NRL

From Collingwood proving their winning streak is about more than just luck to the NRL gambling on an American audience, the world of sport again provided an action-packed highlight reel.

Even a career-threatening ACL injury and the challenges of juggling work and elite sport couldn’t wrest NRLW player Holli Wheeler from the game that sets her heart on fire.

The furore surrounding seven Manly NRL players’ refusal to wear the club’s rainbow pride jersey provides easy fodder for columnists but fails to interrogate what true inclusivity means.

Long known for its unique brutality, rugby league is facing an identity crisis as it comes to grips with the issue of player welfare.

During a chaotic few years, Melbourne Storm remained the NRL’s benchmark side. But can the reigning premier retain its dominance following the retirement of Cameron Smith?

Where once elite athletes were encouraged to show no chinks in their armour, today’s sporting heroes are keen to share their vulnerabilities in the hope of reducing the stigma surrounding mental health challenges.

For many Indigenous rugby league players, the experience of representing their culture in the All Stars team fosters better knowledge and appreciation of their heritage and reinforces the NRL’s position as Australia’s first majority non-white sport.

In 1988, a brash new club turned rugby league on its head and went on to become a dominant force in the NRL. But this year the Brisbane Broncos parted with the coach, left fans dispirited and finished bottom of the ladder. Where did the club lose its way?

Faced with the uncertainty of Covid-19, pace bowler turned rugby league champion Courtney Hill and her English wife, cricket international Lauren Winfield, remain committed to being the best athletes they can be.

He was a small man with a huge heart and left an indelible mark on the games of rugby league and rugby union. Arthur Summons was also one half of the famous “Gladiators” image. “I didn’t really do anything to make it happen. Just tripped over in the mud, had a photo taken and became famous.”