Roy Masters
Roy Masters is a Rugby League Columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald
Roy Masters
Higher plane: Immortal status beckons for Billy Slater, NRL's Mr Natural on and off the field
Roy Masters Billy Slater has moved up a couple of floors in the department store of rugby league history, past the Unforgettables and on to the Unsurpassables.
League
Too many players cashing cheques their abilities can't match
Roy Masters There are too many footballers playing NRL each week not up to standard and too many receiving money their experience or talents don't justify.
League
Daylight separates quick and dead slow
Roy Masters With the top four NRL teams threatening to break away, the challenge is to bring them back to the pack.
Roy Masters
Short-term goals win out for Bellamy, Storm
Roy Masters Craig Bellamy has opted for immediate short-term team success in Melbourne over guaranteed long-term personal security and stability with St George Illawarra.
Roy Masters
A bittersweet victory for the players' coach
Roy Masters Twice in the jubilant Storm dressing room, the coach Craig Bellamy confessed to a strange emptiness.
Tried and proven tactics put a strangle hold on the chain-passing revolution
Roy Masters GIVEN the time-honoured tendency for NRL teams to follow the tactical lead of the premiers, a Canterbury victory in last Sunday's grand final could have led to a sea change in the way the game is...
Not one or two? Your chances are limited
Roy Masters Finishing first or second on the premiership ladder is a colossal advantage under the new finals system.
Getting a tough break in age-old code debate
Roy Masters 'I THINK we've got the crowd,'' former federal treasurer Peter Costello said before the annual AFL finals debate yesterday morning at the MCG.
Roy Masters
Old tensions surface in great debate over Immortal eight
Roy Masters An historic meeting in Sydney on Wednesday of some of the game's top powerbrokers will decide rugby league's eighth Immortal.
Rugby League
Magical Slater in league of his own
Roy Masters Billy Slater moves up a couple of floors in the department store of rugby league history, past Unforgettables and on to Unsurpassables.
Fullbacks on the rise in the modern-day pecking order
Roy Masters Magpies greats, such as Noel Kelly and Tom Raudonikis, will gather at the SCG today for the foundation club's annual reunion, before shuffling across to Allianz Stadium on arthritic knees to watch...
It's tough to wrestle with stats: NRL's top teams have balance just right
Roy Masters Super coach Wayne Bennett is in unfamiliar territory with the Knights, the legendary premiership winner having one of his worst starts to a season in his 26 years in the top grade.
Roy Masters
The best Origin players are not always superstars
Roy Masters NSW coach Ricky Stuart has a ''blueprint'' for success, a master plan to reverse six years of State of Origin domination by Queensland. It defines the qualities he seeks in an Origin player.
Dark forces at work if Blues can break the spell
Roy Masters You need a witch's cauldron and a clove of garlic to understand state of origin.
Hayne looms as magic potion in NSW's witching hours of power
Roy Masters You need a witch's cauldron and a clove of garlic to understand State of Origin, particularly games played in Melbourne.
Chin up, Blues, you've got these guys covered
Roy Masters The Blues camp was incensed by a remark from Maroons forward Sam Thaiday when asked what was Queensland's biggest danger in the lead-up to Origin I.
