Predicting the 2024 NRL season – Panthers’ era over, Dragons to get spoon, Cowboys rising – and the stars under most pressure

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Rugby league kicking off in Las Vegas. The New Zealand Warriors finishing in the top four. Luke Brooks lining up for the Manly Sea Eagles. It’s enough to give Nostradamus a headache. And with another NRL season fast approaching, here’s how things will play out in 2024. Premiers: Melbourne Storm History would suggest Penrith. Strength […]

Closing a chapter of one of football’s great rivalries: Klopp and Pep to again fittingly duel out the final battle for EPL honours

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It’s beginning to feel like a movie we’ve all seen before. Two months ago, Manchester City were teetering; flirting with the idea of not genuinely contending for the Premier League title. Arsenal had emerged as the title frontrunner, and even Tottenham felt like a genuine contender. But here we are again. Spurs have settled into […]

Why Bayer Leverkusen and Xabi Alonso need to be taken seriously as other European underdogs start to unravel

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When an underdog goes on a long run of challenging for the title, it becomes difficult for the neutral not to get behind them. The sad reality is that underdogs who come out of nowhere and go on a run of winning frequently tend to fall, not at the final hurdle, but with a good […]

Football’s ‘blue card’ concept needs to be put in the bin as it is not the appropriate answer to addressing dissent

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I am a football referee and I support the need to address the ongoing problem of dissent in our game. But I hate the idea of introducing a blue card for football. I just don’t think it is the correct answer. Before I get onto why, we first need to talk about dissent, because it’s […]

All Black coaches give Storm boost as Ryles hails lessons from ‘world class’ Eddie after his role in World Cup fiasco

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Chalking up his World Cup stint under Wallabies coach Eddie Jones as a valuable learning experience, Jason Ryles has continued to draw on rugby on his return to the Melbourne Storm. All Blacks coaching great Sir Wayne Smith recently addressed the Storm at pre-season training, while current New Zealand Test coach Scott Robertson has also […]