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 […]
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FLASHBACK: March 1997
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 […]
OLD TRAFFORD SALUTES THE KANGAROOS
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, […]
WELSH BREATHE FIRE INTO CUP
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 […]
SPECIAL K REVISITED
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 […]
VALE PAUL ‘SCOBIE’ MALONE
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 […]
PAYING OUR RESPECTS IN FRANCE
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
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
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 UPDATE: Week 4, 2020
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 […]
A CHANGE OF MIND ABOUT FREDDY
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 […]
IN LONDON WITH THE KANGAROOS
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. […]
END OF HOSTILITIES
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 […]
FLASHBACK: November, 2004
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 […]
ORIGIN FOOTBALL AT CROSSROADS
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 […]
FLASHBACK: June 2009
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 […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 3, 2016
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. […]
FLASHBACK: February 1997
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 […]
DIARY ENTRY: Week 7, 2015
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 […]
Steve Ricketts 