International RL Blog

As part of his plans to make RL a global sport, Salford owner Dr Marwan Koukash is planning a Nines tournament to be held in Dubai. It would augment the Auckland Nines and would involve both SL and NRL clubs CLICK HERE  for more details In 2011, I wrote about nines on this blog  " It is a good showcase for our game, an excellent way of introducing newcomers and great way of spreading the word" CLICK HERE to see the original post I really like Dr Koukash, he's obviously very enthusiastic, is brilliant at generating publicity, he wears his heart on his sleeve and is a breath of fresh air to our sport. Dr Koukash is a very bright bloke and has been very successful in his business careeer. He's a doer rather than a watcher and we need more people like him in our sport. OK, maybe some his proclamations have been naive and possibly unwise but most aren't serious and should be taken with a pinch of salt. I wish him every success

A Fiji based XIII, led by Petro Civoniceva will join the NSW Cup in 2016 and he believes the  project could eventually lead to a Fiji based NRL  francise.team . This is a big boost to RL in the Pacific region and they support the PNG Hunters who recently joined the Queensland Cup CLICK HERE  for more info

The SL play-offs are under way and and should be the pinnacle of the UK domestic season. Unfortunately, three out of the four matches played so far have been one-sided non-events in front of relatively poor crowds, with one in particular spoiled by inconsistent refereeing. An obvious contrast can be made with the NRL play-offs which have been wonderful.     Since the SL Grand Final was initiated, only five teams have taken part including the big four of Bradford, Leeds, St Helens and Wigan plus Hull. Three of these teams are still in contention despite the salary cap and licencing regulations which says very little about progress being made. All neutral supporters should cheer for Warrington & Catalans It has recently been announced that Jack Reed of the Brisbane Broncos and Chris Heighrington of West Tigers will play for England in the upcoming Four Nations along with Gareth Widdup of Melbourne Storm. They are good players and I don't blame Steve McNamara ...