies literature revolves around Murdoch’s overall ownership across the various media platforms, his control of sports broadcasting as an admitted integral part of the News Corp organizational framework receives little attention. The Sports industry is an extremely lucrative business which Murdoch exploits yet these actions seem to often fly under the radar. The results are easy to see, and in situations like New Zealand have an effect on all of us who watch Television and arguably on the Medias position within the democratic environment. The examples of the Manchester United bid and the bullying tactics in Australia reveal the crafty and incredibly expensive lengths in which Murdoch will go to in order to maintain his grip on sport. If the man himself acknowledges that sport “absolutely overpowers” all forms of entertainment in attracting Television viewers, perhaps we as those studying the media should take heed of what Murdoch has known all along, shed our preconceived notions of what sports media is and explore what Murdoch considers it to be. Not as merely a way to “entertain” the masses, but as a powerful tool of media ownership and to lure in fans, better known to the media outlets as “customers”. 

Don't punish shoulders, punish recklessness

The thunderous blow from Rabbitohs, Queensland and Australian superstar Greg Inglis on Dragons lock Dean Young once again has ignited the debate surrounding the shoulder charge in the game with many crying out to see shoulder charges outlawed.

As a Warriors fan, I watch week in week out Ben Matulino lay out opponents with his shoulder. Big Ben certainly has the reputation nowadays of being one of leagues true hitmen and he puts opponents on their backside with regularity. Despite this, I struggle to think of incidences where Matulino has connected with an opponents head, I struggle to think of when he has been suspended or even been put on report, I struggle to think of times where I've been genuinely concerned about the consequences of a hit he has thrown. I love to see a big hit, to see a bloke get smashed, as I'm sure most League fans do, but I do not like seeing someone get injured one bit, no matter how much of a grub they may be. Ben smashes people, but he smashes people in the way the game is meant to be played. I have little doubt that if he wanted to take the suspension that he could be having people carried off the field regularly, but he doesn't, he just continues to deliver the big, perfectly timed, clean shoulder to ball runners who are unfortunate enough to have themselves lined up. That's the difference, Matulino makes shoulder hits as a League play, he doesn't shoulder charge because he wants to injure people. To me, it looked quite clear that Inglis wasn't thinking about making a League play, he was thinking about absolutely destroying Dean Young and in doing so he went beyond the laws of the game and will be sitting on the sidelines for three weeks.

Shoulder charges are not the problem, reckless play is the problem. Why should we punish the Ben Matulino's of the world by taking away a part of his arsenal that is effective, clean and entertaining? perhaps if the punishments for such reckless play were stricter, we'd see more players who made a point of ensuring that if they are going to drop the shoulder, they do it right. Sure GI now sits for three weeks, but what about in the game, what happens to the guys doing these hits? a bit of a telling off and being placed on report, worry about it next week. If the refs began to start sending more blokes off the field for hits like that, we'd be seeing a lot more coaches ensuring that their players weren't making these types of hits, not when the consequences could be so costly. Don't get me wrong, I actually like the report system because I want to see the game played with an even number of guys on the field, that is how it is meant to be played, but if players knew being sent off was a very real possibility, would they want to run the risk of making a hit like Inglis did? or would they just focus on making a League play instead of hurting someone. Or perhaps if the refs had the power to eject a player from the game while still allowing his team to play at full strength? no coach is going to want to deal with playing with one less guy on his team the rest of the game, especially if it's one of his stars, and I suspect the players themselves wouldn't want to be thrown out of the game either, so maybe they'd be a little more careful and show a bit more respect for the game itself and the guys they are playing against.

The shoulder charge issue always brings out the concussion brigade in full force nowadays. As a fan of American Football, I'm well aware of some of the tragic results of concussion that have come about over there. I agree wholeheartedly that concussions are a very serious issue and we need to ensure that the guys out there destroying each other for our entertainment need to be taken care of. But why does it take somebody being smoked on a shoulder charge for the issue of concussion to once again come up for discussion. I was under the impression that the NRL was meant to be cracking down on issues around concussion this year, of course, it wouldn't be the first time we've heard that. Instead of worrying about shoulder charges, let's worry about the guys that we see every week getting absolutely hammered, taken off, and they're back on the field ten minutes later. Can Farah even remember playing Origin? he certainly wasn't all there after the blow he took, but of course "that's Origin", except I see it every weekend in the NRL also. The sideline reporter will offer us an update, "yeah he's just a bit groggy but he'll be back", we all know that groggy is just a nice word to use instead of the dreaded "c word". It's OK, he's just groggy, he'll be right, sounds a lot better than well actually he's away with the fairies but we'll spray some water on him and shove him back on soon. If we're that worried about concussions and the aftermath of them, then stop the guys we see leaving the field not even knowing what direction they're going from coming back onto the field. For all of the concern over the Inglis hit and concussions, Dean Young is on the Dragons team list for this week. I'm no doctor, but are we meant to believe that his brain is ready for another round so quickly? as someone who is genuinely concerned about the concussion issue, this is a much bigger problem to me and it happens all the time. Sure, some will say that if it wasn't for the shoulder charge Young wouldn't be in the situation. Fact is in this game people are going to get hurt and even without shoulder charges we are still going to see some people knocked out, we're still going to see some people "a bit groggy". Young was getting driven off the field a week ago, I guess his brain made a quick recovery, plenty of time to worry about it once his career is finished though I suppose.

Barba magic at Brookvale

In case we needed another reminder of just how amazing the game of Rugby League can be, the NRL served up fans a mouthwatering clash on Friday night between the Sea Eagles at favoured stomping ground Brookvale Oval and the red hot Bulldogs lead by try scoring freaks Josh Morris and Ben Barba. With enough story lines to write a best seller coming into the contest, the performances on the field gave us a game that looked more like an Origin or Grand Final contest with the Bulldogs once again making a huge statement  walking out of Brookie with a 20-12 victory and for now sitting alone atop the NRL ladder.

The return of Des Hasler to Brookvale to take on the team he spent over 450 games with as a player and coach was always going to deliver fireworks, Manly made their intentions clear early, venomous tackles galore from all over the park at the Dogs ball carriers, enough to send the gargantuan "Dogzilla" Sam Kasiano off the field in the 10th minute with a suspected fractured cheekbone. The Dogs however absorbed everything Manly was able to throw at them early and the likes of James Graham and Aiden Tolman continued to soldier up field. In a clash of two forward packs loaded with massive men, perhaps none stood taller than the brutal Frank Pritchard. Despite the thunderous hits Manly were attempting to throw, Frank the Tank ran hard and tall all night, always looking dangerous, always freeing up his arms and looking to offload.

Anyone who knows anything about League knows full well that there's no more exciting name in the game right now than Ben Barba and once again he stamped his mark on this one. The enigmatic fullback kicked off the scoring with the first of two tries that really summarise the type of magical, everything goes his way form he is in right now. Stabbing through a grubber that was scooped up by his opposing fullback Dean Whare, he was soon the recipient of an inexplicable offload from Whare as he was being ushered towards the sideline. A slight hesitation step from Barba was all that was required to see him cruising in for yet another try.

It was not all glory for the X Factor though as he watched Manly co captain Jamie Lyon get his teams account under way. Barba was shadowing a Cherry Evans kick over the deal ball line, unaware of the lurking Lyon who pounced on the momentary lapse of the man who seemingly could do no wrong until that point. Manly valiantly fought their back into the game, persisting with their physical play trying to beat the Bulldogs into submission but the magician from Darwin was not done for the evening. With the Dogs barely holding on to a 2 point lead, Barba ripped away any hope from the Brookvale faithful in another stroke of brilliance, putting a kick through that proceeded to bounce off the padding of the goal post and perfectly into his hands to see him cross over for his second and the trade mark smile on display once again. His work under the high ball was also fantastic with a couple of body on the line Billy Slater like takes, and his defense saw him make a pair of critical try saving tackles.

The Bulldogs also saw halfback Kris Keating out of the game with the hamstring injury in the 21st minute, but  once again five-eight Josh Reynolds showed why he may just be wearing a different shade of Blue in his future. His performance was once again tenacious and aggressive. At one point he was seemingly knocked out trying to tackle the hulking Tony Williams, but only minutes later he was out for revenge, rushing up out of the line to put a hit on the T-Rex, and then proceeding to get up and make a tackle around the ankles of the next ball carrier. His style of play is going to be a real joy to watch come playoff time and it was none too surprising to see him and his opposite number Kieran Foran start to go at it, two guys who approach the game very similarly. Reynolds just seems up for anything, whatever you throw at him he'll soak it up and then go looking for more.

The All Blacks half back situation

With the naming of the All Blacks training squad as we head towards the incoming tests against Ireland, there has been much debate about the selection of Piri Weepu, his form for the disappointing Blues hasn't been particularly impressive, and the shape he showed up in this season has been the subject of many a talkback argument. Having named four half backs in the current extended squad, Weepu, Andy Ellis, Tawera Kerr-Barlow and Aaron Smith, the question begs, if we have so much depth, why does he deserve to be picked?


But firstly, let it be noted that this isn't the first time Weepu has gotten out of shape, but he always bounces back when it's time to play for the All Blacks, this bloke has served the jersey very well over the years. When it comes to Weepu, I always think back to him being passed over for the 2007 World Cup, which I still believe to be a mistake. How many in his position, in this "professional era" would have said OK, that's me done here, and went for the big bucks in Europe at that point? Weepu did no such thing, he fought back, turned out great performances and showed why he belongs in black. Was it really that long ago that we were cheering Weepu on as one of the most important parts of our World Cup effort? when the various pictures of Weepu with the "I've got this" caption did the rounds? and now we're ready to throw him to the wolves because he enjoyed his holiday a little too much? I'm not condoning this, but fact is there's many All blacks still recovering from World Cup hangovers in one form or another, Weepu's is one that can be worked out fairly easily, and the skill and heart he has shown for the All Blacks over the years is well worth it.


More importantly however, in what is no doubt a transitional period for the All Blacks as we move from the core of that World Cup winning group to blooding in the youngsters for a shot at defending the crown in 2015, is experience. With Jimmy Cowan and his 51 test caps out the door, a significant amount of time spent at halfback for the All Blacks over the last four years is now gone, all the experience and wisdom to teach the new generation gone with him. Weepu offers the experience of 56 test caps, he's done everything you can do in Rugby at this point, he's been around the block and back again, and the tips of the trade Weepu can offer to the likes of Smith and Kerr-Barlow will be invaluable. Many will point to Ellis and say he's been around a long time too so he can offer the experience. While it's true that Ellis has been around a long time, and I don't want to diminish his abilities, but he really hasn't been through the wars the way Weepu and Cowan have. Ellis hasn't amassed as many games, and he has never really held down a spot in the 22 let alone the number 9 jersey. He's performed very well this season and will hopefully continue to build off his All Black performances at the World Cup, but there is no replacement for the wisdom guys like Cowan and Weepu who have been all around the tracks can offer. We can't lose all that 100+ caps worth of experience at once.


When it comes to All Black selections, New Zealander's love to demand that the team be picked on "form", and with the blessing of depth we have here, there will always be plenty of guys in form sticking their hands up. But sometimes we forget the old adage "form is temporary, class is permanent". Don't be surprised when Weepu once again steps up in the black jersey and makes a few people eat their words while passing on his experience to the new generation in camp this year.

Panthers vs Dragons Round 10 recap

Another fantastic week in the NRL came to a close with the middle of the pack Dragons heading to Centrebet Stadium to take on the struggling Panthers. Coming into the game with just two wins on the season, the Dragons were heavy favourites, but a turbulent week with upset wins to the Titans and Sharks reminded us all that anything can happen in this competition. This was emphasised further as the Panthers overcame the odds, a golden point field goal off the boot of fullback Lachlan Coote sealing a 13-12 victory.

It was a familiar story for the Red V as their anaemic attack once again failed to deliver. The Dragons, who currently have the third lowest points for in the competition, would have to wait until the 66^th minute until they finally got their account underway. Admittedly they were without the services of pivot Jamie Soward, but this inability to score points has been a problem plaguing them all season. Their backline features some classy players with the likes of Cooper, Nightingale, Morris, but the team seems incapable of breaking the line. Very rarely do you see a Dragons player slice his way through the line or take a gap and break into open field. The Dragons deep, structured attack often amounts to little more than drifting left side to right side with few results. They’re being exposed as a one trick pony on attack, if teams shut that structured game plan down, they have nothing else up their sleeve.  Defensively they are solid and capable of grinding out victories, but if they don’t figure out how to start scoring some points, they aren’t going to amount to much this season. In 7 out of their 10 games this year they’ve failed to crack 20 points, in 3 of those they couldn’t even crack double digits. Trent Merrin turned in the type of effort that has seen him snare a NSW jersey this year with over 190 metres and 30 tackle, a tremendously busy night he was also the source of what little spark the Dragons attack had in offering 4 offloads which weren’t fully capitalized on. The thought of seeing the likes of Morris or Cooper linking up with a couple of those offloads sounds like the recipe for the points that the Dragons are starving for.

I do not wish to take away from the efforts of the Panthers tonight, but the Dragons really do make a good defensive effort look like a great one. That said, the Panthers had the edge throughout most of the game, and after early strikes in the 19^th and 22^nd minutes, held onto the lead until Kyle Stanley converted a Mitch Rein try in the 75^th to tie things up. Despite letting the game almost get away from them, the Panthers appeared to have the right mentality when the going got tough, their big forwards demanding the ball late in the game, taking responsibility and trying to get things back on track. Although they didn’t get much reward, the Panthers backs looked a more youthful and enthusiastic bunch than their Dragons counterparts and will let coach Ivan Cleary sleep easy about his decision to drop NSW centre Michael Jennings. Josh Mansour racked up the metres, almost breaking the 200 mark in a fine follow up to his impressive start last week while fullback Lachlan Coote looked to be taking on some real leadership and responsibility for the team. Even just in the simple things like stepping up ready to take the penalty kicks, he seemed to have a cool demeanour and was in charge of the situation. The Panthers have sorely missed the presence of big bopper Tim Grant this season, he proved his worth as he barraged his way to over 140 metres to compliment his 30 tackles.

After the round began with one of the best games we’ve seen in a long time in a fantastic duel between Brisbane and Manly, the Titans putting away the Doggies, and the Sharks, without Gallen, handing the Storm their first loss of the season, it was a fitting end to the week with a golden point finish and yet another upset. Let this great week of entertainment serve as another reminder of why the NRL is the best sports competition going round.

NSW Game 1 Selections

It’s nearly that time again, State against State, mate against mate, one of if not the most exciting times in the rugby league calendar, State of Origin. Every man and his dog have an opinion on who should be in the teams and I’m no exception. Picking the Queensland team is about as easy as choosing between a cold beer and a smack in the face but once again the NSW team is a different story presenting many difficult choices. Tossing my selectors hat on, here is my NSW team for game one.

1. Brett Stewart

The Brett Stewart fan club has taken a pretty big blow in membership numbers over the past couple of years due to his dramas off the field and he’s also had a tough time of it with injuries. Many as a result seem to have forgotten that it wasn’t all that long ago that Snake was arguably the best fullback on the planet not all that long ago. Slater won’t be relinquishing that title to anyone else anytime soon, but Stewart has made great strides in returning to his best. He has a nose for the line almost unparalleled, a tremendous strike rate and as fast as they come.

2. Brett Morris

Has found new legs playing in the number 1 jersey for the Dragons, Morris should have no problems sliding back over to the wing. A fantastic mix of speed and power, he has looked very strong and very threatening for the Dragons this year. NSW has few wingers putting their hands up, so seeing Morris moving back to the wing is the logical choice here.

3. Michael Jennings

 A selection that will raise a lot of questions after the enigmatic Jennings was dropped by the Panthers to their NSW cup side, but his talent Is simply too much to ignore. Some will argue that you can’t reward his attitude problems with a rep side selection, but with the hole NSW has dug themselves in past years, a win is an absolute must this season and Jennings simply gives you a better chance for that than any other centre available. Frustrating that Jamie Lyon doesn’t make himself available as he would have walked in here otherwise.

4. Josh Morris

Has turned in some blistering performances for the Bulldogs this year, looking very unstoppable at times. The same fantastic mix of speed and power that his brother possesses, having one of these big boys on each side of the field should prove troublesome for the Queensland defenders. Another position where few NSW players have really stood up, but Morris is definitely the exception and has been a large part of the early season success of the Doggies.

5. Akuila Uate

No comments really necessary with this one. Walks into the NSW team just like he would walk into any team he was eligible for. The best winger in the game.

6. Todd Carney

A month or so ago I was discussing the potential NSW team with a friend and I was not ready to commit to naming Carney, at this point however you simply cannot ignore his efforts in leading the Sharks to one of the best records in the NRL. NSW have struggled to solidify a halves pairing, one of the issues commonly cited among the reasons for their lack of success in recent years. In Carney they have a Dally M level talent, on his day as good as any other and his day seems to be coming around every week at the moment. A bloke who hasn’t done himself any favours over the years but appears to have, finally, turned the page and commit to making the most of the world class talent he has.

7. Mitchell Pearce

Effectively the default halfback for NSW at this point, if you aren’t going to pick Pearce then who else is there? While not the ideal situation for deciding on someone in such a pivotal position, Pearce has delivered some fantastic performances in recent weeks for the up and down Roosters, making a statement that he is an Origin talent rather than just the best of a weak pool of options. His kicking game has been very accurate and having some history with Carney should provide at least some chemistry, although nothing in comparison to what the Queensland line up has.

8. Paul Gallen

Once again, nothing much to say here, an automatic selection for NSW, Australia and planet earth if the need arises. Traditionally a lock, Gal moved into the front row for NSW last year and the rest is history, turning out one of the greatest performances seen by any player, a resounding 10 out of 10 rating from Rugby League Week and the acclaim of every fan and player. No question that he takes up a propping spot again this year and sets the example for the rest of the pack to follow.

9. Michael Ennis

The injury to Danny Buderus has made the hooking picture somewhat less cloudy, still debate rages between the incumbent Ennis and Tigers stalwart Robbie Farah. NSW needs to remain consistent in their selections rather than selecting a new group every year and Ennis is one of the keys to this. He’s been around the track plenty of times now, he’s a mongrel, he’s niggly, he’s tenacious and he knows what Origin is all about. He may not have the attacking prowess of Farah, but as Phil Gould would put it, “he’s an Origin player” and he’s shown great leadership for the Dogs this year.

10. Tim Mannah

His Eels have been terrible this year, and Mannah may not be setting the world on fire, but once again it’s time to create some consistency here. Mannah has been in the NSW team for a couple of years now and started two of the games last season. He’s a massive bloke, has proven he’s up for it at Origin level, and delivers just what you need to start the game, an aggressive hard running style to set the platform in that first 10 -15 minute period.

11. Glenn Stewart

There’s a lot of positions where NSW is lacking in options, second row certainly isn’t one of them and produces the most difficult selection choices. Glenn Stewart, still seems to go under the radar for many, brings a great mix of size and ball playing ability that cannot be ignored. Has dealt with injury this year but has been back in the swing of things for a couple of weeks now and looks every bit the part. His ball skills are almost unmatched amongst forwards and at the same time he’s not opposed to getting a bit rough and putting a big hit on somebody.

12. Greg Bird

The type of guy Phil Gould dreams about, when you hear “Origin player” you think about guys like Bird. Proven at the Origin level, with a man of the match performance on his record, he’s another tenacious player who you know will leave absolutely everything on the pitch for the blue jersey. He’s extremely versatile, able to provide cover in the halves at a pinch, but his ability in the second row alone should be enough to ensure his selection.

13. Luke Lewis

Another extremely versatile player, Lewis can and has played literally everywhere and has played at rep level as a centre, wing, lock and second rower and always does an admirable job. Another who delivers that leave it all on the field mentality, Lewis has been churning in gutsy efforts every week despite his Panthers struggling. A tremendous leader, he’s basically everything you could ask for in an Origin player. On paper, there’s few advantages for NSW, but Lewis at lock is one of them.

14. Robbie Farah

Filling the utility spot is the gusty Tigers playmaker. The NSW second rowers allow for a great degree of versatility, but Farah brings a special degree of attack that they do not possess. Ennis can handle 80 minutes no problem but Farah allows for a change of pace or change of game plan if required and can also cover in the halves if need be. A difficult decision to leave him out of the starting team, he’s clearly been doing all he can to prove himself to the selectors this year and it has shown through in his play even if the Tigers have struggled.

15. James Tamou

Making his debut for Australia in the ANZAC test, Tamou has been a real workhorse for the Cowboys this season, especially with his Queensland counterpart Scott being out with injury. Subject of much debate around his eligibility, what isn’t up for debate is that the Kiwi born prop has looked every bit the part this season. An enticing mix of ball skills to go along with his big strong frame, he’s a young bloke who will likely be appearing on these lists for years to come.

16. Tariq Sims

Another big youngster from the Cows, the selection of Gallen as a front rower looking at 80 minutes allows for the freedom to start blooding Sims. Still relatively fresh to the NRL, physically he’s a mountain of a guy who will be more than capable of handling the Origin environment, already with a reputation for devastating hits on any NRL opponent who crosses his path. This selection is as much about now as it is five years from now when Tariq should be a real leader for the Blues. If he’s physically up for it, then throw him in there and reap the benefits in a few years when he is terrorizing opponents with his Origin pedigree.

17. Anthony Watmough

With an injury scare now dismissed, Choc is available for selection and takes the last bench spot. You want guys who can make an impact to bring on and Watmough certainly knows how to make an impact. Another niggly character who knows the ins and outs of Origin, he’s a real fireball with the ability to spark a team with his aggressive defence or by  taking a gap with his deceptive speed. He’s got the mentality to put a forward pack on his back in stretches when needed. 

Warriors vs Roosters Round 10 recap

After a strong 70 minute performance against Melbourne, backed up by a very strong win against a Brisbane team in fine form last week, this match up against the Roosters was a huge statement game for the Warriors. After getting a good old fashioned hiding in Round 5, this was a prime chance for the Warriors to show that the limp form from earlier in the season was a thing of the past, and despite a valiant effort from the Chooks the Warriors managed to put up their second win on the trot.

This game had a lot of fans mouths watering over the potential forward pack match up. I have no idea what they're feeding the boys at the Roosters but they've put together a monstrous forward pack with Kiwi prop Waerea-Hargreaves leading the charge, and the Warriors forwards are never found wanting for size lead by another big Kiwi unit, arguably the form prop of the competition, Ben Matulino. But while the forward contest proved an entertaining battle, it was the freakish abilities of Warriors youngsters Shaun Johnson and Konrad Hurrell that decided the game.

Bustling young centre Hurrell justified the hype from those who watched him run all over Toyota Cup defences last season, rampaging his way to over 200 metres from his 12 touches, with 9 tackle breaks, resulting in two tries. Noted for his immense power and ability to shed defenders almost at will, Hurrell showed he had plenty of pace also, Anthony Minichiello offered him and inch and he took a mile, leaving the incumbent NSW fullback in his dust scoring a fantastic try.

Not to be outdone, prodigal half Shaun Johnson added to his long list of highlights by grabbing a brace for himself. Once again Johnson showed the type of footwork that would see any normal man tripping over himself, you almost have to laugh when you see the way he just embarrasses opposing defenders, but you really can't blame them, you blink and he may have stepped past three opponenets. Week by week we are seeing him show that same ability Benji has, to effectively freeze the opposition, as if he can pause time to let him come up with what he would like to do. The huge smile he wears when he crosses the paint and clear enthusiasm for the game is truly infectious, he's just a fantastic asset not only for the Warriors but for Rugby League in general. They were supported by a handy night from Maloney with the boot kicking 5 goals, and The Beast Manu Vatuvei finally breaking his try scoring drought.

It wasn’t all good news for the Warriors however, fresh from signing a one year contract extension the injury plagued Jerome Ropati picked up another injury to his knee and is expected to be out 6-8 weeks, the injury forcing Maloney to shift to fullback and Feleti Mateo into the halves.

For the Roosters 2^nd rower Aidan Guerra proved very impressive, grabbing a try to go along with 26 tackles and crossing the century metre mark. He seemed to pop up at all the right moments doing all the right things, he was very active and really put his mark on the game. Tackling machine Jake Friend notched up 44 on the night, nothing new for him but impressive nonetheless, and the big man, or one of the several big men, off the bench Lama Tasi was a handful with the ball in hand. Perhaps the biggest positive for the Chooks however was the debut of young phenom Tautau Moga. Crossing the ditch to Mt Smart is far from the ideal place to start your NRL career and he appeared a little timid at first. After being denied a try in the corner however, showing off some great athleticism, he seemed to decide that he belonged, getting himself more involved, looking very confident, dangerous with the ball in hand, and like he’d been around the NRL for years. I suspect it won’t be long at all until he starts giving NRL defences nightmares like he has opposition in the younger grades, the thought of seeing him and Hurrell going up against each other in future very tantalizing indeed.