What we're talking about

Give Us a Chance on Psaltis origin squads As a desperate blues supporter I believe that all state of origin games should be held in Sydney. (I still don't fancy our ... more
horsebettingtips on Horse Racing - The rules have to change lets leave it to the people behind this organization.it really sad for all the horse owner but we still obey the board. more
freeracingtips on Horse Racing - The rules have to change horse racing is one of the favorite sports in AU aside from being fun event it can give more people a lot of money when they ... more
au horseracing tips on Horse Racing - The rules have to change we will leave it to the organizer to decide but we also wish them to have a balance thinking about the situation. more
freetips on Horse Racing - The rules have to change if they will pursue to change the rules a lot of people involve in this industry may not agree and it may give bad image to ... more
racingtips on Horse Racing - The rules have to change even if the rules will change but the people involve didn't coordinate with each other then it is useless.so it is better to ... more
Robyn on The Equal Pay Debate For mine, it's not about the length of time on the court, it's about the quality of the product. Overall women's tennis is ... more
Mick on The Equal Pay Debate PeteOne way to possibly avoid sexist accusations may be to pay a bonus to those in the quarter, semi and Final who play 4 or ... more
Glenn Logan on The Equal Pay Debate If women want equal pay then they need too play the same number of sets. Its an absolute joke women are being payed more per ... more
Saz on The Equal Pay Debate Women should get equal pay for the final IF they bring in the same ratings and same crowds - which they don't. Even the ... more
horseracingtips on Horse Racing - The rules have to change i think it is not fair to the horse owner or to the trainer.the best way for that is all of them will coordinate with each ... more
manny goldenberg on Why the Queensland Cup is great Well I've been watching the redcliffe dolphins at either the showground or dolphin oval for over 35 years and i yearn for ... more
ella on Pub and Club trading Hours they should go along with this an it be safer for everyone else to. i agree with it an they should make the trading hours ... more
cherie alexander on Video blog - Melbourne Storm Peter The Storm didn't just break the salary cap theblew it apart.To all those who have continued to saythat they were ... more
cherie alexander on Never a dead rubber Great game..for a DeadRubber.The Blues reallytoook it to the"goodguys",but Qld won as Qld often do...in the last 4mins.So ... more
Chris on Never a dead rubber Yeah, Peter!They should also play the NRL Grand Final outside of Sydney. If there's new management coming into the game, ... more
cherie alexander on Never a dead rubber Hear hear Peter...it's nota dead rubber but a chancefor the"good guys to get awhite wash or The Blues toget one back.I can't ... more
Robbie on What if we had City v Country? Looks good! And let's face it, the more rugby league we have, the better. But I agree with ando, let's help keep rugby ... more
Darren khan on Why the Queensland Cup is great I'd love to see a station like 4BC cover the QLD Cup. Local stations in Perth and Adelaide cover the local Aussie Rules ... more
cherie alexander on NRL Predicitions Hi Peter,I wonder how Dean Ritchie and Anthony Whatmough feel today about the"old" N0.6 who Captains The Maroons. The scarey ... more

NRL Under Fire!

Posted by: Peter Psaltis | 20 February, 2009 - 3:21 PM

The 2009 NRL season is only a matter of weeks away and all league fans are trying to predict what will happen in the season that lies ahead.

2009 is an important year for the game. A number of Sydney clubs are struggling financially; some may struggle to see out the season without financial assistance from the NRL. There are also external pressures from rugby union both domestically and internationally, with big money French and Japanese clubs looking to entice off contract stars such as Karmichael Hunt and Benji Marshall.

The game is need of stable leadership. It needs to tackle these challenges head on and with a united front. Steve Mortimer is a strong advocate of an Independent commission to run the game. Steve's aim is to bring all aspects of the game under one umbrella in a similar way to AFL in this country and NFL in America. I agree with him. The game needs to move quickly to catch up with the 21st century. What holding the game back are too many small minded people who refuse to look at the bigger picture. There are people still involved in clubs and leagues that think running a chook raffle is the best way to raise money.

Now to matters on the field.

Two weeks after last years grand Final I made some predictions. This way my Top 8 back then - Manly, Brisbane, Cronulla, Melbourne, Cowboys, Canberra, Bulldogs, Roosters. With a full pre-season behind us I have now come up with my top 8 for the upcoming season -

Brisbane

Manly

Cowboys

Dragons

Warriors

Parramatta

Melbourne

Bulldogs

I have added the Warriors, Dragons and Parramatta and taken out the Roosters, Cronulla and Canberra. You may agree or you may think I'm a goose. Let me know what you think?

The 2009 Premiers will be the Brisbane Broncos. The reason I say this is because if having the 2 referees helps open the game up then Brisbane along with Manly have the best line ups to capitalise. Not to far behind is North Queensland who have a squad with a great deal of depth. Positions in the lower part of the 8 will be hotly contested with the Titans, Roosters and Cronulla all possessing teams capable of making it into the finals.

Dally M winner - Expect big seasons from Michael Ennis, Peter Wallace and Cooper Cronk.

The on field action should be top class in 2009. It will be an open competition with any team capable of winning on any given day, but the real concerns lies off the field. Lets hope the people running the game have the best interest of rugby league at heart and they can safely guide us through this rough period.

Blog comments

I'm looking forward to watching the Broncos with Ivan in charge just as much as I'm looking forward to seeing St George with Wayne in the Dragon's hot seat! Add to this the Titans who have been very consistent and Queenslanders have lots to be excited about in the new season! Players come and go but it still is the greatest game of all and we'll watch it no matter what!!

Wayne D Monday 23 February, 2009 - 10:00 PM
nice piece peter,

scap the slary cap and the
crap will be kicked out,
there will be hotter sides{for example the great parramatta side of the 80's and broncos of the 90's}, and most of all crowds will be at an alltime high, revenve will smash records and the game will live happily ever after...

you know it makes sense!!!!

lambros Saturday 21 February, 2009 - 7:26 AM