Bad Boys: AFL, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Soccer

"They say, best men are moulded out of faults, and, for the most, become much more the better for being a little bad." Shakespeare, Measure for Measure

When do the football codes burn brightest? When the fireflies of controversy dance around them.

Roy Masters examines the sex scandals, fierce rivalries, gambling excesses, boardroom rants, bar-room bust-ups, media headbutting and battle-worn bodies that have challenged all codes of football.

Bringing together historical perspective and contemporary insight, Bad Boys provides a glimpse into the past when 'to be a fan was an act of faith' and the bad-boy prototype was created, and checks the pulse of the new generation of over-indulged players in a media saturated age.

Roy Masters is a legend in the world of sport. He opens his vault of stories from his own days coaching, conversing with and writing about the bad boys. Without shying away from the salacious stories and out-of-bounds antics, Roy brings genuine analysis and investigation into the current state of play and what can be done to apportion the blame, improve the behaviour and put footballers' actions into a larger social context.

Bad Boys takes you into the scrum, behind the locker-room door, into the pub and beyond, and is sure to provoke intra- and inter-code discussions across the country.

Come on, you know you want to hang out with the Bad Boys...