Warriors 50 - Raiders 16

 
Saturday we went to the Warriors rugby league match. It was an exciting game as they had to win to stay in the top 8- and they did! 50-16!!

It was a really cozy stadium and we sat really close to the south endzone, so it was easy to see even the expressions on the players' faces as they made a try (4 points). Above is the general sequence of the game- work the ball down the field, touch the ball in the end zone for a try (4 pts), kick the ball into the posts from the 22m line in line with where the ball touched the end zone (2 pts). At least that's what I understood, :-P

After all that, the team who just scored gets the ball kicked back to them and gets to start the process again! This custom seemed a bit backwards to me at first (dare I say antipodal), but once I saw how tricky it can be to get the ball all the way down the field I understood it a bit better. We did see a few long runs though that were pretty impressive and contributed to the large score difference.

The stadium wasn't too big- it was pretty full and 15,000 people were in attendance. We sat right next to this little drum group, which made it feel a bit like a high school or college game having them so close.

Another funny thing was this little 4-wheeler who rolled onto the field to bring the tee in and out for kick offs. Even though someone else was usually running onto the field to place the ball, he still had to drive on with the tee.

Overall it was a great game and a fun atmosphere. I hope the next rugby match (rugby union this time, a slightly different sport in ways still beyond my comprehension) is as entertaining.