No unfortunately this is not the promised blog on the Storm controversy, that is coming, I still need to get the summary of the weeks international results out, and am awaiting on some more info. But in light of that the Storm and their fans showed that the one thing you should never do to an Australian is tell them they cant do or have something! The Storm certainly showed that. In Serbia the big three clubs have shown the way again and its looking like it will be a tight contest once more.
Well wasn’t that the most comprehensive display of “Stick it up ya!”. With Thursdays Salary Cap controversy mulling all around them the Melbourne Storm showed that a champion team is a Champion team and despite having nothing to play for not only comprehensively thrashed the Warriors 40 – 6 But they did it in the most beautiful way too with some absolutely sublime rugby league and nearly 24,000 fans turning up showed that despite what people say the Storm do have Fans. Makes you feel sorry for any teams that will come up and play against them this year. Other results Friday night saw The Bulldogs tough it out against the Broncos 36-18 and the Slippery Eels got their way past the Cowboys in Townsville 24-18. Saturday saw Cronulla get their second win against a hapless Newcastle outfit 26-6 while the Panthers played in front of a great crowd to defeat the Tigers 26-18. Sunday the Raiders pulled another “Wests” disappearing act managing to loose against the Bunnies 26-24, they had a 24-6 half time lead. I was at this game and even though I was going for the Bunnies I couldn’t believe my eyes at what unfolded there. The traditional ANZAC day match between the Dragons and Roosters was a one way contest with the Red V army was celebrating all the way with a 28-6 victory. Monday night saw the Titans get their first ever win a Brooky (Brookvale Oval) with a come from behind win against Manly 24-22.
| Team | P | W | L | D | PD | Pt |
| St Georgs/Illawarra | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 91 | 12 |
| Penrith | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 66 | 10 |
| Gold Coast | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Manly | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 52 | 8 |
| South Sydney | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 8 |
| Sydney City | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 8 |
| Wests | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | -5 | 8 |
| Canterbury | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 6 |
| Parramatta | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -14 | 6 |
| New Zealand | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -24 | 6 |
| North Queensland | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -40 | 4 |
| Newcastle | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -45 | 4 |
| Brisbane | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -58 | 4 |
| Canberra | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -65 | 4 |
| Cronulla | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -65 | 4 |
| Melbourne | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 57 | 0 |
In Serbia the top 3 teams showed why they are there, with some good wins in the third round of the championships. Dorcol dispatches Nis 76-0 while Radnicki were also ruthless against the students beating Belgrade Uni 30-12. Radnicki stays at the top of the ladder beating Podbara 44-30 while Car Lazar had the Bye.
| Team | P | W | D | L | B | PD | Pt |
| Radnicki | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 6 |
| Red Satr | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 6 |
| Dorcol | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 162 | 4 |
| Podbara | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Belgrade University | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -46 | 0 |
| Car Lazar | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -90 | 0 |
| Nis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -138 | 0 |
The last round of the Elite was played over the weekend with some upsets happening.Limoux just beat Pia 30-24, while UTC dispatched frontrunners Leziagnan 25-12. Carpentras beat Avignion 42-24 and Villeneuve defeated St Gaudens 36-18. Carcasonne had the Bye.
| Team | P | W | D | L | B | PD | Pt |
| Lezignan | 18 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 231 | 44 |
| Limoux | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 135 | 36 |
| Pia | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 118 | 36 |
| Carcassonne | 18 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 155 | 34 |
| UTC | 18 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 70 | 32 |
| Carpentras | 18 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 32 |
| Villeneuve | 18 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 2 | -79 | 29 |
| Avignion | 18 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 2 | -236 | 25 |
| St Gaudens | 18 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 2 | -404 | 18 |
Next week is the next round of the Lord Derby Cup, which also is coming close to the Grand Finale soon.
With the recent announcement that Norway will be competing in the Euro Bowl, they have chosen for the team finally the moniker the Vikings. Officially they are the “Vikingene Rugby League” – The Vikings of Rugby League. Also later this week the fixtures for the Norwegian Domestic season should be available.
Rugby League Deutschland is set to become a legal body in Germany finally. This should happen in the summer of 2010. What this means is that it can have its own Tax codes and thus be much easier for them to attract sponsors. A full round up of this can be viewed here.
The Irish have had their season launch at the Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. This year there is a difference in the domestic structure with three provincial competitions based in Ulster, Leinster and Munster and the champions will go in to an All-Ireland Play-offs to determine the national champions. There is also the re-introduction of the inter-provincial championships – a State of Origin as such – for bragging rights.
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