There’s no rugby league experience quite like a Newtown Jets home game. The big stadiums will never be able to match the charm, passion and community spirit of a place like Henson, a beacon of suburban footy.
A Kiwi himself, Kara knows quite a few of the lads in the Warriors’ squad, who help the brothers among the Jets’ numbers with an after-match haka in tribute of Kara’s milestone game. You can feel the rugby league love in the air.
As the afternoon sun starts to fade, if you’ve had a good day out you’ve tried four, five, or six different beers and been able to fit in a sausage sanger or a curry or whatever. If you’ve bought a coat, earlier you looked like a numpty in the boiling sun, but now you’re the smartest footy goer this side of Leichhardt Oval.
The staffer in the mascot suit has had a big day. He actually looks more like a blue alien or a missile than a jet. But no one cares. That’s not the point. Shuddup and go and cash those tokens in for more craft beers before the stalls shut. Personal bugbear time: at said Sydney Football Stadium, or Allianz Stadium as it’s known today, the bars close 20 minutes before the end of the game. The roller-door shutters go up, making you feel guilty for wanting a few more plastic cups of terrible, factory-pumped, mass-produced brew. Here at Henson, you ask a groovy youngster manning a stall when the tents will be turning the taps off: “Oh, another hour after the game finishes, I’d reckon.” This is heaven. Not sure how I died, but I think I like it up here.
If you’ve forgotten the score, no worries, it’s still emblazoned up there on the board … again, an hour after the game has finished. By now, the 150-games-man Kara has camped himself on it in front of the numerals, Robbie Farah farewell to Leichhardt-style.
As night falls, there’s no need to rush off home. Stay as long as you like here. Don’t skol your beer; this is different. This is Henson Park. It’s been a big day, an important one for the suburban advocates. As the Dutch courage settles in during the final stages of his last craft beer, your author starts pumping out the images of that massive crowd that gathered on the hill across various Twitter accounts.
Hard to believe there’s talk that Sydney doesn’t love its rugby league anymore. That the sport in New South Wales is under threat from soccer and Australian rules. Tell that to the thousands who rocked up to a mere suburban, reserve grade match in Sydney today.
(Story as appeared In Inside Sport, October 2017 edition)
Related Articles
Viva Las Vegas: Join Golf Australia magazine's Matt Cleary on a golf and rugby league spectacular
19 Holes With ... Chad Townsend and Val Holmes
