I've written a book.
I haven't got a copy because everyone i tell i've written a book asks me for a copy - and if you spend 5 years writing one, you never want to read it again.

What's your book called Roopster?

Then you're a dafty cake.

Very specialised subject that only a few hundred people on the planet would be interested in - and telling you the title would make it really easy to find out a lot of 'stuff' about me.

roopy - given that we know you're Australian and that you've written a book you're obviously Thomas Keneally. Sorry to blow your cover.

I assume you don't know he's a Manly fan, so i'm sure you didn't mean to insult me so grievously.

I'm assuming it's something psychiatric.

Like "Guess Who" this.

Anyway, nearly the off season, you got your rubbish team sorted yet Roopington?

Our Billionaire is on the verge of going belly up, and apparently money isn't the answer to putting together a great team, but apart from that things are going great.

He obviously meant for the return of the Survivor series, the inaugural one was won by a POM.

You dislike Manly? I always thought it was a seperate place, but it's just another part of Sydney as far as I can tell from googlemaps. Learn summat jeden tag.
Do most/many NRL teams rely on wealthy benefactors?
Here in the forlorn North of England (I'm in the Midlands actually but that ruins the literary reference), most SL teams do. They're all cooler than Russell Crowe, at least.

Match abandoned due to heavy sulking, I seem to recall. Or did I just give it to someone in a fit of unseemly pique?
There was nothing wrong with that last challenge.

Manly is in the area of Sydney known as the 'North shore' (north of the Harbour). It's where the rich people live, so everyone hates them.
The name actually comes from the first Govenor of NSW getting speared by Aboriginals there, and naming the area 'Manly beach" because of the way they stood up to him and his armed soldiers.

The Knights have been a self funded team till this year, and have always been a poor cousin on a tight budget.
This year we voted 93% to 7% to hand the side over to mining billionaire Nathan Tinkler - a former prop forward for the Muswellbrook Rams and the richest Australian under 40.
He employed Wayne Bennett on a millon dollar a year contract.
He brought back local players Willie Mason, Danny Buderus, Timana Tahu, Kade Snowden and some imports like Darius Boyd, Adam Cuthbertson, etc etc.
He also employed the best trainers, built the best gyms and doubled the coaching staff.

The result of that has been we look like finishing 10th, and last year we finished 8th.

Are you familiar with the consoling concept of the 'transitional year'? We find it helps.