State of Origin

One of the benefits of my new job is that I can get complimentary tickets for almost any sporting event in Melbourne. Not only are the tickets I get free of charge but they are also corporate tickets, which tends to mean the seats are in premium locations. Last night I was lucky enough to get tickets to the first game of the State of Origin series at the Ethiad stadium. The State of Origin Series is huge in Australia and the concept is simply brilliant. Its a Rugby league match between Queensland and New South Wales, arguably the two biggest rugby states in Australia, and all the players from each team have to be born in the state they represent. The English equivalent would be taking the 11 best professional footballers born in the north of England and playing them against the 11 best from the south. As you can imagine, things get a little heated from time to time, and if you put that aggression into a rugby league match then the steroid induced sparks fly.

My colleagues from soccer fever and I went to the game straight from work and to get into the spirit of things we decided to support Queensland and wear something maroon. There was a selection of scarves and jerseys left over from old stock, so the guys grabbed them and I drew the short straw and had to wear a maroon scrum cap. Anyhow, we headed of to the game, stopping for a quick beverage on route, and found our seats at the ground. As usual they were fantastic seats on the front row of the 2nd tier, the game was pretty impressive too. I've not been to many Rugby matches in my life, in-fact this was my first, and I'm not overly familiar with the rules of Rugby league, but I thoroughly enjoyed the game. You could tell the players really wanted to win by the commitment of in tackles and the way they celebrated when they scored.

After the match I headed home and realised I had forgotten my keys. Luckily for me, the bedroom window was left open so I started to pull myself through. About half way, I encountered big Irish housemate Dave looking very aggressive. Turns out, he thought I was a burglar and was about to attack me. I suppose the scrum hat could have come in handy after all.