Rugby League is one of Australia's most popular sports, but after its debut season in 1908, the sport was financially on it's knees. The sport had one hope of survival... stealing the nations greatest players to improve the quality of its sport. And thats exactly what they did when they poached almost the entire Wallabies squad during an exhibition series between the Kangaroos and Wallabies.

But surprisingly, this isn't the most controversial moment from that season. That honour goes to the Premiership Final between South Sydney and Balmain, a match that only one side turned up to play.

So strap on your headgear, put in your mouthguard, and drink your own piss, as we go to the very beginning of rugby league, to tell the story of the only first grade final to be played by only one team. This is a story that involves underhanded deals, war effort funding, and the biggest double cross in Australian sport history, and of course a ranking on our wild and mild board to find the wildest story in the world of sport.

References:

https://www.nrl.com/operations/history-of-rugby-league/#:~:text=Rugby%20league%20began%20in%201895,for%20rugby%20tours%20and%20injuries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dally_Messenger

https://www.theroar.com.au/rugby-league/longform/all-blacks-all-blues-all-golds-the-birth-of-australian-rugby-league-454220/

https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/league-of-legends/game-begins#:~:text=On%208%20August%201907%20a,paid%20for%20playing%20the%20game.

https://rugbyleaguemonthly.com/2020/05/27/the-grand-final-that-never-was/

https://www.theroar.com.au/2022/03/26/the-mother-of-all-feuds-balmain-souths-and-the-1909-premiership-farce/

https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/04/stranger-things-rugby-leagues-history-of-bizarre-events/

https://www.bbmaustralia.org.au/dreadnought-scheme

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1909_NSWRFL_season

https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/12/07/1969-grand-final-rewind-tigers-cook-up-a-bunnies-boilover/

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Music and Cover art:

Zoe Behrendt

Good morrow fine listener, and welcome to the first installment of the Royal Wild World of Sport - the only podcast with the Royal Seal of Approval (approval pending).

The 2026 Winter Olympics have captured our attention and our hearts over the past few weeks, and has lead us on a journey into our new favourite sport- Curling, thanks in no small part to the now infamous exchange between the Canadian and Swedish Men's curling teams.

On this episode we go back over 500 years to the origin of Curling and explore the scandal of Broomgate, the incedent almost almost caused the sport to cease to exist.

And if curling isn't your thing don't worry, this episode is roughly 85% laughing about random non-curling related events with a sprinkle of a wild sports story.

So hit the ice, dust of your broom, and prepare your ears for the first royal addition of Wild World of Sport to find out where Broomgate ranks on our patent pending wild and mild ranking board on our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

References:

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Music and Cover art:

Zoe Behrendt

The NHL, and ice hockey in general, is synonymous around the world with fighting. Sure, everyone loves to see goals, but nothing excites a crowd as much as two players going punch for punch in the middle of the ice - and no one was better at it than legendary Detroit Redwings enforcer Bob Probert.

Bob was a wild character, whose battles extended off the ice and into rehab, where he battled drug and alcohol addiction, and sometimes even his own team. His story of suffering, loss, and eventual redemption encapsulates ice hockey in the renegade days of the 1980s and 90s.

In this episode, Ben sits James and Carlin down to relive the highs and lows, the fights and arrests, and the pee-wee and MVP playing days of Bob Probert, in the stinking hot Wild World of Sport studio (sorry if you can hear our fan in the background).

So throw down your gloves, crack a couple of beers, and get ready to be punched in the mouth with our most explosive story of season 2 yet, on our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

References:

https://www.hockeyfights.com/players/67

https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/p/probebo01.html

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9139848/

https://records.nhl.com/det/records/playoff-skater-records/points/most-points-one-season-playoff

https://media.nhl.com/site/asset/public/ext/2023-24/2023-24Rulebook.pdf

https://records.nhl.com/history/historical-rule-changes

https://www.bu.edu/articles/2011/bu-center-finds-brain-disease-in-nhl-enforcer/#:~:text=Probert%20is%20the%20second%20former%20NHL%20player,at%20the%20age%20of%2073%20with%20dementia%2C

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Music and Cover Art:

Zoe Behrendt

The 1988 Winter Olympics featured one of sports greatest ever underdog stories - the infamous Jamaican bobsled team. The magic of the tropical country competing at the winter games for the first time captured the world’s attention thanks in no small part to the Disney movie Cool Runnings.

However, the movie is almost 100% false, with the films director noting that only “1% of the film is true” - the real story is so much wilder.

So feel the rhythm, feel the ride, strap on your headphones, it’s wild world time. Join Ben and Carlin as James tells the real story of the Jamaican bobsled team, a story that features military prowess, the Prince of Monaco, and a ranking on the scientific wild and mild ranking board on our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

References:

https://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20161007/push-cart-derby-returns-honour-great-jamaicans

https://www.olympics.com/en/olympic-games/calgary-1988/results/bobsleigh/two-man-men

https://www.nine.com.au/entertainment/latest/cool-runnings-true-story-dark-truth-behind-the-real-life-bobsleighers/eea1f414-6f40-4407-8660-1444a44ecf75

https://www.olympics.com/en/news/jamaican-bobsleigh-team-1988-winter-olympics

https://jamaicans.com/first-jamaican-mens-bobsled-team/#:~:text=The%20team's%20participation%20in%20the,%E2%80%9CCool%20Runnings%E2%80%9D%20in%201993.

https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/schedule/bob

https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/9.6992545

https://bsfnigeria.com/\

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7v4oTquF6qw0qB8VEd8cuh?si=14baa3ed072144e9

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Music and cover art:

Zoe Behrendt

Australia has a famous saying for when someone has unlikely or unusual success - doing a Bradbury. The term comes from Steven Bradbury who became the first Australian to win a Winter Olympic Gold Medal when the four other racers ahead of him slipped over on the final lap, allowing him to glide over the line and into the history books.

But Stevens story is so much more than some final turn luck, one that involves multiple near death experiences, the original Project Mbappe, and the deadliness of competitive speed skating. One of Australia's national sporting icons is the perfect place to start season 2, and ties in perfectly to the beginning of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

So sit back, relax, and glide into our season 2 debut ffor the same wild antics you know and love from your three hosts on their journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

References:

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Music and cover art:

Zoe Behrendt

After a wild, wacky, and weird first season, James, Ben, and Carlin sit down to once and for all crown the wildest story with an official re-rank to end season one.

Thanks to executive producer Zoe, the boys have a state of the art, highly scientific system at their disposal to accurately and officially rank all 21 stories told in 2025 - The W.I.L.D.N.E.S.S Scale (Patent pending).

So sit back, crack a couple of beers, and prepare for over 2 hours of unbiased circle-jerking fun as your three hosts take a trip down memory lane and relive each and every one of this year’s wild stories on their journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Music, cover art, and ranking system:

Zoe Behrendt

When Wilma Rudolph was born premature and underweight, her family knew she would have a tough life ahead of her. Then, after contracting measles, pneumonia, Scarlett fever, and paralytic polio, doctors told her mother that she would likely never walk again. But she regained the ability to walk and only a few years later, Wilma was competing at the 1956 Olympics in three sprinting events. Four years after that, she had broken multiple world records and won gold in three different events.

So hit the starting blocks and prepare to sprint to the finish line for the penultimate episode of Wild World of Sport season one. Our Christmas special features discussions about debilitating diseases, Shaquille O’Neil’s birth weight, and our final ranking on our wild and mild board for 2025, in our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

Sources:

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/wilma-rudolph#:~:text=Rudolph%20survived%20bouts%20of%20polio,mother%20told%20me%20I%20would.

https://www.olympics.com/en/news/remarkable-rudolph-defies-odds-with-sprint-treble

https://www.olympics.com/en/athletes/wilma-rudolph

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/polio/symptoms-causes/syc-20376512

https://www.achievementnetwork.org/hubfs/blog%20pdfs/Wilma+Rudolph+Text+and+Textual+Analysis.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/1961/02/04/archives/one-world-indoor-record-set-and-two-tied-in-millrose-track-at.html

https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/wilma-rudolph#:~:text=She%20also%20became%20a%20motivational,Athletic%20Association's%20Silver%20Anniversary%20Award.

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Music and cover art:

Zoe Behrendt

Cynisca, princess of Sparta was born in the late 5th century BCE and lived into the 4th century BCE. Cynisca is famous for holding the prestigious title of being the first woman to win an Olympic event in history - during a period when women were not allowed to compete or even spectate the event, under punishment of death. She accomplished this by exploiting a loophole in the rules, and her victories paved the way for other women to be able to compete in the Olympics for the first time in hundreds of years.

So sit back and enjoy a dive down the ancient Olympics rabbit hole featuring a debate on partridges in pear trees, a dodgy microphone, and three men interrupting a women - who happens to be the only qualified person on a show trying to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

Sources:

https://www.olympics.com/en/news/five-historic-firsts-for-female-olympians

https://www.olympics.com/en/news/12-july-1912-fanny-durack-becomes-the-first-female-olympic-swimming-champion

https://www.jstor.org/stable/43610326

https://www.thoughtco.com/women-at-the-olympic-games-120123

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/ancient-olympic-games/spectators

Women in Ancient Greece - World History Encyclopedia

Spartan Women - World History Encyclopedia

Collections: This. Isn’t. Sparta. Part III: Spartan Women – A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry

The Lion of Sparta: Agesilaus II and the Impossible Empire | by Leslie | Time Chronicles | Medium Scanlon, Thomas F. (6 April 2004). "Games for Girls". Archaeology. Archaeological Institute of America.

Pausanias, Description of Greece, Elis 1, chapter 6

Pherenike of Rhodes: The Ancient Greek Mom Who Risked All to Guarantee Her Son's Olympic Glory - The Pappas Post

Pherenike the Female Olympic Trainer - World History Encyclopedia

https://theconversation.com/hidden-women-of-history-kyniska-the-first-female-olympian-123909

https://www.thoughtco.com/women-at-the-olympic-games-120123

Pausanias, the first travel writer: a historical perspective | Journal of Travel Medicine | Oxford Academic

https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2021/07/26/alluring-anecdotes-about-the-olympic-games/

Chariot racing - Ancient Olympic Games IvO 160 - PHI Greek Inscriptions ToposText P17103coll10_1784.pdf

https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/downloads/j6731770d?locale=en

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Zoe Behrendt

Music and cover art:

Zoe Behrendt