Roy Masters
Roy Masters is a Rugby League Columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald
Packer holds winning hand
Roy Masters THE biggest winner from this week's $1.025 billion rugby league broadcasting deal was casino tycoon James Packer.
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.
Maroons are masters of subterfuge and dirty deeds come Origin time
Roy Masters NEVER trust a Queenslander at Origin time, even the ballboys.
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.
Roy Masters
Fine line between danger and putting head on the block
Roy Masters When Tom Raudonikis coached Wests in the mid-1990s, he discovered a novel way of motivating his team.
The brain game provides one of many challenges for today's coaches
Roy Masters A neurologist friend tells me there is a part of the brain that actually grows in adulthood.
Loyal servant's departure won't be lamented by all
Roy Masters Less than a week ago, a TV network boss asked me bluntly: ''Who runs rugby league?'' He was seeking answers to the powerbrokers with whom he should negotiate the upcoming broadcast rights.
Out of favour, out of friends
Roy Masters God so loved the world, he didn't send a committee. He sent himself.
Now Stuart must move heaven and earth to make Blue moon rise over Suncorp
Roy Masters The Blues were over the moon after their victory in the Sydney State of Origin match, but coach Ricky Stuart must ensure such euphoria is not blue-moon rare.
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.
Roy Masters
Fox, Nine could be outfoxed on TV rights
Roy Masters A SHORT-TERM deal between rugby league and its broadcasters looms as a distinct possibility following News Ltd's acquisitions.
Roy Masters
How many careers ended because of a ref's wrong ruling?
Roy Masters Watching football these days fills me full of memories. It makes me reflect on the number of legitimate tries in the past that were disallowed and the ones that were awarded, despite them being...
Decision renders TV deals worthless
Roy Masters In the long-running football broadcasting rights opera, the fat lady has merely cleared her throat.
Roy Masters
Arts about face: heading to Hobart while AFL looks the other way
Roy Masters You know the world of rugby league has changed irreversibly when 10 players visit a museum the day before a game and complain the art is offensive, even pornographic.
The more things change, the less they stay the same in three decades
Roy Masters David Gallop has held the NRL's top job for a decade but there has been a revolving door in clubland, with a record number of club chief executives and coaches exiting in the past two years.
Roy Masters
Fox pundits' ignorance just isn't bliss for code's tragics
Roy Masters NO NRL season has ever opened with as much will to win from the players and coaches as we witnessed in round one.
Roy Masters
Super Sunday the wild card in TV rights push
Roy Masters 'SUPER Sunday'' could become a reality in rugby league's next broadcasting contract, with four games across three time zones in two countries over a six-hour period.
Roy Masters
Greek bean counters could learn a thing or two from leaguenomics
Roy Masters The wily Wall Street bankers and inventive Greek politicians who flouted the laws of economics would be confounded by the rugby league price mechanism.
Ad nauseam: NRL, with an eye on the clock, looks at commercial potential
Roy Masters Rugby league fans will soon be sitting on the horns of a TV dilemma: if they want to see their stars in action, they must watch more commercials during games.
