AJ and Rhys review a crazy round of rugby league which saw the high-scoring theme of the first two rounds completely disappear with attack seemingly going out the window.

We also have a live reaction to Daly Cherry-Evans' explosive decision to leave Manly at the end of the 2025 season.

On the show

- Costly GF rematch for both sides with key men injured. Penrith's young halves deliver while Melbourne's pack delivers !

- Warriors find a way to grind out a win while the Roosters attacking credentials come under fire amid young squad.

- Souths have first loss of the year as mascot shows more fight than their forward pack. Cronulla's first half blitz overshadowed by second half no show.

- Tigers comeback from 18-6 down and show signs of improvement under Benji. Dolphins game smarts called into question after several missed opportunities.

- Titans attack finds some shine and defensively show resillience while Newcastle forget their footy IQ as Ponga and co. go missing on the Glitter Strip

- Bulldogs find a way to win, but questions linger over attack without Burton. Parramatta show some form of resillience.

- Manly show their class with ruthless display of football. Canberra's discipline questioned after ruthless set restart count goes against them as Ricky Stuart chucks yet another tantrum.

AJ and Rhys return to recap Round 2 of the NRL season. There was lots of upsets this week, so if you won last week but lost unexpectedly, take our learnings from Round 1 and don't panic. Unless you are a Cowboy or Eels fan, then you scream silently.

On the show!

- Newcastle prove they can be a force despite the Brown news, we analyse what that means for Sharpe and KP as well as what is going wrong at Redcliffe.

- Warriors get redemption in their home opener while Manly experience some dejavu from last season. Vossy got that call 100% correct as Turbo and DCE have injury clouds.

- The Roosters miracle win as AJ praises Tedesco, Whyte and Wong as well as the entire team's committment to the cause. Are there any concerns for Penrith or is it just an off night.

- Was Shane Flanagan right to call out Lachie Ilias or was Kyle Flanagan deserving of the firing line? Souths' 1 dilemna as Jye Gray delivers another standout performance.

- Cronulla get it done in a gritty display as further questions mount of the Cowboys and Todd Payten's approach.

- Canberra show their early season muscle - going 2-0 for the second year running with an impressive win over Brisbane. Rhys gives his side a dressing down.

- Forget the first 25 mins of the Eels v Tigers game, but the rest was pure enjoyment. The Tigers turning it on through Rooster reject Terrell May, as we put the blowtorch on Parramatta.

- Bulldogs back at Belmore as we put the Titans on the blastfernace for the way they used their interchange.

- LOLCOW of the Week

AJ and Rhys recap the opening week on Australian soil!

We live react to the Dylan Brown to Newcastle news, we wish we had his manager after earning $1.3 million a year for 10 years as well as the Taylan May return news, we have been consistent in our view on this and the verdict this week hasn't changed.

Also this week:

- Brisbane put on a masterclass in the middle as the Roosters search desperately for answers

- Tigers attack stumbles but there's good returnees on the way as the Knights showed just enough to win

- Dolphins cruel their attacking output as Souths have found their new look halfback.

- Bulldogs and Dragons put on an epic rivalry at Kogarah!

- Manly with their best half of footy in a while as they trounce a disappointing Cowboys side in the first half of the game.

- Melbourne clinical as they show their premiership favouritism against the hapless Eels as we heap praise on the Eels rookies. Jack Howarth looks set for another big year at centre.

We dedicate this episode to the life of Joanna Constable who passed away last week. We extend our love to friend of the show Will Bates, his son Josh and extended family during this traumatic time.

RIP Joanna Constable - 28/04/1972-4/03/2025

AJ and Rhys are back (albeit a little late) to preview the 2025 season. We have some wildly controversial takes and also some normal takes to look ahead to our amazing game returning this season!

A massive thanks to our guest contributors once again this season for joining us and giving their thoughts ahead of the season! It's going to be a year like never before on The League Scene and we hope you can join us for all the action this year.

AJ and Rhys review the NRL's second adventure into Las Vegas.

A crowd improvement of 5,000 has shown that there are green shoots a plenty but there are still many areas of improvement if the game is to grow internationally beyond Australasia and Europe. AJ and Rhys debate whether the Vegas program (should they keep four games) be spread across the Friday and Saturday night OR if they cut games.

On the show

- Canberra's depth put on a show as Jamal Fogarty's kicking game comes up trumps.

- Warriors show the concerns AJ raised in the pre-season. Will they make the changes for R2 and beyond

- Cronulla show their premiership muscle and the key signs of improvement needed to match and better Penrith.

- The continuing emergence of Lindsay Smith.

- The Salford Red Devils Crisis

- The future of Vegas ?

- What NRL coaches have been stitched up deluxe?

AJ and Rhys are back on the eve of Las Vegas to look at the third week of the NRL’s Pre-Season Challenge and how they are tracking on the eve of the NRL season which kicks off in the Sin City. There is so many selection talking points and takeaways from the trials that see each club on the brink.

We also live react to the Raiders Las Vegas bust-up as an inflatable baseball bat sends us into hysterics.

On the show

 - Penrith’s NSW Cup boys go to battle against Manly’s well rounded unit. We look at Trent Toelau and his breakout performance as well as Manly’s performance and those that are pushing for Round 1 selection.

- Terrell May and Jeral Skelton improve the one areaof the Tigers game. Plus we uncover some question marks around the Eels back-row spots and the hooker spot.

- Charity Shield recap - the Dragons showing impressive signs early on! Souths have some question marks around the halves.

- Brisbane show their class to win their second pre-season tournament in a row while the Dogs get out the rust as we prove the impact of Kurt Mann.

- Titans show us that they will be the NRL's equivalent of a Snakes and Ladders boardgame. Dolphins struggle to find their right half as we question where Max Plath's best position is.

- Newcastle's impressive performance as Sharpe and KP's combination becomes the talking point. AJ gives a brutal trial assessment on the Roosters BUT it isn't all doom and gloom!

- We answer our Cowboys questions and analyse how their halves will line up as we answer the question of Tom Duffy v Jake Clifford. We also analyse the Melbourne FB conundrum with the injuries to Papi and Fa'alogo.

AJ Lucantonio is joined for the first time in 2025 by co-host Rhys Sullivan to review the first full round of Pre Season Challenge matches.

On the show

- Stonestreet v Katoa while Raiders have some future dilemmas with the rise of future prodigies.

- Iongi v Papalii gets interesting for the fullback jersey as the Knights halves crisis leaves more questions than answers.

- What did we learn from the Dolphins and Warriors after beating up on their opposition who were playing their first trials.

- Metcalf, Tuaupiki and Leiataua make their mark ahead of Vegas.

- Lewis Dodd's Australian debut, our verdict...

- Brisbane dominate a disappointing Titans side

- Bulldogs and Tigers show their youth of the future will be a goldmine in future years

- What did the new look Dragons REALLY show against the Roosters

- All Stars Review

- LOLCOW of the Week!

AJ and guest host Aidan Edgecomb review the opening week of the NRL's third pre-season challenge.

They look at the Warriors run-on side and the performance of Luke Metcalf as well as Sam Healey's rise to potentially become the 14 for the trip to Vegas. Also the boys praise Demitric Vaimauga's performance off the bench as the Warriors look for impact off the bench. The Sharks discussion focuses on their young guns as well as Tom Hazelton and the wing battle.

The second game was more of a focus on youth as Canberra and Penrith answered little questions about their make up for Vegas. Young gun hooker Owen Pattie showed what he was worth while Chevy Stewart and Albert Hopoate impressed outwide. For Penrith, we debate the halves dilemna if Cleary gets hurt as well as debate Mav Geyer's future.

To wrap up, we address the Broncos win over QLD Cup side Burleigh and debate whether Jock Madden is the next man up in the halves if there is any other problem areas for the Broncos halves in 2025.

After the success of last year's episode, AJ and Rhys are back to analyse each club's train-and-trial prospects and those on supplementary deals (formerly development deals).

We do warn it will be a lengthy episode. To make it easier, here are the best attached timestamps so you can fast-forward to a club of your choice to listen to our assessment on junior talent.

2:39 - Brisbane Broncos

21:28 - Canterbury Bulldogs

35:18 - North Queensland Cowboys

52:59 - Dolphins

1:07:18 - St George-Illawarra Dragons

1:16:43 - Parramatta Eels

1:25:39 - Newcastle Knights

1:33:29 - Penrith Panthers

1:38:14 - South Sydney Rabbitohs

1:46:33 - Canberra Raibers

1:54:26 - Sydney Roosters

2:01:21 - Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

2:09:55 - Cronulla Sharks

2:16:35 - Melbourne Storm

2:22:19 - Gold Coast Titans

2:30:03 - New Zealand Warriors

2:42:04 - Wests Tigers

Also linked into this episode are the show notes, where you can read the same document that we are reading as we go through the mammoth lists!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSvKp6KwLyG2uurQ3lt9zz1t5rtcqoaXpL2LmTjYcdNKeA7eHAzL47tTT4FDaKl1jMGsIQeU0Hm9Xvd/pub

Thanks so much for your support in 2024 and we will see and hear from you again in 2025!

AJ and Rhys

AJ and Rhys return to make their assessment on the recent round of international rugby league.

On the show today

- We assess all the chaos of the NRL off-season!

- We analyse how the Cook Islands and Fiji can improve their rosters ahead of the World Cup qualifiers and World Cup respectively.

- The boys analyse PNG's rise as they assess whether they are ready to be accepted into the NRL

- How can NZ rise to the challenge set by Tonga

- How can Tonga rise to get to the levels of Australia and England

- Has Mal Meninga's gamble of planning Australia's future paid off ahead of an Ashes series on foreign soil

- Could Herbie Farnworth be the Golden Boot pick!