OK..State of Origin tonight... spent it with a Wolves suporter ( actually from wolverhamptoN ) and an Aussie that supports Liverpool.. Masive night and the Queensland boys run it out... good to see a few punch ups and the flying punch that blues No.3 was sin binned for..was quality.. Anyway...come on you marones... and OH yeah..QPR should buy Drogba....!!!
Well done to the Queenslanders this morning mate, had a few quid on them so was well happy with the result. Was a quality bundle for sure and couldn't believe how only one got sin binned...and that was 'cos he ran it to get involved .
Went to the game, funny it was in Melbourne tho. Guess i wanted Queensland to win as they are full of Melbourne players. Good puch up, no 8 game ban, just 10 mins in the bin for a late haymaker. All over in a couple of minutes and just got on with it. (could the FA learn something from that?) btw NOT condoning JBs actions at all. On another note, went to the newsnow feed this morning, not one article that wasn't JB related. Did anything else happen in QPR world?
Agreed...but..Sword.you really needed to see this haymaker.. 16 stone muscle bound bloke, spinted 30 yards, dived over 2 players brawling and landed clean on the fella's chin whilst in the Superman position...!! Dont condone it but definately glad i wasnt on the end of it..!! Ian, would have been a good night out, ground looked sold out so that must be 60K ish? Dont really agree with it being played outside the states though. Trying to bring in a bigger audience i guess !!
It was handbags stuff, my point was that it was over quickly - the referees stepped in, sent someone to cool down and everyone just got on with the game. No further recriminations and well controlled by the referee. Common sense prevailed
Good points lads. I watched the game (although I'm a Union man ) and that Hay-Maker was something. Respect to the guy on the end of it. He didn't even go to ground!
With you on that Queenslander!! - not condoning it either, but reflected on the respect shown to the officials to calm a situation without resorting to red cards. Crowd did not get frustrated til the "dodgy" decision at the end A good night out - most definitely. Melbourne full of interstate supporters; every hotel in town full; pubs re-ordering beer; ground full (over 56,000 - but not quite the numbers as the 2001 Lions 2nd Test). I guess that's why Melbourne bought the game. Shame on QLD and NSW Rugby for taking the money and depriving the supporters of a home game. However Melbourne coffers swelled by the visitors and locals turned up too cos the QLD side had Storm players in it. Sadly it is better going to the rugby here than the football. I've tried A league a few times but can't get excited by it. I prefer watching the Youth teams (at least they try to play decent football and I know some of the lads playing at Heart)- and the Vic Premier League (cos my son plays for South Melbourne in their reserves) When you get down this way QLDer!! let me know - there are a few of us here and I met another one yesterday - an Irish lad who lived in Hammersmith before emigrating
I have too mate. I live directly opposite the GABBA stadium, Home of the Lions. The players coach my kids at school on sports days and are constantly in and around the school. A few of the players also live in our appartment block a drink in the pub my misus runs...SO...It on us all the time. Its a great night out even if the game is a bit "nothingy"....The players are real fit though. If you see the amount of running they do on a cricket pitch and the fact they also play for 2 hours, its quite impressive. Sadly, even though the Raor have won the A-league 2 years running, football (soccer!) is pretty poor to say the least. Nick Ward still gets a game !
You mean when one team pulls away, the rest of the game is a damp squib? I agree with you there. They are very fit though. Not too unlike the Rugger League player's build. You called our game Soccer! Good on ye, soon everyone will come over to the dark side
Being Melbourne based, it is almost mandatory to follow AFL - no-one has anything else to discuss on a Monday morning except the weekend's games, how they went in the footy tipping. It is part of the culture down south. I will watch it on TV and go occasionally as it can be a good night out. I went last Friday night, there were nearly 80,000 at the MCG for a game (Collingwood v Geelong). 90,000 + turned up the following night (Essendon v Richmond). Both were cracking games, close with lots of drama albeit it's not quite got what football has. I do not call it SOCCER, which does spark a few debates and calls for my citizenship to be revoked...
Its great you have 3 different Codes to follow (4 including Union). Ain't Oz the only Country in the World that League is more popular than Union?
Depends which state you are in. League dominates in NSW and QLD, Union is more consistently followed across the country. Wait til the British & Irish Lions tour next year, they will have to play all 5 Super 15 teams - it will be awesome.... The Rebels are fairly new in Victoria but getting some good following (Cipriani was a bit of a tool and they have improved since they sent him back). A new stadium was built a few years back to accommodate rugby and football (AAMI Park) - has helped to lift profile and interest. There's nothing worse than watching one of these games in a ground the size of the MCG - the crowds are great but the view is terrible (particularly with my ageing vision) Swords, as a UNION man, will you follow the Lions tour?
Thanks for the detailed response, Ian. Yes I love the Lions tours. In fact, I think they're even better than following my Country at the World Cup. Its a brilliant concept and I think we do rather well considering the players are just thrown together and have to gel into one of the best teams in the World in just a few weeks. I doubt there'll be many people, other than ex-pats, following the Euro's down your way?
Agreed. i think al the Lions games are going to be sold out over here. I'm hoping top get to at least 1 of them, Probably at The Suncorp. The Reds have quite a big following up mainly due to the Quade Cooper / David Beckham type media intrest. Also been succesful last few years and people have jumped on the bandwagon. As for the Euro's, there will be quite a bit of intrest as Spain, England & Italy are involved. All the worlds major footballing (Soccer-ing?!) leagues. the intrest in fottball is rapidly growing here and most Aussies / people have a favourite team they follow in the EPL and many of them play as well. Also with the massive asian/Japanese/Korean population, they also have a big intrest in the teams. the one thing that may restrict the popularity of the tournament will be the times that the games are played. Just doesnt work for us.!!
The 2013 Lions team could be the best ever based on the last 6 Nations; even so the tests will be sold out easily. I'll be interested to see how the Super 15 games go crowd-wise. We are currently plotting our time off and travel schedule to see as many games as possible. We left it a little late last time and paid a small fortune for test tickets. Will def be in QLD for the 1st test and the Reds game - Queenslander - get the beers frozen and the shrimps on the barbie!!!! Re the Euros, there's a confession looming!!!! I AM WELSH... there I said it. I follow the home nations with some interest and would support them vs others but wish I could get more excited. Therefore I will watch the Euros but wont be breaking my neck to get up at stupid o'clock to watch live like I would for the R's. The Taffs have never been in a tournament since I was born so that's that. A number of my English chums down here are a little despondent at the team news and are considering not watching much of it, hoping for an early exit and the opportunity for RH to start putting a younger side together. Apologies for the delay in responding, work got in the way today. Any more QPR news in the pipeline other than JB?
Ian, you're wellcome up here anytime mate. Bring your swimming togs / boardies and thongs mate as it dont get too cold anytime of the year. Will defo meet up and drag Farflung, queenslandrangers and gold coast along!Also a few others that dont post but are qpr. Beers are standard rquirement in the fridge and most zanussi places sell fridges with a free carton of XXXX or tooheys! I work at Brissies biggest market so prawns, barra, snapper etc are all on the menu every day. We have a bbq at our pool which is on the 7th floor and looks out directly at the Gabba...can see through the shades to catch a few glimpses too.... If you travelling and get stuck for places to stay, let us know..sure some of the boys can put you up for a few nights. Misus runs the pub, so drink is no problem. We'll try not to hold the Wlsh thing against you as long as you agree to do our choice of "challenges"!! Spk soon guys Q.
