Top 10 stories on fox sports, Matty Johns, State of Origin, Maroons, Blues, Billy Slater, Brad Fittler, Ryan Papenhuyzen injury

It’s been another action-packed year of rugby league stories as State of Origin drama once again attracted the most attention.

But the drama wasn’t just on the field and people love reading about blow-ups, whether it’s between premiership-winning brothers or firing up over which football code is the greatest.

Here are the 10 most read rugby league stories on foxsports.com.au in 2023.

Watch sport this summer live with no ad breaks in play on Kayo Sports. Join Kayo now and start streaming instantly >

1. PAPENHUYZEN’S CRUEL INJURY BLOW

It was the moment every rugby league fan let out a collective groan.

Storm star Ryan Papenhuyzen had just gone down in agony in his third game back from a knee injury that had kept him out for 12 months.

Medics initially thought Papenhuyzen had suffered a lower leg compound fracture after getting caught under teammate Nelson Asofa-Solomona while trying to tackle Broncos prop Tom Flegler.

But it was later confirmed as a fractured ankle and the 25-year-old fullback underwent surgery the following day with six screws and a plate inserted into his leg.

To the relief of everyone, the injury was not as bad as originally feared and Papenhuyzen is eyeing a return in Round 1.

2. BLUES GAME I SQUAD ANNOUNCED

Brad Fittler decided to “have a gamble” with his Blues side for the Origin opener and he picked three debutants in Nicho Hynes, Tevita Pangai Jr and Hudson Young.

It didn’t pay off.

Hynes came in the final 12 minutes at centre – replacing the injured Tom Trbojeciv – and missed the tackle that allowed Queensland to score the match-winning try.

Pangai Jr didn’t fare much better and was also dropped for his performance. Young survived the axe initially but was then cut for Game III.

The Blues lost the series in the first two games and Fittler eventually walked away from his job of six years after only being offered a four-month contract for 2024.

MORE NRL NEWS

2023 BIGGEST MOMENTS: Tigers bloodbath that had to happen; Broncos x-rated rant

OFF-SEASON CENTRAL: Dragons flyer Sloan’s fight to retain No.1 jersey

MISSED DEADLINE: Luai’s huge announcement amid swirling rumours over future

‘ONE OF THE GREATS’: Tributes flow after NRL player Troy Dargan dies

3. MATTY JOHNS NAILED BY HECKLER IN ALL-TIME PRANK

Footy fans simply can’t get enough of Matty Johns, especially when it comes to pranks involving his mates Bryan Fletcher and Nathan Hindmarsh.

This time it was at Matty’s expense as Fletch and Hindy got some sweet revenge at a public speaking gig when a comedian in the crowd heckled him mercilessly.

The revenge plot was 12 months in the making after Fletch and Hindy were stitched up by Matty for what they thought was a Red Rooster commercial in which the pair was forced to dress up in various animal outfits.

The comedian, Jackie Loeb, hit Matty with a verbal barrage before linking the Cronulla riots with his form at the Sharks in 2002, to which Matty replied: “I take offence to that.”

The Knights great had Loeb kicked out before Fletch and Hindy revealed the stunt to the crowd and a rattled Matty.

4. QLD DITCH ‘PICK AND STICK’ IN GAME I SQUAD

Maroons coach Billy Slater stunned when he abandoned Queensland’s famous ‘pick and stick’ policy, despite winning the 2022 series.

Slater dropped Kalyn Ponga, Dane Gagai, Xavier Coates and Kurt Capewell ahead of the series opener and the coach admitted they were “really tough phone calls” to make.

But the move proved a masterstroke as the young guns picked ahead of Ponga and Gagai – Reece Walsh and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow – helped wrap up the series in just two games.

Ponga’s omission was the most controversial but it proved a blessing in disguise as it allowed the Knights fullback to focus on his club form, which flourished and earned him the Dally M Medal.

5. MAROONS’ MIRACLE GAME I WIN

It was late and it was great as Queensland once again delivered a Maroons miracle to steal the series opener at the death in Adelaide.

Queensland coach Billy Slater was grilled over his decision to drop veteran centre Dane Gagai. But it paid off as his replacement Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow scored two tries, including the match winner with just seven minutes left.

Tabuai-Fidow’s try came just five minutes after Maroons forward Thomas Flegler had been binned with his side already down a man on the bench following an injury to Tom Gilbert.

But once again Queensland found a way when Tabuai-Fidow scored the sealer after he burned Nicho Hynes who had only just come on as an injury replacement for Tom Trbojevic.

New South Wales had also vowed to target Reece Walsh under the high ball but the rookie fullback was more than equal to the challenge in a stellar performance.

Cameron Munster would put the icing on the cake after Maroons prop Lindsay Collins outleapt Roosters teammate James Tedesco to reel in a bomb before offloading to an unmarked Munster who scored.

6. GORDIE AND DALEY DEBATE ON WHICH IS NO.1 CODE IN AUS

There ain’t nothing like live television and especially when things get heated between two rugby league greats who are both incapable of taking a backward step.

Queensland legend Gorden Tallis and former New South Wales coach Laurie Daley squared off on NRL 360 over which is the No.1 football code in Australia.

Daley declared the previous day on The Back Page that AFL is the biggest winter sport in the country and Tallis confronted him about it.

Tallis argued that hardly anybody knows who plays for the GWS Giants or the Gold Coast Suns, and that AFL was only the dominant code in Melbourne.

But Daley hit back and reminded Tallis of Western Australia’s sporting landscape, and even claimed the AFL could take a game to any stadium in the country and sell it out.

7. NRLW STAR COPS RECORD BAN

Eels captain Kennedy Cherrington was handed the longest ban in NRLW history when she copped four games for a grade three dangerous throw.

Cherrington was sent off for the ugly tackle on Knights utility Laishon Albert-Jones, but she showed immediate concern for her rival which was taken into account by the judiciary.

Cherrington, 24, was referred straight to the judiciary and the hearing lasted 50 minutes with the panel only having to determine the length of the suspension as she’d already pleaded guilty.

NRL judiciary counsel Lachlan Gyles SC didn’t question Cherrington’s character and conceded there was no intent in the tackle, but urged the panel to come down hard on the rep star as a general deterrent to other players given the risk of injury.

8. GUTHO AND TIGERS YOUNG GUN IN FIERY POST-MATCH EXCHANGE

Eels captain Clint Gutherson and Tigers young gun Asu Kepaoa were involved in a fiery post-match exchange at full-time on Easter Monday.

Parramatta secured a 28-22 victory, but with 10 seconds on the clock Kepaoa made a desperate attempt to steal the ball from centre Will Penisini.

Gutherson was standing at dummy-half and he shared a brief exchange with Kepaoa before taking the ball and surrendering with a smile on his face as the siren sounded.

Gutherson then got up and walked up to Kepaoa and tapped the ball on his chest and mockingly said “take the ball”.

Kepaoa slapped the ball away and turned his back on Gutherson who clapped his hands and smiled following the win which kept the Tigers on the bottom of the ladder.

9. WALSH JUDICIARY BAN OVER REF SPRAY

It was the most entertaining judiciary hearing in years as Broncos young gun Reece Walsh almost got away with abusing referee Chris Buttler.

There was no argument over whether Walsh said “What the f*** do you mean, c***?” following an obstruction penalty against the Titans.

The hearing, which turned into a five-hour marathon, was to determine whether Walsh was talking to Buttler or his teammate Patrick Carrigan – as he claimed.

The defence case was foiled when Titans backrower David Fifita, who was supporting his Maroons teammate’s version of events, accidentally said Walsh was in fact swearing at Buttler.

“Walshy then said what he said to the ref, I mean Patty, the ref was behind him,” Fifita said while under cross examination.

Walsh was eventually found guilty but it was a split decision and the judiciary chairman was required to cast the deciding vote.

The two-man panel of ex-NRL player Tony Puletua and ex-NRL referee Shaun Hampstead couldn’t agree following an hour of deliberations.

Walsh was handed a three-game suspension which ruled him out of Origin III.

10. JIMMY BRINGS – JOEY QUITS SEN AMID MATTY FALLOUT

Andrew Johns quit the SEN radio network following an on-air feud with brother Matty Johns and people couldn’t get enough of this classic family blue.

Not for the first time, the Johns brothers stopped talking after an on-air debate surrounding the coaching philosophies of New South Wales and Queensland led to a spectacular blow-up.

Joey officially quit Matty’s Morning Glory radio program with the Eighth Immortal fuming about his brother’s continued support of Maroons coach Billy Slater.

SEN station boss Craig Hutchison attempted to play peacemaker by taking the Johns brothers for a clear-the-air lunch once the series was over.

But it didn’t happen and Joey told SEN he wouldn’t be returning to the station.

The Johns brothers were famously part of the Newcastle team who won the club’s first premiership when the Novocastrian outfit upset Manly in 1997.