Pre-Olympic Sports Wrap-Up
Created | Updated Jun 22, 2003
It seems only right that I engage in a complete clearing of the deck re what has occured sportswise in this neck of the woods (Australia!) prior to taking up my role as the official Post Olympic Correspondent... but what happened to the press pass1?!
So...
The raging hot favourites won both the ARL2 and AFL3 this year in two of the most boring grand finals in living memory.
In Rugby League (ARL) the Brisbane Broncos defeated the Sydney City Roosters in a game that struggled to reach a level that could, at best, be described as dour. This is not to say that the Broncos were not deserved winners as they were clearly the best team all year. Congratulations must be passed on to their accountant for managing to pay so many Australian representative players within the confines of the salary cap...
In the Aussie Rules (AFL) Essendon wrote their names in the history books as the most succesful team in the history of the game, having lost only one match all year and winning the grand final in a cakewalk against a totally outclassed Melbourne Demons outfit.
Rugby wise, the focus was on the tri-nations cup between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. This was eventually won by Australia but not before some of the greatest4 and hardest fought5 games it has been the privilege of this scribe to witness. In the end it came down to two penalty kicks seconds before the full time whistle to secure matches against both New Zealand and South Africa to enable Australia to clinch their first Tri-nations trophy, and lay claim to being one of the greatest teams of all times, being current holders of the World Cup, The Bledisloe Cup (vs NZ), The Mandela Cup (vs SA) and the Cook Cup (vs England), ie just about every trophy worth having in world rugby.
In local rugby, due to the contracted season brought about by the olympics, Eastern Suburbs, who were celebrating their centenary this year, found themselves undefeated during the normal rounds only to lose one game and not even make the grand final, which was eventually won by perennial finalists Randwick on the bell against Sydney University.
All of the above achievements pale into insignificance next to those of the might Petersham 'Shammies'. Playing in the third division Sydney Suburban Rugby Union competition, they managed to not only have all four grades in the grand final, but win 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades and be named Sydney club of the year in the process.
As for why the Post's Official Correspondant would be writing this during the opening ceremony for the Sydney Olympic Games, there is a simple explanation: the sport does not start until tomorrow6.
(This article was sent in on Friday!... ed)
Opening ceremonies, like pre match entertainment, are there for the express purpose of entertaining those who have no real interest in the main sporting event but go anyway just for the the sake of it (usually in corporate boxes) and deprive the true fans of a seat.
Stay tuned for weekly Olympic updates...
