Day 347 | Allan Terry Caravan Park: that's Hughenden
45 km | zzOz total: 9,328 km
State against State, mate against mate.
Cliches are thick in the air today, yeah, we’re around to this year’s initial State of Origin battle for Rugby League, the first of 3 games. It’s the pinnacle of the sport, no other place deals out such sublime brutality as the Ozzies.
In Hughenden it’s bigtime, that’s Hughenden, Queensland, and the game is played between Queensland and New South Wales.
Do I need to mention that Queensland is gunning for it’s 7th successive title, not sure how that is euphamised by the commentators, there’s only so far you can go with the Brisbane Lions style of “threepete” from 2002 to 2004. Prior to this run 3 had been the maximum run of wins which shows how dominant this northern state has been in recent years.
Support in this town of 1000 people is high, maroon colours are common, a goofy hat or three, a level of anticipation, guess there’s little else to inspire in the current gloomy geo political climate.
For some reason the game is being played indoors and more remarkably in Melbourne, a place that traditionally has high distain, and large quantities of ignorance about the rules, it’s all AFL, the homegrown and more successful winter code, but nonetheless there’s the town’s standard level of interest in any type of sport, after all they hold The Australian Open Tennis, the Australian Grand Prix, Superbikes, etc, there for a reason, people turn up to watch any major sporting contest that doesn’t involve boxing gloves.
There’s a sausage sizzle tonight in the camp kitchen, it’s an extremely well appointed park for the bucks, ie, $10 a night for your average solo touring cyclist, microwave, glass fronted fridge, bbqs, even a boiling water unit, fixed seating for at least 48 people, or more if they get snuggly, and the town has a butcher who makes exotic, award winning sausages.
The crowds are predominantly Queensland supporters, some well lubricated, what time did they start the drinking, but the atmosphere is jovial and the level of banter high, even if the quality is lacking.
The game lacks something to these inexpert eyes, NSW, The Blues, come out strongly, score first, there’s a surprisingly long and much replayed sequence of “biffo”, something that’s been entirely eliminated in the AFL, (the Melbourne and southern states major sport, even pushing or grappling incidents are not shown on TV in that code), but when a Blue is sent to the sin bin after the blue, they have to play for 10 minutes with one short of the standard contingent on the field, ie, 12 not 13, and the tide turns, the quality side, ie, Queensland applied the pressure where the cliches say it really counts, ie, the scoreboard.
As is often the case where the favourite wins there’s a lack of euphoria in the result.
Give me the unexpected underdog victory any day for excitement, except, of course, when it comes to the All Blacks.