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I was born and bred in North Essendon, Melbourne, in 1976, walking distance from Windy Hill, Essendon’s holy turf, the sweetest of all suburban Australian Football grounds.
In the early to mid 1980s, life was literally black and red in every sense of the word.
Every second Saturday we strolled up Napier Street to see great players like Daniher, Watson, Madden and Merrett win back to back Premierships in 84 and 85.
Life was very good, indeed.
In 1987, at the age of 11, my family moved to the Gold Coast and we were introduced to a game we didn’t even know existed. It was called Rugby League.
We watched a game on a weeknight. They called it State of Origin. Of course, we had heard of this as they had played State Football (Vics vs SA and WA) for decades.
But this was something quite different.
That night we saw such players as Wally Lewis, Langer, Ettingshausen, Jack, Backo … the list goes on. We, as a Melbourne family in Queensland, were totally enthralled. This rivalry was unparalleled.
As time goes by my blood still bleeds black and red. I am an Essendon member for life.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to study the laws of Rugby Union because I never really could understand what was going on at each tackle. It always looked like a mess.
Now, I know exactly what is happening and this RWC is one of the most amazing sporting events I have ever seen.
Australian Football codes are something to celebrate!
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