Rugby League

I went to watch my first NRL 'footie' game last night - rugby league to the English - at the nearby Brookvale Oval, where the local Manly Sea Eagles team were taking on the New Zealand Warriors. Manly had not won either of their first 2 games this season after having finished the previous season as runners-up in the 'Grand Final', plus there is a strong movement to get some investment in their stadium. Also the local paper last week claimed that only 200 tickets had been pre-sold for the game and they were encouraging more support for the team.

So last night was as good a night as any to go, being a warm evening after a clear sunny day. I had encouraged another expat friend, Paul, to come along and we got there just in time for kick-off at 7pm. There should have been few concerns about the crowd as there were over 10,000 there although there was still plenty of space. Two sides of the stadium have stands and the rest is open seating and raised grass banking.

It was a good atmosphere, with plenty of families also enjoying the game and, in the event, Manly had a resounding win in a very one-sided game, so most of the crowd went home happy! The NRL is a predominantly NSW/Queensland game (as is rugby union) whereas Victoria (Melbourne) has a stronger tradition in AFL (Aussie-rules football).