David EdwardsNRL: Raiders v Souths Summary
August 24th 2008 23:37
With the Olympics finally over after 3 arduous weeks, we are free finally to focus our undivided attention on Australian domestic sport. Having not been to an NRL match all year, i decided to undertake a bit of investigative journalism - by travelling to the spiritual home of rugby league (ANZ Stadium, Homebush) and taking in a Raiders v Souths match.
I got to the ground early - something that is necessary at ANZ Stadium. Not due to the possibility of the game selling out, as there were at least 90,000 spare seats at the game, but because i had to find an ATM to get cash out, a process that normally takes about 3 hours at Homebush. After doing so at the Novotel, i was bewildered to find that the once barren "Raiders Army" had grown exponentially since my last visit to a game - now nearing at least three or four hundred parochial fans. All of them were drinking heavily. This was something that hadn't changed. However these were beers of hope, beers filled with promise and excitement. They were also beers filled with Tooheys New, the shittest beer in the world.
In the spirit of gonzo journalism and Hunter .S. Thompson himself, i decided the experience would be best enhanced through the consumption of alcohol (in the absence of mescaline/ether). After the worst Tooheys New of my life (which set me back $5.80) served in a flimsy plastic cup, i chose to enjoy the game sans beers.
The sea of Raiders jerseys at the game was breathtaking, akin to an Olympic opening ceremony. The sheer diversity of fans jerseys were astonishing. Men clearly took pride in trying to wear the most obscure Raiders jersey possible, with my personal favourite of the afternoon being a tattered, 1997 Super League jersey, worn by one fan with a deep appreciation of irony. Suddenly my own 1987 "Woodgers" jersey paled in comparison, however it did recieve many compliments from sections of the "Army". To my bemusement I did see a "Woodgers" 1987 away jersey, which obviously never existed. Some profiteer had obviously capitalised on the irony factor, and the new wave of retro jerseys which has swept the country of late. Whilst i knew this jersey never existed in the 80s, i still marvelled at its obscurity.
The game itself started badly. After the initial joy of a Adrian Purtell intercept, tries through Chris Sandow and Isaac Luke brought Souths ahead - and at half-time the Bunnies were leading 19-6, with a presumptuous Sandow field goal accounting for the obscure scoreline.
The Raiders Army remained buoyant however, somewhat oblivious to the fact that Mark Herbert and Troy Thompson had both suffered season ending injuries. Instead they danced like drunken medieval warriors toasting a victory, holding banners aloft that read "Sterling Thurling", "Campese Championese", "Simply the Best", etc. Nothing could burst this juggernaut.
Indeed this juggernaut was water-tight, as the second half yielded a flurry of Canberra tries -with the final score being 40-25 in favour of the Green Machine. The Raiders Army rejoiced heartily, as beers were spilled over young children and old men alike, but no-one seemed to care. At one stage a policeman came over (in the wake of last week's missile at Matai incident) somewhat apprehensively to request some discipline, but nothing escalated - as this was nothing but pure, unadulterated joy. Youngsters and veterans alike - Raiders fans from Generations X,Y, (and even a smattering of Baby Boomers) - all gathered to pay homage to a Raiders side depleted by injuries, yet working together as a cohesive unit to achieve the possibility of a top four finish.
Fans rushed to the sideline fence to shake hands/embrace their favourite sons, as scenes began to resemble that of returned soldiers greeting their families after years of isolated combat. Grown men - who were probably once homophobic jocks in their youth - hugged each other, brought together by a shared, platonic love (for the Raiders).
The win keeps Canberra in 6th position, just ahead of St George-Illawarra on for and against, however without a half-back and a front rower, Canberra are now more depleted than they have ever been before. Not that this will affect the Green Machine, as they press for a top four spot and a chance to cause some serious upsets in September.
If Canberra come 6th they will play Cronulla at Cronulla. Assuming that Manly and Melbourne win convincingly, even a loss to the Sharks would allow Canberra 2 bites at the "proverbial" - the proverbial acting as a euphemism for Grand Final aspirations.
As for SportingMind, it was a long walk back to the car and a one hour battle with traffic back home. Fuck these games at Homebush.
-SportingMind
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