I am pleased to announce my fourth book

Membership of this site has also been reopened

HELLO all! I have two announcements to make to all the people who supported me on the Two Tribes journey (which is still in progress).

The first is that I have un-paused subscriptions to this Substack. What does that mean? It means if you have not bought a copy of the physical book, you can now do so and get all the exclusive content that’s on here at no extra charge. Pass it on.

Please note I am currently out of stock of books in Australia so you won’t get your copy until later in February.

The second is to announce my fourth book (the third is a biography of cyclist Dean Woods which is in the can). It’s no great surprise to anyone who has spoken to me about this topic in the past year: it’s going to be called The Last Kangaroos, about the ‘94 tour.

Here’s the synopsis:

The 18th rugby league Kangaroo Tour of Britain and France was also the last of its kind - the final extended visit with matches against club teams. While 28 players still becoming accustomed to not having to work day jobs fought for the Ashes, media magnate Rupert Murdoch was plotting to hijack the sport for his new pay television interests. Officials rushed back from Yorkshire to head off the raids - but they were too late. By April many players would become millionaires and within a decade the sport in Britain would largely retreat back to the M62 corridor, £87 million of Murdoch's money incinerated. The 1990 and 1994 Kangaroos were pushed all the way by Great Britain but there was no 1998 tour. Three decades later Britain and England still haven't been beaten the green-and-golds over a series or tournament. The deluge of cash killed the sport's larrikin character of late nights and tall tales. This is a prequel of sorts to Two Tribes, my 2021 book about the divided 1997 season. That concerned itself with the corporate battle for rugby league's soul; this is about the shop floor, observed as a 25-year-old reporter less than six months into my tenure at the Sydney Morning Herald, watching men my age grapple with the coming revolution. I never knew me a better time ... and I guess rugby league never will.

There WILL be a Substack for the new book. But if you want to get involved before that, back the project HERE

Happy New Year everyone and thanks for your continuing support.

Steve