·       Introduction

·       NRL Round 7 analysis and ladder

o   Roosters 20 d Dragons 10; Storm 13 d Warriors 12; Bulldogs d Cowboys 24-12; Rabbits 22 d Panthers 18; Tigers 30 d Titans 14; Broncos 29 d Sharks 6; Manly 24 d Raiders 20 and Knights 28 d Eels 14

·       Local results:

o   ISC round 8:

§  Bears 56 d Hunters 4; Tigers 16 d Dolphins 12; Blackhawks 40 d Capras 4; Falcons made it 7 from 7 with a 30 to 10 win over Cutters; Devils d Pride 32-16; Wynnum 34 d Magpies 22 and Tweed d Jets 32-24

o   Mal Meninga semi-finals: Wynnum d Falcons 30-12 and Tweed d Magpies 24-16- Grand Final on Sunday 12.25pm at Kougari Oval will see Wynnum v Tweed

o   SCGRFL:

§  Division 1: Nambour 8 d Caloundra 6; Maroochydore d Kawana 24-16; Stanley River 26 d Gympie 12 and Noosa 28 d Beerwah 28-24; Caboolture-bye

§  Women: Gympie lead ladder on 12 points 3 ahead of Caboolture and Maroochydore

o   Brisbane:

§  A-Grade: Seagulls d Magpies 40-31; Dolphins 26-20 over Tigers and Panthers d Diehards 30-28

§  SEQ Women Division 1: Wests Brisbane head the ladder on 11 followed by Burleigh, Eats and Ipswich all on 10

·       Rugby League News:

o   Coach sacking meter- all safe except for rumblings during the week about Paul Green losing the dressing room

o   DCE injury – impact on Manly

o   Rabbits v Broncos game later tonight:

§  Darius Boyd saying that Wayne Bennett’s early exit from Brisbane saved them from a season-long circus

§  Boyd’s 300th NRL tonight

§  Sspeculation over James Roberts, Nikorima (unlike Brisbane, the Warriors are not under any salary cap pressure and Nikorima stands to double his $250,000 a season at the Broncos if he accepts the 3½ year offer)

§  Bennett/Seibold sparing

§  Russell Crowe has done his bit to stoke the flames of the Broncos-Rabbitohs blockbuster laying into the Broncos board for their handling of the Anthony Seibold-Wayne Bennett coaching swap.

o   Clint Gutherson linked to Manly – Eels have reportedly offered Gutherson $650,000 per season but he wants another $100,000 says his manager Sam Ayoub

o   South Sydney will be forced to split up the Burgess brothers at season’s end as they don’t have the salary cap funds to retain George. Apparently the Rabbitohs won’t be capable of handing George a competitive offer for next year, and the out-of-contract star is mulling a return to the English Super League. Sam and Tom are both locked in at South Sydney until the end of the 2023 season.

o   The Allan Langer Trophy schoolboys competition was launched on Monday at the home of the Brisbane Broncos, with the man himself there to help bring in the new season. Six schools will take part in this year’s competition, with Marsden SHS, Palm Beach Currumbin SHS, St Mary’s College Toowoomba, Keebra Park SHS, Wavell SHS and Ipswich SHS to contest the division. The Trophy was originally established in an effort to help make Queensland schools more competitive in the National Schoolboy Competition.

o   English Rugby League:

§  Former Raiders, Penrith and Wests Tigers playmaker Blake Austin at Warrington in the English Super League currently sits outright first on the Man of Steel leaderboard after 13 rounds. Former Cronulla prop David Fifita and ex-Manly and Sydney Roosters utility Jackson Hastings sit tied in second.

§  Leeds has apparently offered Manly backrower Joel Thompson a multi-year deal. Thompson, an NRL fan favourite for his community work, is off-contract at the end of the season and has previously expressed a desire to play overseas.

§  Super League ladder after Round 13: St Helens 24, Warrington 20, Hull FC 16, Wakefield 14, Castleford 14, Catalans 14, Salford 12, Wigan 10, Huddersfield 10, Leeds 8, Hull KR 8, London 6.

·       Cowboys news

·       ISC: Cutters, Blackhawks, Pride and Capras news

·       Any local items of interest

·       NRL selections

·       Niff Nuff Award

o   Interview follow up

o   Preview ISC round 9:

o   Saturday: Tweed (7) v Devils (5); Jets (8) v Capras (11); Dolphins (10) v Bears (3); Cutters (9) v Pride (11)

o   Sunday: Magpies (12) v Falcons (1); Seagulls (4) v Tigers (2) and Hunters (13) v Blackhawks (6)

o   Byes in the SCGRFL and Brisbane competitions

·       Chat topic: Who will be Qld SOO captain?

·       Preview NRL round 8:

o   Tonight: Broncos/Rabbits

o   Friday: Cowboys/Titans and Sharks/Storm

o   Saturday: Raiders/Panthers, Eagles/Dogs and Roosters/Tigers

o   Sunday: Warriors/Knight and Eels/Dragons