The Grapple

This week a dagger has thrust into the heart of our heroes. Not only do they have to deal with continuous, rubbish “6 again” calls and dubious at best “on reports… now the news arrives that the weekly briefings from the great and powerful, the Hard Running Graham Annersley have been discontinued. Zero foresight for the upcoming broadcast rights deal, this weekly segment had the potential for Gold, Silver and People’s Choice Logie written all over it.

Alas they allay their sorrow with tales of who will win the competition and why Penrith’s two losses on the trot only serve to strengthen their premiership cred.

Uzi has been in the cross hairs of Joe Dawes of late after walking the grid “Rundle Style” in Melbourne, but as fate would have all that will be in his cross hairs next week will be a humbled and ineffective South Australian attack. It's 30 years since The Bulls broke the drought and history is set to repeat itself at ……wait what? Not the Adelaide Oval. Stop rolling Sir Don!

The Lions ideal starting 15 is revealed as is a potential tennis rebel league…Rest easy Sir Kerry. And soon we’ll have a new IOC Head… step up Lord Sebastian.

All of and some of this plus perhaps a smidge more on your home of sports sarcasm and anti- media…. The G to R to the Apple.  Get busy grappling or get busy dying…

Never before has Bills 16 Century  ominous foreshadowing of Caesar’s been more pertinent than right here, right now… after one round of the NRL season.

This week our Grapplers go ahead and Over- React-lle in a way only the true Ruggest of Rugba Loigers know how.  The NRL Media.

Who can and can’t win the comp after a full 80 minutes of the season. Who’s happy as Larry and who wants to get the hell out of Dodge asap.

Our heroes Grapple with the richest deal in Rugby League history and wonder what the cheque book holds for the next half decent half who tests the open market. 

Cycling comes to Grapple in big way with (insert European name here) making a mockery of mountain climbs  and competitors as his wattage output dwarfs that of  a household in Logan still running off a BYD after a single charge. 

All that and much much more regional and weather event specific humour. 

The Ides of March doth approach….. and so does St Patty’s Day. Erin go Bragh and Grapple go bragh 

Yes, your heroes are idiots. Big enough idiots to record an episode on the cusp of a cyclone? You better believe it. Because dont we all need something other than Alfred to discuss?

On this 1st Birthday Graptacular,  our heroes  bemoan and empathise with the victim of one of sports biggest scandals of the last decade. When this kind of thing happens to a person the road back to some assemblance of a normal life is hard, laden with trauma and hardship. However, the commitment to self improvement and to be a role model n to future generation"S" can only serve to allay fears of any permanent castigation. You've dealt with so much and even reached out a couple of times... hats off to you Ezra.

In more troubling news Tick Sergerblom doesn't quite know what kind of monster he has just created by giving everyone associated with the Vegas NRL immunity on the strip post match. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way Tick. 

A hero's prediction of Wahs and Panther glory is equally matched by a hero's rebuttal of Shark and Raider dominance, but only time will tell who will be upset..... just like the England Cricket team bowing out of the Champions Trophy in invariably controversial circumstances against Afghanistan.

What's the biggest sporting upset you can remember? Or What's the biggest sport you've seen upset? 

All this and much much more in another swashbuckling foray into the world of sport seen through the eyes of two knuckleheads.

Success is falling nine times and Grappling ten. 

There's a whiff in the air, a sniff perhaps.. and the tennis world is reeling. Our heroes main concern around Jannik Sinner's 3 month doping suspension- aside from the cries of foul play and uneven playing fields- are its potentially tarnishing impact on our beloved Aussie Open.

Staying positive. Kyrie Irving is welcomed back to the Grapple fold, after his decision to become a Boomer. We'll forgive him for calling him 'Team Australia,' for now, so long as he brings home a medal (at age 36) from the LA games. While Ange Postecoglou never left the Grapple fold, and will have the full might of our opinions in his corner should any kind of unthinkable action be taken on his English Premier League coaching career. 

The NRL trials gave us all we needed to know about the thinking of the majority of NRL coaches- with Madge Magguire, Kristian Woolf, Todd Payten, Craig Fitzgibbon, Jason Ryles- among others- very much showing their hands ahead of the season proper. We'll run the rule over the various choices and raise eyebrows accordingly, while pondering the decision of major free to air broadcasters to NOT send commentary teams to Las Vegas. While at it, our heroes have a pitch to Peter V'Landys around the scheduling of the NRL All Stars fixtures, after they apparently played out last weekend. 

And just in case you forgot, Super Rugby is BACK, and the QLD Reds have signed a schoolboy with a bugger of a name to pronounce, but we should all know it, on account of his 120kg, 17 year old frame. Hat tip to what our heroes descibe as 'a return to the golden days' for the code. Tune in and find out why,

Like, Share, Subscribe, and most of all- DIG IT. 

It's mid February, and Aussies are dominating sporting headlines across the cosmos. We now officially have our very own Australian owned superbowl ring, thanks to Jordan Mailata and the Philadelphia Eagles. We have a world where Sam Kerr is once again an extremely gifted footballer and not a walking, talking late night legal drama/ taxi cab confesser on the juice. And we have Aussies doing great things in the NBA, one of them under a doping cloud.

And so, we grapple, and our heroes tred a bold path through all the noise and nuance of the sporting world most high.

Also this week:

- A Luka Doncic related CONSPIRACY theory to chill you to your bones

- A fair and balanced take on the NRL's proposed 15 minutes later sinbin, and 'Ref says go' trial rules

- A six nations that is showcasing everything the Rugby Championship isnt

- A comprehensive washup of the Aussie cricket tour of Sri Lanka, taking in every angle...including the slightly questionable angle of Andrew Kuhnemann's bowling arm

- The best and worst of Superbowl Halftime shows.. and the Aussie who closed down Bourbon Street

It's all out there, in the great beyond that is also known as Grapple HQ. Dig it.

Left in two parts last week, as if hewn down the middle by a lightsaber, the Grapple limped to the close of January.

Now, as February's moon enters Jupiter's orbit the Jedi Returns to make whole what was broken.

Cricket remains front and centre in our heroes' cross hairs.

Michael Bevan gets his due credit after being every 90's cricket kids hero, Pup's rein at the top is discussed, Smudger's 10K, and they talk about a fella called Don. (Heard of him?)

Mentioning Don's, Luka Doncic's unceremonious exit from the Lone Star State to City Of Angels is discussed and put up against its "would be like"  Rugby League equivalent.

And of course  not an ep can go by without the mention of Brad Clyde.
The late 880's early 90's Raiders are delved into- oh what could have been.

All of this and much much more.... in your home of all cool sports stuff.

The one, the only ,The Grapple. Beware of other shitty sports podcasts.

When the red moon a rises.... The Grapplers come a callin......

This week our heroes have been cleft in two, hewn asunder and separated by the stars.

But Fear not, whilst their stocks are down and their manpower low  you will still get your regular does of Grappling with the sports issues of today From Smudgers record breaking one run to Pat Mahomes cloak of invisibility to Mitch Moses parting the Blue and Gold sea and leading his chosen people to the promised land.

Frank Molo says YOLO and ditches training in hold out of sorts, Ezra Mam breaks his silence on his suspension ( just joking) and the talk of town is Brisbane Stadia.

All this and realistically ...probably less in this week's Grapple-ation.

All we are saying, is give Grappling a chance 

As we usher in the new year our heroes make a Grapp-Tacular splash back into the world of sport, issues surrounding sport, pop culture references and vicious self deprecation.

This we discuss failures, the failures of government, governance and The Broncos Guvna. The Failures of mainstream media to appropriately prosecute the aforementioned failure ..... and the failure of one of our guys to finish the push up challenge last year. 

Yes, no sacred cows in 2025... nothing is off limits and everything is fair game.

NFL is in full swing and we have a quick lesson on how the Seppo's do things, preseason injuries and much much more.

2025, in the Chinese Calendar its The Year of The Grappler.... how convenient.

The Christmas Extrava- Grappler As the festive season falls into full swing, and on Break-Up Day of all days our hero’s tackle the touchie subject of Reese Robinson breaking up with the Cowboys. No band aid pull there, more so a  long slow good night.

And with Roosters bedding their new flame in 2026, does this mean a splitting of the sheets with  Brandon Smith?  Like eating too many left overs on Boxing Day, will the Roosters cut the Cheese?

The Broncos,  on the other hand, have been drinking from the fountain of knowledge that is Todd  Carney. A cautionary tale perhaps but his words were delivered with pin point aim and landed like a refreshing blast of perspective on hot Sutherland night. 

The 3rd  test in the AB-SG Trophy hits the Gabbatoire on Saturday and is there the scent of dissent in the Indian locker room? 

Sharma tests Sharmi’s karma and a desperate Jasprit tries to untie the cramps. 

NFL players as Simpson’s characters, Rugby League players as NFL characters, Golden Boots, Christmas Movies, Christmas Sweaters, Christmas beers and hug to sign off the year. Thank you Grapplers you’ve been Great.