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Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Let them go – Samoa defectors might just save international footy
Humphreys, steering by the star of what was good for rugby league in the long term, not what was good for NSW in the short term, agreed. The result? Rugby league entered the big time, garnered eyeballs by the ship-load from all over the country, and indeed the world, and the game made BILLIONS of dollars out of it. All because administrators had foresight! Isn't that precisely the kind of situation league finds itself in now, contemplating this issue? Origin is so big that it completely dwarfs league's 'international game' because of a severe lack of serious competition. The absurd Rugby League World Cup fools no-one, because they don't actually play league seriously in most of the countries represented. The only nations that genuinely compete are Australia, New Zealand and England. But now, with so many Pasifika players going so brilliantly, there is a real chance of new contenders emerging, led by Samoa. If Haas, Fa'asuamaleaui, and the Hammer want to play for that brilliant, small island nation, fabulous! A real contest! Yes, folks, an actually watchable game in the international arena, outside of the Big Three? League – and more particularly we taxpayers – are putting $600 million into PNG to breathe life into the game there, and have the potential of yet another genuine international competitor emerging, but it still wants to denude Samoa of three players like that? Loading In the first place, no-one should have to be begged to wear the Australian jersey. In the second place, all potential Kangaroos who express an interest in playing for other nations, should be actively begged to do so! For the good of the game, just the way Origin was created. It won't give league an international game that comes within a bull's roar of rugby union of course – and that is the main thing, after all – but it will help to give it what it so lacks now, credibility. You're welcome. But send the cheque. You'll probably make tens of millions more in TV rights, too. You, of all people, Peter V'landys, surely recognise this? You're welcome, I said! Goolagong-Cawley's flying visit And who should that familiar figure in the Tullamarine Chairman's Lounge on Friday morning turn out to be? None other than my friend and yours, that great Australian icon, Evonne Goolagong-Cawley! Now in her mid-70s, the two-time Wimbledon winner looks great, and not a day older than when I last ran into her a few years ago. With her husband, Roger, she had been visiting the set of a three-part television mini-series being produced by the ABC and the BBC, starring Lila McGuire as Evonne herself. The now Queenslander expressed great satisfaction at how the whole thing is coming along, and the job being done by McGuire herself, and is looking forward to seeing it on our screens next year. And yes she even listened patiently, as I waxed lyrical on how wonderful I – if we can bring it back to me for a moment, Evonne? – found it to be at the women's and men's singles finals, myself, a fortnight ago, nodding sagely as I talked of the atmosphere, the spectacle, the whole damn thing! Swing and a miss, K-Man I'm sorry, my friend Darren Kane, but I'm just going to have to go with me on this one. For yes, I saw your column this week, which included the words in the headline, 'Greg Norman was right,' – Waiter! Shoot me! – and maintained that it was unfair that LIV golfers don't have their performances in LIV tournaments counted for rankings in getting into the Majors. Darren, I thought we had been through this before? I can't remember who I am misquoting now, and it might even be myself, but LIV golfers complaining about their disappearance from the world rankings, after they took the money and ran, is like a bloke who murders his parents pleading with the judge for mercy because he is now an orphan. The sheer chutzpah would kill a brown dog. The LIV golfers took the blood money. They knew what they were doing. They knew the damage it would do to golf. But they still want to play nice when it comes time for the majors? What's that expression again? I remember now – it rhymes with 'Kiss off!' As to the mooted merger of LIV with the PGA, why would the PGA do that now? We are now into the fourth year of LIV, and it is clear: no-one cares. Its ratings are abysmal, its tournaments make no buzz anywhere but Adelaide, and no-one talks about it. In all that time, only twice has a LIV player won a major, and those who have gone are not really missed. Loading And if a version of LIV comes along for rugby, as has been mooted – called R360, and headed up by former England captain Mike Tindall – it will meet the same fate, only quicker. Tonight we will see a great match between the Wallabies and the British and Irish Lions, a Test with nigh-on 150 years of history behind it. Tens of thousands of people have come from all over the world to watch it, and will love every moment of it. Now, take exactly the same team, pay them millions each and call them the Saudi Slaughterers on one side, and the Mohammad Bin Salman Murderers on the other. Would we watch? Would we care? We would not. Kiss off, Tindall! What They Said Scottie Scheffler after winning the British Open: 'I don't think I'm anything special just because some weeks I'm better at shooting a lower score than other guys are. In some circles, like right now I'm the best player in the world. This week I was the best player in the world. I'm sitting here with the trophy. We're going to start all over in Memphis, back to even par, show goes on.' Scheffler doubles down on his comments last week, about golf trophies being no big deal when what he really wants to be good at is being a husband and father: 'Am I grateful for [winning]? Do I enjoy it? Oh, my gosh, yes, this is a cool feeling. But having success in life is not what fulfils the deepest desires of your heart. Just because you win a golf tournament doesn't make you happy - but I'm pretty excited to celebrate this one.' Lions star Owen Farrell on online trolls: 'But I understand that it's different now. I understand times are different and things catch fire quicker. Things grow legs, take a life of their own, go wherever they go and there's momentum behind them. But no, I don't always understand it.' How about Farrell dealing with praise and not just abuse? 'Both are a poison ... I guess the people I think we should listen to are the proper rugby people – your mates. Not that those people will just pat you on the back.' Nick Kyrgios after a doubles match: 'Knee cooked but fans still f--ed with us.' No, I have no idea, either. The Association on American Indian Affairs doesn't want Donald Trump to make moves to bring back the Redskins and Indians: 'These mascots and names do not honour Native Peoples — they reduce us to caricatures. Our diverse Peoples and cultures are not relics of the past or mascots for entertainment. Native Nations are sovereign, contemporary cultures who deserve respect and self-determination, not misrepresentation.' Bravo. English footballer Esme Morgan on how the Lionesses wound down after their match against Sweden: 'There was a lot of laughing at things that happened within the game, a few of us got together to watch that night's 'Love Island episode to try and tire us out.' Tom Lynagh on taking on the Lions: 'No point to prove, just go out there and play my game. It was incredible experience. It's my first time playing at Suncorp when it's packed out. It's always something I wanted to do and follow in Dad's footsteps. So, I'm living the dream now. It's a proud moment for myself and my family.' On being targeted physically: 'It's part of the job, mate. You've got to toughen up for games like this. You can't shy away from anything.' Loading Len Ikitau on what position Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii should play: 'To be honest, if he's on the field, that's the best thing for us. Just somewhere on the field, and if he's playing 13, if he's playing on the wing, fullback, I know that he's just a freak of an athlete, and he can step up to the occasion, and just play his footy. At the end of the day, it's a footy game and he's a footballer, so I don't think it'll faze him.' Team of the Week Wallabies. Play the British and Irish Lions at the MCG tonight, after a creditable if losing performance in the First Test, last week in Brissie. Jess Hull. The Australian flyer broke her own women's mile record, registering 4:13.68 to finish a couple of seconds behind Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay. England and Spain. Contest the final of the UEFA European Women's Championship. Scottie Scheffler. Now the undisputed biggest name in golf right now, because he keeps winning, including the British Open last weekend. The LIV sell-outs, meantime, ever more irrelevant. Have only won two majors between them, since LIV started. Felix Baumgartner. Extreme sports pioneer died as he lived in a paragliding accident, in Italy this week. You might remember as the bloke who more or less parachuted from space, back in 2012, jumping from 40 km up in the stratosphere. It still mesmerises. Cameron Smith. The only professional golfer to have been in all four majors this year, but failed to make the cut at all four. LIV appears to have destroyed – you heard me – his game, at least in the majors. But look, he's got squillions, so I guess that's the main thing. West Coast Fever. Into the Super Netball grand final while the Swifts take on the Vixens for the right to meet them. Hulk Hogan.
The Age
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
Let them go – Samoa defectors might just save international footy
Humphreys, steering by the star of what was good for rugby league in the long term, not what was good for NSW in the short term, agreed. The result? Rugby league entered the big time, garnered eyeballs by the ship-load from all over the country, and indeed the world, and the game made BILLIONS of dollars out of it. All because administrators had foresight! Isn't that precisely the kind of situation league finds itself in now, contemplating this issue? Origin is so big that it completely dwarfs league's 'international game' because of a severe lack of serious competition. The absurd Rugby League World Cup fools no-one, because they don't actually play league seriously in most of the countries represented. The only nations that genuinely compete are Australia, New Zealand and England. But now, with so many Pasifika players going so brilliantly, there is a real chance of new contenders emerging, led by Samoa. If Haas, Fa'asuamaleaui, and the Hammer want to play for that brilliant, small island nation, fabulous! A real contest! Yes, folks, an actually watchable game in the international arena, outside of the Big Three? League – and more particularly we taxpayers – are putting $600 million into PNG to breathe life into the game there, and have the potential of yet another genuine international competitor emerging, but it still wants to denude Samoa of three players like that? Loading In the first place, no-one should have to be begged to wear the Australian jersey. In the second place, all potential Kangaroos who express an interest in playing for other nations, should be actively begged to do so! For the good of the game, just the way Origin was created. It won't give league an international game that comes within a bull's roar of rugby union of course – and that is the main thing, after all – but it will help to give it what it so lacks now, credibility. You're welcome. But send the cheque. You'll probably make tens of millions more in TV rights, too. You, of all people, Peter V'landys, surely recognise this? You're welcome, I said! Goolagong-Cawley's flying visit And who should that familiar figure in the Tullamarine Chairman's Lounge on Friday morning turn out to be? None other than my friend and yours, that great Australian icon, Evonne Goolagong-Cawley! Now in her mid-70s, the two-time Wimbledon winner looks great, and not a day older than when I last ran into her a few years ago. With her husband, Roger, she had been visiting the set of a three-part television mini-series being produced by the ABC and the BBC, starring Lila McGuire as Evonne herself. The now Queenslander expressed great satisfaction at how the whole thing is coming along, and the job being done by McGuire herself, and is looking forward to seeing it on our screens next year. And yes she even listened patiently, as I waxed lyrical on how wonderful I – if we can bring it back to me for a moment, Evonne? – found it to be at the women's and men's singles finals, myself, a fortnight ago, nodding sagely as I talked of the atmosphere, the spectacle, the whole damn thing! Swing and a miss, K-Man I'm sorry, my friend Darren Kane, but I'm just going to have to go with me on this one. For yes, I saw your column this week, which included the words in the headline, 'Greg Norman was right,' – Waiter! Shoot me! – and maintained that it was unfair that LIV golfers don't have their performances in LIV tournaments counted for rankings in getting into the Majors. Darren, I thought we had been through this before? I can't remember who I am misquoting now, and it might even be myself, but LIV golfers complaining about their disappearance from the world rankings, after they took the money and ran, is like a bloke who murders his parents pleading with the judge for mercy because he is now an orphan. The sheer chutzpah would kill a brown dog. The LIV golfers took the blood money. They knew what they were doing. They knew the damage it would do to golf. But they still want to play nice when it comes time for the majors? What's that expression again? I remember now – it rhymes with 'Kiss off!' As to the mooted merger of LIV with the PGA, why would the PGA do that now? We are now into the fourth year of LIV, and it is clear: no-one cares. Its ratings are abysmal, its tournaments make no buzz anywhere but Adelaide, and no-one talks about it. In all that time, only twice has a LIV player won a major, and those who have gone are not really missed. Loading And if a version of LIV comes along for rugby, as has been mooted – called R360, and headed up by former England captain Mike Tindall – it will meet the same fate, only quicker. Tonight we will see a great match between the Wallabies and the British and Irish Lions, a Test with nigh-on 150 years of history behind it. Tens of thousands of people have come from all over the world to watch it, and will love every moment of it. Now, take exactly the same team, pay them millions each and call them the Saudi Slaughterers on one side, and the Mohammad Bin Salman Murderers on the other. Would we watch? Would we care? We would not. Kiss off, Tindall! What They Said Scottie Scheffler after winning the British Open: 'I don't think I'm anything special just because some weeks I'm better at shooting a lower score than other guys are. In some circles, like right now I'm the best player in the world. This week I was the best player in the world. I'm sitting here with the trophy. We're going to start all over in Memphis, back to even par, show goes on.' Scheffler doubles down on his comments last week, about golf trophies being no big deal when what he really wants to be good at is being a husband and father: 'Am I grateful for [winning]? Do I enjoy it? Oh, my gosh, yes, this is a cool feeling. But having success in life is not what fulfils the deepest desires of your heart. Just because you win a golf tournament doesn't make you happy - but I'm pretty excited to celebrate this one.' Lions star Owen Farrell on online trolls: 'But I understand that it's different now. I understand times are different and things catch fire quicker. Things grow legs, take a life of their own, go wherever they go and there's momentum behind them. But no, I don't always understand it.' How about Farrell dealing with praise and not just abuse? 'Both are a poison ... I guess the people I think we should listen to are the proper rugby people – your mates. Not that those people will just pat you on the back.' Nick Kyrgios after a doubles match: 'Knee cooked but fans still f--ed with us.' No, I have no idea, either. The Association on American Indian Affairs doesn't want Donald Trump to make moves to bring back the Redskins and Indians: 'These mascots and names do not honour Native Peoples — they reduce us to caricatures. Our diverse Peoples and cultures are not relics of the past or mascots for entertainment. Native Nations are sovereign, contemporary cultures who deserve respect and self-determination, not misrepresentation.' Bravo. English footballer Esme Morgan on how the Lionesses wound down after their match against Sweden: 'There was a lot of laughing at things that happened within the game, a few of us got together to watch that night's 'Love Island episode to try and tire us out.' Tom Lynagh on taking on the Lions: 'No point to prove, just go out there and play my game. It was incredible experience. It's my first time playing at Suncorp when it's packed out. It's always something I wanted to do and follow in Dad's footsteps. So, I'm living the dream now. It's a proud moment for myself and my family.' On being targeted physically: 'It's part of the job, mate. You've got to toughen up for games like this. You can't shy away from anything.' Loading Len Ikitau on what position Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii should play: 'To be honest, if he's on the field, that's the best thing for us. Just somewhere on the field, and if he's playing 13, if he's playing on the wing, fullback, I know that he's just a freak of an athlete, and he can step up to the occasion, and just play his footy. At the end of the day, it's a footy game and he's a footballer, so I don't think it'll faze him.' Team of the Week Wallabies. Play the British and Irish Lions at the MCG tonight, after a creditable if losing performance in the First Test, last week in Brissie. Jess Hull. The Australian flyer broke her own women's mile record, registering 4:13.68 to finish a couple of seconds behind Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay. England and Spain. Contest the final of the UEFA European Women's Championship. Scottie Scheffler. Now the undisputed biggest name in golf right now, because he keeps winning, including the British Open last weekend. The LIV sell-outs, meantime, ever more irrelevant. Have only won two majors between them, since LIV started. Felix Baumgartner. Extreme sports pioneer died as he lived in a paragliding accident, in Italy this week. You might remember as the bloke who more or less parachuted from space, back in 2012, jumping from 40 km up in the stratosphere. It still mesmerises. Cameron Smith. The only professional golfer to have been in all four majors this year, but failed to make the cut at all four. LIV appears to have destroyed – you heard me – his game, at least in the majors. But look, he's got squillions, so I guess that's the main thing. West Coast Fever. Into the Super Netball grand final while the Swifts take on the Vixens for the right to meet them. Hulk Hogan.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
The NRL's representative eligibility rules are broken. Here's how to fix them
He was born in Meadowbank in Sydney's west and played junior footy for Mascot Jets. How is he any less of a New South Welshman than the others who wear the sky blue? Why can't the Sydney-born, Bronte-raised Victor Radley play for NSW if he chooses to honour his heritage and represent England instead of Australia? The Samoa-born Stephen Crichton represents NSW. The West Australia-born Kalyn Ponga dons the Maroons jersey. After all, they all fulfil the main Origin criteria, which is to have resided in NSW or QLD prior to their 13th birthday. No one wants to change that aspect of the eligibility, but the tiering system was designed for an era before the second generation of migrant families, who call Australia home but are proud of their ancestral roots, had such an impact on the game. If you go back two decades, the NSW Blues used 22 players in the 2005 State of Origin series. None of them were eligible to play for any regularly playing rugby league nation other than Australia. In this year's series, across NSW and Queensland, there were 15: Brian To'o, Stephen Crichton, Jarome Luai, Payne Haas, Spencer Leniu, Stefano Utoikamanu, Ponga, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Xavier Coates, Robert Toia, Valentine Holmes, Mo Fotuaika, Josh Papalii, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and Jermiah Nanai. Everything the NRL does over the summer needs to be done through the lens of what is best for international rugby league. There will be an argument that a player must choose which country he wants to represent at a young age and be held to that nation for the remainder of his career. That model, however, is to the detriment of the international game. Take Isaiya Katoa for example. He has the cultural ties to play for Tonga, New Zealand and Australia. If he was forced to choose Australia when he entered the NRL, he would have been waiting years to get in front of the likes of Nathan Cleary, Mitchell Moses and Daly Cherry-Evans. The international game, however, would be poorer for not having Katoa represent Tonga. To avoid that situation of having a plethora of quality players on the sidelines, allegiances should be tied to World Cup cycles. At the end of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, each player must elect who they intend to represent over the next four years culminating in the 2030 World Cup. Turn it into a television event. Have people on stage opening an envelope announcing that in 2027, Ponga will be taking his talents to New Zealand for the next four years. Give the nations an incentive to go out and find third-party agreements with prospective corporate partners looking to aid the country's hopes of convincing a player to represent their nation over others they may also be eligible for. It's the best way to try and minimise the discrepancy between the $30,000 Origin match payments and the $3000 players receive for Test matches, a move designed to make international football the pinnacle of the sport. Forcing players to stick with their country of choice also doesn't allow for father time. Petero Civoniceva was a mainstay in the Australian team for a decade, playing 45 games for the Kangaroos. It would be doing the international game a disservice to deny him the chance to represent Fiji in the latter stages of his career when he wasn't playing at a standard that warranted selection in the Australian team, all because he made a decision to represent Australia 15 years earlier. Why shouldn't Utoikamanu represent his Tongan father, his Samoan mother, his Australian-born children and his Kiwi ancestory if he chooses to do so. He just needs to wait every four years to change. Loading At the end of the World Cup, any player from Harold Matthews all the way up to the NRL needs to select who they want to represent for the next four years. It will then also provide a clear and competitive junior representative program that will allow under 17s, 19s and 21s international games for the younger players, rather than the schoolboy programs run at the moment. The legacy of the V'landys-Andrew Abdo regime in rugby league is cemented. They will be remembered for saving the game during the COVID-19 pandemic, the venture into America through the Las Vegas season openers and the expansion into Perth and Papua New Guinea. Now they could help transform rugby league into a genuine global sport by overhauling the outdated rules.
The Age
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
The NRL's representative eligibility rules are broken. Here's how to fix them
He was born in Meadowbank in Sydney's west and played junior footy for Mascot Jets. How is he any less of a New South Welshman than the others who wear the sky blue? Why can't the Sydney-born, Bronte-raised Victor Radley play for NSW if he chooses to honour his heritage and represent England instead of Australia? The Samoa-born Stephen Crichton represents NSW. The West Australia-born Kalyn Ponga dons the Maroons jersey. After all, they all fulfil the main Origin criteria, which is to have resided in NSW or QLD prior to their 13th birthday. No one wants to change that aspect of the eligibility, but the tiering system was designed for an era before the second generation of migrant families, who call Australia home but are proud of their ancestral roots, had such an impact on the game. If you go back two decades, the NSW Blues used 22 players in the 2005 State of Origin series. None of them were eligible to play for any regularly playing rugby league nation other than Australia. In this year's series, across NSW and Queensland, there were 15: Brian To'o, Stephen Crichton, Jarome Luai, Payne Haas, Spencer Leniu, Stefano Utoikamanu, Ponga, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Xavier Coates, Robert Toia, Valentine Holmes, Mo Fotuaika, Josh Papalii, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and Jermiah Nanai. Everything the NRL does over the summer needs to be done through the lens of what is best for international rugby league. There will be an argument that a player must choose which country he wants to represent at a young age and be held to that nation for the remainder of his career. That model, however, is to the detriment of the international game. Take Isaiya Katoa for example. He has the cultural ties to play for Tonga, New Zealand and Australia. If he was forced to choose Australia when he entered the NRL, he would have been waiting years to get in front of the likes of Nathan Cleary, Mitchell Moses and Daly Cherry-Evans. The international game, however, would be poorer for not having Katoa represent Tonga. To avoid that situation of having a plethora of quality players on the sidelines, allegiances should be tied to World Cup cycles. At the end of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, each player must elect who they intend to represent over the next four years culminating in the 2030 World Cup. Turn it into a television event. Have people on stage opening an envelope announcing that in 2027, Ponga will be taking his talents to New Zealand for the next four years. Give the nations an incentive to go out and find third-party agreements with prospective corporate partners looking to aid the country's hopes of convincing a player to represent their nation over others they may also be eligible for. It's the best way to try and minimise the discrepancy between the $30,000 Origin match payments and the $3000 players receive for Test matches, a move designed to make international football the pinnacle of the sport. Forcing players to stick with their country of choice also doesn't allow for father time. Petero Civoniceva was a mainstay in the Australian team for a decade, playing 45 games for the Kangaroos. It would be doing the international game a disservice to deny him the chance to represent Fiji in the latter stages of his career when he wasn't playing at a standard that warranted selection in the Australian team, all because he made a decision to represent Australia 15 years earlier. Why shouldn't Utoikamanu represent his Tongan father, his Samoan mother, his Australian-born children and his Kiwi ancestory if he chooses to do so. He just needs to wait every four years to change. Loading At the end of the World Cup, any player from Harold Matthews all the way up to the NRL needs to select who they want to represent for the next four years. It will then also provide a clear and competitive junior representative program that will allow under 17s, 19s and 21s international games for the younger players, rather than the schoolboy programs run at the moment. The legacy of the V'landys-Andrew Abdo regime in rugby league is cemented. They will be remembered for saving the game during the COVID-19 pandemic, the venture into America through the Las Vegas season openers and the expansion into Perth and Papua New Guinea. Now they could help transform rugby league into a genuine global sport by overhauling the outdated rules.
South Wales Argus
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Adam Hills not hiding passionate love for rugby league
The Australian comic, known for hosting late-night talk and sketch show The Last Leg, makes no attempt to hide his passion for the 13-player code either. After all, the 55-year-old was adorned in Australia's rugby league kit from the 2017 Rugby League World Cup on a traditional London bus kitted out to mark 100 days to go until the return of the ABK Beer Ashes. It will mark a revival of one of rugby league's most iconic series which last happened in 2003 when Australia toured the UK to play Great Britain. 'I'm so excited,' the Sydney native said. 'It's been 22 years since the last Ashes, and I've been shocked by that; this is something that should be happening all the time. 'I'm so excited to show rugby league off to my London friends and go, 'OK, guys you have to watch this. I know you don't know what it's about, or you might think you know, but this is five levels up, especially when it's an Ashes Test'.' The launch began in Clapham – London's unofficial Australian capital – and also featured England captain George Williams, international teammate Jack Welsby and rugby league legend Martin Offiah. But Hills' presence at the event goes beyond his celebrity status, he is also the Rugby Football League president, a role he has held since the start of the year, and one that fills him with enormous pride. 'I honestly got goosebumps when the email came through offering it to me,' he beamed. 'Initially I was a little bit hesitant because I thought, 'How's it going to look having an Australian as the president of the RFL?' 'But I think it's good to have an Australian shouting about stuff, because sometimes rugby league gets a little bit forgotten over here. 'I come from a city where you go, 'this is the best sport in the world' and I'm not ashamed to say that. 'So, I thought, okay, I'll take the role so I can shout about rugby league in a positive way.' And Hill's has been doing just that, trying to raise the profile of the sport in every way possible, from the national to the community game, to everything in between, including speaking to Artur Martirosyan, the president of Ukrainian Rugby League. 'Off the back of [a Last Leg episode where the plight of rugby league in Ukraine was highlighted] that, I was put in touch with the president,' he explained. 'I had a FaceTime with him, and I said, 'when's the best time to chat?' 'He replied, 'Sunday is, because I'm in the army.' And I was like, 'because you get Sunday's off?' He said, 'no, no, Sundays are when my commanding officer is off so I can make a phone call. 'I was amazed at this point. I asked him what he did, and he just sent me a picture of himself behind an anti-aircraft gun. I was like 'holy s**t!' 'When then ended up talking about rugby league for an hour. We asked them what they needed, which was kit, balls etc, so we put out a plea on the Last Leg and the guys from Keighley Cougars said they'd make the Ukrainian national kit for them. 'So, as we speak, they've flown out to Poland to then take a 15-hour bus to present them with the kit. I'm loving stuff like that.' Hills was a member of the Australian side at the inaugural Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup in 2022 and hopes, through his role as RFL president, to try a promote disability rugby league as much as he can too. 'Regardless of the sport, there has to be an England v Australia Ashes,' he continued. 'I've played disability rugby league, and since becoming president, and even before then, I'm doing what I can to make sure there's disability rugby league at the next World Cup. 'We did it once and it can't be a one off. And I also think there should be a disability rugby league Ashes too. 'I really want that to be a thing.' The series kicks off at Wembley Stadium on October 25, before heading to Liverpool a week later, where a sold-out Bramley-Moore Dock will take centre stage. Leeds Rhinos' Headingley Stadium is the venue for the third and final Test on November 8, which is also a sellout. More than 60,000 tickets were sold on the first day of the priority sales window, which was a record-breaking figure for any rugby league series launch. Hills predicted a close series and expressed his desire for a winner-takes-all decider come the third Test. 'It's going to finish 2-1 to someone,' he said. 'Rugby League will be the winner, and I think that final game at Headingley will be unbelievable. 'As an Australian, where do you not want to be playing? I'm absolutely pumped for that match.' Marking the milestone with a '100 days to go' London Trophy Tour were Rugby League legend Martin Offiah MBE, current England captain George Williams, star player Jack Welsby, and Aussie comedian and Rugby Football League President, Adam Hills MBE.
