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At the dawn of another NRL season, sports fans everywhere can be heard cursing the loss of summer, but welcoming the retreat of cricket. “No more Ian Healy!” goes the uniform cry of the jubilant masses.
For while we are a nation of cricket-lovers, obsessing over it to the point of deep and sometimes creepy obsession, I can’t shake the feeling that every cricket summer ultimately leaves many of us feeling cold and underwhelmed.
I’m not sure if it’s the commentators we are forced to endure day in and day out that makes me feel this way, or whether it’s the sport itself, but every year when the coloured clothes come out my interest tends to recede.
Some years it doesn’t even last that long. In the worst of summers, such as last year’s Ashes series, my Christmas dinner will not have finished digestion before I start screaming “Bring on the rugby league!” The ACB certainly wouldn’t like to hear it, but I feel I am not alone.
So while Sachin Tendulkar continues to apply the word “futile” to his ongoing pursuit of 100 international hundreds, and David Hussey continues to prove that limited-overs internationals are only important to the careers of mediocre cricketers, we must all sit and wait.
The All Stars was a start, and I know the Charity Shield and the World Club Challenge are both close at hand, but it’s not enough. It’s never enough.
I want Friday night double-headers, followed by Super Saturday triples, followed by the Sunday game, followed by Monday Night Football! I don’t just want Gallen, I also want Bird, Asotasi and Thaiday! I want my rugby league!
However, despite the footy-less emotional turmoil which is currently destroying me from the inside, I am thankful for one positive, life-affirming indulgence pre-season allows: the glorious pursuit of making predictions.
So here they are, my predictions for who will claim the prizes that matter in the coming year of rugby league.
NRL
Premiers: New Zealand Warriors
Minor Premiers: Newcastle Knights
Wooden Spooners: St George-Illawarra Dragons (Flame on, Dragons fans!)
Dally M Player of the Year: Darius Boyd (though I despise him)
State of Origin
New South Wales 2-1 (I am a Queenslander full of self-loathing right now)
ANZAC Test
New Zealand
Super League
Premiers: Warrington Wolves
Minor Premiers: Les Catalans Dragons
Wooden Spooners: Widnes Vikings
Man of Steel: Leon Pryce
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