On today's episode of The Almanack Report, there has been a whole lot of NRL fans screaming for blood over the past 24 hours over, you guessed it, refereeing decisions. The crowning glory of the final match of the weekend, where the Cowboys managed to get a last minute penalty and parlay that into a penalty goal to win their match over the Wests Tigers, has brought down social media and after-game sports programs around the nation. Well, in two states anyway.

But you should all know by now that this is all part of the overall plan. And because it obviously isn’t a secret anymore, I can share it with you today. The fact is, the NRL, among other sports competitions around the world, are as scripted as the WWE wrestling is. And just like the wrestling, that proclaimed it was ‘real’ right up until about 25 years ago, it is now time to reveal that rugby league is also no longer a real game, but a carefully formatted results-driven spectacle that most of the participants believe is real, but is widely known to the administrators and officials of the game that it is not.

Intrigued? Then come in a check out my totally not-unfounded argument, today on The Almanack Report, here on the podcast that is 47% accurate, Thoughts from the Metal Cavern.