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by The Grapple
Broadcasters, thespians and shameless sports geeks Joel Spreadborough and Johnny Manning take a deep, irreverent tumble into the world of Rugby League, sport, life in general..and god knows what else.
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- 2 weeks ago45 min
Episode 26.26.26 Walker's On, An Origin Story.
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 matchNEXT week… his dreams of completely ruining his teams fortunes comes true.. in a wash of sky blueNorthward… and it's a little blonde haired halfback from IppyThat's right NSW… ANOTHER one., Go FUCK yourselvesBecause Sam hadn't even Walked on to an origin field before the comparisons beganDriving 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 leagueCOULD 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
- May 1, 202656 min
CONFLUENCE OF INTELLECT
The Chiefs have got their guy, what about the bears?In more ways than one, down the barrel Bellyache staresthe NRL reckon. the games are not too fast and injuries are down.. The more Annersley digs, the more he just look likes a clownIt'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.
- Apr 22, 202657 min
26.856798: CHUBBY HEAT
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 thronesGazing afar to a land of mist, shadow, and royal bonesFor it is in England the claim of supremacy shall be stakedA 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.
- Apr 16, 202643 min
Episodio 26: McDuffing The Matrix
The QLD Reds wind back the clockThe 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-
- Apr 10, 202659 min
Episode 26 to the izzle: GRAP AND GO
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.
- Mar 18, 20261h 0m
Episode 26.5 The Cherry Sherry Lomax Effect
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.
- Mar 11, 202658 min
EPISODE 26.4 THE UNDULATING ZEITGEIST
Oh where, oh where could our heroes be?Oh where, oh where could they be?Scanning the fields and domes of sporting prowessAnd 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 ARUIf it stinks and looks like a pile of terd, our heroes will label it poo.To Grapple, is to live.
- Mar 7, 202654 min
Episode 26.3The Symbology of Ultron
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.
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