The Grapple

Don't worry about Origin 3, 2026 Queensland fans. A minor blip in an illustrious history full of devastating warriors. On that note, enjoy this deep dive into the life, career and inner most everythings of one of the Maroons greatest hitmen. They call him the axe for a reason, and our heroes have a bloody good chop at finding out what makes him tick. Dig it, or if you're Trevor Gillmeister...

Lewis to Miles, Miles in the clear, TRY time. A version of the above was a very frequently used line in the 80's, as the REAL inventor of the flick pass cemented his legend in one of rugby league's most storied backlines. Gene Miles almost didn't make the journey from Townsville to Brisbane when the BRL came calling. The fact he did was a win for the rest of us. Strap yourself in as ou...

A series won a series lost, A sacred setting, a twisting plotm Maroon and blue, the chase and the hunt. And a whistleblower who apparently doesn't hate a punt Time to grapple with Ashley Kleins tough week, state of origin, and Australia's best ever FIFA World Cup display. Time to work out who wins Origin 2 and why the league press carves out conflict narratives, not unlike villainous media...

'That's not a try, that's a miracle.' An especially special State of Origin adjacent special from our heroes, who go deep with Maroons legend Mark Coyne. From the BRL in the 80's, NSWRL in the 90's, to THAT try, it's a Grapptacular lens into some vintage rugby league folklore. And it's all yours. Tell your mates. Go the Maroons.

And so we arrive at a critical juncture Premiers buckling like a cyclist with a puncture FIFA takes over, Ben Stokes goes on a bender As Aussie crickets crisis reaches a crescend..a Studio transition pains have forced our heroes into a hibernation at an inopportune time of year. Only a marginal amount of time is wasted getting asses back into gears and the Grapplers are back into it, despite deali...

Its that time of year, state vs state, mate vs mate Bill's team looks good, Lozza’s is strong, but who’s will be great? Amongst all this the game is under heavy fire, the best judges have grave fears All we can say at The Grapple.. we’ve been telling you this for years…. A year ago.. this sydney born, bondi raised pom could only dream of being suspended in an origin match NEXT week… his dreams...

The Chiefs have got their guy, what about the bears? In more ways than one, down the barrel Bellyache stares the NRL reckon. the games are not  too fast and injuries are down..  The more Annersley  digs, the more he just look likes a clown It's a time of great expansion and industry. From the wharves of Wollongong to the gold mines of the Papua New Guinean highlands, wealth flows between the h...

The dragon lords did gather.. authoritarian their intent  Shitting out excuses.. as out Flanno went   While the kings of men and women bask upon their thrones Gazing afar to a land of mist, shadow, and royal bones For it is in England the claim of supremacy shall be staked A super duper investment.. as the turf underfoot doth quake.. ********************* Tis the winter of sporting discontent, and...

The QLD Reds wind back the clock The Wahs deliver an ominous shock  Gout and Lachy signal a golden era ahead.. And can Flanno put the doubters to bed? Through the trials, tests and tribulations of life, through, natural disaster, acts of god and existential crisis, our heroes stand tall as bastians of high moral, high class, high culture and a smidge of toilet humour. The questions of who controls...

Our heroes emerge from a two week Easter hiatus like a pair of cracked Easter eggs being devoured by bears with headaches and largely vacant playing rosters; taking derisive aim at everything from tackles to whistles and showing about as much quarter as a late night truth social post. On the brighter side of life, our pair of pythons go full Monty on expansion insight for the NRL, offering more ta...

Star players dropping like flies, why would you be a coach? PVL reckons its all on the players, now the refs seem beyond reproach?  The Queensland Teams are challenged to show some starch… For two of their coaches we say “ beware the ides of March”..... Et Tu Brute? Well No Jules, not really....and don't call us brutes. Far from being brutes, our heroes this week show the slightest whiff of cu...

Oh where, oh where could our heroes be? Oh where, oh where could they be? Scanning the fields and domes of sporting prowess And sharing all that they see. From Broncos besieged and coaches at ends to justify their means, To grand designs and hastily issued fines, and a very rugby league looking Wallabies. Oh where, you ask, could they turn their eyes, to view the truth of the world? Channel 7 perh...

The changing of seasons is not lost on our courageous heroes this week. As the spark of summer subsides, and the leaves begin to brown on the autumn trees, the often common bedfellows of Rugby League and Poetry  assume their natural and more favoured positions of front and centre in the cultural zeitgeist. Both lionhearted champions wax hysterical on the court cases of Lomax. He really should have...

As we spiral headlong into a cultural collision course with Las Vegas and its Allegiant Stadium…curiously  dubbed the Death Star…. Our heroes lifelong quest to uncover the Sith, who are really running the NRL , is realised. And you’ll be shocked who Darth Jar Jar actually is.  This explosive revelation is made all the more real when we exclusively reveal the lofty heights which Emperor Palpatine…....

As a new season sets in and the NRL sets its sights on a possible Friday night footy adventure into Sarajevo or Constantinople, our heroes emerge from the gloom with a belated but brazen return to the microphone for 2026. An off season deemed not really worth coming back early for is swiped left quicker than an undesired Tinder approach, and the introspection sorely missing from the current sporti...

As Summer descends and the Mercurio rises our heroes muse over the mere concept of a new world order. One where athletes can play for whomever they wish, where ever they wish and the threat of life long bans is a campfire horror story told by broken down old footballers to their wide eyed offspring.  In this NWO, Les  Kiss is currently coaching the Wallabies and making the hard selection calls tha...

Australia bloods more bats.. England phones it in Vlandys struggles to put the entire NRL playing group in the bin The Wallabies are a game away from rugbys greatest sin AND the CELTIC COUNTRIES CAUS CHAOS with dramatic last minute wins Alllll happening in the world of sport and our heroes are padded up and ready to take on the new ball, unlike the poms, who’ve played less cricket than the SCG get...

Andrew and Peter challenge the Klingons for total interstellar rule Crawleys crying that Kev leaving out the Emus is cruel… The Wallabies slip to seventh but do not despair While Josh Giddey now sits in Rarified  This week Grapplers call for action on the NRL. The only consistent is the inconsistency and hypocrisy. Andrew and Poiter are giving  off a “Bond Villain” like vibe…… absolutely hell bent...

It’s chaos as always as the rugby logo moidia dishes up the same number of shoddy headlines, only with less personnel on the tools. Our heroes call into question some of the analytical reads read out by B. Read to millions of mainstream readers. Short version: they stink. Assistant coaches are moving and shaking, rugby league is trying to dine out on the English Super League, as the English team d...

The sun rises on an all new ashes series The Kangaroos team has raised a couple of vexing queries Our women’s cricket team continues in their merry way The Wallabies, the NFL, The NBA and Shohei Otahn-ey Our heroes assess international eligibility and the role of the Kangaroos assistant coach who calls himself a Bull and confronts many targets of his media crosshairs ahead of the Rugby League Ashe...

The Slightest Sniff of Context In the off season you think there’s nothing to do Why not stay up late and watch the Kangroos Whilst we can always rely on a scandal to keep things spicey Just don’t listen to the media… they info can always a tad  The N and L have been removed as prefixes to 360 and this new mob have deeper pockets than Long John Silver. But PVL is his winsome had gone all Don Corle...

We will fly way up high Where the cold wind blows The Wallabies leave their worst til last And you will free the beautiful bird That's caught inside your heart Oscar Piastri falls afoul of the favourite child at McLaren And that's the way it's gonna be, little darling We'll be riding on the horses yeah, yeah Noone's talking about it, but we will. For the majority of the episode...

Talty Must be salty after missing the big dance As Teddy plays it steady with a season ending romance The Bledisloe heads West to the land of the bears As the AFL bounces the bounce.. amidst officiating safety fears As one of our heroes is this week in the throes of impending ecstasy as Grand Final week descends, the other laments what a 4-0 Colts would have looked like if not for AD Mitchell pull...

Stage is set, and we’re gunna go right over the top.. with Cliches, claims and predictions that are gunna be hard to cop. Don't despair, don't lose hope there’ll be smatterings of intelligent chat But its the Grapple Baby and its finals…and that is mutha fuckin that This week our heroes wax lyrical about the Rugby League Worlds very own T1000…Penrith can't be bargained with, they can’t...

As things in the NRL start heat up in the finals, one Rooster looks like he could be on the rotisserie ready to be bagged up and left in a warmer at your Coles Local for a much longer time than the health department recommends. And as that Rooster rapidly bakes up a near lethal dose of footy salmonella, an equally pungent stench descends upon the crimson and myrtle of Redfern and our heroes tackle...