In the episode of Redfern Now that screens on ABC TV tonight, a prominent recurring character uses the triumph of a rugby league superstar against insurmountable odds as a parable for his own predicament.
It’s not giving too much away to say that the player in question is indigenous, touted as a future Immortal, and currently showing exactly why in a green and gold jersey over in England.
Nor is it the first time the greatest game of all has got a mention in the superb Australian drama, now two episodes into its second six-episode run.
Earlier in tonight’s instalment, titled ‘Starting Over’, another character is watching a South Sydney Rabbitohs game on television, only with ABC Grandstand caller David Morrow on play-by-play duties instead of the home of rugby league’s regular mouthpiece. (So much for gritty realism.)
Shortly after, the key character and his psychologist use talk of the Rabbitohs’ fullback and forward pack to help shake off the weight of uncertainty hanging over the protagonist.
When this episode premiered at The Block the night before season two’s first episode hit the airwaves, a low murmur of understanding went around the crowd of several thousand Redfern locals – blackfellas, whitefellas and otherwise – when the on-screen conversation turned to rugby league.
Rabbitohs jerseys of many different vintages peppered the crowd, though they were nowhere near as ubiquitous as the bunny logo stickers that seem compulsory for car owners (unless they’re a Raiders fan) throughout the inner-Sydney suburb.
A mural of an enormous black rabbit also adorns the beat-up old garage halfway down Regent Street, but it’s not just the Redfern veterans who are showing their sigil.
Two newish small bars, more accustomed to hipsters and hip hoppers respectively than footy fans, proudly display their Rabbitohs fan credentials, pouring cold water on the oft-held suspicion that gentrification signals imminent death for an area’s traditions.
(Ironically, it’s not the new Redfern deserting the Rabbitohs but the Rabbitohs themselves deserting the suburb, with the club forced to construct its future base in Maroubra after their high performance centre plans for Redfern were scuttled by the NSW State Government.)
Hearing those stories of hardship on the small screen, seeing them play out on the streets around you, living them as you shank a conversion attempt that would’ve won some imaginary grand final on the hallowed turf of Redfern Oval, you realise rugby league is more than just a game.
The NRL might be a billion dollar business, the World Cup might be a ‘farce’, the younger players might be governed by self-interest and have no idea about loyalty (much like many 20-year-old males), but ultimately the game is part of the conversation of our lives.
And if you’re down at your favourite Redfern dive pub sharing a beer with a mate, trying to find the words to explain the latest mess you’ve created for yourself, you can always take solace in some footy talk until you’re ready to tackle the real stuff.
Follow Kris on Twitter @KrisSwales
Tommygun
Guest
Don't feel so lonely mate. There is fellow raiders fan fan up the road in erko!
Zee
Roar Guru
Beautiful article mate. Redfern is more than a suburb Its a spiritual home
Muzz
Guest
Thanks Kris BA Sports, The club is interested in the BAT site not the council.
Kris Swales
Expert
Thank you sir! If the Raiders were getting talked about on tele and had stickers everywhere I'd be as proud as you are.
Kris Swales
Expert
I just know what I'd read in the papers, but seems the Randwick Council is involved with Federal funding - http://www.randwick.nsw.gov.au/Your_Council/Whats_Happening/News/index.aspx?itemDetails=20244
Bunny Lord
Guest
As a Souths fan, this article makes me truly proud. Well said and written, good sir. Thank you for your valuable and appreciated insight.
The Spectator
Roar Guru
i watched a game in silence a few weeks back and managed to lip read whilst watching and in stoppages the conversations on field were well worth watching whilst muted. Love on field banter!
Muzz
Guest
A staff member at the Des Renford Aquatic Centre which is located at Heffron Park mentioned the above and i was hoping Kris may know more.
BA Sports
Guest
I believe BAT don't do any (or at least very, very little) manufacturing there anymore and most of their office staff have relocated into the City. They have shed loads of paperwork which they have to retain for litigation purposes but other than that, the site is pretty dormant. That said, the Heffron Park redevelopment is about $34m and currently largely unfunded so I don't know where Council would get the money to buy additional land. Is there an updated plan for Heffron Park because the original plans didn't have a high performance centre in them?,
Kris Swales
Expert
I've tried doing this on Sunday arvos but I can never get it to sync up - for some reason Morrow is calling the second half, but the Channel Nine pictures are showing the first!
Robz
Guest
"watching a South Sydney Rabbitohs game on television, only with ABC Grandstand caller David Morrow on play-by-play duties instead of the home of rugby league’s regular mouthpiece. (So much for gritty realism.)" I'd say that's actually more of a reality than you'd think - pretty much everyone I know mutes channel 9 and gets their audio via ABC radio. But anyway - great article :-)
Muzz
Guest
Kris, Nice article mate. Do you know if it's Randwick Council that is paying and building the new high performance centre at Heffron Park and the club will be looking at leasing this.I also heard that they were looking to purchase part of the land next to Westfields Eastgardens,perhaps they are looking to relocate the Leagues club.At present there is a tobacco company that is operating on this site.
Kris Swales
Expert
I am - the only one in Redfern as far as I can tell from the car stickers!
ctar
Guest
are you a raiders fan? i don't get it... nice article btw
BA Sports
Guest
No doubt there is good connection between the Rabbitohs and their (traditional) local community, probably the best in the NRL. But I checked out some of the training facilities (which are the traditional home grounds) of some of the Melbourne based AFL clubs recently and they are fantastic. The best, IMO, is the Western Bulldogs and EJ Whitten Oval. The park is open to the public to play on, no fences, except when the elite squads are training. The training facilities are great, there is a childcare centre, large café, museum pieces, office spaces for both the club and other like businesses and a sports hall for community use. Its a great community asset and you can tell it is embraced by the local community. North Melbourne and a few of the other clubs all have similar set ups. Once again, it would seem that overall, the AFL (and VIC government) do it better.
Kris Swales
Expert
Well he's done it before, don't see why he can't do it again.
ciudadmarron
Guest
Nice piece. Clubs that belong and connect and resonate with their community have something that makes them more than a franchise in the eyes of their followers. Having lived in redfern myself in the dark days before Our Russ and co stepped in, it is fantastic to see the bunnies maintain a real presence actually in the area with the lovely training ground that is open to the public. And a big shame if they are leaving, even if it is only a short distance away and within their south Sydney remit. I always thought it was a shame that the NIMBY's put paid to the Redfern facility being anything bigger but I suppose it is, if not the very same NIMBY's, similar types of people that sport those car stickers and jerseys as the area continues to gentrify. Homebush though... nothing could be further from what the club has always meant to me (I'm not a bunnies fan though).
Dylan
Roar Pro
maybe next year the immortal can help carry his team to a grand final appearance