FLASHBACK: April 1997
APRIL 1997 Wendell Sailor was sent to the sin bin by referee, Bill Harrigan after a melee in which the Broncos’ winger hit Cowboys’ centre, Paul Bowman with a flurry […]
APRIL 1997 Wendell Sailor was sent to the sin bin by referee, Bill Harrigan after a melee in which the Broncos’ winger hit Cowboys’ centre, Paul Bowman with a flurry […]
MARCH 1997 Broncos’ Test prop, Glenn Lazarus was left battered, bruised and angry after an incident involving Auckland Warriors’ fullback, Matthew Ridge at Brisbane’s ANZ Stadium in the first round […]
I wish I could say there was a great sense of anticipation across the UK, as the countdown began to the 2000 Rugby League World Cup final at Old Trafford, […]
The much-maligned Welsh team restored some credibility to the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, thanks to a courageous 46-22 loss to Australia in a semi-final at Huddersfield’s McAlpine Stadium. The […]
By Steve Ricketts, former Courier-Mail chief rugby league writer. ‘Touched’, a Broncos’ fan yelled sarcastically, as Karmichael Hunt barely got a hand to rampaging South Sydney centre, Campbell Graham, in […]
Paul ‘Scobie’ Malone was by my side at countless rugby league matches, firstly as a rival, and then as a ‘teammate’ at ‘The Courier Mail’. We were rivals when I […]
TRAVEL 1998 When Rod Jennings found the grave of his uncle, killed in the trench warfare of World War 1, it was hard not to become emotional, as the former […]
FLASHBACK SEPTEMBER 1995 Brisbane Broncos and Canberra Raiders produced a match of State of Origin intensity in the first week of the 1995 Australian Rugby League finals series. The Raiders […]
FLASHBACK AUGUST 2000 The crowd at Brisbane’s ANZ Stadium at southside Nathan, sat in stunned silence when Cronulla Sharks went to the halftime break leading 20-6 against premiership favorites, the […]
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 4 2020 TUESDAY, JANUARY 28 Iconic Queensland broadcaster, John McCoy thanks a myriad people for their messages of good will, following his […]
I must confess to having under-estimated Brad Fittler, when he was thrown into a leadership role during the Super League War in the 1990s. To me, he wasn’t a great […]
TRAVEL ‘Big Willie’ Mason was polite, as he declined my request for an interview, at London’s Heathrow Airport. “‘Sorry Steve. ‘Wayne’ has put me on a media ban,” he said. […]
Chris Johns’ appointment as manager of the Australian team for the 2004 Trans-Tasman rugby league Test in Newcastle was viewed as a controversial one in some quarters. Johns was an […]
NOVEMBER, 2004 Big spending rugby union scouts were waiting outside Stade Ernest Wallon in Toulouse after the French rugby league side scored six tries in a gutsy 52-30 loss to […]
COMMENT by Steve Ricketts, former Chief Rugby League Writer, The Courier-Mail Good luck to rugby league administrators next year, as they try to promote State of Origin as ‘The Best […]
JUNE 2009 ‘We’ll get through this mate,” Nate Myles said to Dallas Johnson, as they caught the lift to the foyer of the Parramatta hotel, where the Queensland team was […]
TUESDAY, JANUARY 19 To the movies at Palace Centro in the Valley to see ‘The Big Short’. A bad time to watch it, with the stock market in the red. […]
St George signings, Gorden Tallis and Anthony Mundine sounded an ominous warning  to rival Super League clubs with a smooth transition into the Broncos free flowing style of football in […]
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9 Meet with former Brisbane representative rugby league back, Neil Wharton, who is a new addition to the staff at QRL headquarters. Neil, wants me to write prose […]