Well, my team made it through to the Grand Final that is going to be played this coming Sunday in Sydney. My team, if you didn't already know it, are the St George Dragons (click here to see the Dragons' website). It was a bit touch and go on Saturday night, when they were playing in the semi-final against Wests Tigers. I admit, it was REALLY awesome to see them live, in a semi-final. I haven't been to a semi-final before, and...well...the atmosphere was just...perfect.
At half time my team was down 12-6. Wests had two converted tries, and we only had the one. The teams were fairly good at being picked up on infringing the 10 metre distance between the tackled player and the defenders, until about 10-15 minutes before the end of the first half. Then things really started getting interesting. Yes, Wests had scored in the first 15 minutes, which should have been disallowed due to interference. Two of the Dragons were taken out, defending, and so a gap was produced that someone could just run straight through to score. Not fair. That is not what rugby league is about. If you want to play that kind of game, go over to America.
Anyway, St George came back and scored a converted try, so it was 6 all for another 10 or so minutes. Then the Tigers scored another try - off a forward pass. St George should have been given the ball after the Wests fellas passed the ball forward. Yes, they may have scored another try in the first half even if the Dragons had got the ball because of the forward pass - but the pass should have been picked up, considering St George's had been, and they were close to scoring a try then, as well!
Anyway, half-time came and went. About half-way through the second half, the Dragons go in for a try! They converted it, too. That made it 12 all. Two other attempts had been made, but they were unsuccessful, unfortunately. The Tigers' fans that I was sitting near - they were starting to get not only nervous, but unhappy as well. It was not looking good for their team. They had been eager, pleased as punch, and assured in many ways, at the start and after the second try had been converted, they were now anxious and unsure.
With roughly 5 minutes left of the second half, Jamie Soward kicked for a field goal. This does not always work - field goal attempts tend to go off to the side. But his went straight through, and the Dragons were leading, 13-12. It was unbelieveable! The atmosphere, as I mentioned, was ecstatic for all the Dragons fans that were there - and there were A LOT! The Tigers fans were starting to despair - but they still had roughly 5 minutes! In football, anything can happen in five minutes.
And something nearly did happen with only 30 seconds to go. A missed tackle and one of the Tigers was running up the sideline opposite to where we were sitting. Thankfully, one of the Dragons got him, and they started wrapping up the match when Benji Marshall (the best player in the NRL, according to the person I was sitting next to for the game - a Tigers fan) kicked the ball out, and there was going to have to be a scrum with only 10 seconds to go. It didn't take place, and the players started shaking hands, with the siren going off in the background. The roar of the crowd was astounding, with Dragons fans hugging, high-fiving, and singing the team song all around! It was....(what's another word I can use???)...phenomenal!
I must say, as well, that leaving the stadium was not a nightmare as I thought it might be. The crowd was good, and didn't push to try to get out or onto trains at the station, and we were all generally well behaved. Of course, there was a bit of a problem between a Tiger supporter and a Dragon supporter towards the end of the match - didn't see anything much and security was onto them before I knew anything about it.
And now, guess what? My dad has informed me that maybe, just maybe, he might be able to get two tickets to the grand final! That would be AMAZING! I would love to go, to see my (and his) team win - crossing fingers!
Here's hoping to the Dragons pulling off a Grand Final win; to win not only the Minor Premiership, but also the Major Premiership. Good luck, guys!
No comments:
Post a Comment