The Grapple

The Grapple

Welcome to The Grapple! Broadcasters, thespians and shameless sports geeks Joel Spreadborough and Johnny Manning take a deep, irreverent tumble into the world of Rugby League, sport, life in general..and god knows what else.

  1. 23 UUR GELEDEN

    Episode 26.5 The Cherry Sherry Lomax Effect

    Star players dropping like flies, why would you be a coach?PVL reckons its all on the players, now the refs seem beyond reproach? The Queensland Teams are challenged to show some starch…For two of their coaches we say “ beware the ides of March”..... Et Tu Brute? Well No Jules, not really....and don't call us brutes. Far from being brutes, our heroes this week show the slightest whiff of culture that isn't derived from The Simpsons, South Park, Marvel or Star Wars. Shakespeare in fact is the source of musing this week as the vultures circle the not yet deceased carcasses of several NRL coaches. But are they really in trouble? Or are their names simply being tossed up as conversation filler on punditry shows, led by materially compromised panellists, in need of slapping’s of putty to cram between ads and prolonged narrated montages? Only time will tell but no death riding from the two pillars of integrity this week.    In a turn up for the books, the show is led out of the barriers by Rugby and the absolute spectacle that is the 6 Nations. The seemingly long bow, bereft of any glimpses in the mirror, drawn by a former All Black great, and the enduring charge of Le Bleu.   The Rise of The Tillies runs a close second and arguments abound as accusations are cast like Redford in A River Runs through it  and rebutted  like a Rafa base line forehand at Roland Garros.    Then the nitty gritty gets worked over like all the great franchises with sequels-   Xerri v Gus I,  Gordy v Reyno III, Gordy v Madge VII, Gordy v Broncos XXVI, Grapple v PVL CVII, and Grapple v the Refs MMCLXXXV.   When the 15th of March rolls around each year the 14th says "Beware the ides of The Grapple" Sage advice 14.

    1 u
  2. 7 MRT

    Episode 26.3The Symbology of Ultron

    The changing of seasons is not lost on our courageous heroes this week. As the spark of summer subsides, and the leaves begin to brown on the autumn trees, the often common bedfellows of Rugby League and Poetry  assume their natural and more favoured positions of front and centre in the cultural zeitgeist. Both lionhearted champions wax hysterical on the court cases of Lomax. He really should have had Ivan represent him.  Ryan Matterson seemingly had Ultron, The Entity and Hal 9000 pushing his wears to a southern counterpart, all unbeknownst to him. And just like Ethan Hunt he managed to put the back inot the submarine and tell the AI Bots a few words about sex and travel.  Discussed the knocking of centuries off many less balls, both on the sub continent and in Albion, the knocking of a certain coach who only 5 months ago broke a two decade premiership drought, the knocking out of a Melbourne front rower and the subsequent ban, the knocking of Bellamy putting Sua to fullback and the subsequent apology and retraction, the knocking of the vegas on field performance but the praising of all things off the field (aside from the final resting place of the games on Fox 2 in the USA Or was it Fox 8?), the knocking of the choice of apparel in the new Channel 7 Footy Show promo photos (and the duds wearing the apparel too) and the knocking of Australia's second best ever leggie. Get a grip Stu. Joel tells Johnny he's gone too far and threatens to jump across the Mic, but that part was unfortunately lost to the cutting room floor. All Grappling is done under the strict supervision of a Welsh wrestling coach.  Life is enough of a Grapple these days.

    55 min
  3. 18 FEB

    Episode 2/6 + 1.0 : ANONYMOUS HEROES

    As a new season sets in and the NRL sets its sights on a possible Friday night footy adventure into Sarajevo or Constantinople, our heroes emerge from the gloom with a belated but brazen return to the microphone for 2026. An off season deemed not really worth coming back early for is swiped left quicker than an undesired Tinder approach, and the introspection sorely missing from the current sporting agenda is bombarded with the podcast equivalent of a barrage of unsolicited d**kpics. Our heroes have 3 main issues on their mind around the Why Brisbane Broncos: why have they always been fibbing about Payne Haas and coach Michael Maguire's friendship, why Brisbane media scribes are fibbing about his apparently stated desired longevity at the club, and- to quote the 90's cult classic Hot Shots2- why did we bring helium instead of air? Moving the crosshairs onto NRL Hq, John Mannings attempt at an measured and un emotionally impacted take on State of Origin eligibility changes holds about as much credibility as Australia's T20 cricket squad, who don't escape a spray for combined ineptitude and failure to capitalise on its enormous talent pool. But, aka Mark Waugh, it's easy to throw stones at the setup when you're not a selector anymore. BY THE WAY ORIGIN, why don't you just say you want to see Kiwis and Tongans spending hard earned on $160 synthetic blue and maroon jerseys and talk less about your version of the games fabric?  Shitty newscorp headlines claiming non existent beefs are cross examined with prejudice, as is the ABC Sport claim that Australia is the moguls capital of the world. In short- both are BS. But how good is winter sport when all of our would be cereal box heroes have their faces mostly covered by ski masks? 'Look honey, it's Jakarta Anthony.. oh wait no, shit, this is a home invasion!' Six nations rugby adulation rounds out a romp worthy of several replays, with a sprinkle of some classic stories from our heroes alter ego existences as prolific (but never spared from the wrath of a withering director) actors. These idiots are just getting started baby.  2026, the year of the Grapple. Look it up.

    58 min

Info

Welcome to The Grapple! Broadcasters, thespians and shameless sports geeks Joel Spreadborough and Johnny Manning take a deep, irreverent tumble into the world of Rugby League, sport, life in general..and god knows what else.

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