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About Roy Masters
About Roy Masters
Roy Masters has written for the Herald for over 20 years. He coached first grade rugby league for 10 years, including the longest stint of any coach at St George, and was named Western Suburbs Coach of the Century. An inaugural member of the Australian Sports Commission (1984), Roy still serves on the board, having initiated the program of modified sports for primary school children. Roy is married to Elaine Canty and divides his time between Sydney and Melbourne. An award winning journalist, Roy's latest book Bad Boys exposes the grubby side of the game.
Darwin's great loss, no Shadow of doubt
DARWIN has changed as a sporting city since the day in 1960 when the half-time entertainment at the Northern Territory versus France rugby league match was an exhibition sprint by Kevan Gosper.
Ratings show NRL dudded in rights deal
RUGBY league continues to dominate pay TV ratings, seizing 64 spots
in the top 100 of the most popular programs this year, adding
further support to the widespread view the code has seriously
undersold its broadcasting rights to its part-owner, News Ltd.
How the AFL boosts its numbers to sell its game
Confidential data on participation rates of junior players in greater Sydney has reflected a flawed and desperate mission by the AFL to claim the city's west.
Blue-rinse set rolls on
The Storm promoted granny day at Olympic Park yesterday but there was not a rolling pin tackle in sight.
Why Pearce is a Blues leader in the making
NSW captain Danny Buderus made special mention of one player when he accepted the Blues' man-of-the-match award at the team's Sydney hotel - halfback Mitchell Pearce.
Part Scorsese, part Shakespeare
It was a game that deserved to be played on a stage, so dramatic were the shifts of play, moments of magic and meltdown, desperate theatrics, two all in conflagrations and blood feuds.
Mitchell won't show how the rookie crumbles
SO WHAT'S a kid who looks as if he's one year removed from serving cheeseburgers at McDonald's doing running NSW's State of Origin team?
Tommy's pumped up about bringing back some mongrel
A GIANT blue cattle dog will be paraded on the back of a truck at
the NSW team's training session today, as the Blues' inaugural
State of Origin captain, Tommy Raudonikis, attempts to stir passion
for Wednesday's decider and promote his never-say-die canine as the
emblem of the state's rugby league team. "A cattle dog would be a
perfect state emblem," he said. "He never gives up. He's loyal.
He's got a good constitution.
Harmony gives Pearce a chance
WHEN the NSW selectors and coach Craig Bellamy met at 4pm on Monday to select the Blues' team for the Origin decider, incumbent half Peter Wallace had already been given until Sunday to prove he had recovered from a ruptured testicle.
The most influential selector in NSW is the bloke with the whistle
Within minutes of Queensland's 30-0 victory in the second State of Origin game, a former Maroons matchwinner sent me a text message: "What's the difference between NSW and a toothpick? At least a toothpick has two points."
Injuries hit the books when two tribes go to war
The crowd at Friday night's match between the Roosters and the
Bulldogs at Sydney Football Stadium could drop 20,000 on their
previous meeting as a consequence of the stand-down of State of
Origin stars, says the Roosters' chief executive, Brian Canavan.
Loyalty has many shades of grey but for some, it's still Black and White
ON THE day the son of a rugby league legend called to lament the end of loyalty in rugby league, questioning whether anyone honoured the past, an NRL coach and one of his players were locked in a spirited bidding duel for a sculpture of one of the members of the Team of the Century.
How the AFL tried to steal league's World Cup thunder
AN AFL approach to stage an Australia-Ireland international rules match at the Sydney Cricket Ground in competition with the opening ceremony of rugby league's centenary World Cup has escalated the scheduling conflict between the nation's two major football codes and threatens to erupt into an all-out turf war.
Hysteria is deja voodoo all over again
RUGBY league has always been a code of over-reaction. Instead of celebrating 100 years of history, or delighting in NSW's unexpected and expertly prepared win over Queensland in State of Origin I, or citing the wonderful Wests Tigers versus Titans match at Leichhardt Oval as evidence the lads on the field are still putting on a great show, we're talking death row for Sydney clubs.
Souths drop $300,000 ahead of no-pokies poll
SOUTH Sydney will persist with plans for a poker machine-free licensed club, despite the collapse of an agreement with the football club that would have seen co-owners Peter Holmes a Court and Russell Crowe contribute $300,000 annually to create a no-gaming environment.
Buy George: I'll pay $3m for Central Coast Bunnies, says Piggins
SOUTH Sydney stalwart George Piggins has offered to buy back the famous foundation club from celebrity owners Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court on the conditions the club bases itself in Gosford and refunds him the purchase price out of the NRL's promised relocation grant.
How Bellamy made numbers add up for Blues
IT WAS 2am yesterday before the NSW team held their own man-of-the-match ceremony at their team hotel following the comprehensive victory over Queensland.
Saved by the Bellamy: coach breathes fresh life into tired team
Roy Masters: The 2008 Origin series may well prove to be one carved out of the hope that a promising lad of 22 will become a brilliant on-field leader in just nine days.
Duel in the crown: Buderus v Smith will decide Origin winner
THEY have stood across the ruck from each other for 13 State of Origin matches now, rarely fixing eyes but acutely aware of their rivalry and responsibility, one man having what the other wants.
For NSW, a Bird in the hand is worth two on the mush
AS A State of Origin trial, the Good Friday match between the Roosters and Broncos couldn't have been better. While the number of play-the-balls was only 180, slightly above NRL average but below the frenetic pace of Origin football, the round-two match set a season-high record for missed tackles - the Roosters with 44 and and the Broncos with 54.
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