This past weekend was Labour Day weekend in Australia and also the AFL (Australian Football League) and NRL (National Rugby League) Grand Finals. The two sports are completely different and each almost completely contained in one city each. The majority of the AFL teams are in Victoria in Melbourne and the majority of the NRL teams are in Sydney.
I watched the AFL Grand Final with friends at the
Beach Palace Hotel at Coogee Beach. The match was between St. Kilda and Collingwood and was the second Grand Final. The first Grand Final match was played last weekend and resulted in a tie (68-68). Aussie Rules Football has no tiebreaker, not even in the league finals, so the second final was played this Saturday. Fans that attended the first Grand Final, including one of my bosses, were outraged that the first one did not result in a victory for either team. Many have been calling for the rules to be changed, however, it is third time there has been a draw in a final in the 114 years the game has been played. One of my favorite things about the game is that it is played on an oval, though the
beautiful,
long,
lean players in short shorts are definitely my favorite thing. Unfortunately the second final was a blowout with Collingwood winning 108-52.
The main event of the weekend for people in Sydney was the NRL final between the Bondi Roosters and the St. George Dragons. I watched the game at my first's apartment in Bondi. I followed the playoffs in the news and on tv, so I was really excited to watch my first Grand Final. My parents actually moved to Australia 25 years ago on the day of the NRL Grand Final, which added to the excitement of the day. Though the NRL has fewer handsome players than the AFL (aside from
Matt Cooper and a few others) due to the brutal nature of the game, it a really fun sport to watch. Out of all of the versions of football; AFL, Union, NRL; the NRL is the closest to gridiron, which made me very happy, but also wishing that I could watch the Patriots play this season. There is a punt a players run at each other and smash into each other, though they do so without helmets or padding. I will not go beyond that in describing the rules or how the game is played, since I still need to work out the subtleties, but I hope to come back to the U.S. with a fairly good knowledge of the game. But, I can tell you that the St. George Dragons won the match 32-8.
I watched the AFL Grand Final with friends at the Beach Palace Hotel at Coogee Beach. The match was between St. Kilda and Collingwood and was the second Grand Final. The first Grand Final match was played last weekend and resulted in a tie (68-68). Aussie Rules Football has no tiebreaker, not even in the league finals, so the second final was played this Saturday. Fans that attended the first Grand Final, including one of my bosses, were outraged that the first one did not result in a victory for either team. Many have been calling for the rules to be changed, however, it is third time there has been a draw in a final in the 114 years the game has been played. One of my favorite things about the game is that it is played on an oval, though the beautiful, long, lean players in short shorts are definitely my favorite thing. Unfortunately the second final was a blowout with Collingwood winning 108-52.
The main event of the weekend for people in Sydney was the NRL final between the Bondi Roosters and the St. George Dragons. I watched the game at my first's apartment in Bondi. I followed the playoffs in the news and on tv, so I was really excited to watch my first Grand Final. My parents actually moved to Australia 25 years ago on the day of the NRL Grand Final, which added to the excitement of the day. Though the NRL has fewer handsome players than the AFL (aside from Matt Cooper and a few others) due to the brutal nature of the game, it a really fun sport to watch. Out of all of the versions of football; AFL, Union, NRL; the NRL is the closest to gridiron, which made me very happy, but also wishing that I could watch the Patriots play this season. There is a punt a players run at each other and smash into each other, though they do so without helmets or padding. I will not go beyond that in describing the rules or how the game is played, since I still need to work out the subtleties, but I hope to come back to the U.S. with a fairly good knowledge of the game. But, I can tell you that the St. George Dragons won the match 32-8.
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