IT took a phone call from Wayne Bennett to persuade Brent Tate that he had the mental strength to make yet another comeback from knee surgery.

GIVE it to Cooper Cronk now. There is no one better to fill out the Queensland No.7 jumper.

STAR North Queensland signing Robert Lui has suffered a potentially serious knee injury at training this morning.

YOUNG Broncos prop David Hala faces at least six weeks on the sidelines after an Australia Day training mishap.

NORTH Queensland hooker Aaron Payne has been called into the NRL All Stars squad as a replacement for the injured Cameron Smith.

BACK in the familiar surrounds of Townsville, Robert Lui feels he can not only turn around his playing career, but also his life.

PAUL Gallen was the most popular pick, while Wayne Bennett sprung two surprises with his coach's pick in naming the NRL All Stars side. Team

EXTRAORDINARY details surrounding the betting plunge in the Ryan Tandy match fixing scandal have come to light in court today. 

REIGNING premiers Manly face the possibility of being torn apart at the end of this year.

THE good news, for the disappointed and disillusioned, is the NRL will be able to do what the courts couldn't. Ryan Tandy may well be banned for life.

TERRY Campese's hopes of resurrecting his NSW Origin career received a huge boost yesterday when he was named in the emerging Blues squad.

PHIL ROTHFIELD delivers his fearless predictions on what to expect in the 2012 NRL season.

THE NRL is on the back foot after an embarrassing "double booking" with Super Rugby that could badly affect the North Queensland Cowboys.

THE world's best halfback, Johnathan Thurston, may have played his final game in the number seven jumper.

JOHNATHAN Thurston rates captaining the NRL Indigenous All Stars as big an honour as playing for Australia and Origin for Queensland.

DISGRACED NRL forward Ryan Tandy is facing up to two years in jail as rugby league's match-fixing scandal drags on into its third year.

THE toughest decision Terry Matterson had about returning to Australia to coach was pulling his son Charlie out of Man United's development squad.

PLAYER agent Sam Ayoub has had his match-fixing case adjourned until next year.

COWBOYS rookie of the year nominee Tariq Sims is ready to tackle second-year syndrome into touch.

COWBOYS rookie of the year nominee Tariq Sims is ready to tackle second-year syndrome into touch.