"Billy Slater has been called the best fullback ever to have played the game by rugby league greats and fans alike. With a glittering collection of personal and club honours, including four grand final wins, five Dally M awards and two Clive Churchill Medals, he has delighted fans of the Melbourne Storm, Queensland State of Origin and the Australian Kangaroos for sixteen years. More than just a decorated player, however, Slater is a widely regarded and respected figure in the sport. A young country recruit with superb natural talent, he debuted for the Storm after only one pre-season in Melbourne and sent shockwaves through State of Origin in just his second season. But Slater capitalised on his talent with a fierce competitive drive and a relentless work ethic, which he learned from his parents and honed working in the racing industry before hitting the NRL stage. As well as many celebrated victories, Slater's career has seen him confront the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal, heartbreaking losses and a devastating shoulder injury that made him fear that he would never hold his children again, let alone compete in a brutal sport like rugby league. Through it all Slater has emerged not merely as a great of the game, but as an even more resilient character, an ambassador for his sport, and a devoted husband and father. Featuring contributions from rugby league legends like Cooper Cronk, Craig Bellamy, Darren Lockyer and Cameron Smith, and from the Slater family, this edition is updated to include Billy's final season in the NRL before farewelling the game."--Publsiher.

During a long and decorated career with the Melbourne Storm, Queensland and Australia, Billy Slater has forged a reputation as not merely one of rugby league's great full-backs, but as one of the best players in the game's long history. Slater's story is that of a young country recruit with superb natural talent who rose quickly to the top level playing with the Storm after just one pre-season in Melbourne and starring for Queensland during just his second season in the NRL. But inside the player who has scored so many audacious tries on the game's biggest stages is a fierce competitive drive and a relentless work ethic. One inherited from parents who worked multiple jobs to provide for their two children. From the northern Queensland town of Innisfail, Slater enjoyed the quintessential Queensland upbringing. His father was a local rugby league coach, one grandfather worked in the cane fields and another was a miner and a country and western singer. For a time horses rather than football were Slater's passion. He gave up rugby league for 18 months and worked as a track rider and stable hand for renowned trainer Gai Waterhouse in Sydney. But it was on the football field rather than the racetrack that Slater was always destined to make his name. Never the biggest or the strongest player as a junior, he worked harder than most to become an integral part of the Melbourne Storm and Queensland dynasties and an automatic selection in the national team. During his decorated career Slater has been confronted by the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal, career-threatening injuries, the disappointment of lost grand finals, his early axing from the Queensland team, a game-losing mistake with the Kangaroos and accusations about his allegedly rough style of play. Slater has emerged not merely as a great of the game, but as an even more resilient character, a respected spokesman for his sport, a devoted husband and father and, in a moment of emotional vindication - a member of the Storm's defiant 2012 premiership team.

***CAPTAIN OF THE 2020 TELSTRA NRL PREMIERSHIP WINNERS THE MELBOURNE STORM*** Cameron Smith AM is the most decorated rugby league player of all time. The recipient of numerous Dally M and Golden Boot awards, he has starred in the toughest league competition on the planet every season since he made his NRL debut in 2002. Captaining the Melbourne Storm to multiple premierships, Smith played in a staggering seventeen finals campaigns. An integral member of the record-breaking Queensland teams of 2006-2017, he won eleven State of Origin series. As skipper of the Australian national team for over a decade, he led the Kangaroos to two World Cups. Smith is credited with revolutionising the number nine position. He holds the State of Origin records for most appearances and most wins, as well as the NRL records for most games, goals, points scored, wins and appearances as captain. This book maps his unique journey in the game: an extraordinary look into the biggest matches and biggest moments, Smith describes his career with great colour and candour, outlining what it takes to climb to the highest level in sport. Talent aside, it is Smith's intelligence and poise that set him apart, coupled with consistency, durability and longevity that are unlikely to ever be matched. Notoriously private throughout his career, The Storm Within sets the record straight. Finally, the life behind the legend - the man behind the mystery - tells his story. Features a foreword by legendary Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy.

Sam Thaiday is one of rugby league's most highly regarded and respected players. Often seen as one of the last true larrikins of the game, Sam has entertained Brisbane Broncos, Queensland State of Origin and Australian fans over his fifteen-year career. But behind that playful facade and infectious grin is a deeply caring and thoughtful individual, a family man who is passionate about working for better outcomes for Australian Indigenous communities. Sam's book reveals his family connections to the Torres Strait, how it was his mum who taught him how to pass, tackle and how to throw a punch (just in case it ever came up), how he married his high-school sweetheart, and his wishes for his daughters' futures. He will also tell how this Townsville boy and die-hard Cowboys fan ended up a Broncos star. A one-club player, a rarity in the game today, he relives the high points of his career, including his 2008 Dally M Award and the 2006 premiership, his many representative caps, lining up for the National Rugby League Indigenous All Stars team and being one of only three current players to be named in the Indigenous Australian rugby league team of the century. He tells some of the wild stories from behind the scenes of the club and representative training camps, with a cast of characters all NRL fans will recognise. This is Sam's unique story, told with his trademark humour, humility and honesty.

The bestselling autobiography of a league legend. Johnathan Thurston is widely regarded as rugby league's greatest player. This autobiography will follow Thurston's journey from a Brisbane kid who was written off as too skinny, too slow and too wild to play professionally, to his debut with the Canterbury Bulldogs in 2003, to State of Origin star, to Dally M and Clive Churchill Medal winner, and the fairytale premierships.

For more than 40 years, rugby league has embodied all the hopes and dreams, contradictions and tensions of life in the Sunshine State. The game speaks to Queenslanders' sense of being the underdog and the outsider &– a powerful undercurrent that sweeps through politics, business, the arts, and sport. The enduring appeal of State of Origin is that it allows Queensland to balance the scales, at least for 80 minutes.In Heartland, journalist Joe Gorman chronicles a tale of loss and rebirth &– from the decline of the Brisbane Rugby League competition and North Queensland's Foley Shield to the extraordinary rise of the Broncos and the Cowboys in the NRL. Weaving together stories of diehard supporters and game-changing players, from Arthur Beetson to Johnathan Thurston, this is a revealing account of Queensland's coming of age, both on and off the field.