Round 2 was my first trip to Kogarah for 2022 and it was great to see 10K+ vocal fans turn up. The atmosphere felt closer to 15K. I enjoyed seeing queues back for food and drink (probably not enjoyed as much by those wanting a meat pie and chips).
Similar scenes across the Georges River in Sharkie territory, the same will be experienced at Leichhardt Oval, the rejuvenating Brookvale Oval, Penrith and Campbelltown. The mighty Newtown Jets at Henson Park.
If your team is fortunate enough to play in one of these boutique grounds, make an effort to experience old school suburbia atmosphere.
Farewell Sticks
The game at Kogarah was also a tribute to the late Norm Provan.
The pregame ceremony was a nice tribute and acknowledgement of all he had done for the St George Dragons, NSW and Australia.
It was also fantastic to see Bayside Council agree to name the grand stand after the great man. The ground is council owned, and accommodates multiple teams and codes, but there could be no more fitting person to name the stand after than the 10 time Premiership winning Immortal.
Protected Species?
Enough has been said about the Jaydn Su’A’s tackle on Sean O’Sullivan and subsequent sinbinning in the Dragons v Panthers match.
Sent off for 10 minutes for making a tackle that was not high or late, and then, all the Panthers points came in.
But you wouldn’t know this if you relied on nrl.com for match reports or news articles.
What I know is what I witnessed. Granted, home crowds are parochial and one-eyed (I like to think I am less biased).
From being constantly offside to slowing the ruck, it felt like the more the crowd reacted, the more Teflon the referees became.
When O’Sullivan stayed down. Laid on the ground. Maybe he didn’t realise how hard a forward can tackle. Whatever reason he stayed down,when he miraculously rose to his feet, like an Italian soccer player, he was surprised at being sent off for a head injury assessment.
The NRL rules are if a player stays down, out cold, he cannot return in the game.
O’Sullivan returned 10 minutes later. You will read about this in every other media channel, just not at nrl.com.
Round 3
There are a lot of interesting matchups this round.
- The local derby between the Dragons and Sharks.
- Who will win in the Book of Feuds?
- Will Manly break their drought at home?
- Wests Tigers v Warriors!!!
If you need some guidance, you can always look at what Footy Tipper has selected. It is beating all of us!
Good luck with your selections and your team this weekend.
-Rob
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