By Wayne Heming By his own admission, Gary Belcher never wanted to be a rugby league fullback. As a teenager, he had a crack at five-eighth, centre, and even lock, The one position he never wanted to play was fullback -- a position he didn’t rate as too exciting or that important. As it turned
By Wayne Heming Rugby League icon Mal Meninga took less than 30 seconds to realise the old adage “sport and politics” don’t mix is true. At least it was in his case anyway. Thankfully though for both Queensland and Australian Rugby League’s sake, Big Mal’s brief foray into politics in Canberra on September 24, 2001,
By Wayne Heming Anyone who played with or against Gavin “Jed” Allen will tell you he played mostly on heart. So it was ironic that 14 years after helping an underdog Queensland to State of Origin’s greatest upset in 1995, Allen’s big heart had to be replaced in a life-saving transplant operation. A raw, dry,
By Wayne Heming The one thing Valentine Holmes has always been great at is scoring tries. It’s not a bad asset to have when you are a professional rugby league player. Holmes, who put his budding rugby league career on hold in 2019 to have a crack at breaking into the lucrative NFL, has made
By Wayne Heming An Australian side dominated by Queensland Origin players will clash with a powerful New Zealand side at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Saturday as a dress rehearsal for the Pacific Championship final the following weekend. Both countries have already qualified for the final at Waikato’s FMG Stadium in Hamilton with the Kangaroos
Twenty-one players, including 12 Queensland Origin stars, have been selected in Kangaroo coach Mal Meninga’s Australian squad for the six-nation Pacific Championships which kick-off on Saturday. The 12 Maroons in the Meninga’s squad are Patrick Carrigan (Brisbane), Daly Cherry-Evans (Manly), Selwyn Cobbo (Brisbane), Lindsay Collins (Roosters), Reuben Cotter (Cowboys), Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Titans), Thomas Flegler (Brisbane),
By Wayne Heming Brisbane-born journeyman Chris McQueen has called an end to his first-grade rugby league career at the age of 36. Fog#175, McQueen has blown the whistle on a career that included a drought-breaking NRL Premiership with South Sydney in 2014 and six State of Origins matches for Queensland. He was a member of
By Wayne Heming FOG#148 Johnathan Thurston has joined such rugby league luminaries as Dally Messenger, Clive Churchill and fellow Queensland legends Arthur Beetson, Wally Lewis, Allan Langer, Mal Meninga and Darren Lockyer in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Thurston joins sporting icons such as the first male and female inductees in 1985, cricketer, Sir
By Wayne Heming Sunday night’s grand final extravaganza featuring 2023 standouts Penrith (1st) and Brisbane (2nd) promises to be one of the most exciting climaxes to an NRL season in many years. The anticipation has been building for the past two months with Penrith eyeing off a rare premiership three-peat and Brisbane threatening to break
By Wayne Heming Billy Slater will continue to guide Queensland’s State of Origin fortunes until 2026 after agreeing to a three-year coaching extension with the Queensland Rugby League today. A proud Queenslander, who represented his state 31 times, Slater understands what wearing the Maroon jumper means to all Queenslanders and what it should mean to anyone
