I don’t know about the average Joe Punter but the question is no longer which two teams will play off in the NRL grand final, but who will play the Penrith Panthers for the title on the first Sunday in October. I know there are still a few rounds of action to go before two
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 FOG #176 Daly Cherry-Evans will claim a special place in Queensland and Australian rugby league history this weekend running out for game number 300 for Manly against the St George Illawarra Dragons at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium on Saturday. The FOGS wish the Queensland captain, who retained the State of Origin series 2-1
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
By Wayne Heming In a strange but inevitable way, a cheeky red-headed kid from Caboolture north of Brisbane was always destined to pull on the Maroon jumper and play for Queensland. Around 8.05 pm on Wednesday night at Sydney’s Accor Stadium in front of a sea of blue, that kid, Corey Horsburgh, will fulfill
By Wayne Heming MAROON MANIA is set to sweep the far north Queensland city of Cairns tomorrow with up to 10,000 people expected to attend a historic fan day with the Queensland State of Origin players at Barlow Park. Coach Billy Slater and his 19-man Maroon squad jetted north today for a mini-camp this week
By Wayne Heming Queensland coach Billy Slater has stuck with the team which wrapped up the State of Origin series in Brisbane last month to inflict the state’s fifth clean sweep on the Blues in Sydney on Wednesday week. Slater and his co-selectors Gene Miles and Daren Lockyer have authorised just two
By Wayne Heming Queensland will be aiming to drastically reduce their missed tackle and error counts in a bid the clinch the two-game Ampol Women’s State of Origin series in Townsville on Thursday night. Under a special points aggregate system designed to split a possible one-game-all result, Queensland could lose by seven points and
By Wayne Heming Eight points are all that stand in the way of North Queensland centre Valentine Holmes joining State of Origin’s elite centurion club of players who have scored 100 or more points for their state. Only three players -- Queensland pair Johnathan Thurston (220 points) and Mal Meninga (162) and NSW dual international,
By Wayne Heming It’s been 15 years to the day since the founder and first Chairman of FOGS, Dick “Tosser” Turner passed away aged 75. Along with another Queensland great, Arthur Beetson, Turner embodied the spirit of what it meant to pull on a Maroon Origin jumper and play with pride and passion. Like Tina
