Advertise on podcast: The Grapple

Grapple Global returns to Austrayan shores in the aftermath of a perfect sporting weekend, delivered via the nation's oval shaped codes. Perfect why, you asketh? Well, we'll tell'eth. It's not the results, although they are spectacular for Roosters/Knights/Lions/Wallabies fans. It sure aint the gruesomely medievil injury incurred by the NRL's golden boy. And there's no f**king way anything resembling perfection will ever come from the whistle of Wallaby nemesis Andrea Piardi. No friends, it was soul music playing the sounds of sporting wonder. It was a convergence of 3 regular foes across 4 glorious games, crackling with the energy of glory and despair, faster than the biggest coaster at the theme park, and far more entertaining. So pop an ear or two over the latest Grapple'isation of everything right, wrong and mildly inaccurate about the phenomeena that unfolded over the final weekend of September.

Heroes return, technology tests, opinions flow, insight dazzles. The Grapple is back from a short hiatus. All hail our new emperor, PVL Palpatine.

It's a delightful tonic for a wounded state. Going down in a humbling to the Blues in a cauldron decider is heavy hitting for Queenslanders.. so our heroes figured why not cheer them all up by going all in with a heavy hitting Queenslander? Even the Bluest of Blues will get a tickle from the tales spun by the one and only Trevor Gillmeister. Our heroes have done well.

Lewis to Miles, Miles in the clear, TRY time. A version of the above was a very frequently used line in the 80's, as the REAL inventor of the flick pass cemented his legend in one of rugby league's most storied backlines. Gene Miles almost didn't make the journey from Townsville to Brisbane when the BRL came calling. The fact he did was a win for the rest of us. Strap yourself in as our heroes go deep with 'Geno' on his career journey, from the halcyon years of the BRL, to the birth of the Broncos, Kangaroo Tours, and Wally's go-to guy in the legendary Maroons backlines of the concept's golden ago. Part 2 of a 3 part special state of Origin series- DIG IT.

A series won a series lost, A sacred setting, a twisting plotm Maroon and blue, the chase and the hunt. And a whistleblower who apparently doesn't hate a punt Time to grapple with Ashley Kleins tough week, state of origin, and Australia's best ever FIFA World Cup display. Time to work out who wins Origin 2 and why the league press carves out conflict narratives, not unlike villainous media mogul Elliot Carver in the 1997 Brosnan Bond entry Tomorrow Never Dies. 'Tell me James, do you still sleep with a gun under your pillow?' And, for fans of the 90’s spoof classic Hot Shots 2, time to work out why we bought helium.. Instead of air. Life. Grapple. Dig.

'That's not a try, that's a miracle.' An especially special State of Origin adjacent special from our heroes, who go deep with Maroons legend Mark Coyne. From the BRL in the 80's, NSWRL in the 90's, to THAT try, it's a Grapptacular lens into some vintage rugby league folklore. And it's all yours. Tell your mates. Go the Maroons.

And so we arrive at a critical juncture Premiers buckling like a cyclist with a puncture FIFA takes over, Ben Stokes goes on a bender As Aussie crickets crisis reaches a crescend..a Studio transition pains have forced our heroes into a hibernation at an inopportune time of year. Only a marginal amount of time is wasted getting asses back into gears and the Grapplers are back into it, despite dealing with a few ongoing auditory and technical pieces of evil that they can only express widespread listener apologies for.  Origin is well and truly afoot and the teams are dissected with the gentle touch of a year 8 biology student tearing into an unsuspecting mouse corpse. A reverant Mt Rushmore of all time great Origin finishes takes us all down a nostalgic hallway to piece together just why this concept is so bloody enduring. The NRL is broken down into 3 convenient QLD based teams for analysis, while the FIFA world cup is analysed with the analytical depth of a petri dish by by the same year 8 kid who ripped the mouse apart a few sentences ago. Our Grapplers may have lost a bit of touch with the world game since the 2006 world cup but they will join millions of others in firing up for a foreign winner of personal choice, while riding the Socceroos as far as they can manage. And hopefully having more luck in covering it all than Somalian ref Omar Artan had getting into the host country. Elsewhere, cricket is still happening and Australia’s proud history of the odd colored clothing calamity marches on in Dhaka. Amid it all, a pause, a nod, and a sincere hat tip to the Rabbitohs and NRL world for its outpouring and recognition of Jai Arrow’s awful plight. In a season where the fans have been dealing with more emotionally confronting headlines than most. But there is always hope. Because there is always Grapple.

Its that time of year, state vs state, mate vs mate Bill's team looks good, Lozza’s is strong, but who’s will be great? Amongst all this the game is under heavy fire, the best judges have grave fears All we can say at The Grapple.. we’ve been telling you this for years…. A year ago.. this sydney born, bondi raised pom could only dream of being suspended in an origin match NEXT week… his dreams of completely ruining his teams fortunes comes true.. in a wash of sky blue Northward… and it's a little blonde haired halfback from Ippy That's right NSW… ANOTHER one., Go F**K yourselves Because Sam hadn't even Walked on to an origin field before the comparisons began Driving the narrative… the rugby league media.. besotted with the fact a bloke who isn't very tall and has light shaded hair comes from a town with a population of just under 300K… and plays rugby league COULD it be… that this one town… drenched in an obsession with the sport… could produce not one, but 2, little blond haired champion halfbacks in the space of 50 years, whilst the whole state of NSW, all 7 million of you half wits, struggles to produce 1 He’s blonde and he’s shorter than most… but he’s blonde.. and he kinda reminds us of another bloke. Whos name wasn't walker. And don't forget.. Allan Langer also came from Ipswich. We could’ve dragged him home from an English Nursing home to beat you f&cktards..but we don't need to. Because we've got A LITTLE BLONDE HAIRED CHAMPION FROM IPSWICH. Time to grapple with WALKER

The Chiefs have got their guy, what about the bears? In more ways than one, down the barrel Bellyache stares the NRL reckon. the games are not  too fast and injuries are down..  The more Annersley  digs, the more he just look likes a clown It's a time of great expansion and industry. From the wharves of Wollongong to the gold mines of the Papua New Guinean highlands, wealth flows between the hands of the governing noble class. On the Isle of Aus, a pair of sullen heroes brood in typically robust fashion about the man intrigues of the sport known in ancient Latin as 'rugba lego.' They investigate the nuances of contracting and the likelihood of rebellions surviving the forthcoming harsh winter. As silver crosses oceans and boroughs back home cry foul, the kingdom of NRL forges on with its bold charter. The power radiating from the forge of Moore Parkia doth spell short sightedness, and a brewing storm of great strength from the east.  Jurisdiction remains centralised to the capitol, and its shrewd and severe sovereign V'landyssss.For it is sovereign V'landyssss casting greedy eyes on swift battlefield victories, without thinking of the toll on the standing army's of his kingdoms 17 ancient houses. The iron fist remains firmly on the throat of what once was a game, and our heroes are the only ones who can possibly stop it.They just need to find their courage.And some new sponsors.

The dragon lords did gather.. authoritarian their intent  Shitting out excuses.. as out Flanno went   While the kings of men and women bask upon their thrones Gazing afar to a land of mist, shadow, and royal bones For it is in England the claim of supremacy shall be staked A super duper investment.. as the turf underfoot doth quake.. ********************* Tis the winter of sporting discontent, and late is the hour of our grappling this week. A new power is rising.. and it sure as shit isn't coming from head office of St George Illawarra. The dragons bosses have given a blueprint in masterful mismanagement and have got the whole thing all sides of arse up. Flanna-gone smells a bit like a festering Ennis, and the belatedly announced Young replacement has stopped short of an AI generated image of himself as the lord and saviour in his mission to have the fire breathers soaring once more. Where was the NRL on the North Korea style press conference anyway? No one knows. England is in the crosshairs and reasonable efforts to restrict training contact to less than 100 minutes for men and 85 for women are rightly discussed as thresholds unlikely to already be widely met (and news that broke months ago for clubs) - another hat tip on actioning without action on that front. Rugby league and rugby union are enemies according to many ex players and media voices, it's a rhetoric with the same amount of damage potential as the News Corp journos mission to unseat as many coaches as possible as quickly as they can. Lomax is forcing his way into wallaby conversations, but sure guys, let's talk about the insult to both codes that he and fellow code hoppers supposedly represent. And for the love of mercy, wont someone cough up and save Moana? One of our heroes errantly fancies himself as a master tipper, the other confuses Super rugby franchises, but both speak with passion and insight that you're unlikely to have served up at the cheap buffets of mainstream press. So sizzle away grapplers, your fearless weekly smackdown shows no signs of faltering, and the crosshairs will always find their mark. Love. Live. Announce your coach. Grapple.

The QLD Reds wind back the clock The Wahs deliver an ominous shock  Gout and Lachy signal a golden era ahead.. And can Flanno put the doubters to bed? Through the trials, tests and tribulations of life, through, natural disaster, acts of god and existential crisis, our heroes stand tall as bastians of high moral, high class, high culture and a smidge of toilet humour.The questions of who controls the news cycle, who controls the rule and does anyone control a raging bull are raised.Does our most valuable sporting franchise have a thin skin and should they just point to the scoreboard( or trophy) ? Is the best way to get a million dollars, to play like you're worth a million dollars? Crazy thought but maybe Drinky builds a case for it. So many ambushes this year we can rename the NRL Pearl Harbour. Who does a job this week? One thing Rugby League teams have never been short of is access to hookers, but that's exactly where the Broncos find themselves. From an embarrassment of riches in the number 9 to an SOS going out to legendary rakes of years bygone. Will Flanno reignite the Dragons to the glory of yesteryear, will the 2026 Tigers be too good at Campbeltown, will Zac continue to improve in Super Rugby and have our heroes really cracked the code of Existence. We are actually living in a simulation. Ergo, we continue taking the blue pill.....or do we dare with the red one......What would a Grappler do......Like it ..share it ..... subscribe to it...  -WARNING: EPISODE CUT SLIGHTLY SHORT BY TECHNICAL MUMBO JUMBO WELL BEYOND THE FORCE POWERS OF OUR JEDI OPERATIVES-

Our heroes emerge from a two week Easter hiatus like a pair of cracked Easter eggs being devoured by bears with headaches and largely vacant playing rosters; taking derisive aim at everything from tackles to whistles and showing about as much quarter as a late night truth social post. On the brighter side of life, our pair of pythons go full Monty on expansion insight for the NRL, offering more takeaways (Grap and go's) than Southern Florida around how the game probably won't end up being broader than the map in Game of Thrones, and might just be approaching a very steep cliff. Does local infrastructure support another team in SEQ? Do players exist to support 20 teams? The brass are running evasive manoeuvres that might have even saved the Pentagon a few bucks on these queries, as the most devious of coaches slips away from the fire of a thousand Targaryen Dragons in the NRL ranks.  AFL is summarised with far more relish than an overpriced brioche Angus beef burger on game day at the Gabba, as the lions gather in a less and less interested Adelaide and the suns look to prove their genuine mettle in the shadows of a terrifying Swan. Rugbys vague wording around the Giteau law makes a shadowy appearance, as does a wistful back and forth over the games Mount Rushmore across eras, which leads to another history channel style segment of the same name in rugby league. If fox sports could get into its program in less than 3 minutes we'd all be happier, and it might also be a tidy earner for Matt Nable to begin voicing intro sequences to HBO programs, as he adds a bit of Donkey energy to the expression 'overly long package.' While we're at it, have a think about the sporting events you'd go to over any other, and we might even see you there. It'll be far more positive, we assure you. Welcome back heroes. Eat, pray, grapple.

Star players dropping like flies, why would you be a coach?PVL reckons its all on the players, now the refs seem beyond reproach? The Queensland Teams are challenged to show some starch…For two of their coaches we say “ beware the ides of March”..... Et Tu Brute? Well No Jules, not really....and don't call us brutes. Far from being brutes, our heroes this week show the slightest whiff of culture that isn't derived from The Simpsons, South Park, Marvel or Star Wars. Shakespeare in fact is the source of musing this week as the vultures circle the not yet deceased carcasses of several NRL coaches. But are they really in trouble? Or are their names simply being tossed up as conversation filler on punditry shows, led by materially compromised panellists, in need of slapping’s of putty to cram between ads and prolonged narrated montages? Only time will tell but no death riding from the two pillars of integrity this week.    In a turn up for the books, the show is led out of the barriers by Rugby and the absolute spectacle that is the 6 Nations. The seemingly long bow, bereft of any glimpses in the mirror, drawn by a former All Black great, and the enduring charge of Le Bleu.   The Rise of The Tillies runs a close second and arguments abound as accusations are cast like Redford in A River Runs through it  and rebutted  like a Rafa base line forehand at Roland Garros.    Then the nitty gritty gets worked over like all the great franchises with sequels-   Xerri v Gus I,  Gordy v Reyno III, Gordy v Madge VII, Gordy v Broncos XXVI, Grapple v PVL CVII, and Grapple v the Refs MMCLXXXV.   When the 15th of March rolls around each year the 14th says "Beware the ides of The Grapple" Sage advice 14.

Oh where, oh where could our heroes be? Oh where, oh where could they be? Scanning the fields and domes of sporting prowess And sharing all that they see. From Broncos besieged and coaches at ends to justify their means, To grand designs and hastily issued fines, and a very rugby league looking Wallabies. Oh where, you ask, could they turn their eyes, to view the truth of the world? Channel 7 perhaps, for a current affairs style take, or Fox, for a bucket of hurl. A national side bemoaning a draw as though a 10 nil defeat, and a promise of riches for all in the stands, but noone watching TV. From Vegas to Leicnhardt, Lang Park to Bathurst, and the HQ of the ARU If it stinks and looks like a pile of terd, our heroes will label it poo. To Grapple, is to live.

The changing of seasons is not lost on our courageous heroes this week. As the spark of summer subsides, and the leaves begin to brown on the autumn trees, the often common bedfellows of Rugby League and Poetry  assume their natural and more favoured positions of front and centre in the cultural zeitgeist. Both lionhearted champions wax hysterical on the court cases of Lomax. He really should have had Ivan represent him.  Ryan Matterson seemingly had Ultron, The Entity and Hal 9000 pushing his wears to a southern counterpart, all unbeknownst to him. And just like Ethan Hunt he managed to put the back inot the submarine and tell the AI Bots a few words about sex and travel.  Discussed the knocking of centuries off many less balls, both on the sub continent and in Albion, the knocking of a certain coach who only 5 months ago broke a two decade premiership drought, the knocking out of a Melbourne front rower and the subsequent ban, the knocking of Bellamy putting Sua to fullback and the subsequent apology and retraction, the knocking of the vegas on field performance but the praising of all things off the field (aside from the final resting place of the games on Fox 2 in the USA Or was it Fox 8?), the knocking of the choice of apparel in the new Channel 7 Footy Show promo photos (and the duds wearing the apparel too) and the knocking of Australia's second best ever leggie. Get a grip Stu. Joel tells Johnny he's gone too far and threatens to jump across the Mic, but that part was unfortunately lost to the cutting room floor. All Grappling is done under the strict supervision of a Welsh wrestling coach.  Life is enough of a Grapple these days.