"teaching the three Rs - Rock N Roll, Rugby League & The Road""
By STEVE MASCORD STANDING in front of the eastern grandstand at Centrebet Stadium, Penrith hooker James Segeyaro struggled to control his emotions. His side had just beaten Parramatta 44-12 – missing the Panthers’ highest winning margin over the Eels by just one point. But in so many ways, win, lose or draw, these are sad […]
By STEVE MASCORD IT’S April 20 2013, in the spacious visitors dressingroom at Eden Park, and one of the greatest players in either rugby code is only just short of being a nervous wreck. The mid-season Test between Australa and New Zealand has been about as one-sided as a rugby league contest gets, with the […]
By STEVE MASCORD AUSTRALIA prop James Tamou does not believe he has done enough to keep his jersey for the April 19 Test against New Zealand and reckons only a five-star showing for North Queensland on Friday will save him. Tamou offered the stinging self-assessment despite running 199 metres in last night’s 30-0 Cowboys win […]
By STEVE MASCORD IT’S time we had a close look at just how the increase in the salary cap has affected the competitive parity of the NRL, which has been its biggest strength since 1998. We’ve had nine premiers in 15 years but results like Monday night’s 50-0 win by Sydney Roosters over Parramatta at […]
By STEVE MASCORD HE’S one of the victims of the seismic changes at Penrith but young back rower Mitch Achurch has backed Phil Gould’s Panthers clean-out to be a success. Achurch, 23, has quit the Australian game to join Leeds on a long-term contract and will line up against Melbourne in the World Club Challenge […]
By STEVE MASCORD SOMETHING weird is happening here in America This week’s column comes to you from Beantown – Boston. The temperature here is the same as Sydney, except here it’s Fahrenheit. You already knew weird stuff happens in this country, right? But I am referring to the great game of rugby league. There are […]
By STEVE MASCORD BRISBANE coach Anthony Griffin called it a “messy” performance from a team “down on confidence” – and he wasn’t interested in saying much at all about the semi-finals. But while Griffin preferred to look backwards at Petero Civoniceva’s last Suncorp Stadium appearance, a similarly reticent Civoniceva was only inclined to talk about […]
By STEVE MASCORD LAST night’s farewell for Petero Civoniceva was intended to be largely ceremonial – a send-off from the stadium he has graced for 14 seasons. But for a large chunk of the clash with the only other NRL club Civonceva has played for, it looked like being the absolute end, with his side […]
By HAMISH NEAL INSPIRED by the midweek news former captain Luke Lewis had undergone treatment for thyroid cancer, Penrith produced a sublime effort to defeat Gold Coast and avoid the wooden spoon. Panthers skipper Kevin Kingston revealed a speech from the departing Lewis helped the side produce on its best performance in 2012. Lewis won’t […]
