When too much Footy is barely enough
You would think that after a five month off-season the opening round of the competition, eight games spread across five days, would be enough to satisfy the hunger of even the most tragic of fans. But no, not for this little black duck, which is why your humble correspondent headed to WIN Stadium for some lower grade action on Saturday afternoon.
Now before you accuse me of being absolutely crazy, it’s not like I drove all the way to Wollongong from say Sydney just to get a rugby league fix. I live in Wollongong and WIN Stadium is only a 5 minute walk from my house. I’m a tragic, not a lunatic.
To say the ground was bathed in sunshine would be a cliché but also the truth. With the Pacific Ocean as the backdrop it’d be a pretty nice place to spend any Saturday afternoon, football or no football. But the footy was on and it turned out to be a pretty good afternoon.
From Tristan Sailor (son of Wendell) making some lovely runs in Harold Matthews to Matthew Jurd (son of Stan?) putting on some bone rattlers in SG Ball, there was plenty to keep the small but vocal crowd interested. There are few more relaxing ways to enjoy a game of footy; far more relaxing than watching the NRL.
There is no compulsion to check your smart phone every five minutes to see the latest stats and make sure your player is on track to score a workhorse try; there’s just the footy.
There are no betting agencies telling you the only way to enjoy the game is to have a bet and no app to download that makes throwing your money away even easier; there’s just the footy.
There is no inane banter from Rabs and Gus to put up with, which isn’t to say there wasn’t a running commentary during the games. Lower grades attract an equal share of old heads who feel it is their duty to let players and refs know exactly how they think they’re going.
There are no shoulder charges either. Whilst the ‘elite’ seem to still struggle with this rule, even 12 months after it was implemented, the lower grades seem to have no such problem and yet are still able to deliver some crowd pleasing hits.
There is no conversation to join using a hashtag, so instead I start a real conversation with the old bloke sitting two seats down. He talks about the players out there who he thinks will be the next big thing and later on when he and his mate are not sure who scored for the Tigers it is I, with keener eyes that are able to decipher the hard to read numbers on their jerseys that lets him know that the player with a turn of pace and a right foot step is neither number 8 nor number 6, but rather number 3, former Western Force player Corey Brown (son of Mrs Brown I presume).
Sure there are no replays, but with no need to have your head down looking at your smart phone or tablet, you’re watching more of the action anyway.
The main game between the Cutters and the Tigers has plenty of interesting factors. The match-up between the five-eighths sees two players at new clubs itching for a shot at the top grade in Sam Williams and Blake Austin. Up front Matt Groat takes on his former team in a bid to impress Dragons officials meanwhile lurking out on the wing for the Tigers is the 117kg Taqele Naiyaravoro, an absolute beast, waiting to be unleashed.
It’s a willing contest with the Tigers leading 16-14 at half time. The second half is not so close with the visitors scoring 18 unanswered points to run out 34-14 winners but by then it doesn’t matter. I’ve already had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
With Wollongong limited to just four NRL premiership games this year, rugby league fans in the Illawarra looking for good afternoon of footy would do well to head along to a few Cutters games. At $10 a ticket, $5 if you get there early enough, it’s hard to go wrong. That goes for all parts of the country. Whether it’s watching Mark O’Meley making his comeback for the Wyong Roos, Chris Sandow scoring a try and five goals in Wenty’s first game of the season or the pure joy the PNG Hunters seem to have by just being in the Queensland Cup there is plenty to enjoy away from the top tier of the game.
Who knows, you might even spot the next NRLCEO gem.
Geoff Adams
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