Eggsciting Weekend

The Easter weekend is upon us and in Rugby League land, that doesn't just mean that the crappy Easter puns will be resurfacing.





Easter is by far the busiest period in the sport's calendar. Not only does the National League kick-off today with Leigh's trip to Widnes, but Super League starts to get serious with two rounds played in the space of one weekend.

The coaches hate this weekend, claiming that it's just too much too soon but the RFL, Sky and I suspect most fans love it. With three derby games, including the first Hull derby for twelve years, this weekend definately captures the imagination.
Monday's clash at the KC Stadium sold out two weeks in advance, with tickets changing hands on eBay for in excess of £100. Wigan have sold out the JJB Stadium for the visit of St Helens and Leeds' trip to Bradford will attract the usual big crowd. The following round has a couple of attractive ties as well, with Bradford going to Wakefield and Leeds hosting Wakefield in dress-rehersal's for the side's respective Challenge Cup ties.

But aside from the accountants, the club's hate this weekend. Leeds have got arguably the easiest schedule, with four days break between their games over the bank holiday but even then, bruising encounters with the Bulls and Warriors in such a short space will take their toll. The usual complaints from coaches will inevitabley surface over the course of the weekend but whilst it fills the schedules of Sky Sports, it's a part of the season that's here to stay.

Smith named new Great Britain coach

For those of you that have been living under a rock for the past week in RL land, Leeds Rhinos coach Tony Smith has been named as the new Great Britain chief.






The Aussie, who will see out the remaining six months of his contract at Leeds, will take part-time charge of the squad for June's friendly with France before taking on the role full-time.

Opinion appears to be divided on whether the 40-year old is the right man for the role. RFL Chief Exec Richard Lewis hopes that Smith's track record of success with a young, British squad at the Rhinos can be transferred to the Lions to break a 37-year duck without a test victory against Australia.

In his three and a half years at Leeds, Smith has walked out at two Grand Finals, winning one as well as a Challenge Cup Final. He also led the side to a World Club Challenge victory over Canterbury in which of all the points scorers, all bar Willie Poaching had come from the Leeds academy.

But there are some dissenting voices. Since his first season in which Smith brought home the Super League trophy, the side has progressively gone backwards. Runners-up in 2005 could be attributed to some bad luck but an early play-off defeat at home to Warrington had many at Headingley calling for Smith to be shown the door, as has the side's indifferent performances thus far in 2007.

But of all the possible appointments, this is probably the most logical choice. Smith has handled International players and has played a part in the development in much of what may well prove to be the GB side in November. I still don't think it's enough to beat the Australians, but in the current setup, I don't think any coach would achieve that feat.

Super League Preview: Leeds

In the eight installment of our season preview, The One Pointer heads over to Headingley to take a look at Leeds Rhinos.





After promising so much in the early stages of Super League XI, Leeds' season nose-dived in spectacular fashion. A shock Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Huddersfield being the centrepiece of a 5 game losing streak and the Rhinos' 2006 season demise. Good performances against Warrington and the Catalans Dragons helped lift the lingering clouds above Headingley before a Lee Briers drop goal in the play-offs brought an end to Super League XI for the Southstanders.

This season, coach Tony Smith is a man under pressure. After winning the competition in 2004, he has yet to deliver another trophy to Headingley. This year however, he certainly has a capable squad at his disposal.

Brent Webb, arguably the world's best fullback has arrived from New Zealand to replace Richie Mathers and Smith has also bolstered last years threadbare pack with the signing of Kylie Leuluai, in addition to the mid 2006 signing of Jamie Thackray.

Strike power has never been a problem as far as Leeds are concerned. Only St Helens crossed the whitewash more often last season whilst in 2005 and 2004, they topped the points scoring charts. The problem for Leeds has been closing out the tough games and overcoming the strong packs. Warrington took Leeds to the sword last season at the Halliwell Jones, simply overpowering the Leeds forwards.
You can look at the Leeds front six and pick out names such as Ellis, Peacock and Sinfield, but the bulk and presence is sometimes lacking despite these. This years improvements may not stop that, but will make those occasions much less frequent.

The One Pointer prediction: 3rd
Player to watch: Brent Webb - front runner for Man of Steel

Into the Emerald Isle

Back when Murdoch and Co took over Super League in 1995, talk was of Rugby League teams being dotted all around the continent.



Amongst the proposed cities that would host Super League sides was Dublin. It's good transport links to the North virtue of low-cost airlines and ferry links and it's rugby loving public made the Irish capital the ideal venue, or so they thought. Alas, the collapse of the proposed mergers meant Dublin, or any of the other cities, were out of the picture.

Twelve years on, Leeds Rhinos have pushed the Irish case again. The Rhinos are currently training at the Dublin City University and by all accounts, have been impressed with what they've seen. Assistant coach and former Ireland international Francis Cummins has come out and sung the praises of Dublin and touted the merits of an Irish Super League franchise.

For the fans, support is likely to be high. Perpignan has proved a huge success with supporters and a hop across the Irish Sea is sure to be a winner amongst the various bands of travelling fans.
The city is renowned as an enjoyable 'city-break' destination and the area is easily accessible. Low-cost flights are available to Dublin from Leeds Bradford, Humberside, Doncaster Sheffield, Blackpool, Manchester and Liverpool whilst ferry links operate from the north-west.

But on the playing side it's where the pro-Dublin arguments start to falter.
Les Catalans worked for a very simple reason - it was a Rugby League area. The clubs were already in place, a competitive league structure was already in place and most importantly, there is an amateur and youth system which can support a Super League club. Perpignan had everything there, ready to go. It just needed Super League to raise the profile of French rugby.

In Dublin on the other hand, that's not the case. The amateur set-up, although improving, is not capable of sustaining a Super League club. Given the strength of the GAA and the IRU, the talent pool is fairly shallow to begin with and the lack of exposure of the 13-man code to the natives makes it difficult to make the game an attractive proposition to the nation's youngsters.

That makes a Super League franchise an non-starter. In such an environment any side would be reliant on overseas imports and quota loopholes, very much reminiscent of Paris Saint-Germain in the mid-late 90's.

The other option would be to start from the bottom and work upwards. Instead of throwing Dublin in at the deep-end, let them work through the ranks, starting off in National League Two or even the Conference National (the new name for the defunct NL3). That brings it's own downbside though.
In both competitions, players still hold down full-time jobs. We've already seen the disapperance of teams from Coventry, Birmingham, Essex, Teeside and Carlisle due to the demands that travelling to and from Yorkshire placed on their players and an Irish side would quickly follow the same path. Once you've factored in flights and the associated problems and expense, you see that an amateur/semi-pro team from the emerald isle isn't a viable option either.

Leeds' intentions are good and in an ideal world, we'd see an Irish franchise in the not-too-distant future. Unfortunately, the practicalities just don't add up. This isn't like Perpignan. The Catalans had the foundations to build on. The IRL are starting from scratch.

Bye Marcus

Bradford Bulls winger Marcus Bai has announced his retirement from the game this morning, leaving the Bulls with immediate effect.








The Papua New Guinean winger, who became so much of a crowd favourite at Melbourne Storm that they unofficially renamed the North East Stand in his honour, leaves Odsal after one year in which he scored 12 tries in 26 appearances.

At 34 years of age, Bai remains the only player to have won the World Club Championship with three different clubs, with Melbourne in 2000, Leeds Rhinos in 2005 and Bradford Bulls in 2006 as well as having joined the select band of players who have won a Grand Final in both Australia and England.

A superb personality on and off the field, the 'no-nonsense' Bai was probably one of the most underrated players of the modern game. With 127 league tries in 245 appearances for Melbourne, Leeds and Bradford, the South-Sea islander boasted a strike record amongst the best in the business and his work ethic and honesty was unquestionable.

Whilst Bai's retirement is a loss to the sport, Bradford will move on. Wingers are scarce on the transfer market at present and so academy winger Andy Smith will see this as a prime opportunity to make the step from the U21's whilst the experience of Marcus St Hilare can also cover the number 2 position.

Whilst Bai might not go down as one of the most well-known players ever to take the field, his name should still be among the modern greats.

The Super League Shirt Parade

Christmas is on the way and it's the time of year when Super League clubs start releasing the brand new kits that there players will be modeling next season.

Here at the One Pointer, we take a peak as they are officially unvieled and run the rule over the good, the bad and the downright ugly.

Bradford Bulls
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Catalans Dragons
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Harlequins RL
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Huddersfield Giants
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Hull FC
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Hull KR
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Leeds Rhinos
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St Helens
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Salford City Reds
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Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
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Warrington Wolves
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Wigan Warriors
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Like any of the kits you see? Why not see it's stocked by our partners?

Looking Upwards

Now that the likes of Wakefield, Wigan and Castleford have finished stealing the limelight and dragging down the rest of the league with them, we can now actually begin the play-off series and a celebration of success.

This weekend sees the games elite rightfully taking back the spotlight as the best that the engage Super League 2006 has had to offer takes centre stage, starting at Headingley on Friday night.

With the top two, St Helens and Hull earning the week off for their superior league position, it's up to Leeds, Bradford, Salford and Warrington to tough it out in the knock-out stages of the play-offs.
The Rhinos take on the Wolves at Headingley on Friday night, a side they beat by 54 points to 16 only three weeks ago and the out of sorts Bulls take on Salford, making their play-off debut after a what will be considered a superb season by all concerned at the Willows.

This years series could be intriguing to say the least. Unlike last year when the Bulls hit the play-offs running to take the Championship from third place, no team, St Helens excepted, is really hitting form.
Warrington are consistently inconsistent, Hull have lost the last two, Salford have faultered lately and could find themselves out of their depth rubbing shoulders with the countries elite, the Bulls are out of sorts and Leeds' good results against Warrington and Les Catalans sandwiched a 60-point capitulation at Knowsley Road.
As for St Helens, they look unstopable but as they found out last season, first place and a minor premiership does not guarantee a Grand Final berth and Phil Clarke's comments on Boots 'n' All that Daniel Anderson's men have a "defeat in them" has got a few analyists stroking their chins in curiosity.

For the first time in many weeks, Sky viewers should witness games of the standard that should befit the games flagship competition, not the mistake-ridden niggle-a-thons that have blighted our screens lately.
All the possible games have an element of intrigue about them. Each side is capable of beating each other and each set of supporters will be looking at how the play-offs work, believing that they have at least a small chance of making their way to Old Trafford on October 14th.

On a side-note, congratulations are due to Batley for their magnificent upset at Hilton Park to end Leigh Centurions' season.

Silly Season is Upon Us

The anti-tamper deadlines have passed so inevitably, the wild rumour spreading has begun. This year however, seems to have seen much more elaborate rumours than recent years.




Forget the 'Vainikolo to Leeds as part of a compensation pay-out' claim, this year the 'friend of a friend of a nextdoor neighbour's window cleaner' has pulled out all the creative stops for 2006.

Firstly they say that Danny McGuire, despite having a 2 year contract at Headingley is on his way to Bradford, allegedly taking Ali Lauitiiti with him in the process. Whilst suprising at first, it's not really 'earth-shattering' at first glance. But then you hear that it'll only happen if Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett and Austrailian stand-off Darren Lockyer catch the next plane to Headingley. Regardless of his well-documented family situation, the infamous "reliable source", a term that appears on message boards in practically every thread, has really pulled out all the stops here. Both Bulls half-backs, Iestyn Harris and Paul Deacon are tied up till 2008 and even if one of the two does move on past then, McGuire is unlikely to move to a club where he is likely to become third choice behind two players who have developed a working partnership. It also appears to pour cold water on the claims that Leon Pryce has had enough of Merseyside and will be leaving St Helens to head back to his home town.
As for Lauitiiti, there might be more in that, but the Bulls also rate highly the current crop of second rowers they currently have. Matt Cook, Jamie Langley, Brett Ferres will be joined by Glenn Morrison from Parramatta and Chris Feather from Leeds although the imminent departures of Paul Johnson to Warrington and Brad Meyers to Gold Coast do give that rumour some credability.

Other claims circulating around Headingley surround the supposed clear-out that could happen at Wakefield on Saturday morning. Depending on who you listen to, Ryan Atkins is "nailed-on" to go to Leeds or Bradford. Leeds allegedly see Atkins as the long-term replacement to Keith Senior, whilst Bulls coach Steve McNamara wants to see the Wakefield centre return to Odsal to replace Karl Pryce, who is thought to have been targetted by the RFU. Confused yet?
Jamie Rooney is being linked with a host of clubs, Leeds and Bradford included and Michael Korkidas is another said to be on his way to LS6, but with Leeds having already secured the captures of Jamie Thackray and Kylie Leuluai, it would appear that the door has been shut on that one whilst David Solomona is expected to sign for Hull FC rather than the Bulls.

Michael Withers is thought to packing his bags for Wigan, Paul Sculthorpe will extend his stay at the Jungle and changes are expected at Warrington. Adrian Morley and Paul Johnson are already confirmed as Wolves players for 2007 whilst the situation with Gold Coast and Brian Carney may have longer to run. As for the departures, Paul Wood is expected to sign for St Helens to replace Paul Anderson.

And that's just for starters. With the relegation situation not yet finalised there's still plenty of time to run and still plenty of gossip to change hands. Keep your eyes and ears open folks, there's some really creative deals to be done.

Carney Coming Back to Super League?

If Fox News are to be trusted (and usually they arn't), then Brian Carney could be heading back to Blighty before he's even set foot in Gold Coast.





Rumour has it that the Irish winger isn't enjoying his time in Australia quite as much as he anticipated he would and could be booked on the next flight home once the Tri-Nations come to a conclusion in November.

The former Wigan favourite is currently on the books at Newcastle Knights, one year before he is due to join up with new club Gold Coast Titans next year and if today's reports are true, then he could become the forth player to turn his back on deals they signed with the Queensland new-boys, with Tony Puletua, Luke O'Dwyer and Steve Turner looking to negate on deals signed with the Titans prior to next year.

As for Carney, the usual suspects are being touted as possible destinations with Wigan and Warrington being the main names on everyones lips. Carney might favour a move to his old club but even Maurice Lindsay wopuld struggle to get him under the salary cap. Warrington looks a better shout though. With Toa Kohe Love out of contract and Brent Grose reportedly heading to Melbourne Storm, they have both the need and cap space for a star three-quarter.
Leeds will be another name no doubt mentioned and with Scott Donald, Lee Smith, Danny Williams and Ashley Gibson all struggling to replace the void left by Mark Calderwood and Marcus Bai last season, Tony Smith could be leaving a few hints for Mr Hetherington.

Carney is certainly one of the games likeable characters. He's a great player on the field and a good bloke off it as well. If it does materialise, then he's most welcome back in my view.