NRL investigating 'rip-off' Raiders retro merch

Full Boar Graphic Design has taken to social media to complain about the release of retro T-shirts similar to the ones they designed and produced for the Raiders' grand final in 1994.

The Raiders appear to be innocent bystanders, but Full Boar Graphic accused apparel company Mitchell & Ness - a retro merchandise specialist - of an alleged "rip-off right down to the ring on Victor Viking's finger". Mitchell & Ness did not return calls.

NRL boss Andrew Abdo contacted Full Boar Graphic Design owner John Gearman and confirmed they were looking into the issue with the league's licensing department.

"We have spoken to Andrew Abdo in the last fortnight who has assured me he will look into this for us which is nice of him," Gearman posted on Full Boar's site.

"I imagine he has better things to do.

"The Mitchell and Ness art rip-off is the black shirt right down to the ring on Victor Viking's finger

"We spent months designing our tees, let me tell you composition is just as important as and drawing of a mascot, everything needs to read and look right."

It's not clear if Mitchell & Ness are an official NRL apparel provider, but Locker Room has confirmed the NRL is aware of the issue and is investigating. The T-shirts in question have been withdrawn from sale. The Raiders also pulled down social media posts promoting the retro shirts.

"It's being discussed with the NRL and they've paused the release for now," a Raiders spokesperson said.

Gearman is awaiting a response from the NRL and also the AFL, with its merchandise partner Cotton On also accused of unauthorised use of Full Boar's retro designs.

Retro throwback sports merchandise is big business in Australia and abroad, as shown by the popularity of Canberra Raiders' rare NSWRL 1994 grand final jersey re-release earlier this year.

The club was overwhelmed by the response afters jerseys sold out in 36 hours, but the good news for fans is the Raiders have put in another order, aiming to release them for sale again in time for Forever Green celebrations in round 18.

Raiders fans would have gotten a fright if they saw the Viking horn turn on to the Federal Highway, on to the Hume and then the Pacific Motorway. But fear not, this was not a heist of the treasured possession.

The almost 500-kilogram horn was dismantled and put into the back of a truck this week, with Raiders staff members Finn Williamson and Gordon Irwin setting sail for Brisbane.

The Raiders are the designated "home" team for the first time at Magic Round this year, and the club is pulling out all the stops to turn Brisbane green.

The horn is a key part of that. So just like it made its way to the grand final in 2019, it was packed up for a nine-hour trip to Nambucca Heads on Monday. Williamson and Irwin got a few strange looks when they checked into their hotel, and then hit the road again for the final leg on Tuesday.

It survived the trip safely and was set up at a fan day on Thursday. Raiders legend Steve Walters will have the honour of blowing the horn before kick-off against the Bulldogs on Friday.

It seems there's some selective politics going on when it comes to the stadium debate in Canberra.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr was peppered with questions in the Legislative Assembly this week after securing $10 million in federal funding to put towards a business case for sport, health and education in Bruce.

It's a massive leap forward for the project, which the government is hoping to have complete by 2033. A new stadium in Bruce appears to be the best hope of getting something done after 15 years of discussion.

For it to hit the 2033 target, you would expect the plan to be finalised by 2025-26, and going to tender soon after with a view to maybe starting construction in 2029.

The challenge is getting people on the same page. Barr has been the stadium's biggest advocate since his days as sport minister, but his response to a question from James Milligan about delayed construction after "you originally floated this idea back in 2009" raised some eyebrows.

"I did not originally float the idea in 2009. In 2009, the then-Commonwealth government, in partnership with the Football Federation of Australia, were bidding for the 2022 Football World Cup," Mr Barr responded.

"That is where a new stadium for Canberra originated. It was part of that process, not commenced by me."

We might be splitting hairs here. It is true the FFA and federal government wanted to build new venues to host the tournament and were willing to invest to get that done. The plan for a new 40,000-seat stadium in Canberra was used in Australia's World Cup bid document in 2010.

That design was part of the ACT government's master plan for Canberra Stadium and Manuka Oval, which was launched in 2009 and had options ranging in costs from $60 million to $350 million for Canberra Stadium, and $10 million to $100 million for Manuka Oval.

As we all know, the men's World Cup bid failed spectacularly (hard to forget spending $46 million to win one vote from FIFA) at the end of 2010.

So while technically it might not have been Barr's idea, he did present the new stadium plan (Manuka definitely had nothing to do with the men's World Cup) and here are his quotes from that day in May, 2009.

"Canberra's current facilities are not sufficient to be part of an Australian bid for the football World Cup,'' Barr said in his capacity as ACT sport minister at the time.

"We recognise there is work to be done ... we need to have a mind shift in the ACT away from these venues as something we use 15 weekends a year to being an active precinct all year round.

"We can't look at this as something you would deliver in one ACT budget, this would be staged development over a period of time.

"The current facilities are reaching the end of their lives and we are going to have to invest, whether it's small upgrading or a really state-of-the-art facility."

The bottom line in this situation, and backed up by the thousands of comments on a stadium survey published last week, is that people are sick of the politics surrounding the stadium. They just want something done, or the minority (9 per cent of respondents said they didn't want a new stadium when asked how much it should cost) just want the debate to stop.

Some eagle-eyed Canberra basketball fans got a little bit excited earlier this week when they spotted a post from a former Capitals superstar, which sparked discussion about a potential homecoming.

Marianna Tolo has been playing for Uni Girona in Spain for the past two years after leaving the capital. Could the 34-year-old - a three-time WNBL champion be coming back to Canberra for another crack?

We hear there have been high-level discussions about the prospect of getting Tolo as the anchor for a rebuild, but it's not clear if a deal will be able to be done.

Her Spanish club will definitely miss her after posting a tribute online.

"We have nothing but words of gratitude to the Australian player for these two years. Good luck with your future projects," a translated post said.

There was more Capitals player movement this week. Jade Melbourne has left the Seattle Storm after being traded to the Washington Mystics in the WNBA.

"The general manager and associate GM were sitting there and I thought, 'Oh this looks like bad news' and I was told I'd been traded to Washington. They were super nice about it. I got out of the meeting, Washington called and said they'd booked me on a flight the next morning," Melbourne told ESPN.

"I packed up all my stuff, got up the next morning and went to the airport, arrived in Washington, was picked up and had a workout with the coaches that night, got my new car and new apartment and now I'm a Mystic.

"It's been hectic but I'm happy to be here."

The Brumbies have been having plenty of fun with their own retro round this week. The team burst into a group "moo" when they arrived at St Edmund's College for training wearing the same kit from 1997.

Super Rugby has traditionally missed out on the same sort of nostalgia generated in the NRL, but the clubs are finally doing it right. There were some great jerseys in New Zealand last week, and the Brumbies are bringing back the collar on their jersey this week as they celebrate the 2004 title-winning side.

We reckon collars are such an under-rated feature and should be back on all jerseys, but we're probably fighting a losing battle there.

Alas, fullback Tom Wright reckons James Slipper knows what it's like to wear one, poking fun at the veteran prop.

Most of the Brumbies were either not born, or under 10 years old when the Brumbies beat the Crusaders in the final 20 years ago.

But 1989 baby Slipper was 15 and, even though he's a Queenslander, Wright reckons he's got Brumbies retro written all over him.

"Slips keeps telling us how good is to have collars back on the jerseys [like] when he was playing in the early 2000s," Wright grinned.

"Lots to smile about this week. Slips is in a couple of the black and white photos ... [coach Stephen Larkham] talks about him as a tough opponent back in the day."

Another Brumbies prop was like a dear in headlights when 2004 came up earlier this week. Rhys van Nek was five years old back then and more into league than union. We didn't dare ask him who the starting front-rowers were in the 2004 final. For those playing at home: Nic Henderson, Jeremy Paul and Bill Young.

It's been amazing to see almost 4000 fans engage with the vote to decide Canberra's GOAT. We're down to the final, with Mal Meninga locking horns with George Gregan.

There have been plenty of surprises along the way. The fact George Smith didn't make it to the semi-finals was a surprise, while the Ricky Stuart, Laurie Daley and Bradley Clyde conundrum was a tough one for Raiders fans to get their heads around.

But it's probably fitting Meninga and Gregan - two great captains and title winners - are squaring off in the final. We'll publish the results on Friday with some comments from both of them.