Brisbane Is Home

 

On Saturday 24th February, I went to Davies Park in West End, an inner suburb of Brisbane (click here to see the exact location), to catch the trial match between National Rugby League side Wests Tigers (from Sydney) and the Queensland Cup team Souths Logan Magpies.

There were three games on Saturday - a colts game (young, up and coming players) and a FOGS (A-grade citywide) match, both between the Magpies and local team Easts Tigers. Then there was the main game between Souths and Wests.

I couldn’t get many good pictures of the main game, because my camera isn’t too good in the dark. (I’m saving up for a new one, let me know if you want to help me buy one that costs about $A 450).

 But here’s 30-odd pictures including some of the early games, and a short video including some of the later game. Just keep reading…

By the way, this article would never have happened if not for Shaun at sidelined, the Australian sports blog.

Souths Logan Magpies Colts team comes out for the second half of their game.
The thing I really liked about this game was the suburban atmosphere. NRL is big these days, and usually played in large, corporate stadiums. That’s good for the game, because it means the players can be paid properly and have time to train up and get really skilled, but there is something about watching a game at a suburban football ground that can’t be replaced.

Colts game.

This gives you an idea of how big Rugby League is in Brisbane. It’s as if the Governor of New York State went to NYC to open the clubrooms of a football team that only plays in the all-state league, or if the First Minister of Wales opened a Second Division clubhouse in suburban Cardiff.

 Easts Tigers player tackle a Magpie.

And this is roughly what the Magpie would have seen with his face in the turf.

A scrum is packed while a trainer watches from the sidelines. 

Outside bar. You can’t get a more typical suburban Australian football shot. The games might be different, but there’s always a shed selling meat pies with sauce, hot chips and beer ($3.50 for a schooner of heavy…nice).

(It’s true about the meat pies, and we do say ‘G’day Mate’, (don’t try saying it unless you’ve lived here for a while, you’ll sound wrong) but we don’t have kangaroos bouncing down the main streets and we don’t wear hats with corks dangling down. That episode of the Simpsons is just silly, and if you happen to be a speechwriter for any US President or VP of ANY party, DON’T try working Aussie expressions into the speech. It’s really patronising.)

Anyway…back to the action. 

 

Spectators in the enclosure of the outside bar.

League is a VERY rough game. This player has just had a knock to his head, and the trainer is asking him if he has any blurred vision.

Wests Tigers players and support staff arrive at Davies Park.

One half of a scrum.

   

Magpie feeds the ball into a scrum.

Wests Tigers players watch the FOGS curtain-raiser game.
While Wests were warming up in their rooms, a call went out over the PA for any ladies with black mascara to please bring it to the dressing rooms. I guess this is because mascara can either stop the glare of the overhead lights, or stop sweat from going in your eyes. Or maybe they just wanted to look their best…

Children play on the field at half-time.

The two FOGS teams listen to their coaches at half-time.

Souths pushing towards the try line.

Souths player watches as Easts concede a penalty.

 

Children play on the field before the main game.

Referees walking onto the field.

  

Now this is suburban. At a big stadium game you’d never even see kids allowed on the ground at half-time, and if they were, the lawyers would have a heart attack if anyone even thought of hanging off the goalposts

Easts prepare to play-the-ball after being tackled.  Final scores:

Colts: Souths Logan Magpies d Easts Tigers 36-18
FOGS: Easts Tigers d Souths Logan Magpies 28-6 (Easts 6 tries and 2 conversions, Souths 1 converted try)
NRL trial game: Wests Tigers d Souths Logan Magpies 20-10 (Wests 4 tries, 2 conversions, Souths 2 tries, 1 conversion (1 attempt hit the post)

Shaun at sidelined has a wrap-up of the other trial games from the weekend, and has kindly linked to this article as well. Thanks, Shaun.

This YouTube video shows a little bit of the onfield action, including Wests scoring a try and Wests star Benji Marshall throwing a one-handed pass that got intercepted. The people come out pretty small though, so if you click on the video screen, you’ll get taken to where it is stored at YouTube. Then click on the full-screen button (at the bottom right-hand corner of the video screen when you get to the YouTube page) and you might get a better look at the game.

If you click on any of the pictures in this article, you’ll get taken to the set of photos at flickr, where you can watch them as a slideshow, see different sizes and download them for your own use.

You can also click here for more YouTube vids about rugby league - some of them will give you a much better idea about the speed, power, skill and roughness of the game. Click here for YouTube vids especially about Australia’s NRL (National Rugby League).

There’s a flickr group about Rugby League, which has about 700 photos, and there are about 6 300 photos if you search for ‘Rugby League’ there.

And there’s a flickr group about West End as well, which is the Brisbane suburb where Davies Park is.

So, who do you go for in the NRL or the Super League? Or are you strange, and follow a different sport like Rugby Union, American football or even Canadian football? Leave a comment and let me know how you like to enjoy the weekend.

(And don’t worry, fans of Australian Rules Football, I’ll be covering that game as well. I grew up in Adelaide, after all - go the Double Blues!)