The Long and The Short Of It

ATTENTION: Rugby league fans! The much anticipated 64-player shortlist revealing the possible candidates for coach Wayne Bennett's team - to play in the 2011 Harvey Norman Rugby League All Stars match - has been announced!

Now that Stage One of the selection process is complete, the voting process will be much tougher with fans having to vote for only one player from each club.

“You only have to look at the players who missed out to realise just how competitive the voting process is, " commented NRL Chief Executive, David Gallop.

Don't miss out on making YOUR selection! Stage Two voting opens at Midday AEDT (11:00am Queensland time) January 3rd at www.nrl.com/allstars and closes January 27th.

With results of Stage One finalised, the top 5 voted players are as follows:
1. Nathan Hindmarsh - Parramatta Eels

2. Josh Dugan - Canberra Raiders
3. Sam Burgess* - South Sydney Rabbitohs
4. Todd Carney - Sydney Roosters
5. Jarryd Hayne - Parramatta Eels
* Sam Burgess has been withdrawn from voting due to injury.

To view the complete 64 player shortlist, head to nrl shortlist

Snap-Happy Santa

We all know that Santa Claus is coming to town but what patients at Coffs Harbour Base Hospital didn't know was that Saint Nick would be paying them a special bedside visit - accompanied by his cheery Harvey Norman Photography team!
Organised by the Harvey Norman social club, the visit saw Santa handing out colouring sets to very excited junior patients and posing for photographs with them.
According to Harvey Norman Coffs Harbour computer franchisee Liz Jones, Santa provided the patients with a healthy dose of Christmas cheer.
 "Nurses told us there was a great buzz in the hospital that afternoon, with patients telling their visitors Santa had been to see them."

All Star Attraction

 Parramatta Eels captain Nathan Hindmarsh is leading the pack, thus far, when it comes to attracting the most votes for the NRL All Stars Team. The first player to be selected for the team will be the player who receives the most votes in one position.

After the first stage of voting ends - Tuesday, December 28th - an initial 64 player shortlist comprising two forwards and backs from each club will be announced.

The second stage of voting, commencing January 3, will see the Aussie public selecting one player from each of the 16 NRL clubs.

Does fan favourite Nathan Hindmarsh make your squad?

To vote for your favourite NRL All Star player, head to http://www.nrl.com/repgames/allstarsvoting/tabid/10972/default.aspx before time runs out!

Don't miss out on your tickets for the 2011 Harvey Norman All Stars match, visit http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=ALLSTARS11