TO: NZRL Staff, Districts and Affiliates and Board

FROM: Peter Cordtz

DATE: 30 November 2009

RE: Media Summary Tuesday 17 November to Monday 30 November

Roosters find new ‘home’ in Garden City: will make a long-awaited return to Christchurch's AMI Stadium next year with Roosters CEO Steve Noyce yesterday confirming his side will play a "home" game against the Warriors on this side of the Tasman in 2010…

League taking fans seriously: Don't scoff but there actually may be a sports organisation prepared to put the interests of its fans ahead of the TV executives - even if it costs up to $50 million…

Graham’s right Man-ly for the job: Former Kiwis coach is confident he's the right man to quell the internal bickering that has rocked the Manly Sea Eagles off the field for the last year…

Wiki set for Warriors role: – one of 's favourite sons – is set for a return to the sport with the Warriors expected to announce his appointment to a high performance role within weeks…

League: Toopi targets Titans deal: is leaving rugby to join NRL club the for pre-season training on January 4, with a season-long contract in prospect…

Ali Lauiti’iti’s UK open sesame: Ali Lauiti'iti's bedside reading is heavy stuff: Life in the UK: A Journey to Citizenship, an appallingly written (or so those who have survived reading it say) official publication covering British history, society, law and politics. But it's compulsory for anyone wanting permanent residency in the UK...

TV money puts brakes on expansion: While rival codes are trumpeting expansion announcements, the NRL has put any plans to introduce teams in new areas on hold after being advised it was unlikely to receive an increase in television revenue…

Gallop denies Sydney Four Nations snub: NRL boss says the decision to schedule just one rugby league Test in Sydney next year is not a snub to NSW fans…

Kangaroo colleagues call on Lockyer to stay in test side: Several of 's triumphant Four Nations league stars have called for Kangaroos captain to extend his glittering international career beyond last weekend's success in England…

Sheens: Kiwis keep bragging rights, technically: So, are the Kangaroos once more the best team in the world after winning the Four Nations tournament?...

No free rides for family or friends, says NRL: The cost of flying Parramatta prop 's nine-year-old son, Sani, from New Zealand to watch his dad play as a surprise - organised and paid for by the - will be included under the club's salary …

Sheens dubs his Kangaroos ‘the Implacables’: Page 13 of a French newspaper holds the key to the identity of Australia's Four Nations-winning Kangaroos…

Roosters find new ‘home’ in Garden City (Aaron Lawton, Sunday News 29 November)

Rugby league will make a long-awaited return to Christchurch's AMI Stadium next year with CEO Steve Noyce yesterday confirming his side will play a "home" game against the Warriors on this side of the Tasman in 2010.

The star-studded Roosters side will lock horns with the Warriors in the final weekend of June.

The round 16 clash will be the first time a regular season NRL match has taken place outside since the Tigers were beaten 26-10 at the Christchurch venue by the Warriors in 2006.

Ironically, the Tigers' CEO at the time was Noyce, who is now in charge of the Roosters.

"We're very excited. In round 16 we will be playing the Warriors at AMI Stadium in Christchurch," Noyce told Sunday News.

"I had the pleasure, when I was at , to play games at what was then called Jade Stadium.

"I have fond memories, which I relay to many people, about the wonderful hospitality of the people in Christchurch.

"They really embraced having rugby league coming to their town and this is just another opportunity for the Roosters.

"We have three of the boys who were in the New Zealand squad for the recent Four Nations at our club in Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, and Frank-Paul Nuuausala.

"We've got a good Kiwi connection here."

AMI Stadium officials were reluctant to comment but confirmed plans were afoot to bring rugby league back to the Garden City.

"We are motivated to bring rugby league to Christchurch and we have had discussions with the NRL and with a number of clubs in Australia about bringing their home games against the Warriors to AMI Stadium," said Vbase – the company that runs the venue – general manager, business development Alan Garner.

"I can say we have been having very productive discussions and we hope to be able to deliver for NRL fans here in Christchurch by bringing the NRL product here to them."

Noyce said it was a logical choice for Sydney-based NRL clubs to look to play their home games outside Sydney.

"If you have the opportunity to grow and expand your brand, well, you are always looking for those," Noyce said.

"I think this is going to be a win-win for the people of Christchurch, AMI Stadium and the Sydney Roosters.

"We're all certainly trying to look outside the square now but whether that means other clubs will look to play `home' games in New Zealand, that I don't know.

"I can only talk about our club.

"But I think there is an appetite at all clubs to grow and enhance their brands."

Between 2001 and 2004, the Bulldogs played four "home" games at Wellington's Westpac Stadium while the Parramatta Eels played two matches at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton in 2005 and 2006.

League taking fans seriously (Peter Williams, Herald on Sunday – 29 November)

Don't scoff but there actually may be a sports organisation prepared to put the interests of its fans ahead of the TV executives - even if it costs up to $50 million.

Currently the NRL, under the terms of a A$600 million contract that lasts until the end of the 2012 season, publishes its week-by-week draw before the season starts. But the TV networks decide what time and day during the four day cycle - Friday night to Monday night - each match will be played.

The in-form teams and the clashes with the most public interest are snapped up by Channel Nine for prime time free-to-air broadcasts. The rest get relegated to Fox.

But NRL chief executive David Gallop told this week's club members' forum that the league wants the uncertainty about when a team's playing during any particular weekend to end. So come 2013, the full schedule of who's playing who, where, on what day and at what time, should be set in stone before the season starts.

He knows the idea won't appeal to the TV schedulers. They couldn't put a juicy mid-season top-of-the-table clash on Friday night's prime time schedule unless it had previously been listed there.

Gallop realises rugby league fans, especially those in Sydney, are tribal and like to make plans in advance to watch their team live.

You'd think the idea will help the Warriors' crowds too, especially with out of town fans who could plan well in advance what weekends they'll come to the big smoke.

Gallop says the advantages of a fixed schedule for fans and clubs outweigh the probable loss of TV rights money.

He says the ability of clubs to plan well in advance on matters like local promotion of a match and staffing at the ground are deemed more important.

If the money is as much as $50 million, then Gallop admits he has a commercial decision to make, but he's confident that, with the solid backing the NRL has in and , the loss of income won't be that much.

The NRL boss is also showing commendable restraint by cutting his cloth in terms of the number of teams in the league. The current number of 16 won't be reviewed for at least two years.

Gallop's thinking is sound. He reckons the best product the NRL can provide is one where the playing talent is not spread too thinly, where most matches each week are genuinely competitive and where, because of the influence of the , every team can start a season with real hopes of winning the .

All this may not go down well with the prima donnas of the game who reckon they should be paid a whole lot more but, as we've quickly found out, the NRL is very capable of surviving without Sonny Bill and Silly Willie.

The NRL learned back in the 1990s what a mess can be caused by ambitious expansion. Remember the Western Reds and the South Queensland Crushers? South Sydney made it into the 16 only after concerted lobbying. Now there's a sound look and feel about the current set-up.

In comparison to what's happening in other football codes, the NRL is adopting a conservative and responsible attitude to its core supporters. It has a straightforward, easy to understand, and successful product, on and off the field. Come September, it actually leaves you wanting more. Perhaps other codes will learn these lessons one day.

Graham’s right Man-ly for the job (Aaron Lawton, Sunday News 29 November)

Former Kiwis coach Graham Lowe is confident he's the right man to quell the internal bickering that has rocked the Manly Sea Eagles off the field for the last year.

On Thursday night, Lowe – one of rugby league's most colourful and well-known figures – was appointed as the club's new CEO on a one-year package thought to be worth over $250,000.

It's understood his contract comes with a two-year option.

Lowe, 63, won the race to be CEO after gathering the support of the two warring factions – the club's co-owners Max Delmege and Scott Penn – within the Sea Eagles.

It has been widely reported across the ditch that Delmege and Penn have a strained relationship at best but they appear to have agreed on the appointment of Lowe.

The ongoing off-field disputes led former CEO Grant Mayer to resign from his position this year but Lowe is confident he has all the right credentials to get the high-flying Sydney club back on an even keel at board level.

"I had no concerns about that (the boardroom issues) at all," Lowe told Sunday News.

"I've met with all the stakeholders and I'm very comfortable.

"I get on well with everyone at the club and I don't see any issues there at all.

"I respect where they are all coming from and not everybody has to be in love with one another to run a football club.

"Everybody just has to want the same thing. I'm quite comfortable with it all."

Lowe baulks at suggestions he will be the "peacemaker" the Sea Eagles so desperately need.

But he is confident the days of the club being in the headlines for the wrong reasons are over.

"I don't necessarily see myself as a peacemaker but I think certainly good communication is an absolute necessity for what I'm walking into," he said. "I won't be taking one side or another. They are employing Graham Lowe and that's what they are going to get."

Lowe, who coached the Sea Eagles between 1990 and 1992 and was a part-owner of the Warriors almost a decade ago, said earlier this year he would never have thought he'd be involved in the NRL again.

"I started off this year coaching the under-six Barracudas and I've ended up being named the CEO of Manly," he said.

"It's just fantastic. I will be there as long as they (the board) want me.

"That's probably the easiest way of putting it."

Wiki set for Warriors role (Aaron Lawton & Neil Reid, Sunday News 29 November)

Ruben Wiki – one of New Zealand rugby league's favourite sons – is set for a return to the sport with the Warriors expected to announce his appointment to a high performance role within weeks.

The Warriors are in the process of finalising their off-field restructuring, which has already seen former under- 20s coach and first-grade assistant coach John Ackland switch roles and the appointment of as recruitment guru, ahead of the 2010 season. Sunday News has been told Wiki and the club have had some promising discussions about a permanent position for the Kiwis great.

It's understood no contract has been signed yet but it's considered a mere formality Wiki will scribble on the dotted line once one has been drawn up.

Warriors CEO Wayne Scurrah was reluctant yesterday to discuss the club's plans for Wiki but did reveal talks had taken place about a possible high performance role.

"We have certainly been in discussions with Ruben and he has been active at the club in recent weeks," Scurrah told Sunday News.

"We haven't fully confirmed anything yet but it will be along the lines of assisting in the high performance areas of coaching and training.

"We haven't completed an agreement at this stage but we would certainly be delighted to welcome Ruben back to the club."

Wiki, who retired from the sport at the end of 2008 and now boasts a personal training qualification, said he was excited about being a sounding board for the players next season.

"I am just part-time at the moment, just showing my face," Wiki said.

"The boys are still relaxed with me so it is pretty cool.

"They are smiling and are going through the pre-season training. I have been popping in a few times to see how they are going.

"I am seeing if they need someone to talk to. All the boys can easily come and talk to me.

"They are not shy. I have a good connection with the boys so hopefully that can rub off in the season to come.

"Officially, there should be some announcement next week."

Two months ago, it was reported Wiki and senior Warriors staff had a falling out during his final year in the NRL.

At the time, the 55-test Kiwi legend, revealed his relationship with the club had been patched up, which, given his soon-to-be-announced appointment, appears to be the case.

"It's all good now," Wiki said in September.

"Things just went a bit sour last year, but it's all done and dusted, in the past and we've got to move on.

"It's all about the club, there's nothing to dwell on and we're all big boys."

League: Toopi targets Titans deal (Andrew Alderson, Herald on Sunday – 22 November)

Clinton Toopi is leaving rugby to join NRL club the Gold Coast Titans for pre-season training on January 4, with a season-long contract in prospect.

The 29-year-old is seen as an option out wide due to his size, power and safety under the high ball.

Toopi's also touted as a possible mentor for younger members of the backline such as Kevin Gordon, David Mead, Esi Tonga and Joseph Tomane with experienced centre Chris Walker heading to the UK . Coach John Cartwright says provided his fitness holds, Toopi's input will be invaluable. "I want him to pick up from where he left off at the end of his NRL career. I remember him at the Warriors when I was assistant coach with the Roosters in the 2002 Grand Final. He was a big, aggressive centre, probably known for his defence, but he also had pace and a step. He could lay on - and finish - tries."

The former Kiwis centre last played in the NRL with the Warriors in 2006 before moving to under coach Brian McClennan. After leaving them with a knee injury last year, he volunteered to join the Manly Sea Eagles this season, but ended up playing rugby union for Whakatane Marist in the Eastern Bay competition

That saw Toopi selected in the Bay of Plenty squad for the Air New Zealand Cup, a progression fraught with injury.

"I need to get these 'nigglies' sorted out," said Toopi. "My right knee went in a Bay of Plenty pre-season match, then I didn't even get to take the field in the competition because I tore the cartilage in my left knee warming up for the second to last game."

So how did he adapt to union?

"I found the technical side difficult, but we had some experience at our club with a legend like [former NZ Maori coach] Matt Te Pou helping out. The downside is if I make it in the NRL again I will only feel like I scratched the surface of rugby."

Cartwright's yet to call for his signature but is backing Toopi's decision to make the transition.

"He should add depth and experience, so he'll get a good opportunity. I'm not worried about his recent injuries. There's not much you can't fix up these days.

"We're in regular contact with his physio over his knee. He knows what he's in for, having been at the Warriors and Leeds. It's a tough ask otherwise, given the pace of the game. "

Toopi joins Tomane, former Raiders utility Marshall Chalk and former Roosters hooker Riley Brown as new additions to the Titans.

He's leaving his family behind in the New Year. Toopi says his wife's happy in her job just outside Whakatane at Ohope School and it lets his children stay settled.

A decision on whether he will sign with the Titans is due at the end of February.

Ali Lauiti’iti’s UK open sesame (Steve Kilgallon, Sunday Star Times - 22 November)

Ali Lauiti'iti's bedside reading is heavy stuff: Life in the UK: A Journey to Citizenship, an appallingly written (or so those who have survived reading it say) official publication covering British history, society, law and politics.

But it's compulsory for anyone wanting permanent residency in the UK. Since 2007 immigrants have had to regurgitate the book's often obscure facts in an exam the Home Office says "assesses knowledge of British life and culture".

If applicants don't score over 75% on the 24-question multi-choice exam, they don't get their visa.

"I would reckon even the locals wouldn't know some of the answers," says Lauiti'iti.

His Samoan passport has previously kept him off the Super League's overseas quota, but with constantly shifting rules, residency would certainly help the administrators at Leeds Rhinos, which he joined after leaving the Warriors controversially in 2004.

His contract with Leeds expires next year and Lauiti'iti, now 30, says he doesn't know what he'll do next, but knows that his next deal will be his last - he's probably too old to return to the NRL and his Kiwis test career is also over. His wife would like to live in , he'd quite like to come home to Auckland, but the citizenship exam is a rather significant nod to what's likely to happen. Another hint is that he's just bought a home in Leeds.

It's not difficult to see the appeal. When we meet at the Leeds club shop, Lauiti'iti has spent the past two hours cheerfully signing new-season replica jerseys for a tide of fans who continue to interrupt us at regular intervals for more autographs and photos.

After winning three consecutive grand finals, this is how it is for Rhinos' players in Leeds.

"I don't know what I am going to do," he says. "The time has flown by quickly, but it has also been a long time too [away from home].

"I was saying to some of the boys that when you're playing good, in a good team and the club is good and your family enjoy it, it makes it much easier."

Lauiti'iti can laugh now at the shy, monosyllabic 23-year-old who reluctantly moved to England when the Warriors shoved him out, accusing him of not wanting to win.

Leeds introduced him as the "Michael Jordan of rugby league" and the club won a grand final in his first season. He has now played 116 first-grade games in the UK.

"I had to grow up when I came here," he said. "I never thought I would leave New Zealand, and when they told me to come here, I thought 'no', but my wife said we should give it a go and we did.

"Sometimes you need that push and you don't really realise until you actually go how good it can be. I grew up quickly, which was good for the wife.

"I didn't have that drive, and I wasn't happy. I wasn't enjoying my rugby, I don't know why.

"I always loved my time at the Warriors and without them I wouldn't be here today."

Lauiti'iti's two eldest daughters, four-year-old Salome and Ivana, three, were born in England.

They shun the club creche for the stands, enthralled by the unique atmosphere. "People at home will never know what it feels like until they experience it," he says. "The support is amazing. You get to the stadium and everyone is wearing jerseys and waving flags.

"They give it to you when you lose, but that's all part of it."

"You could tell something was going to happen," Lauiti'iti says of his first impressions six years ago. Something has, and it means Kiwi audiences will never see his unique talent in the flesh again.

TV money puts brakes on expansion (Brad Walters, Sydney Morning Herald – 20 November)

While rival codes are trumpeting expansion announcements, the NRL has put any plans to introduce teams in new areas on hold after being advised it was unlikely to receive an increase in television revenue.

Despite the establishment of new AFL, A-League and Super rugby teams from 2011, NRL chief executive David Gallop revealed yesterday that the issue would not even be discussed again by the league's governing body before then.

''We've done some research during 2009 about expansion and whether we should be expanding to maximise television revenue,'' Gallop said.

''The answer that has come back thus far is that the best thing we can do to maximise television revenue is to have an exciting competition, a competition where there are no easy games, where people are genuinely backing their team every week because they think they are a chance of winning. Adding teams won't necessarily do that for us.''

Gallop made the comments at a forum with club members in Sydney yesterday during which he also outlined the pitfalls for the NRL's rivals if their new teams hit financial trouble.

After expanding from 16 teams to 20 in 1995, the game was torn apart by the Super League war. Of the four new clubs introduced, the South Queensland Crushers and Western Reds folded while the Auckland Warriors and had to be bailed out.

''To be frank, I think some codes are getting in a race to put dots on a map without carefully considering the impact on the remaining clubs, or their current clubs,'' Gallop said.

''I think rugby league has been down that road and made those mistakes, and I wouldn't like to see it make those mistakes again.

''There is nothing worse than to add teams to your competition and have them fall over. It's not only bad for the particular area, it has a ripple effect across the whole game and the confidence that people have in the game and the confidence that players have to play your game.''

The news leaves the Central Coast Bears with an uncertain wait in their quest to return to the NRL, while a Central Queensland consortium has been formed to lobby for a team in Rockhampton, and the Papua New Guinea government wants a side established in Port Moresby. Gallop said the issue would be reviewed in 2011 - a year before the NRL's television deals expire.

''There are obviously target areas we have our eye on - Central Coast, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and perhaps another team in New Zealand,'' he said. ''I think PNG is, quite frankly, a fair way off but our timeline now is to wait until the middle of 2011 before we have a real serious look at expansion again and whether it is the right thing for our competition.''

Gallop denies Sydney Four Nations snub (AAP – www.stuff.co.nz 20 November)

NRL boss David Gallop says the decision to schedule just one rugby league Test in Sydney next year is not a snub to NSW fans. Preliminary schedules for next year's Four Nations suggest Australia will play just one match - against minnows Papua New Guinea - in Sydney.

Melbourne has already secured the Anzac Test against New Zealand and the Four Nations match against England, while Brisbane is the unbackable favourite to host the tournament final at Suncorp Stadium.

Auckland has been given provisional approval to host the tournament opener between the Kiwis and Kangaroos, meaning the PNG game could be Sydneysiders' only chance to see Australia in action next year.

But Gallop says the decision is more about promoting the game nationally than snubbing NSW-based fans.

"The reality is that these big events are sought after," he told AAP. "We need to take them where we can maximise our opportunity. It doesn't mean we're turning our back on Sydney.

"There's plenty of rugby league played in Sydney but at a time when other codes are actually adding other teams to their competition it's important that we look at our geographical position. "Taking games to new areas is part of our strategy."

Gallop also urged Sydney fans to get behind the idea of watching the Kangaroos take on the Kumuls, saying the match would still be a worthy spectacle.

"Any time the Kangaroos play, it's a great sporting event because of the skill of our players and the chance to see the real stars of the game playing together," he said.

"PNG are passionate, it's a national game and I'm sure that it'll be a great carnival atmosphere at a game like that. "People will enjoy it."

League: Kangaroo colleagues call on Lockyer to stay in test side (AAP, NZ Herald – 19 November)

SYDNEY- Several of Australia's triumphant Four Nations league stars have called for Kangaroos captain Darren Lockyer to extend his glittering international career beyond last weekend's success in England.

Veteran five-eighth Lockyer said after Australia's 46-16 win over England in the final at he would not rush into any decision about possibility of ending or extending his representative career.

However, a number of the champion Queenslander's teammates felt their esteemed leader still had the goods to keep playing at international level.

"It would be great, but obviously it comes down to a personal decision," said.

"He still hasn't lost that spark and he showed that in his performances whilst he was away.

"I'm sure he will have a good think about it over Christmas."

Greg Inglis said he hoped Lockyer would opt to continue playing for Ausstralia but felt it could depend on the veteran playmaker's physical condition.

"If the body holds up I'd love to see him running around again."

Kangaroos coach felt no one was irreplaceable, but admitted Lockyer was one of the last of a dying breed.

"He's a true five-eighth, there's not many of them left, but everyone has to come to an end at some stage," Sheens said.

Brisbane teammate said although Lockyer was getting older and feeling the hits more, he still had plenty to offer.

"It depends on how your body feels. He's getting older and things take longer to heal and hits feel harder than they used to," he said.

"I'd love to play a few more years with him in those representative sides, just his presence helps any side. He's set some records now."

Both Lockyer and fellow Queensland stalwart Civoniceva established Australian appearance records during the successful tour.

Lockyer became the first player to notch 50 Tests for Australia, while Civoniceva logged his 40th cap, eclipsing the legendary 's national record of 39 Tests for a forward

Civoniceva, who missed a large chunk of the second half of Penrith's NRL campaign, didn't totally rule out shooting for his personal half century of caps.

"I don't know, I will wait and see. I still feel good, I'm still enjoying it so I will make a decision next year," he said.

Asked if Australia had reasserted itself at the top of league's global pecking order Sheens said: "The Kiwis might have something to say about that, they are the world champions and until we take that back, we can't technically say that."

However, the veteran coach was a little coy when asked whether he would reapply for his position.

"That's up to other people, it makes it a lot easier with a win," he said.

Sheens: Kiwis keep bragging rights, technically (Greg Pritchard, Sydney Morning Herald – 19 November)

So, are the Kangaroos once more the best team in the world after winning the Four Nations tournament?

On his return from England yesterday, Tim Sheens was asked whether the Kangaroos had reasserted themselves as No.1 after falling off the perch by losing last year's World Cup final to New Zealand.

''Well, you know, the Kiwis might have something to say about that,'' the coach said. ''They're world champions, and until we take that back, we can't technically say that, no.''

The next World Cup is not until 2013 in England, which is a long time to wait to turn the tables, but even jet- lagged after a long flight, Sheens was probably still thinking fast enough to play a little mind game.

He will be coach again next year. While the appointment is made on a year-to-year basis, chief executive Geoff Carr said yesterday that Sheens had done only good things in control. The Australians beat the Kiwis in Brisbane earlier in the year, and then went through the Four Nations tournament unbeaten, a draw against the Kiwis being the only hiccup.

But whether captain Darren Lockyer is available for selection next year remains to be seen. Lockyer, 32, is yet to make a decision on his representative future.

''Darren made the comment at a couple of press conferences I attended with him that he hadn't made a decision about next year, so we're going to have to wait and see,'' Sheens said.

No free rides for family or friends, says NRL (Greg Pritchard, Sydney Morning Herald 18 November)

The cost of flying Parramatta prop Fuifui Moimoi's nine-year-old son, Sani, from New Zealand to watch his dad play as a surprise - organised and paid for by the Parramatta Eels - will be included under the club's salary cap.

The NRL might be seen as party-poopers by some for enforcing the inclusion, but the league's cap rules are clear in circumstances like this and Parramatta chief executive says the club will accept the decision.

Sani, who lives with his mother in New Zealand, travelled over for Parramatta's home game against Penrith on August 28. The gesture, which was the idea of Eels chairman Roy Spagnolo, received a lot of post-match publicity.

A league spokesperson said yesterday the Eels had been asked to show cause why the trip - valued at $1500 for cap purposes - should not be included under the cap, but Osborne told the Sydney Morning Herald that wouldn't be necessary.

''We had a meeting with [NRL salary-cap auditor] Ian Schubert about the cap and that was one of the things that came up,'' Osborne said. ''The league said it had to be included under the cap, so we've accepted that and we'll move on.

''It was a great gesture organised by our chairman, but it's an anomaly of the salary cap. It's just one of those things, I suppose.'' Osborne said the minor addition would not force the club over the salary cap limit.

The NRL spokesperson said the league had to be strict on cap rules to do with benefits, to keep things from getting out of control.

''The salary-cap auditor is bound to look at any report of a player receiving a benefit,'' the spokesperson said. ''There are established rules that cover the provision of travel.”

''The provision of airfares is a financial benefit - aside from the emotion of any individual circumstance that may arise, it has to be looked at in terms of the rules that apply to everyone.''

Sheens dubs his Kangaroos ‘the Implacables’ (Glenn Jackson, Sydney Morning Herald – 17 November)

Page 13 of a French newspaper holds the key to the identity of Australia's Four Nations-winning Kangaroos.

''Toujours Aussies implacables'' read the headline; and after researching the words, Australian coach Tim Sheens wants this side to be known as the Implacables.

Sheens told his players in the Elland Road dressing room immediately after the match about the word and its meaning, and how French sports bible L'Equipe had described the team as such after the Kangaroos disposed of the French.

The coach googled the word and found that it matched his squad; scribbling on the newspaper synonyms such as ''diehard, grim, iron, relentless, unyielding, rigid, stubborn and uncompromising''.

''When we were celebrating afterwards, I just said that's what we were called in France and I think that's the name we were going to adopt, and that'll be the name that sticks,'' Sheens said. ''I thought we needed some sort of identity as a squad.''

And so Sheens is hoping the 2009 squad, which defeated a gallant England 46-16 in the final, joins the famous 1982 squad, known as the Invincibles after going through 22 matches on tour undefeated, as well as the 1986 Unbeatables, in having a moniker forever linked to them.

''I think they enjoyed it,'' Sheens said of the players' reaction. ''It's the sort of word, implacable ... it's a bit off the wall. It sounds a bit off the wall. But that's us, because there's no doubt there's some off-the-wall guys here. But deep down, it does still infer on what this group has, and that's plenty of character.

''They're proud of it. We were under the pressure, we were favourites, we had to win otherwise it was unacceptable. The satisfaction of doing it and of course the relief is very important, because of the ghosts of the Invincibles, and the Unbeatables. Now, we'll be haunting the future, too. The Implacables will be there as well.

''It's not 22 games, or something like the sides from the '80s, but it was still an undefeated side, and something they'll look back at.''

The tour has been a historic one; skipper Darren Lockyer becoming the most-capped player as well as captain, and Petero Civoniceva the most-capped forward. For players such as , on his first tour, it was akin to winning a premiership, as he achieved with Brisbane in 2006.

''It's just exciting just sitting back in the room and sitting next to Petero and Locky, and just thinking I've played in part of history - these guys have broken records, and they're my good mates,'' Hannant said. ''To be able to put your body on the line for your mates, it's a real rewarding achievement ... To be able to represent my country, alongside one of my best mates and a bloke I really look up to [in Civoniceva], it's definitely up there with winning a premiership and State of Origins. These things you never forget. This team can hopefully go forward and make a legacy for itself now.''