Almanac Rugby League

The Almanac Rugby league Crew

If you’d like to publish a rugby league story on The Footy Almanac website, please contact Ian Hauser.

 

If you’d like to join the Footy Almanac’s rugby league email list to receive our regular
Thursday updates during the season and occasional updates in the off-season, contact John Harms in the first instance.

 

The Footy Almanac’s coverage of rugby league features a team of four regular columnists:

Ian Hauser provides a round by round preview/review and comments on specific players/incidents.
Matt O’Hanlon (Prop by the Sea) offers a quirky take of the week’s happenings on and off the field.
Mark Shannon (The Prospector) comments on various issues in the code, both historical and current.
Russel Hansen (Rabbit in the Vineyard) gives a specific take on South Sydney’s progress.

as well as numerous other occasional contributors.

Our collection of articles appears below. The first article was published in 2010.

 

Almanac Rugby League: Yes, Virginia, there is meaning in rugby league

October 5, 2012 by 26 Comments

John Harms delivered the George Lovejoy Memorial Lecture in Brisbane.

Almanac Rugby League – Queensland Cup: The battle of the Bayside – football with soul

September 29, 2012 by 4 Comments

Queensland Cup Rugby League Grand Final 2012: Wynnum Manly Seagulls 20 d Redcliffe Dolphins 10 by JJ Leahy The initial convict settlement in Queensland was established at Redcliffe on the shores of Moreton Bay in 1824.  However, it was moved in the next year up the Brisbane River to the current site of the CBD. [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – The finals for the small-minded

September 14, 2012 by 4 Comments

Your team has missed the finals. Maybe again. Maybe for the first time in years. Either way, it hurts. You can switch off altogether and pretend not to give a damn. But, its rugby league, you love it, and that means there’s still plenty of ways to enjoy the footy over the next few weeks. [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – NRL Finals 2012, Week 1: Melbourne v Souths – Rabbitohs in the lights

September 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

  By John Robotham   The portents weren’t good. My seven-year-old daughter, Lucy, was conflicted – wearing a garish purple coat over her knee-length Rabbitohs jumper, circa 1999 – a look that amused many. As we joined the river of purple flowing down Batman Avenue she felt more self-conscious, pulling the coat tight around her. [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – NRL Finals 2012, Week 1: New Territory

September 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

by Russel Hansen     Today South Sydney play two finals matches in Melbourne. What a bonus: before the NRL qualifying final, Souths play the enemy – the Roosters in an elimination match in the Toyota Cup. In some ways, it is still a little surreal. A lifetime of ribbing and sledging, particularly living in [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – Return to the Promised Land

September 7, 2012 by 3 Comments

By John Robotham
Storm vs Souths in a qualifying final. My club against the outfit I love to hate. The people’s club, with 104 years of rich history, ranged against an interloper created to fit the needs of a national competition.

Almanac Rugby League – NRL Round 25: Melbourne v Cronulla – Storm rises like Lazarus – again

August 28, 2012 by 7 Comments

You know things are going bad when the team’s padre can be seen leaving the ground before the final siren. Apologies to Father Bob for giving up on the Melbourne Storm in their round 25 match against Cronulla, but seriously, who leaves a game when you have three of the game’s finest in your line-up?

Almanac Rugby League – The Kangaroos and an Irishman’s Rugby League Odyssey

August 6, 2012 by 7 Comments

By Dara Lawlor It’s a dreary winter’s Saturday in 1980’s Dublin and a young child is watching Grandstand on BBC1.  A black haired man with brown skin and the funniest name the kid has ever heard toe pokes an oval ball between two big sticks and at the end of the game a smaller and [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – The fine line: Origin at its best

July 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

After Game I of this year’s State of Origin series, I made the point that Liam’s theory that there’s a fine line between winning and losing in SOO was alive and well. Two games later, it’s reinforced in spades. The margins were 8, 4 and 1 with an overall differential of +5 to Queensland. I [Read more]

Back to basics: Local sport in 3 parts

July 4, 2012 by 5 Comments

BACK TO BASICS Local sport in 3 parts There’s nothing like local sport to help you connect with the community. Corporate demands, overly structured game plans and totally rip-off prices go by the way to be replaced with a cheery welcome, lots of space, family friendly prices and much good humour. It’s good just to [Read more]