#NRL Season Preview!

The 2014 NRL season kicks off in just over a week's time with the game at an all-time high on the back of a highly successful Rugby League World Cup and the NRL's own inaugural Auckland Nines which really wiped the New Zealand Rugby Union's bum especially in the wake of a Wellington Sevens event marred by drunken behaviour.

Then of course, there's the millions in the pockets of the ARL from their television deal with Fox which means more coverage of games than ever before - even those of slightly deluded mind, say that the NRL is very much up there with the English Premier League. It certainly is punching its weight with Aussie Rules and well ahead of Super Rugby in Australia.

There's no point really comparing team by team in what is essentially the world's most competitive regular season competition outside the USA as the salary cap means that teams who won the wooden spoon often end up in the NRL Grand Finals.

That's what Parramatta fans are hoping this season although that may very well stay as hope with coach Ricky Stuart walking out to join the Canberra Raiders.

Expect the likes of the reigning premiers, Sydney Roosters to be up there again - buoyed by the re-signing of Sonny Bill Williams in the off-season for another season before he returns to rugby union to try and play for the All Blacks in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The Roosters thrilled in their run to lifting the Premiership last October and the next challenge for last year's rookie coach, Trent Robinson is to make it 2 in a row.

Their closest rivals should be their most bitter rivals from South Sydney with the Rabbitohs determined to make up for the disappointment of falling at the penultimate hurdle to the Manly Sea Eagles in last year's semifinals. The Bunnies definitely have one of the better packs in the comp and like the Roosters, will continue to thrill, but really do need to make good Russell Crowe's investment in the club - it's nearly 8 years since Crowe took over.

Beyond them, apart from the Melbourne Storm, it's difficult to say and will come down to momentum at the end of the season. I think Cronulla and Manly should be thereabouts and I tip the Cowboys and Newcastle to possibly squeak in.

What about the Warriors? Well you'll have to stay tuned here but in a nutshell, I think they might have a very good season and making the playoffs is a minimum - the signing of Sam Tomkins could be a great one if he stays healthy throughout the season and compliments Shaun Johnson.

My tip for the NRL Grand Final? South Sydney Rabbitohs to beat Sydney Roosters.

Can the South Sydney Rabbitohs be NRL Champions?

It has taken a while but the Bunnies are back to being amongst the NRL's powerhouses.

Thanks to Russell Crowe's investment in the last few years, bringing in league stars like Greg Inglis, Roy Asotasi, the Burgess brothers, South Sydney Rabbitohs are again the team to beat and fans from Redfern and south of Kings Cross can wave their red and green flags at a winner.

Burgess brothers

The Bunnies' best chance of ending their long, long Premiership drought has finally arrived and only the experienced Manly stands in their way of reaching their first Grand Final since 1971. Indeed, they haven't won the title since that Final even if they remain the most illustrious club in Australian rugby league with 20 titles.

Manly will be a tough challenge given that they were champions only two seasons ago and have a formidable team with world class players like Brett and Glenn Stewart, Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai. They also have plenty of experience at this time of the season. However, Souths could yet be their toughest challenge given the talent and defence of the green and reds.

SBW could be key for the Roosters

Another tantalizing prize to look forward to is a dream Grand Final with their most hated rivals, the Sydney Roosters, another once great team that has made a renaissance this year on the back of All Black Sonny Bill Williams and former Warrior, James Maloney.

The Roosters face an in-form Newcastle who upset Melbourne in Melbourne last week and with Wayne Bennett at the helm, will be a massive minefield to overcome. Akuila Uate has shown to be the best winger in the post season and his pace and power were key in the Knights' win over the Storm on Saturday night.

However, the Roosters have shown that they have plenty of fight and mettle in them particularly in that 4-0 win over Manly two weeks ago. Their defence is strong and they have plenty of quality in attack with Anthony Minichello and Mitchell Pearce.

The Roosters won 24-12 last time these two met

Tips? Souths to beat Manly and Roosters to beat Knights to set up a very traditional Grand Final on Sunday week.

Benji Marshall Moves to Rugby - Look Back at 13 Rugby League Converts

So Benji Marshall has joined a growing list of converts going from rugby league to rugby union. It remains to be seen if the Wests Tigers and Kiwis captain can be as successful in union as he has been in league.

Here's a look at 13 other rugby league converts who have made the switch to the 15 man game.

Wendell Sailor - the first real big name to move from the NRL to rugby union. Sailor moved across the road from the Brisbane Broncos to the Queensland Reds in 2002 and made his Wallabies debut the following season. Never quite made the impact that everyone thought he would and his career was curtailed by a positive drug test for cocaine. Made a successful return to league after his ban had finished with St George-Illawarra Dragons. Now a TV pundit.

Jason Robinson - probably the most successful league convert ever until SBW came along. Moved from UK league powerhouses, Wigan Warriors to Sale Sharks where he led them to the their first English Premiership title in 2006. And let's not forget a Rugby World Cup win for England in 2003. Made a brief return to rugby in 2010. Now a coach and father of six.

Lote Tuqiri - probably the best Australian rugby league convert so far. Like Sailor, Tuqiri moved to union from the Brisbane Broncos - although he moved to Sydney to play for the NSW Waratahs. He made his Wallabies debut in 2003 and really emerged at the Rugby World Cup. Tuqiri was a regular selection for the Wallabies until his contract was terminated suddenly in mysterious circumstances in 2009. He played for Leicester Tigers before returning to league where he is currently signed with the Wests Tigers.

Mat Rogers - The other NRL big name to make the switch to union in 2002-03. Rogers joined Tuqiri at the Waratahs and like Tuqiri made a huge impression on Australian rugby, even making the Rugby World Cup squad in 2003 and playing in the Final. Injury and a battle with depression curtailed Rogers' rugby career after that and disillusioned with rugby, Rogers returned to league with the Gold Coast Titans in 2007 where he played until his retirement in 2011.

Tasesa Lavea - Bounced between both codes throughout his career, Lavea was part of the Melbourne Storm's 1999 winning NRL Grand Final team before he returned to New Zealand to play rugby for Auckland and the Blues. A mercurial player at best who was very unlucky with injury. Lavea played for Clermont Auvergne in France before hanging up his boots to become coach at the prestigious Kings College in Auckland.

Andy Farrell - Another Wigan legend who made the switch to union at the right old age of 30. His switch to union was messy with Saracens struggling to find Farrell's best position - he played flanker, fly half, and both centre positions during his time in union. He did make England's 2007 Rugby World Cup squad but was never quite the success his former Wigan teammate, Jason Robinson was. Andy Farrell is now part of the England rugby team's coaching panel and his son, Owen has also earned caps with England and the British & Irish Lions.

Lesley Vainikolo - One of three rugby league Kiwis who have played for England in rugby union, Vainikolo was the first to make the switch, moving from the Bradford Bulls to Gloucester. He made his debut for England in 2008 but never established himself as an international rugby player. Is now playing in France for La Rochelle.

Shontayne Hape - Played a big role for the Kiwis in their shock Tri Nations triumph in 2005. Hape moved to Bath in 2008 and earned his first cap for England in 2010 - he chose to play for England having fulfilled his residency requirements. Hape has fallen off the England selection radar since the 2011 Rugby World Cup and is now playing in Montpellier.

Henry Paul - The third and probably least successful of the Kiwis to play for England. Henry Paul will probably be remembered for being taken off 20 minutes into the test against Australia in 2004. He was far more successful playing for Gloucester. Paul returned to rugby league with Harlequins (now London Broncos) before returning to union with Leeds, helping them gain promotion to the Premiership. Now involved as coach of Russia.

Berrick Barnes - It could be said that Berrick Barnes may be Australia's most successful rugby league convert - he did start his career with the Brisbane Broncos but only played two seasons for them in the lower grades before moving south to play union for the Waratahs. He is still very much in the Wallabies frame - and one wonders if he deserves to be employed more frequently given his smarter playmaking options compared to the likes of Quade Cooper and James O'Connor, although he has been hampered by Footballer's Migraine.

Sonny Bill Williams - Could SBW be the greatest successful all-round athlete New Zealand has ever produced? He is definitely New Zealand's most successful league/union convert having won titles with the Bulldogs in league and Chiefs in rugby, as well as the Rugby World Cup in 2011. Only moved to league because he felt disillusioned with rugby in 2012 but is expected to return in time for the Rugby World Cup in 2015. Oh yes, he's a boxer too - whether he deserves to be New Zealand heavyweight champion, that's up to you to decide.

Karmichael Hunt - Made a brief conversion from league to union before his conversion to Aussie rules. Former Broncos and Maroon, Karmichael Hunt, played briefly for Biarritz before embarking on his Aussie rules career with expansion club, Gold Coast Suns. Appears to have been more successful with the three-code conversion than fellow convertee, Israel Folau.

Israel Folau - The other three-code converter. Folau appears to have finally rediscovered the success with the Waratahs that he had in rugby league with the Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos. Folau scored two tries on his Wallabies debut against the British & Irish Lions and was probably one of their better players in their series defeat even if his most enduring memory will be being piggy-backed by big George North in Melbourne.

But the greatest rugby league convert of them all?

Brad Thorn - World Cup winner in both rugby union and rugby league, multiple Premiership winner with the Brisbane Broncos and Crusaders. At the age of 38, Mosgiel born Brad Thorn is still going strong with the Highlanders - not surprising given that Brad Thorn is the king of comebacks and has defied the odds so many times in his illustrious career. Legend is a name that Brad Thorn deserves to wear.

NRL Expansion - Where to Go?

NRL expansion is back on the table and several teams have submitted their bids to be one of possibly two new teams for a possible 18-team competition in 2015. The outcome will be known in July after a review by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission.

So who are the candidates looking to become the NRL's latest expansion teams? We start with the least likely and finish off with the most likely candidates, IMHO.

Papua New Guinea
An expansion team would be a dream for the only country in the world where the game of rugby league is a national sport. However, there are doubts over whether the country's largest city, Port Moresby, is capable of hosting a professional sports team currently. And even if it is, Port Moresby's reputation may deter people from coming over to watch league. PNG's best chance of improvement is probably still by having its best players based in Australia. But give it another 10 years and who knows.

Central Coast Bears
Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford has hosted quite a few NRL games with some success but is it capable of doing it on a regular basis? There is no doubt the Central Coast region is a booming region but is it ready to host an NRL franchise for a whole regular season? Possibly, but the other question is whether the NRL wants another team in New South Wales - not likely at this stage as it wouldn't quite be an expansion; sorry Bears fans. But like PNG, give it another 10 years and who knows.

Central Queensland
This is truly rugby league heartland but quite a large, ambigious and sparsely populated area. The franchise could be based in Rockhampton and the NRL would like to see more teams in Queensland especially with Queensland rugby league at its strongest. However, I just can't see an NRL team happening in this part of Australia just yet.

South Island
New Warriors co-owner Owen Glenn has been making loud noises about a team based in the South Island and in a Christchurch undergoing major post quake rebuilding. Canterbury's rugby league team is one of the strongest outside Auckland and the new franchise could also tap into the talent of rugby league outside Auckland including that other powerhouse of rugby league, Wainuoimata. Games could also be played in Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium. The Mainland's chances of having an NRL team are better than what people might think but again this could be reading from the Kiwi-biased media. Maybe but don't bet your house on it.

Ipswich
Ipswich is the heart of the fast growing southeastern corridor of Queensland and another growing part of the country. It is also another true rugby league heartland but has far better infrastructure and more people than Rockhampton. The only trouble is that the region is quite rural and doesn't quite have the population of Brisbane and Perth. However, if the NRL wants to expand the game outside new markets, Ipswich's chances might be pretty good. Ipswich second favourite should the NRL decide not to put another team in Brisbane.

Brisbane Bombers
Another Brisbane team? Really? Well the success of the Melbourne Heart has shown that if you have a city passionate about a sport, planting a new team could actually work and prosper. Having said that, the Broncos will have about 25 years advantage over any new team but Brisbane is a rugby league mad place and not everyone wants to be a fan of the Broncos so it could possibly work and financially it makes sense. Good odds on this one.

Perth
Perth must surely be odds on to be home of the next NRL franchise. It is the largest city in Australia this side of the big 3 and the largest city without an NRL franchise in Australia. With a Super rugby franchise, A-League team and 2 AFL franchises, an NRL franchise would surely complete the picture. Perth has already had experience hosting NRL franchises in the past and continues to host the annual NRL fixture with big crowds. The only problem is the lack of a decent football stadium in Perth - both Subiacco and Perth Ovals are aging and need replacement which should come easy given the booming mining industry in Western Australia. Favourites.

NRL Kicks Off Tonight!

If you didn't know, the NRL actually kicks off tonight with a special Thursday night game in the Hunter where the Newcastle Knights take on the St George-Illawarra Dragons.

In fact, it's the clash of legendary coach Wayne Bennett's current and past teams - and the first one of at least 3 this season in fact when you count the Brisbane Broncos.

So quick tips as to who will win the comp? There has been plenty of shuffling around the teams in terms of coaches and players.

But expect the usual contenders, Melbourne, Wests Tigers, St George, Manly and Brisbane to be in the mix along with the Warriors - very cautious about them given how often it has gone wrong in the past when a big name coach has come in but at the same time, I think Bluey McClennan could be the right coach for the Warriors at the right time especially now that he has established himself as one of rugby league's best coaches at the moment.

Newcastle and Souths could be in the mix too for the top 4. In fact, the NRL could be as close as ever between 1 and 16 - there's nothing really between the top and bottom of the table although I think Cronulla might be fighting Canberra to avoid being named this year's wooden-spooners.

Anyway here's to another long season of NRL - last year's new young star was Jharal Yow-Yeh. Who will it be this year?

Anyway my tip for the ladder from 1 to 16 -
Manly, Melbourne, Warriors, Wests, Brisbane, Newcastle, St George, Souths, North Queensland, Parramatta, Gold Coast, Sydney, Penrith, Bulldogs, Canberra, Cronulla