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John Skandalis
John Skandalis (born 16 June 1976) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played for the Western Suburbs Magpies and for the Wests Tigers in two separate spells in the National Rugby League (NRL). Skandalis also played for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League and City Origin between 2002 and 2006. Background Skandalis was born in Sydney, New South Wales. The Skandalis family home in Lightning Ridge burnt down when John was six, causing the family to move to Ashfield, and later Minto. Skandalis' mother died when he was in his teens, leaving his father to raise Skandalis and his sisters. He was "taken in" by Josie McGuinness, the mother of Kevin and Ken McGuinness, who, he says, "treated him like son." Playing career Skandalis signed on for the Magpies in the early 1990s after playing out his junior years with the Minto Cobras, and attending Sarah Redfern High School. His first grade début came ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains in the west, and about 80 km (50 mi) from Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the Hawkesbury River in the north and north-west, to the Royal National Park and Macarthur, New South Wales, Macarthur in the south and south-west. Greater Sydney consists of 658 suburbs, spread across 33 local government areas. Residents of the city are colloquially known as "Sydneysiders". The estimated population in June 2024 was 5,557,233, which is about 66% of the state's population. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2017. The city's nicknames include the Emerald City and the Harbour City. There is ev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold Coast Titans
The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the Titans have played their home games at Robina Stadium in Robina. The Titans joined the NRL in 2007. The Gold Coast Titans were the first national-level franchise from the Gold Coast region since the previous franchise, the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants / Gold Coast Seagulls / Gold Coast Chargers, which existed from 1988 to 1998. History Formation The beginnings of a Gold Coast team's bid to return to the National Rugby League began when the Australian Rugby League decided to remove the financially successful Gold Coast Chargers from the National Rugby League at the end of the 1998 Season. The ARL wanted to have a second major team based in Brisbane and believed the best way to achieve this was by removing the Gold Coast team from the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brett Kimmorley
Brett "Noddy" Kimmorley (born 15 September 1976) is an Australian rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s, & early 2010’s. A New South Wales interstate and Australian international representative halfback, he last played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs of the NRL. He previously played for five other clubs: Newcastle Knights, Hunter Mariners, Melbourne Storm, Northern Eagles and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Kimmorley also represented Country New South Wales rugby league team, Country NSW four times and New South Wales ten times as well as playing 15 times for his country including the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, 2000 World Cup. He also played two Super League Test series, Super League Tests. He retired at the end of the 2010 NRL season. Early life Brett played early football in the backyard with his brother, Craig Kimmorley, Craig, and then for the Lakes United Seagulls and Valentine-Eleebana Red Devils. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Sheens
Timothy Sheens (born 30 October 1950) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. Head Coach of the Australia national team between 2009 and 2015, he has also been the head coach of National Rugby League (NRL) clubs, the Penrith Panthers, the Canberra Raiders, the North Queensland Cowboys and the Wests Tigers. As a player, Sheens was a prop forward with Sydney's Penrith club in the 1970s and 1980s before he retired and became their coach. He then coached the Raiders, taking them to victory in the 1989, 1990 and 1994 premierships. With the Tigers he won the 2005 premiership. Sheens also set a new record for most games in Australian rugby league premiership history (which has since been broken by Wayne Bennett) and also coached the New South Wales Blues for the 1991 State of Origin series. In June 2015 he accepted a role with Super League club the Salford Red Devils to become Director of Rugby leading to his eventual resignation as the coach of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Youth Competition (rugby League)
The NRL Under-20s (known commercially as the Holden Cup due to sponsorship from Holden) was the top league of professional rugby league for players aged 20 years or younger in Australasia. Contested by sixteen teams, the Under-20s competition commenced in 2008 and was originally known as the Toyota Cup. The competition runs parallel to Australasia's professional competition, the National Rugby League, with NYC matches played immediately prior to the NRL games. Similar to the NRL, the NYC enforces a salary cap and puts a heavy focus on life outside football for the players. The New Zealand Warriors were the most successful club in the competition's short history, with three premierships from four Grand Final appearances; in 2010, 2011 and 2014. In 2018, the NRL Under-20s was replaced by state-based under-20s competitions in New South Wales and Queensland. History The NRL Under-20s succeeded the Jersey Flegg Cup in 2008, which existed from 1961 to 2007. The competition was admini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Thorman
Christopher Thorman (born 26 September 1980) is an English rugby league coach is head coach of Newcastle Thunder and a former player. An England international goal-kicking , he previously played in the Engage Super League for Hull FC, Huddersfield Giants, London Broncos and the Sheffield Eagles, as well as in the National Rugby League for the Parramatta Eels. Following the sacking of Rick Stone as coach of the Huddersfield Giants, he was announced as interim head coach. Background Born 26 September 1980 in Wallsend, North Tyneside, Thorman went to Western First School, Western Middle School and then onto Burnside Community High School (now known as Burnside Business and Enterprise College), where he was friends with former England football international Michael Carrick. His first rugby club was Newcastle Eagles (now known as Wallsend Eagles) where he played with his younger brothers, Paul and Neil, as a youngster under the watchful eye of Simon Wilkinson, the club's head co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryan Hudson
Ryan Lee Hudson (born 20 November 1979), also known by the nicknames of "Raz", and "Hudders", is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for Great Britain ( A-Team), England ( A-Team), and Yorkshire, and at club level for Stanley Rangers, the Huddersfield Giants (two spells), the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, the Castleford Tigers (two spells) (captain), and the Bradford Bulls (no appearances), as a , or . He is also the brother of former ''Coronation Street'' and '' Wild at Heart'' actress Lucy-Jo Hudson. Hudson was set to play for Bradford Bulls in 2005 but failed a substance test after taking some pain-killers abroad that contained the banned substance stanozolol. He was suspended from the game for two years; the ban expired shortly before the start of 2007's Super League XII. Early career As a youngster, he played for amateur side Stanley Rangers, whom he later went on to coach. Whilst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Heighington
Christopher Heighington (born 14 January 1982) is a former professional rugby league footballer. An England national rugby league team, English international, Country New South Wales rugby league team, Country New South Wales and NRL All Stars team, NRL All Stars representative, his positions were and . He played for the Wests Tigers and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, winning a premiership with each, before finishing his career with the Newcastle Knights. Background He was born in Camden, New South Wales, Australia. Club career Wests Tigers A Umina Beach, New South Wales, Umina Bunnies junior, Heighington made his début for Wests Tigers in 2003. He later said, "To be honest, I couldn't believe I was making my début. It was a great experience. It came so quickly. I only started the pre-season at the end of 2002." He made seven appearances from the bench that year, and was a backup again in 2004. By 2005 he had cemented his place in the team and played from the interchange bench ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2006 World Club Challenge
The 2006 World Club Challenge was a Rugby league match held on Friday, 3 February 2006, at Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield, UK. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and Wests Tigers. Qualification Bradford Bulls Bradford Bulls qualified for the Challenge after being crowned the 2005 Super League champions, defeating their local rivals Leeds Rhinos 15–6 at Old Trafford. This Grand Final win avenged a defeat to the same team in the title decider the year before. Wests Tigers Wests Tigers clinched the 2005 National Rugby League title in a 30–16 defeat of North Queensland Cowboys to earn a place in the World Club Challenge. The Tigers had reached the Grand Final for the first time since their formation five years earlier following a merger of Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs. Teams The Tigers were without six of their 2005 NRL grand final-winning team: star stand-off half back Benji Marshall had undergone shoulder surgery in the off season; winger Pat Richards and for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bradford Bulls
The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup five times and three World Club Challenge titles. They have also won many smaller things such as The RFL Yorkshire Cup 11 times. The club was originally founded as Bradford Northern, but were renamed Bradford Bulls in 1995. Bradford's main rivalries are with Leeds, Halifax and Huddersfield. They have played the majority of their existence at Odsal and their traditional kit colours are white with red, amber and black chevrons. History 1863–1907: Bradford F.C. The original Bradford Football Club was formed in 1863 and played rugby football, subsequently joining the Rugby Football Union. Initially the club played at Horton Cricket Ground, All Saints Road but were asked to leave because of damage to the pitch. They then moved to Lai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2005 NRL Season
The 2005 NRL season was the 98th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the eighth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen teams contesting the 2005 Telstra Premiership, which culminated in a grand final between the Wests Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys. Season summary In 2005 the NRL's salary cap was $3.25 million for the 25 highest-paid players in a club. The season was statistically the closest season ever, with just sixteen points separating the Parramatta Eels (1st) and Newcastle Knights (15th). It was also notable in that the previous four premiers failed to qualify for the finals ( Bulldogs, Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters and Newcastle Knights). In the middle of 2005 the NRL reached a broadcasting rights agreement with Foxsports and Channel 9 worth $500 million over six years, representing a 65% increase in direct television income. The Knights recorded their worst eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
