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 – Rosemary and Football

April 24, 2012 by 5 Comments

At the door to my (outside) study, there is a healthy rosemary bush. It usually reminds me of happy times: roast dinners, especially, which the kids look forward to. “Can you get me some rosemary please?” I ask Theo, the oldest, as I start clattering trays from the oven. And thus begins the process of [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – Another Kind of Heaven

April 19, 2012 by 1 Comment

The highest individual honour in Northern Territory Rugby League is the Frank Johnson Medal and is awarded to the Best and Fairest player in the Darwin Rugby League. Frank Johnson was a tireless servant of the game. Originally playing seniors for the Port Kembla Blacks in the Illawarra at the age of 16 he quickly [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – Getting to the heart of the matter with the Seconds

April 18, 2012 by 2 Comments

Longevity and loyalty. Priceless virtues, they are the cornerstone of bush footy. And if you really want to see the type of bloke that lives and breathes country rugby league, the character that epitomizes the game’s ethos, just get to the ground early and check out the reserve graders – the ‘reggies’ – go round. [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – Rabbitoh in the vineyard

April 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

  RABBITOH IN THE VINEYARD – PART 1 NRL RND 5: SOUTH SYDNEY v WESTS TIGERS As one of the thousands of long suffering South Sydney members, I am well accustomed to false dawns, and a general uneasiness whenever the Bunnies go into any match as favourites – whether with the TAB, and / or [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – Capitulation

April 10, 2012 by 2 Comments

By way of a demonstration, I have decided to write tonight’s match report showing a degree of commitment, enthusiasm and attenchun to detale equivalent to that displayed by Penrith. The End. Manly 30 (Buhrer, Williams 2, Matai, Watmough tries, Lyons 5/7 goals, Cherry-Evans 0/1 field goals) def Penrith 0. Venue: Brookvale Oval Referees:Gerard Sutton, Henry [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – NRL Round 5, 2012: Brisbane vs St George Illawarra

March 31, 2012 by 3 Comments

Thank god for Andrew Voss. That’s not a statement I ever thought I would find myself typing, but after a month of ruined Friday nights courtesy of Ray Hadley’s execrable commentary, hearing the dulcet tones of Vossy, everyone’s 17th favourite sports caller, came as a welcome relief. If, as has been suggested, Hadley is viewed [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – Panthers Ace Eels

March 25, 2012 by 2 Comments

On the night before Penrith’s clash with Parramatta, I played my weekly tennis match with my friend Michael, a fellow Footy Almanac scribe and devoted Parramatta fan. At the time, I wondered if our match would foreshadow the result of the Parramatta v Penrith clash. The first set was won comfortably by me, which I [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – NZ Warriors v Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs

March 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

  by Basil Naimet Going to NZ to play the Warriors is always…well… a worry! The boys is blue and white had nothing to worry about though. They had the match under control from the opening whistle. Good tries by Barba, Turner and Wright got the Dogs barking. Not even a resounding onslaught from the Warriors [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – It’s a party and I’ll cry if I want to

March 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Given we had volunteered to host my brother-in-law’s birthday party on Sunday afternoon, I wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to watch the Panthers play their round three game against the Rabbitohs. In desperation I setup the recorder in advance, but after a couple of beers, Ray asked if I wanted to [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – A Parramatta Nightmare

March 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Match ReportNorth Queensland Cowboys v Parramatta Eels Saturday, 17th March, 7.30pm Right from the kickoff you should know that I am an Eels’ supporter who is still wallowing in the wonder years of the 1980s. In fact, if I could choose my Groundhog Year it would unquestionably be 1986 when the ‘decade-dominating’ Eels won both [Read more]