Series
Masters and commanders
Roy Masters interviews the NRL coaches and discovers what drives them and how they approach the modern game.
- Masters and Commanders
- Ricky Stuart
To be a resident of Rickyland you need to pick and stick
The Canberra coach admits to being volatile – “but it’s a volatile game”.
- Roy Masters
- Masters and Commanders
- For subscribers
Jason Ryles is swimming with Eels … and piranhas
Jason Ryles was the most wanted coach after his apprenticeship with Craig Bellamy – but can he bring a premiership to a team that hasn’t won a title in 39 years?
- Roy Masters
Buddha in the box: Why Ivan Cleary is the Zen master
Having won the past four premierships in a row, the Panthers again began the season as title favourites. But a diabolical start has put the pressure on Ivan Cleary - not that you’d know by watching him during a game.
- Roy Masters
- Masters and Commanders
Anthony Seibold knows that love is a battlefield with rugby league
Success with South Sydney, quitting in Brisbane and now dealing with the DCE fall-out. The Sea Eagles coach has experienced all the highs and lows the game has to offer.
- Roy Masters
- Masters and commanders
The one truth Craig Fitzgibbon’s father taught him about rugby league
His father was a famous player and coach, but the Sharks mentor has run his own race in the game.
- Roy Masters
- Masters and Commanders
Payten’s place: The winding path to success of straight-man Todd
As a premiership-winning player, Todd Payten played an uncomplicated game. And he leans on simplicity and honesty in his coaching career, too.
- Roy Masters
- Masters and Commanders
Eleven straight premierships is Shane Flanagan’s cross to bear
In the first of an occasional series, Roy Masters will go head-to-head with the NRL coaches. Today Shane Flanagan discusses the weight of expectations on being the coach of the Dragons and what he aims to achieve in 2025.
- Roy Masters
Other series
Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2026
This year’s laugh fest has kicked off, with more than 2000 performers stepping up to the mic. Here, our writers take a closer look
- 9 stories
Hate of origin: Inside football’s most intense rivalry
Essendon and Hawthorn have hated each other for more than 40 years, from some old-fashioned thuggery and a fake drug scandal in the mid-80s to last year’s failed bid by the Hawks to poach the Bombers’ captain.
- 5 stories