How did my NRL finals week 1 predictions go?

I am a man of modesty. But I think I was pretty dead-on with my picks last weekend. Here's what I said and what actually happened.

"St George will decimate a depleted Sea Eagles side and fly to the preliminary final with momentum on their side":
28-0, anyone? Now it's true that the depleted Manly gallantly held the Dragons to just one try until the 64th minute but once those floodgates opened, the class of the Red and Whites was plain for all to see. They now enjoy a week off and will face the winner of Canberra vs. Wests in week three.

But that very class that St George displayed is a curse as much as it is a blessing. The Daily Telegraph called the Dragons "controlled, measured, patient and methodical" in their performance over the weekend. Against a team full of X-factors in a fortnight, methodical and controlled may not be enough. To win NRL finals, you need to take chances, something their opposition - whether it ends up being the Tigers or Raiders - know plenty about.

"Titans v Warriors is another hard one to pick ... Gold Coast have the talent to shake up the finals series":
OK, so I didn't make a balls-to-the-wall call on this one, but I did say there were injury worries around Mat Rogers, Scott Prince and Ashley Harrison, who all played. Gold Coast now get their week off and face up against the winner of the Roosters and Penrith. This is likely to be the Roosters (more on that below), but I truly believe the Titans are building to something. Each year they're getting better, and with Scott Prince on the park they're a formidable side.

"Saturday night's qualifying final between the Tigers and Roosters ... Trying to pick a winner for this one is hard":
And boy was it ever, even in the 99th minute. Saturday night's game will go down as one of the great Rugby League finals matches. With the scores locked 15-all at fulltime, even regulation extra-time couldn't decide this one, with the game lasting 100 minutes. If you missed it check out the video below:

VIDEO: Roosters pip Tigers in NRL thriller

The Roosters got the spoils, but the Tigers can hold their heads high. The game was also not without refereeing controversies, and ended with concerns over Benji Marshall's fitness, though latest reports suggest he will take the field against Canberra this weekend.

"The Raiders should continue their dream run with a win against Penrith on Saturday night":
And they sure did, albeit in a tight contest. The Raiders are playing with incredible belief right now. The Tigers next week will be a test, but with the likes of Terry Campese, David Shillington and Josh Dugan firing, Canberra could almost beat anyone right now. As for the Panthers, they face up against the Sydney Roosters, who are high on their remarkable triumph and boasting the Dally M Player of the Year within their ranks. I don't see Penrith getting the better of them.

First week of the finals!

And so it begins. One of the tightest NRL finals races in memory starts this weekend.

It may sound like a cliche, but this will be a September where anything can happen. Dreams will come true for some, while for others, heartbreak will be their destiny.

Minor Premiers St George are known to choke come finals time. There's an old joke "What do St George have in common with snow? They're both gone by September..." but this time I predict things will be different. First up they face a Manly side decimated through injury and suspension. Steve Matai will be gone for 7 weeks minimum, while Jason King and Chris Bailey are on report and Anthony Watmough, Joe Galuvao, Ben Farrar, Matt Ballin, Brent Kite and Jamie Lyon are all in doubt due to injury. St George will decimate a depleted Sea Eagles side and fly to the preliminary final with momentum on their side.

Saturday night's qualifying final between the Tigers and Roosters is being billed as "The battle of the five-eighths" with the men who will likely play pivot for their respective countries, Todd Carney and Benji Marshall doing battle. Trying to pick a winner for this one is hard - both teams are capable of scoring plenty of points from all over the field. Check out some highlights from the two playmakers:





Titans v Warriors is another hard one to pick. Gold Coast are not without injury worries with key players Mat Rogers, Scott Prince and Ashley Harrison among their walking wounded. Gold Coast have the talent to shake up the finals series but their casualty ward coupled with an ordinary end to the regular season are reason for alarm.

Finally, the Raiders should continue their dream run with a win against Penrith on Saturday night.The Panthers have the home ground advantage but Canberra have proven this year that their away hoodoo is a thing of the past. And the Raiders are simply running too hot for a lacklustre Penrith side who were lucky to finish in the top four anyway.

Penrith have a guaranteed home final... but should they?

Penrith's last-second win over the Bulldogs last night has them firmly entrenched in the top four. Even if they lose this weekend, their for-and-against differential will ensure them a home final.

There was plently of controversy in last night's game, with Petero Civenoceva's high tackle on Gary Warburton and subsequent sendoff the most reported on aspect of the match. Petero will pay for his sins with a guaranteed stint on the sidelines when his side needs him most, so it would appear their luck could run out very soon.

But they were lucky to win last night at all. The 63rd minute try that levelled the scores should never have been awarded. Watch the video below at around the 2:20 mark.

http://bigpondvideo.com/nrl/292168/rd25-bulldogs-v-panthers-hls/

Now maybe I'm just a disgruntled Canterbury fan. Or maybe like the Fox Sports team say, the ref should have gone upstairs.

It was a rare moment where a video ref is ACTUALLY needed but wasn't used. Hell, Tony De Las Heras even went to the video earlier in the night to decide between a line dropout and a 20 metre restart, the first time I've ever seen such a referral. Up until the 63rd minute, he was consulting with Paul Simpkins about what colour underpants to wear.

But when faced with a potential offside and a knock-on in the lead up to a "try", the finger pointed and the whistle blew without hesitation.

I still say it wasn’t a try.

Just like old times...

Sometimes people ask me why I support the Bulldogs even though I grew up in the Eastern Suburbs where I still live. This blog post is the best answer I can give.

I remember the early 1990s rugby league heyday. Back then the comp was called the Winfield Cup, there were no joint ventures and Tina Turner's "The Best" spruiked the code on television screens across NSW.

As a high school kid we were lucky to get free season tickets to regular round matches, and we made good use of them. (Even without them admission for us in those days was only $3!) Every weekend, a bunch of us would meet outside Grace Bros in Bondi Junction and jump on a train, or a bus or whatever mode of transport we needed to get out to the footy.

Now I'd been a Canterbury fan since 1985, when they were the reigning (and soon to be back-to-back) premiers. 1985 was the year I started collecting Scanlens footy stickers. I remember as premiers the Dogs had a special middle section in the sticker album, and all the stickers were bordered in silver.

But after around 1986 I had a couple of years where I lost a bit of interest in footy. Coming up through primary school I was distracted by my first crush in year five then a year later I discovered rock music. If you'd asked me who my footy team was in those years I would have answered that it was Canterbury but I had no idea how they were faring in what was then the New South Wales Rugby League. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't even watch the 1988 grand final victory.

1992 was the year it changed, and the year my true love for the Blue and Whites was cemented. Which brings us back to the beginning of this tale.

The core group of us was Cliff, Mark and myself. Sometimes other guys joined us, depending on who "we" were playing. I remember that year, in what used to be a 22 round season we went to at least 16 regular games. Every other weekend it was at Belmore, and in the rounds in between we went to North Sydney Oval, Jubilee Stadium, Caltex Field (now Toyota Park), the Sydney Football Stadium and Brookvale Oval, to name a few.

Our heroes were Terry Lamb and Ewan McGrady. Coming up through the ranks we were entertained by legends in the making Darren Smith, Dean Pay and Jarrod McCracken. I remember current Dogs coach Kevin Moore running around in the number seven a couple of times, though the first-choice half was Craig Polla-Mounter.

Canterbury struggled that year. We won a couple of good games, one notably against that year's eventual premiers the Brisbane Broncos, but lost more than we won, including capitulating to a then-terrible South Sydney outfit and going down by a point to Newcastle after "Baa" kicked a field goal thinking it was 10-all when we in fact down by two.

Canterbury finished that season on 22 points, just missing out on the top five. But they were good times. We were teenagers without worries. I wasn't paying rent or running a motor vehicle. I wasn't concerned about building a career. The only thing I had to worry about was that weekend's game.

The years flew by and my love for the Bulldogs never waned, even if the number of games I went to shrunk year by year. I always made sure to go at least once in a season, and in more recent times have managed around four games per year. I have even flown to Melbourne twice and up to the Gold Coast to see the team play.

Yesterday (Sunday) I went to the Roosters vs Bulldogs game. Cliff organised a bunch of us to go - he'd been living in Melbourne for the four years up to December 2009 and is now married with a baby due next month. Through Facebook he'd started talking to Mark again for the first time in years and invited him along too. Hence the core of our 1992 Bulldogs fan group was reunited.

As you know the Roosters prevailed in a roller-coaster ride of a match. The Chooks kept one foot in front for most of the first half before Canterbury finished the first 40 ahead. The start of the second stanza belonged to the Dogs who looked like winning it until the Roosters came back stunningly with two tries in the final ten minutes to seal the win.

All through it the three of us shared the agony and ecstasy of every play as if no time had passed since 1992. Canterbury tries brought high-fives, Roosters tries glum silence. Ref calls against us met with cries of "whaddaya mean, ref?" or "open your eyes!" while decisions in our favour (and there were some sketchy ones, I'll admit) were greeted with "we'll take it!". We stood in our seats every time the line was broken, uttering "ooh" and "ahh" as the game played out. I sat next to Mark, who I hadn't seen in years, discussing players and team tactics as if the last time we'd done so was only last week.

And in doing so, even though we lost, I was reminded of one of the things I love so much about the game of rugby league. I can watch other sports, but none will take me back to a time I remember so fondly. In the moment, watching our beloved Dogs, there we were again, those three teenagers barracking for our beloved team.

So much has happened in the years since 1992. I have studied at a variety of tertiary organisations. I have tried three career paths before settling into my current one. I have lived overseas and travelled to different parts of the world. I have fallen in love and have had my heart broken. But on Sunday I was taken back to the 16-year-old that was yet to live those experiences.

As the game played out on the field before us, our jobs weren't in our minds. Rents, mortgages, bills - we were in a dimension where none of it mattered. Our responsibilities could wait until later.

The Bulldogs were playing.

The Wednesday Rant

So much has happened in the world of sport that I need to throw my two cents in about. So without further ado here we go.

Rugby League

Loyalty is alive! After being linked to the cashed-up Sydney Roosters, promising young fullback Josh Dugan has extended his contract with the struggling Raiders. I said at the start of the year that Canberra have some gifted young players coming through but their challenge would be to keep them. Now that Dugan has repaid the club's faith lets hope some of the other young guns follow suit.

South of the border Greg Inglis has also rejected an offer from the Broncos and expressed his desire to stay at Melbourne.

Refereeing is back in the news for the wrong reasons with legendary whistle blower Greg "Hollywood" Hartley declaring the current batch of refs to be the worst in 50 years. Now I'm not in a position to agree or disagree but there certainly have been plenty of sketchy decisions this season, some at crucial stages in matches.

In an example, big Sam Burgess has every right to be filthy for being penalised for his tackle on Mitchell Pearce at the weekend. What should have been a knock-on and a Bunnies ball became a Roosters penalty. The match review committee later found nothing wrong with the tackle. The Roosters won a game that could very well have a bearing on the final top four placings 18-14, and we will never know what could have been.

Motorsport

Congratulations go to Aussie Mark Webber for his victory at the British Formula One Grand Prix. The victory was especially sweet given that Webber was not only competing against the the other drivers and teams but his own team as well.

Red Bull's treatment of Webber was disgraceful. Team officials swapped his car's front wing with that of teammate Sebastian Vettel in a clear sign of who they saw as higher in their pecking order. Webber's subsequent victory over Vettel was a beautifully raised middle-finger.

Soccer

It's time to pack away the vuvuzelas and stop listening to octopi - World Cup 2010 is officially over. In the end Spain prevailed over the Netherlands in a frustrating game that remained scoreless right up until the death.

But the thing this world cup will be remembered for most are the many refereeing controversies. Everyone involved with soccer except FIFA wants video technology introduced into the game - it's time they listened.

On another note, it will be interesting to see if Australia's world cup fever carries over into the domestic A-League season. I predict it won't - most people didn't give a toss in the four years between this world cup and the last. It's about jumping on a bandwagon. Now I'm not saying I'll be first in line at the next Sydney FC game but I nor did I watch much of the world cup. I'm a "Leaguie" through and through.

Heroes and Villians

As everyone predicted, Queensland completed a 3-0 State of Origin clean sweep on Wednesday.

What not many predicted is how close the game was in the end. It is generally accepted that if not for a penalty against Blues hooker Michael Ennis in the closing stages of the game, NSW may well have held on and saved some pride.

But before I launch into my Ennis diatribe, praise must go to the players who really tried. In his return to Origin, Greg Bird was sensational. He never gave up, scoring what should have been the winning try.

Kurt Gidley also deserves some praise. I have been severely critical of him in the past, and again questioned his selection this year. But he proved me wrong, his never-say-die attitude shining through and proving that Origin is not necessarily about being the most gifted player. It's about heart, and Gidley showed plenty of it.

In the end, a five point lead was squandered when Nate Myles tempted Ennis into a punching match, resulting in a penalty that set up a Queensland try. Desperation football then not only failed to put the Blues back in front, but gave the Maroons another try before the siren to knock the nails into the coffin.

The obituaries have been particularly scathing of Ennis, who is insistent that he did no wrong because Myles struck first.

It doesn't matter, Mick.

You had minutes to go with Queensland's line in reach. I don't care if Myles had head-butted you. If you're desperately clinging on to a five point lead, you don't allow yourself to be drawn in.

Mick Ennis should have known better. Crying that Myles started it is akin to to a schoolboy in a playground fight claiming innocence for the same reason. Mick Ennis had a chance to show that the Blues are above Queensland's thuggery.

He blew it, and in doing so surrendered a lead that could have won us the game.

Farah for 2011.

Goodbye Pricey, Hello Again Gasnier

Rugby League has farewelled one of its true champions after Steven Price decided to hang up his boots last week due to injury.

The New Zealand Warriors captain retired with 313 first grade games, 28 State of Origin appearances for Queensland and 16 Australian test jumpers under his belt.

"Pricey" debuted for the mighty Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 1994. He was a part of the Bulldogs premiership winning side in 1995, scoring a try, and a few years later caught the eye of the Queensland selectors for the 1998 State of Origin series. He was selected in the Kangaroos squad that very year.

Price captained the Bulldogs from the start of 2002 until he left for New Zealand after the 2004 season. He cruelly missed Canterbury's 2004 Grand Final win with injury after inspiring the club all the way in what began as a tumultuous season.

He then captained the Warriors for five seasons until injury prevented him from starting this year. This was to be his final season; last week he announced he would not recover from his injury and would not play a single game.

Off the field, Steve Price was as much a champion as he was on it. A model footballer, Price set an example in everything he did.

From this Bulldogs fan, I'd like to wish Pricey the best of luck for the future. I would have loved to have seen him finish his career in the blue and white.

In other news, Mark Gasnier made his return tonight for St George-Illawarra. It was far from a fairytale return, with the celebrated centre making a few crucial errors towards the back end of the second half when the Dragons were playing catch-up and needed him to fire.

Anyone watching with the ability to lip-read would clearly have seen that "Gaz" was filthy with himself and will no doubt work hard to readjust to the game where he once enjoyed so much success. The Dragons are far from my favourite team but I wish him well.

Lastly, it was good to see the mighty Bulldogs string two wins together on Saturday night. Clearly the decision to finally start Ben Barba is paying dividends; one can only wonder how different the tune of season 2010 might have sounded for the Dogs had Barba been promoted to the number six earlier.

However, it is of no use to ask "what if", its all about the remainder of the regular season now and the big challenge to make the top eight, starting with a must-win clash against Melbourne this weekend. If Canterbury can prevail it will do wonders to their confidence going into the business end of the season.

Who should play in Origin III?

The series is lost. Queensland have once again shown that they are the far superior team. Origin II was nothing short of a nightmare for Blues fans.

Origin III presents a chance to try and regain some pride by avoiding a whitewash, but how realistic is this? The Maroons are THAT good that any team NSW fields is likely to end up on the wrong side of the scoreline.

There's already talk of an upheaval from the top down in the Blues ranks, from selectors, to coaching staff, to players, for next year. But the question is, for game III, does NSW stick with the team that got obliterated in game II? Or do we start looking to future now?

I say we start looking to the future now. Chances are we'll lose anyway, so let's give some younger kids a run.

For game II the selectors did away with Brett Kimmorley (who actually wasn't bad in game 1) in favour of young gun Mitchell Pearce. But they fatally stuck with Trent Barrett at five-eighth, himself in the twilight of his career - having never been exceptional even in his heyday. It's time for new blood in the number six.

Jamie Soward has been playing his heart out over the last two years. As the form five-eighth in the comp, it's time to see what he can do at state level. He would be my first pick for Origin III alongside Pearce.

Let's look at the backs. Finally the selectors saw sense and picked Jarryd Hayne at fullback. Even though he had a quiet Origin II, we know what he can do, and what he will do in the future. Lock him into the number one jersey.

Brett Morris is one of the most exciting young wingers in our game right now. He absolutely deserves his spot on the wing. His centre partner can be none other than his twin brother Josh. Overlooked this year after playing for the Blues in 2009, Josh Morris should be rushed back for game III. His ability to cut through defenders and score tries is well documented, while the unspoken communication he and his twin enjoy could be exploited to cause headaches for Queensland.

The other centre spot should go to another man overlooked this year after starring in 2009, Michael Jennings. The Penrith centre has it all in attack. Especially considering the Maroons have arguably the most explosive centre in the game in Greg Inglis, NSW needs to counter his freakish talent with a hugely talented centre of their own.

For the other wing spot, what more does Nathan Merritt have to do to get picked? He is one of the best finishers in the game, with 13 tries so far for the season.

We need forwards with grunt, which is why Paul Gallen gets my nod to retain his spot at lock. Luke O'Donnell would slot into the second row if not for suspension, in his place should go Anthony Watmough. Now Watmough hasn't had the most brilliant of years, but again, we've seen what he can do - and if NSW are serious about building a team for the future the selectors will put their faith in a group of players and stick with them rather than chopping and changing with each defeat.

As for the other second row spot, its between Nathan Hindmarsh and Ben Creagh - and as huge a fan as I am of Hindmarsh, having criticised his omission for Origin I - if we are building the team of the future we need to pick the players of the future. Creagh it is then.

Michael Ennis had his chance at hooker and failed to impress. It is time to hand the number 9 jersey back to the man who waited years for his chance - Robbie Farah, who has been playing at a far superior level recently.

Michael Weyman has done enough for one front-row berth; Brett White most certainly has not. I would look at either Brent Kite or Aiden Tolman for the other jumper, with the player missing out on a start going to the bench.

Which leaves us with three bench spots. Luke Lewis gets one, while it's time another South Sydney player, John Sutton, got a NSW call-up. In the interests of looking to tomorrow the final bench spot goes to the Sharks' Kade Snowden.

The final team is therefore:

1. Jarryd Hayne
2. Brett Morris
3. Josh Morris
4. Michael Jennings
5. Nathan Merritt
6. Jamie Soward
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Brent Kite
9. Robbie Farah
10. Micheal Weyman
11. Ben Creagh
12. Anthony Watmough
13. Paul Gallen

14. Aiden Tolman
15. Luke Lewis
16. John Sutton
17. Kade Snowden

Now I'm not saying this team will win game III - but they won't do any worse than the teams for games I and II, and the future of State of Origin is at stake. Who knows, in a few years when Queensland's freakish stars start to tire, the names above could be the ones that bring the trophy back to New South Wales.

The Joey Race Debate

Apologies that this posting comes a few days late... by now this issue has been debated and dissected numerous times, unfortunately work and uni deadlines have meant I've only gotten around to writing about it now.

But here we go.

By now everyone knows that Andrew Johns referred to Greg Inglis as a "black c***", leading to NSW winger Timana Tahu walking out of the team in protest. A recent article has also stated that it was not just one comment that made Tahu walk.

This is what I think. The fact that Johns was arguably one of the best players to strap on a boot has allowed him too much leeway over the years. A few years ago when he was caught with drugs and managed to turn the whole thing around to get sympathy, I said then that he was no victim, that he knew what he was doing and he was only sorry for getting caught.

That is why his apology is meaningless again now. Clearly Andrew Johns would have carried on making unacceptable comments with zero remorse if no one had complained. It was only after Tahu took his commendable stand that (all of a sudden) apologies and regret gushed forth from Johns' mouth. An article I read today says he is emotionally distraught over the whole affair now too.

Sorry, Joey, there's no sympathy for you this time.

Andrew Johns has crossed the line again. NSW team management have rightly said he is not welcome back in the fold this year. But the time has come to stamp out racism in rugby league, and not for years will there be another opportunity this ideal.

What better way to send a message out to players, coaches, clubs and fans than by making an example of one of the game's most celebrated players? Ban him from coaching NSW for life. Ban him from any official NRL duty. And while we're at it, how about Channel 9, who so willingly disposed of his brother Matthew, show some balls and fire him too?

Then every player will know that racism will not be tolerated. If that's what they'll do to one of the game's best-known champions, then everyone will see that the league and its partners are serious.

As for Timana Tahu - its a shame that he had to leave the team to make his point. I am of the view that he could have - and should have stayed in the camp, while still blowing the whistle on Joey's myopic ways. Timana shouldn't have to miss playing for his state because of someone else's poor judgement. Here's hoping he rejoins the fold for Origin 3.

... which will be a dead rubber after Queensland make it five series wins from five on Wednesday night. NSW were outsiders even before this ugly Johns incident. The incredible disturbance the whole mess has caused to NSW's preparations is bad enough - and then factor in a Queensland side featuring several stars of indigenous lineage, who wouldn't have taken to kindly to the comment either, and will be looking forward to refuting it - with their football doing the talking.

News Limited vs News Limited

Today on DailyTelegraph.com.au, a very interesting article. Rugby League's favourite newspaper is calling on all Sydneysiders to "Boo the cheating Storm" when they are in Sydney to play Parramatta this Friday night.

It's the first time the Storm are playing in Sydney since the club had its 2007 and 2009 premierships stripped from them for cheating the salary cap. And the Daily Telegraph is hell-bent on making sure they remember it:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/after-42-days-the-storm-should-hand-the-nrl-trophy-back/story-e6frexnr-1225875113015

A "Give back the Trophy" poster will appear in tomorrow's Daily Telegraph which fans are being encouraged to take to the game. Which all sounds like a bit of good fun to poke at the club whose management deceived us all by deliberately hiding player payments to stay at the top.

But the MOST INTERESTING thing of all about this, is that the Daily Telegraph and the Melbourne Storm both have the same employer -News Limited. The media giant has thrown too much money at the Storm to let its recent monumental troubles bring about its demise.

Could the Daily Telegraph's campaign be a stroke of brilliance?

Think of it this way. On a bigger scale, what is one of the greatest rivalries in our fair country, and I am not just talking about sport?

Sydney vs Melbourne. Or Melbourne vs Sydney, depending in which city you live.

The Storm risked alienating and losing their Melbourne support base after their salary cap rorting was outed. Indeed in this very blog I predicted the team would wither and die. But News Limited aren't a successful multinational company for nothing. There's a bunch of smart fellas (and lasses) making things tick along and they've caught a sniff of something that can save the Storm.

There's an undercurrent within the Melbourne public that the severity of the Storm's punishment was a Sydney vs Melbourne thing.

In the weeks following the metering out of the club's punishment, attendance at their new home ground AAMI Park has been in defiance of post-rort predictions. The reason? They want to show up the Sydneysiders that took away their premierships and points. They want to stick their middle finger up at the Sydney-based NRL.

That considered, what better way to get Melburnians behind the Storm? You guessed it. Keep 'em under siege. Demand they return the silverware. Call them cheats at every game they play up here. Never let them forget that us Sydneysiders hate their cheating team.

That will rile them up. And that will get them behind the Storm. And perhaps after all the club with weather its own Storm, and Rugby League will have a future in Victoria yet.

NSW still don't have the team to beat Queensland

The NSW State of Origin team was announced Monday night, and by and large it was more of the same from star-struck selectors who value names from yesteryear over bona-fide form and talent.

There were a few positive changes to the the team - Matt Cooper (who should never have been omitted last year) is back, while the selectors have stuck to the half-hooker combination who were part of the winning team in game 3 last year.

But again, our esteemed selectors have decided to pick the players and then find a spot to fit them in. We have a team with two fullbacks, the better one shifted to the wing. We have a centre playing at five-eighth. What happened to picking the best players in their position?

Timana Tahu may yet succumb to injury, shifting Jamie Lyon back to the centres. But then - yawn - in comes yesterday's man Trent Barrett, whose club side remains anchored to the bottom of the ladder (not counting Melbourne). If he can't inspire the Sharks to a win, what job is he going to do for NSW?

Michael Jennings, arguably the most electrifying centre in the game right now, has missed out completely. Against a Queensland side bursting with freakish attacking talent, we need all the offensive firepower we can get. Why was he overlooked?

Kudos goes to Jamal Idris for his selection on the bench, however (and this from a Bulldogs fan) I would have selected Jennings first. Idris is talented and will be a great, but Jennings has been there already. He's proven what he can do at state level.

Lastly, they say Origin is all about heart, but the player with probably the most amount of it in the NRL, Nathan Hindmarsh, has again been overlooked.

I'm usually the type of person who hates to be wrong. But come next Wednesday night, I hope I am.

A Storm of Controversy

Rugby League's Melbourne expansion experiment is dead.

Once again our great game is making headlines for all the wrong reasons, only this time it's the biggest controversy since the Bulldogs salary cap saga of 2002.

The Melbourne Storm, previously labelled the "Team of the decade" and on their way to establishing a bona-fide dynasty after being premiership favourites again this year, have been exposed to have been rorting the salary cap by $1.7 million over the last five years.

The 2007 and 2009 premierships are now void, and the club has lost the right to accumulate points from games won this season. The club faces a $500,000 fine on top of the $1.1 million in prize money it now has to return.

The Storm are accused of keeping separate books to conceal the extra payments that helped them hold their team of superstars for so long. The question of "how do Melbourne have such a great group of players?" has been answered.

In Melbourne today club chairman Rod Moodie has admitted the club may fold after sponsors have began deserting the Storm in droves. But the Storm's problems go deeper than that. Owners News Limited can keep throwing cash at the embattled club but the reality is that the die-hard AFL people of Melbourne - already fickle when it comes to our game - will share our disgust at the team and turn their heads back to their own game, ending their brief, minor and fleeting interest in Rugby League.

And once the other 15 NRL clubs pick apart the corpse of the Storm there will be no top players left to win games anyway, even next year when the victories might mean something.

Interestingly, many have suggested to me that as a Bulldogs fan I should be pleased about seeing this happen to the Storm after the trials and tribulations I went through as a fan in 2oo2. But I take no joy from what has happened. It is a blight on our game and a slap in the face to many of the punters who had begun to trust Rugby League again.

Even more disgusting (if true) are comments supposedly made by former Storm CEO Brian Waldron, who is alleged to have said of salary cap cheating, "Everybody does it ... if we want to be competitive, we have to do it." Such arrogance pours more salt into the wounds of the rugby league faithful.

My thoughts go out to Melbourne's fans - those who thought they had something special to call their own, a Rugby League team in AFL dominated Melbourne. My thoughts go out to the players who put their heart and soul into every minute they played over the last five years. It seems it was all for nothing now.

It's cruelly unfair that those who are innocent in all this are going to suffer the most. In the meantime, Rugby League is back to square one again, with its work cut out for it to win the people over, all over again.

NRL 2010!

My yearly "NRL is back!" blog post has to be one of my favourite posts I write each year. It means that the return of the greatest game of all is around the corner... As January rolls into February, slowly we start to see more NRL related articles in the sports pages. As February draws to a close the frequency gradually increases until there is page after glorious page of Rugby League news, previews and analysis. By March the anticipation for kickoff is exponentially high – and now here we find ourselves, just three sleeps from the first play of two thousand and ten.

I cannot wait for the action to start.

As it always is at this time of year – the big questions dominate the footy faithful. Who is going to win it this year? Who will be the most improved? Which players are set to make an impact? Which club will be the year's big surprise? The answers will be revealed over the next six and a half months, but in the meantime, here is my club-by-club analysis for season 2010. Where is your club?

Melbourne Storm

The ever-classy Melbourne stunned opposing teams with their late rally last year that culminated in them taking home the top prize. But after again shedding a host of players including Dallas Johnson, Will Chambers and Steve Turner, the pundits will be asking if the Storm can repeat the feat. You bloody bet they can. They still have the key men in the key positions and a coach that could make a footballer out of a pumpkin. History is against them in that no side since Brisbane well over a decade ago has won back-to-back titles, but somehow I think the only time the Storm are going to worry about history will be while they're busy making it. Keep an eye on their unknowns too – half of them are likely to be stars by year's end.

Newcastle Knights

Goooone! The Knights are a work in progress abandoned by the artist before he had finished. The departure of coach Brian Smith to the Roosters has left a motley group of players of various talent levels who are going to struggle as a cohesive football side. New coach Rick Stone too has his work cut out for him, particularly as the Chris Houston drug scandal rocks the club, only a few months after his mate Danny Wicks got done for a similar thing. If the Knights want to be any chance of making the eight, five-eighth Jarrod Mullen is going to have to deliver on the promise he showed back in 2007 when selected for Origin, and Kurt Gidley will need to perform at a level justifying of his hype. Sadly however, I see Newcastle being firmly entrenched in the bottom half of the ladder come September.

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

When Manly won the comp in 2008, even the club itself said they had peaked earlier than expected. Now they must wondering if the whole thing was a fluke, as their fall from the top began even before one speck of dust had settled on the NRL trophy once on display at Brookvale. Scandals and poor form marred their premiership defence last year, with the team playing catch up for most of the season before being bundled out of the finals. Now without a recognised halfback with the sudden departure of Matt Orford, the team does have talent on the park but are going to need to find a very good on-field organiser very quickly if they are to make any kind of impact this year.

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

After the various trials and tribulations the Sharks experienced last year, the club is lucky to even still be in the NRL. Only the Roosters finished lower on the ladder in 2009, and only on points differential. Cronulla are understandably looking for a fresh start in 2010, and have brought on board a host of new players for Ricky Stuart to try and mould into a force. A major concern however, is that while most of the club's buys are capable, solid players, none have the flair or X-factor that the club really needs to make an impact. Adding to this concern is the halves equation – the same two men will be organising the troops as last year when the side could only muster five wins. It's going to be another long season in the Shire.

Parramatta Eels

Parramatta came within a win of being the dream story of 2009. In 2010 they're looking to go one better, and are as well placed as any top team to make this a reality. Already bursting with talent including the freakish Jarryd Hayne and workhorse Nathan Hindmarsh, the Eels welcome back gifted centre Timaha Tahu while bolstering their pack with the addition of Justin Poore. The recent re-signing of prodigal five-eighth Daniel Mortimer will also give the club a huge boost, though he will have to work hard to avoid the dreaded second year syndrome that has plagued many of the gifted players in the game. If he can keep firing, the Eels are going to keep the other contenders on their toes.

South Sydney Rabbitohs

The time for excuses is over. A football side with this much talent simply cannot keep underachieving. Especially with the additions of Sam Burgess and Dave Taylor up front, and names like Asotasi and Crocker beside them, the Bunnies now have the most formidable pack in the comp. Add to this their speedy try-scoring machine backline, a five-eighth pushing for Origin selection in John Sutton and 2007's Dally M Rookie of the Year Chris Sandow. As I said, a football side with this much talent simply cannot keep underachieving. I'm just sayin'.

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

2008's wooden spooners came within a dodgy ref call of the minor premiership last year and fell one game shy of the Grand Final to the red hot Eels. In 2010 the mighty Doggies will be looking to go one better, and have the right players in place to make it happen. Hazem El Masri may be gone, but Steve Turner is a more than capable replacement on the wing while the side has plenty of goalkicking options in Brett Kimmorley, Mick Ennis or Bryson Goodwin. Look for the immensely talented Jamal Idris to really make his mark this year and freakish attacking whiz Ben Barba to become a regular first grader. The Dogs have premiership potential all over the park with the only worry being injury – particularly if organiser Kimmorley goes down, Canterbury's depth may be questioned.

Brisbane Broncos

Everyone is waiting for Brisbane to fail, and many see 2010 as the year for it to happen, given the side's worrying form slump before the finals last year and the departures of Dave Taylor, Karmichael Hunt and Tonie Carroll among others. I'm usually the first to warn anyone never to write off Brisbane, particularly when it seems like the chips are down, but the truth is this year I actually have no idea how they'll fare. Their line-up, while depleted, still boasts surnames like Lockyer, Hodges, Folau, Wallace and Thaiday. But Hodges won't be back from his Achilles injury for a while yet and if the brittle, ageing Darren Lockyer falls, Brisbane's depth will just be too thin.

Gold Coast Titans

The NRL's newest team may very well find themselves in a position soon where the entire state of Queensland is depending on them. While Brisbane are on the wane and the inconsistent North Queensland are no certainty to be a threat, Gold Coast have bolstered the team that made last year's finals. The biggest news in the off-season was the addition of Greg Bird in the halves, but aside from him the Titans have been busily adding to their depth. With key men in jumpers one, six, seven and nine, a classy forward pack and plenty of backline and three quarter options, making their second finals series should be a formality. Ask me again at that point how I think they'll go from there.

Wests Tigers

The biggest word on Tigers coach Tim Sheens' lips this year will be consistency. For lack of it is the only thing that has kept Wests out of September football since their 2005 premiership win. Again last year they showed just how lethal they can be in attack, with a late streak almost putting them in finals calculations before they cruelly fell short by a point. This year they'd added a host of new players to reinforce their depth, locked down superstar five-eighth Benji Marshall for the next six years and snared arguably the coup of the year by signing Lote Tuquiri. On paper the Tigers have talent falling off the sides of the page. How that talent fires in 2010 will determine whether the glory days of 2005 are revisited or whether this year ends up being another "what if".

Canberra Raiders

Every year the Raiders bleed talent. Every year their team of unknowns is written off. Every year their crop of youngsters overachieves. Then the next year they bleed talent. 2010 sees a fresh crop of players ready to take on the NRL heavyweights, but the mail this time is that this bunch of young blokes might just be the core that Canberra have needed ever since the end of their late 80s/early 90s glory days. Complementing the likes of the fresh Josh Dugan, Jarrod Croker and Justin Carney will be representative players Joel Monaghan, Tom Learoyd-Lars and David Shillington. Talented five-eighth Terry Campese and inspirational lock/hooker Alan Tongue complete a team with tremendous potential to build into something over the next few years. If they don't bleed players.

North Queensland Cowboys

The perennial under-achievers of the last five years finally go into a season without being touted as heavyweights. Relatively quiet in the player market over the off-season, their only major acquisition – Willie Mason – is a player who makes more headlines off the field than on it. If North Queensland want to achieve anything of note this season, they are going to need plenty of heart. They still have one of the best playmakers in the game in Jonathan Thurston but will be missing his partner in crime Matt Bowen early on, have several question marks around depth issues and are still without a stable five-eighth. What they do have going for them however, is that finally no one expects anything of them.

Sydney Roosters

The Roosters' crash to dead last in 2009 was a spectacular decline. Plagued by off field problems, poor discipline and a lack of footballing focus, everything that could go wrong did. The upside when it comes to 2010 is things can't get any worse. With a new coach in Brian Smith and a lot of the dead wood gone from the roster, there is an opportunity for a fresh start but it's going to take time. New recruit Todd Carney is a gifted footballer however his own discipline problems are well documented. In the forwards, Jason Ryles is a good addition to the front row but the Rooster's second row does look conspicuously underdone. Much of their fortunes this year will depend on their halves – Mitchell Pearce in particular is going to have to live up to his famous surname for the Chooks to be any finals chance.

Penrith Panthers

The Panthers showed glimpses of being a great football team last year. Their shopping list in 2010 was all about strengthening in key positions, with the result being a well-balanced side consisting of youth and experience. With veteran Petero Civoneciva leading from the front and Travis Burns now providing some structure at five-eighth, the Panthers backs will be able to concentrate on what they do best, which is provide attacking flair and score tries. This is the year for rookie halfback Luke Walsh to live up to his promise – if he's able to do that then Penrith will be a team to watch.

St George Illawarra Dragons

There's an old joke – What do the Dragons have in common with snow? Both are gone by September... and indeed last year the form team throughout the regular season crashed spectacularly out of the finals. With most of their talent intact and that lesson now learned, fans of the red V will have plenty to be hopeful for in 2010. Wendell Sailor and Justin Poore have moved on but St George still have one of the game's best wingers in Brett Morris plus State of Origin prop Michael Weyman. Speaking of Origin, Jamie Soward will be pushing hard for selection this year while centre Matt Cooper, criminally overlooked for state honours last year, will be out to prove that the selectors got it wrong. Expect the Dragons to finish in the top four, and their fans will hope for a better finals performance.

New Zealand Warriors

2009 was a wasted year across the Tasman. After a strong 2008 campaign much was expected, particularly with the return of Stacey Jones. Indifferent team form and Jones' failure to make any real impact saw the Warriors finish 14^th in a disappointing effort. In hindsight welcoming Jones back onto the fold was the wrong choice, he ended up retiring again anyway and the talented Nathan Fien was lost to St George. This year they've gone for their third halfback in as many years with Cronulla discard Brett Seymour filling the number seven jersey. Elsewhere inspirational prop Steve Price is still there and winger Manu Vatuvei will be ever dangerous on the wing, but some of New Zealand's lesser known players are going to have to step up and be counted if the team is to have much on-field success.