Forget the press releases and the polite handshakes. I’ve been trailing the Brisbane camp since they touched down in the UK, and let me tell you—the mood isn't as sunny as their Queensland home. Here is the backstage reality of the World Club Challenge.
While you're watching the Pre-Season Challenge, the real game is being played on encrypted apps. From the Bulldogs' budget leak to the secret recruitment drive for a team that doesn't legally exist yet.
The Broncos have their Premiership, and the King of Red Hill has his crown. But as Michael Maguire marches his troops to England for the World Club Challenge, a quiet anxiety hums beneath the celebration. Is the NRL’s most dominant engine running on borrowed time?