This story was first written and published for NRL.com.

Even though Retro Round isn’t an official NRL round, it’s great to see so many rugby league fans sharing their favourite memories from the 1980’s.

When I hear the words ‘retro round’, a couple of other words immediately spring to mind – ‘head tape’, ‘biff’, ‘black boots’, ‘moustaches’ and ‘Tina Turner’.  I’m also reminded of certain players like Brett Kenny, Wayne Pearce, Ray Price, Benny Elias, Michael Hancock and Tommy Raudonikus and plenty of classic rugby league rivalries like between the Parramatta Eels and Canterbury Bulldogs or the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs or the Manly Sea Eagles and Western Suburbs Magpies (more lovingly known as the rivalry between the fibros and the silvertails).

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This article was first written by Melissa Muscat, 2017 Parramatta Eels Members Councillor.

Retro Round. 1980’s. My absolute favourite era in time. How good was the music? When I think retro I think fluoro, leg warmers, Cyndi Lauper, Milli Vanilli and The Parramatta Eels. The latter two being the best of the decade without a doubt. Even though Milli Vanilli were exposed for not actually singing anything on their record!

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This story was first written for and The Roar.

There’s nothing more boring and predictable in rugby league than a coach deciding to blame the referee’s at a presser for their team’s loss.

We’ve seen this twice in the last two weeks – last week Ricky Stuart decided it was appropriate to blast the referees after the Canberra Raiders lost to the Melbourne Storm and this week Paul McGregor did the same after the St George Illawarra Dragons lost to the Newcastle Knights.

Let’s start with the game last weekend.

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This story was written by Melissa Muscat, 2017 Parramatta Eels Members Councillor. 

Game Day. I love it. My eighth consecutive year as an Eels member, and coincidentally not a finals appearance since but I still love waking up to that feeling of going to watch my team play. As much as I’d prefer a Saturday or Sunday game, being tired from work and having to travel, as soon as kick off begins I’m back in my happy place. It’s very rare I miss a game in Sydney. My entire social calendar is based around the NRL and A League fixtures. I am also a Sydney FC member so fortunate I have that game day to look forward to in the off season.

There was a little sense of poignancy in this game knowing the season is over for our legend Clint Gutherson. Let’s face it, The man isn’t just a good footy player, he is an excitement machine and has become a bit of a Parra phenomenon, even having his own ‘Çlint Gutherson Appreciation Society’ page on social media! And deservedly so, he is a major reason the Eels are in the eight so far. He stepped up in whichever position Brad Arthur placed him in and didn’t disappoint. The ACL rupture is the cruelest of injuries, the recovery is long and intense and the psychological stress is just as gruelling. I’ve seen this first hand having had close friends undergo knee reconstructions. We are sending out the positive, healing vibes and wish Clint a speedy recovery, anticipating his return eagerly. In the words of King Gutho himself we have to just ‘Trust the Process’.

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This story was first written for and published by The Roar.

In case you missed it, here are my top five women’s sport stories from the past week.

New South Wales Women win the Interstate Challenge

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This article was first published for NRL.com.

As we draw closer to September, there is one thing that most rugby league fans have on their minds – will my team be playing finals football? For most fans and clubs, finals football is the culmination of a year of hard work and so often playing finals is used as a measure of success for a team’s season.

As a Parramatta fan, I’m certainly guilty of thinking about September. It’s been so long since September has been something my team has been a part of (since 2009 to be precise) and, with Parramatta still more than mathematically capable of making the eight, I’m starting to get excited.

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This story was first written for and published by The Roar.

Last week I wrote about why Women in League Round is important. We need to recognise the range of roles that women play in our game, but also remind the next generation of women that there is a place for them in the rugby league family however they want to be involved.

I’ve watched the round evolve over the last 11 years and for me, the success of the round this year culminated in the Interstate Challenge played on Sunday morning between the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons at WIN Stadium.

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This story was written by Melissa Muscat, 2017 Parramatta Eels Members Councillor.

In discovering that round 20 was Stay Kind round, coinciding with Women In League round, it struck a chord close to my heart, as it did no doubt with many.

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This story was first written for and published by The Roar.

Good news Australian sports fans.

Not only did Channel Nine broadcast the Australian Women’s Cricket team’s semi-final in the Women’s World Cup against India last night, but it has also been announced the Women’s Interstate Challenge, which will be played on Sunday at 11.45am at WIN Stadium between the New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons, will also be broadcast on Fox Sports and available via live stream on NRL.com.

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