New Sportsman's Memoir A STATISTICAL HISTORY OF RUGBY LEAGUE is Released

Rugby league has always been popular in Australia. First-grade play, however, is the hallmark of Australian play in the rugby league. Stephen Kane's A Statistical History of Rugby League is a rugby league player's memoir that contains rugby stories, well-researched, relevant sports information and first-grade player statistics of a sport that has the biggest number of enthusiasts, players and fans in Australia. It enables readers to access historical statistics of every player to ever play first-grade rugby league in Australia's vibrant, colourful history of the sport.

Rugby league is a working man's sport (as compared to the more exclusive rugby union) and the author, who grew up in the small town Albury, New South Wales has played both rugby football and rugby league. His father was a rugby league player for Canterbury-Bankstown in the late forties and fifties and later played for Albury Blues in eleven seasons (which included a premiership in 1958). After his first successful match (in his first game, actually), he became hooked to rugby league. He has played for many a team in his career, garnered many distinctions for excellent play both in rugby football and rugby league and was also a sport statistician for a short time. Rugby enables many to exercise in the outdoors and is a common ground for good sportsmanship and camaraderie among Australians. Although Kane has never lost his love for the game, a spinal injury in 2000 made him unsuited for rugby play and it was a tough call for him. Having time to spare in his hands, he used his knack for statistics to make this memoir distinguished by its remarkable sportsman's knowledge of rugby league history.

Rugby, among its enthusiasts, is known as The Greatest Game of All. Stephen Kane's life is full of locker room stories, discussions of rugby play, and the surrounding legends and myths about rugby and the people involved in the sport. Every Australian is proud of his rugby league facts. Kane, though, has taken time and effort to go after little known facts and details of Australian rugby league statistics which, in addition to his experience as a rugby player, makes his book a proper tribute to his beloved sport.. He has the statistics for nearly nine-thousand players to play first-grade rugby league from 1908 to 2012 and he also provides commentary (even rumours) so popular in television and radio shows with Australian rugby league fans. In sum, this memoir is a highly engaging read for anyone interested about rugby and Australian rugby league play.

For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com.au.

About the Author
Stephen Kane grew up in a small country town of Albury with three brothers and three sisters. He has a very sports-minded family and he played both rugby football and rugby league. He played under-15 and under-17 in rugby league teams. On scrum or in sin bin, Kane is a player's player, a good sport whose spirit and attitude exemplifies a tough sport that is well-loved in Australia and Dominion countries.

A Statistical History of Rugby League* by Stephen Kane
Publication Date: July 12, 2013
Trade Paperback; $49.99; 921 pages; 978-1-4797-5755-8
Trade Hardback; $69.99; 921 pages; 978-1-4797-5756-5
eBook; $3.99; 978-1-4797-5757-2

Members of the media who wish to review this book may request a complimentary paperback copy by contacting the publisher at 1-800-618-969. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (02) 8088 6078 or call 1-800-618-969. Xlibris books can be purchased at Xlibris bookstore. For more information, contact Xlibris at 1-800-618-969 or on the web at http://www.Xlibris.com.au.

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