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 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
North Queensland Cowboys forward and FOG#223, Reuben Cotter has captured a special Origin awards double adding the Ron McAuliffe medal as the Queensland players’ player to his Wally Lewis medal as the player of the 2023 interstate series. The QRL awards were held at the Brisbane City Hall on Friday. Rooster’s power forward and Queensland
The FOGS join the rugby league community today in offering their deepest condolences to John “Cracker” McDonald’s family following his peaceful passing overnight, aged 79. McDonald, born and educated in Toowoomba in 1944, was a beacon of Queensland rugby league as a distinguished player, coach, and charismatic administrator. He served as Chairman of both the
In this episode of Life After Origin, we catch up with FOG#106, Jason Hetherington, for an enlightening and entertaining chat about his career and life after rugby league. The “Bushy from Baralaba” lived up to his reputation as a dry and at times deadpan character, speaking openly about a number of topics, including his own
Last week we launched our “Life After Origin” series by chatting with former Queensland forward Dave Brown. This time we catch up with the man named “Horse” -- Bryan Niebling. As a teenager playing in Murgon, a rural country town some 250 kilometers northwest of Brisbane, Niebling attracted interest from a few Brisbane clubs who
Welcome to a new column where we catch up with some FOGS players and talk about life after league and get their thoughts and opinions on the great game. We kick off the series with Brisbane-born Dave Brown FOG #33 -- a tungsten-tough prop who played during rugby league’s wild west days when players were
By Wayne Heming Three-nil clean sweeps are not common on Origin players’ resumes. There have only been seven Origin shutouts in 40 years since the best-of-three concept was introduced in 1982. That’s why it is so important for the 10 players who have the opportunity in Sydney next week to grab the chance to
