State of Origin

Last Wednesday night six of us braved the cold (yes, we are now in winter and very occasionally we get to see our own breath) to go to Telstra Stadium and watch the second game in the State of Origin series between New South Wales and Queensland.

It's rugby league at it's best and is the biggest game in Australia. They bill it as "State vs State, Mate vs Mate" and everyone gets fired up for it. I've watched it on TV a few times before but I really wanted to go along and sample the atmosphere.

I've only ever been to one game of rugby league before and, apart from the cricket, it was the best sporting event I've been to in Australia. Coming from the south of England, rugby league is rarely talked about. But for me it is my favourite sport out here. AFL is great when the game is close, otherwise it's pretty dull. I love football more than any other sport but Sydney FC did nothing for me whatsoever. Cricket is loads of fun and I'm bound to get into it again when India come over to tour later in the year. I haven't got Foxtel so watching England at the moment isn't easy. So that leaves me with the two rugby's - Union and League. I've been to a couple of union games and have enjoyed them both but I get a bit frustrated when they keep hoofing it up the pitch. Ok, there are some nices plays where the ball is spread all the way across the field (although I'm told that this can happen in league) but it still doesn't do that much for me. Rugby league is much faster and tougher. The players just seem to enjoy running into each other at full speed. You can't help but admire these guys as they smash into each other. See what I mean?

Back in England I would never have found myself thinking it, let alone saying it, but it's true. I really like rugby league. There. I've said it. I wonder if it has a 12 step program?

Anyway, Wednesday's nights game was a close affair and QLD beat NSW 10-6 to retain the State of Origin trophy. It was the first time they had won at Telstra since 1999. Before the game NSW had been told to search for some "mongrel" and "bring back the biff". Unfortuantely they were lacking in both. The hits were big but they just didn't have what it takes (we were hoping to see a lot of massive hits like these). Once again the atmosphere was a little strange. There was no segregation so there were very few songs being sung, but I did see one guy being evicted from the ground. There just seemed to be lots of beered up banter all over the place. I miss crowds singing their favourite songs at the opposition and vice-versa.

I'm not sure if it was everyone's idea of a good night out but we all seemed to enjoy the experience. I just need to get myself to Brooky Oval one day, drinks some tins on the Hill and support my local team, the Manly Sea Eagles.