Chris Barrett is a Sports Writer with The Sydney Morning Herald.
The way Peter Sterling sees it, the biggest issue he and Laurie Daley may face this winter won't necessarily be the age-old dilemma of how to beat Queensland, but narrowing down the list of their State of Origin candidates to the allocation of 17 sky-blue jumpers.Â
Parramatta will on Friday officially enter a new era hen a new football board is unveiled, leaving Brad Arthur's ambitious side unencumbered by the factionalism and scandal that has engulfed the Eels this decade.
The sin bin is back.
The sheer size of the contract the halfback has signed at St George Illawarra has guaranteed he will be under intense scrutiny this season even before he joins the Dragons.
The competition's 16 club captains are expected to lend their considerable weight to the Rugby League Players Association's drive to secure a fixed share of the code's revenue at a meeting with NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg in Sydney on Thursday.
An integrity-driven shake-up of the way NRL teams are named is being introduced this year.
Paul McGregor put on a brave face on Sunday night after a final pre-season hit-out that bordered on woeful at times and provide little reason to believe that St George Illawarra can be one of the competition's improvers this season.
Robbie Farah is expected to be South Sydney's starting hooker for the much-anticipated round-one clash with his alma mater Wests Tigers on Friday week, but Damien Cook has rammed home the Rabbitohs' resources at No.9 with an eye-catching role in the club's Charity Shield romp.
Tigers officials were furious at the publication on Sunday of sections of a report produced by the RLPA in 2015 in which it was alleged that the club had failed to ensure the well-being of contracted players.
The NRL's integrity unit has been working with police but has also conducted its own investigation, the findings of which are set to be forwarded to the Agent Accreditation Committee within the next fortnight.
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