Yeah agreed it looks deliberate for advertising. Plus if it was ads, its sneaky and you can accidentally click it when you go for a drop list menu item.
I am an eLearning developer/consultant so UI/UX is rather important to what I produce. Have to factor in alot of front end elements when developing modules, training websites/portals, etc.. Same as you do for web design.
This is easily the best NRL forum. Its modern, and easy to use.
I like how the sub heading in the sidebar are grey, makes them more subtle and we can focus on the content in the middle. I love the Maroon, but its a very bold colour and its draws your attention.
Your blue buttons (post reply, upload a file, etc..) don't meet Aust compliance for colour contrast readability. Same goes for the @ tags and signature hyperlinks within posts. If you want to use that blue you can, but at a minimum you should stick to #3b7394.
Anyway just my 3 cents worth.