Tryline UK

With the Super League fixtures for 2026 being announced this week, we will likely learn whether we will be returning to having a top 8 play off system.  This is the system currently used by the NRL and used by us between 2009 and 2014. In this blogpost, I will explain why I believe this would be a terrible move. It isn't very Rugby League to mention this (as we often value entertainment over equity) but fairness is a real issue under this system. Of course, these things are a balance and many believe it is right to prioritise entertainment.  In my view , any system with an uneven fixture list is also inequitable. As is the side finishing top of league potentially seeing a season's work go up in smoke with one bad performance (which can happen under our existing system). As a sport, we have made the decision to sacrifice elements of equity in the pursuit of entertainment. That is a legitimate aim, even if you do not agree with it. A top 8 system amplifies the unfairness to an e...

It is not a great position to be in when the inquest into England's Ashes performance began after the second of three test matches. Was Wane too loyal to the old guard? How can we expect England to compete when they haven't had a single training session in 2025 until October let along an actual match? How can we replicate the intensity of State of Origin and the NRL to prepare ourselves better? What do we do, or can we do anything, about the fact that there are no competitive international teams for England to face outside of Oceania? And what of England's preparation? Australia have immersed themselves in all the UK has to offer, travelling from Scotland to London and places in between. All too willing to pose for photographs, sign shirts and take time to talk to English fans. Yes, Rugby League players often do this. But they don't have to. We should not take the manner in which Australia has conducted itself for granted. By contrast, when the Ashes series was rumoured...

After last weekend's eye opening and chastening defeat to Australia in the first Ashes test, England fans had every reason to be cautious of what the second test held. Australia weren't flawless in the first test but won handsomely and still could improve, there was going to be Australian referee meaning a faster ruck (which suits Australia) and England were pretty ordinary in first test. Yet for some reason, this England fan woke up with a strangely optimistic feeling on Saturday morning, even though there was no logic behind it. Was it the widely-expected changes to the team? Or recalling how in 1997, Great Britain were thrashed in the first Ashes test at Wembley but won the second? Or maybe I was feeling inspired by Shaun Wane's speech in the latest installment of Chasing The Ashes (a fly on the wall series uploaded to YouTube by England). I’m obsessed with how accidentally Brent this is. pic.twitter.com/lXzw9H8dis — Ross Williams (@RossWilliams_) October 29, 2025 It...

We have waited 22 years for an Ashes test between Australia and England but anticipation soon gave way to reality. England were taught a lesson in how to play Rugby League by a side who appeared far superior in every facet. A defeat so emphatic in its nature means that the first question to ask is not whether England can turn a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 series win, but whether England will be able to compete in the remaining tests. That is not to say it is impossible that England will turn this series around. This is sport. Unexpected things can happen. The evidence of today is that this is very unlikely. Jack Welsby has borne the brunt of criticism from fans. And, whilst it wasn't his best day, I do think some of the criticism was harsh, especially in defence. For the first Australian try, he had a five on one. For the fourth try, it was a three on one. These are situations that are near-impossible to stop, especially when you look at the quality of attackers he faced. The second try...

What was the first international Rugby League match you remember or attended? The first one I went to was the first test of the 2003 Ashes Series at Wigan. Little did I know that this would be the last such series for 22 years. With us on the brink of the next Ashes series beginning, I decided to look back on that night from my own recollection. It was the first time that I had been to the stadium formerly known as the JJB Stadium. In 2003, I was a child and went to the match with my Dad. He bought tickets as part of an organised trip with work. One of his close friends from work, Geoff, was attending with his son, Nathan (who was a few years older than me) too. With the stadium being relatively new, we didn't know where to park so ended up parked outside Geoff's house.  It wasn't far from the stadium, we were told. Geoff wasn't waiting for us at his house when we arrived. He was at the pub with Nathan, several pints deep, or so his wife assumed. My adult reflections wo...

We are a little over one month away from the Super League Grand Final and with two rounds of the regular season to go, the play off picture is starting to take shape. After 27 weekends of shuffling ourselves into order on a starting grid, the play offs will begin which may have the impact of rendering those 27 weeks of work largely irrelevant in 80 short minutes.  We tend to brush over that inherent unfairness in the pursuit of manufacturing the greatest possible level of drama that we can. Still, for those who believe that the best team over a long season should receive greater reward, we can console ourselves that this play off system does offer some form of reward for the higher placed teams. We have had this current iteration of the top 6 system in place since 2020 and only on one occasion has a side outside of the top 2 reached the Grand Final. Anyway, enough about my grumbles and on to the purpose of this post. Looking at the prospects of the contenders. Derby victory for Hul...