Ian Heads: "Just wanted to say that I think it's an admirable piece of scholarship - and a tribute to the hard work and research you have put in. Your book will be a valuable addition to rugby league and rugby union literature. I think it's a fine and fascinating piece of work. I can't imagine how many hours you must have spent pouring through microfilm and old papers."

Ian Heads is a noted sports historian, writer and publisher, working in the industry since the mid-1960s. He is the author of True Blue (the history of the NSWRL) and The Kangaroos (the history of Australian touring teams). Ian became managing editor of Rugby League Week in 1981. Since 1988 he has authored or co-authored over thirty books, including autobiographies of Arthur Beetson, Peter Sterling, Mark Taylor, Louise Sauvage, Nova Peris, Des Renford, Wayne Pearce, George Piggins and Ken Arthurson. His most recent work is A Rugby Life - the biography of Matthew Burke (Wallabies and NSW Waratahs).

Peter Sharpham: "It is superbly researched and a very interesting read - in years to come it will be considered a classic."

Peter Sharpham, sports historian and author. His works include The First Wallabies, plus cricket books: Charlie Macartney: Cricket's 'Governor-General', Victor Trumper: The Definitive Biography, The 1899 Australians in England.

Tony Collins: "I've just finished reading the manuscript. I thought it was magnificent. Aside from the excellence of the content, the layout and illustrations look great. It's a magnificent piece of work. It's fantastically well-researched and very well written. It tells a great story and never flags for pace. Most importantly, it fills a huge gap in the history of the rugby codes, and of sport in Australia. Congratulations on a great achievement - you've raised the bar for football historians in Australia (and elsewhere too!)"

Dr Tony Collins is author of Rugby's Great Split (a UK book on the 1895 divide of Union/League) and the Rugby Football League's (England) archivist. He has written many published articles on sports history and is currently a Research Fellow at the International Centre for Sports History and Culture at De Montfort University, Leicester.

Max Howell: "Congratulations on your outstanding work."

Max Howell is a rugby historian, author and former Wallaby (5 Tests). He is also a voting member of the"Wallaby Hall of Fame". His most recent book is the two-volume set They Came to Conquer - International Rugby Tours to Australia from 1884 to 2001.

Geoff Armstrong: "I think it is an outstanding piece of work, easily the best and most comprehensive record of the evolution of rugby up to the birth of the NSW Rugby League. You should be very proud of the work you've put in; it certainly has given me a much greater understanding of the period 1905 to 1907. It is very good, and will prove to be an important piece of sporting literature."

Geoff Armstrong has been involved in sports writing as an author, editor, publisher and researcher for over a decade. He wrote the official centenary book of Sheffield Shield cricket, A Century of Summers and he compiled and edited the rugby league anthology The Greatest Game. He is co-author with Mark Gately of the first history of Australia in international one-day cricket and together with Mike Whitney he wrote Whiticisms. Geoff has also worked with Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh on all seven of Waugh's best-selling books and in 2000 he co-wrote Phar Lap with Peter Thompson.

Terry Williams: "The establishment of rugby league was not an overnight phenomenon. The Rugby Rebellion traces the changing sporting landscape in NSW and Queensland over the first decade of the twentieth century and sheds new light on this intriguing story. The depth of scholarship sets new standards for rugby league historians and gives the reader an armchair ride through the tumultuous events that led to the birth of rugby league in Australia."

Terry Williams is the Australian Rugby League Historian and convenor for the ARL 'Hall of Fame'. He also wrote Out of the Blue, the official club history of the Newtown Bluebags/Jets, and is the editor of Sydney League News.

Dally Messenger III: "Your book looks great and well researched. I think it is wonderful that you are writing up the history from a newly researched point of view."

Dally Messenger III is the grandson of Herbert 'Dally' Messenger. In 1982 he wrote The Master - The Beginnings of Australian Rugby League.

Pat Walsh: "Very impressed with the book, you managed to fit in a huge amount of information. It is head and shoulders above any other book on that era. It sets the benchmark for accurate Rugby Union/League History, which had been under threat of being forgotten forever."

Pat Walsh is the grandson of Dual Australian Test player Pat 'Nimmo' Walsh, and has undertaken extensive research into his grandfather's football career and WW1 service.