Blake Ayshford discovers the entire NRL grid trivia game is built around his career.
This episode features hosts Cal Tiley and Paul Mawate alongside guests Nick Tedeschi and former player Blake Ashford playing the NRL Grid, a trivia game for dedicated rugby league fans. The grid's categories required naming players who fit specific combinations of teams, seasons, and personal connections to Ashford. The group aimed to score over 10 points on the puzzle, which was humorously deemed the "Blake Ashford grid" due to his central role in the clues.
One category required a player who played for the Warriors and in the 2013 season, with suggestions like Dominic Peyroux and Kevin Locke. Another square sought a player for both the Warriors and Sharks, leading to answers like Jason Bukuya and Jonathan Wright. The puzzle also asked for a teammate of Luke Lewis who played in 2013, with Luke Walsh proposed. A player who was a teammate of both Luke Lewis and Blake Ashford was identified as Nathan Gardner. For a Tigers player from 2013, Jared Farlow was named, scoring a rare 0.01% selection rate. The final challenging square sought a Tigers player who was also Ashford's teammate, with Sean Meaney and Jack Buchanan debated.
A memorable moment was Ashford recalling getting dropped with Nathan Gardner and eating fast food before training. The reveal that Jared Farlow was selected by only 0.01% of players highlighted the deep cut nature of the trivia. The group discovered they were second overall on the leaderboard with a score of 10.7 during the game. The tone was consistently lighthearted and competitive, with banter about obscure players and past team eras. The style is conversational and insider-focused, revolving around shared nostalgia and rugby league esoterica.
This episode is perfect for NRL enthusiasts who enjoy trivia, player history, and casual podcast banter. Listeners with no interest in rugby league or its niche statistics would likely find it inaccessible.
