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Before heading into the world of week-to-week NRL, here\u2019s notification to all and sundry of the upcoming annual Tom Brock Lecture<\/a>. Now in its 26th edition, this highlight of the rugby league calendar will be held at the Petersham RSL from 6.30pm on Monday, September 1st. This year\u2019s lecturer is Patrick Skene, a sometimes Almanacker, who will speak on \u2018Stories of PNG Rugby League\u2019. A knowledgeable and insightful observer, and generous supporter of ethnic, Indigenous and Pacifika rugby league, Patrick is a plain speaking commentator who thinks outside the square to proffer and advance new approaches to the growth of the code. I\u2019ve heard Patrick speak in another forum and guests will be treated to a thoughtful and provocative presentation. I\u2019m looking forward to attending. Read more about this event here.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n NRL<\/p>\n The two biggest stories in the NRL this week feature the best and awfullest (yes, that is a word!) of the game. The best, but also the saddest, is anything about the late, great Sam Backo who passed away at the weekend. Sam embodied all that is good about the game \u2013 a big bloke with a big motor who made the best of his abilities, didn\u2019t take himself too seriously, gave his all, won friends and respect far and wide, and then went on to a life after footy that was all about community service. The breadth and depth of tributes that have flowed this week bear out the claim that Sam was one of the greats, in every best sense of the word. Read our Almanac tribute here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The other end of the spectrum revolves around the trainer who ran across the path of a player lining up a conversion kick. In this case it was to do with Penrith but it seems to me to be a part of the wider issue of the use and misuse of runners\/trainers\/non-medical staff who are on the field far too much, and all too often for apparently spurious reasons. All clubs do it in one way or another. And don\u2019t come the \u2018player safety\u2019 angle with me. We all know it\u2019s really about attempts to gain any advantage possible. It\u2019s a blight on the game. Get \u2019em off! And rather than wet lettuce slaps like a trainer being banned for \u2018x\u2019 number of weeks and the club fined some inconsequential figure, dock them premiership points! That will make an instant impact. As for Penrith, reports of player reactions post-game do little to support claims that it was all an innocent mistake. It can be argued that they have form \u2013 remember that final a few years ago when an opponent\u2019s strong attacking position at a critical juncture in the game was stopped stone cold by a trainer claiming a major issue in back play? Suss.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in\u00a0Round 22, the Eels almost disrupted the Storm but class won out over bustle, but Ryles is making real progress with a modest herd of cattle. The Dolphins showed true grit to overcome injury, a sin bin and a vocal home crowd to score at the death and snatch a deserved win over the Warriors. Are the Wahs on a slide? The Broncos beat Souths\u2019 \u2018Neville Nobodies\u2019 Thirds, so don\u2019t read too much into it. The Titans were desperately unlucky not to hold out the Panthers but the basics say that you can\u2019t give the opposition 24 points start and hope to win. The Dragons played spoiler to snuff out the Raiders but a loss by Canberra now is better than at the end of the month. The Sea Eagles are definitely gone, if they weren\u2019t already, while the Roosters live to crow another day. Wests Tigers get the biggest pat on the back of the round for their gutsy display against the Bulldogs who do seem a bit off the boil, as I suggested last week. By contrast, the Sharks seem to be getting back to their best with a clinical win over the Cowboys.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Round 23 features three critical games, the first of them tonight when the Storm host the Broncos in Melbourne. The Storm miss Hughes but I thought Pezet looked good when he finally got a late run last week with the game still on the line. Wishart is no slouch but Pezet in a real No 7, so give him a start, Bellyache! Let\u2019s see what the Broncos are really made of up against real opposition. I expect Melbourne to come away winners due to a better spread of overall talent.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s twilight game has the Knights up against the Panthers (who will have a new trainer on the field this week). Newcastle at their best can be competitive but their best is intermittent while the Panthers are pretty much on the ball all the time. It will be\u00a0Penrith for me. The late game is the Raiders v the Sea Eagles, both last time losers. \u2018Sticky\u2019 will have been into his charges for a poor effort last week and, as well, has the memory of Sam Backo to put in front of his players this week. Manly are trying hard but are short on troops, especially up front where the age and (limited) mobility of their bigger boppers is showing. I can\u2019t see any result other than a Canberra win.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Saturday afternoon footy kicks off with the Dragons hosting the Sharks in the local derby. Can the Dragons pull off another upset? They\u2019re certainly a niggling side to deal with at this stage of the season. But, as I said above, the Sharks are running into form at the right time and should have the firepower to snuff out the Dragons. The second critical game of the round comes along at twilight time when the Dolphins are at Suncorp to face the Roosters. Regardless of the result, the Dolphins will still sit 8th, ahead of the Roosters. But if the bayside boys win, they put a two game buffer between themselves and the beach boys. Conversely, if the Roosters win, they\u2019re out of the 8 on for and against only. Talk about incentive for all involved. The Dolphins showed great courage last week but the absence of Herbie will hurt; we know the Roosters just will not surrender their September hopes, so expect this to be a beauty. My heart says Dolphins but my head says the experience of the Roosters\u00a0will prevail. The late game is the third critical match-up of the weekend \u2013 the Bulldogs v the Wahs. Both have been below par of late, both have top 4 aspirations, a scenario more likely for the Doggies at this stage. Another Warriors loss and a Panthers win will see them swap 4th and 5th places. Come on, Wahs, show us some of that early season form! In the end, I think it will be the Bulldogs\u00a0who salute after 80 minutes. Expect some heavy hitting in this one!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Come Sunday and the Titans, who could be anything but are all too often not enough, play host to the Rabbitohs who can\u2019t wait for the season to finish. Anything could happen in this one, so any tip has a +\/- factor of about 20 points. Coin toss required \u2013 Souths. (!) To complete the round, the improving Eels take on the enigmatic Cowboys. The Eels have developed a tougher edge under Ryles but still have to find more scoring avenues but you can almost see a greater sense of self-belief among the players. The Cowboys are not playing as a team and, like Souths, will welcome the end of the season in a month\u2019s time. Put your hard-earned on the Eels.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0Wests Tigers have the bye.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n NRLW<\/p>\n To say that Round 5 was played in unfavourable conditions in Newcastle is to understate the situation by a long way. In spite of the atrocious conditions, the NRLW players deserve rich plaudits for managing to get all of their games completed and at a standard well above what might have been expected given the circumstances. The Roosters, Broncos and Knights came away with their standings on the ladder reinforced while the rest are still hunting the other finals spots.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In this weekend\u2019s\u00a0Round 6, Saturday\u2019s triple header begins with a season-defining clash between the Dragons and the Sharks. Equal on points and with a very similar for and against record, a loss to either side will, to all intents and purposes, see them slip out of finals contention. So there\u2019s a lot to play for. When I\u2019ve seen the Dragons play, I\u2019ve thought that they look sharp, pacy and with real scoring potential. I can\u2019t say the same about the Sharks and yet they have a certain presence that suggests that they have the potential to go further. I\u2019ll go with my gut and tip the Sharks. In the second match, the Knights appear to have far too much strength across the park to be troubled by the winless Wests Tigers. I can\u2019t see it going any other way, so put this one down to the\u00a0Knights. In the last game, the Warriors have to win to stay in the running for the finals, it\u2019s as simple as that. The Bulldogs want to win to stay in touch but have a little more leeway if things don\u2019t pan out as they hope. I\u2019ll go with the Doggies.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s first game has the Titans up against the Roosters, 7th versus 1st. The Titans are on the edge of the finals group while the Roosters are the unbackable competition favourites. And therein lies the tale. Roosters \u2013 by how far? The Raiders take on the Broncos in Canberra, 2nd v 12th, and, again, this one looks like a no brainer. Get on the Broncos. The Eels v Cowboys in the final game is the match of the round. Finals safety is the prize for winning this one while the loser will be on a knife edge in the weeks ahead. The Cowboys play an exciting style while the Eels are solid across the park. Should be a beauty! I\u2019ll favour the\u00a0Eels because I\u2019m not sure how well the Cowboys travel.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n INTERNATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE<\/p>\n The Pacific Championships will follow the NRL season with matches from 18th October through to the final in Sydney on November 9. All Pacific nations, with the exception of Australia in the men\u2019s competition, will be involved this year after Samoa missed last year\u2019s tournament due to its series against England. To make sure you can get all the dates into your diaries now, here are the full draws for the tournament.<\/p>\n See the men\u2019s draw here.<\/a><\/p>\n See the women\u2019s draw here.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And just in case you haven\u2019t written down the Ashes dates, here are the details:<\/p>\n England v Kangaroos<\/p>\n First Test \u2013 Saturday 25 October, Wembley Stadium, London All matches will kick off at 2:30pm local time (1:30am Sunday AEDT).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n To read our library of rugby league stories click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n To return to our Footy Almanac home page click HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n To see the full 2025 season draw for the NRL click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n To see the full 2025 season draw for the NRLW click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n To see the details for State of Origin in 2025 click HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?<\/p>\n And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help things keep ticking over please consider making your own contribution.<\/p>\n Become an Almanac (annual) member \u2013 CLICK HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Second Test \u2013 Saturday 1 November, Everton Stadium, Liverpool
Third Test \u2013 Saturday 8 November, Headingley Stadium, Leeds<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/almanac-1.jpg\")
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