Queenslander - Queenslander - Queenslander

Israel Folau (Melbourne Storm) in action for Queensland

Photo: Courier Mail

We did it! The Maroons did it! We beat the Cockroaches and we did it on their home turf of ANZ Stadium, Sydney. 16-10.


The final Origin 2008 was magnificent. I don't think Queensland has ever put up a more consistent, fast-moving defence ever. A commentator in the second-half (a NSW one, needless to say) said that Queensland had no Plan B after Scott Prince's broken arm and other injuries. This, mind you, at a time when Queensland had it well over NSW in terms of possession. I agree that there might have been little evidence of a Plan B - but we saw a well co-ordinated team aggressive and speedy in defence and with the ball in their hands more often than not.


Ah, well - Queenslanders never have expected objectivity from Cockroach commentators have they?


Miss Eagle does not want to diminish the efforts of anyone in the Queensland side but, as an expatriate North Queenslander she wants to send big bouquets and thank-yous to Johnathan Thurston, Sam Thaiday, the wounded Scotty Prince, and - my hero - the beautiful Billy Slater who scored the deciding try on a set-up by JT in the second half. Breathtaking!


And - to all of you who wonder what the fuss is about with the State of Origin series - go read my uncle's book:

Origin: Rugby League's Greatest Contest 1980-2002 by Jack Gallaway

~~~

When you can do nothing else: bear witness.

The Mighty Maroons triumph

To-day Miss Eagle bears witness to an incredible Queensland win in State of Origin II last night - 30-0.

Miss Eagle is an expatriate Queenslander living in Melbourne where there is one dominant code - not Rugby League - and the majority of people don't understand, try to understand or care about any other game. Not even the World Game, Soccer.

For a Queenslander, State of Origin - three matches played between Queensland and New South Wales every winter - is a religion. The reasons for this are ancient and deep. If, dear Reader, you want to come to grips with a Queenslander's attitude to New South Wales and how State of Origin came about, read my uncle Jack Gallaway's superb history The Brisbane Broncos: the team to beat.

Jack, in the early part of the book, takes the reader on a journey through Queensland football history to show how Rugby League enmity between Queensland and New South Wales festered and grew to the extent that, some years ago, Billy Mohr came down the tunnel chanting "Queenslander, Queenslander, Queenslander" and Queensland hearts exulted and beat a little quicker. After all, so many shared religious experiences have a chant - and now Queensland had one.

But State of Origin loyalties can be tug of heart things. Instance the case of the coach of the New South Wales team, the wonderful Craig Bellamy - to some, the best coach in the world currently.

Bellamy coaches the Melbourne Storm. The Melbourne Storm has countless Queensland and Brisbane Broncos connections. The captain of The Storm and the Australian Rugby League Captain is also the captain of Queensland's State of Origin team - Cam Smith. Quite a few Queenslanders inhabit The Storm. Bellamy has coached with the Broncos under the redoubtable Wayne Bennett.

He has also coached at the Canberra Raiders under Mal Meninga who is the Queensland coach in State of Origin. There was a time when the connections between the Raiders and Queensland were so strong that the Raiders was regarded as the de facto Queensland team when the Broncos weren't playing. In fact, my friend Denis over at The Nature of Robertson in New South Wales - who has never ever lived in Queensland but is a former Canberran - barracks for Queensland in the State of Origin.

That's the history. That's the heart. Last night's achievements were so exhilarating and the stars of such good play were so numerous that I will leave you, dear Reader, to explore the links.

Congratulations, Cam and team.

Commiserations, Craig.

On to Sydney for the next Queensland triumph.

~~~

When you can do nothing else: bear witness.

Smith Storms across the Tasman

Cameron Smith with the trophy after the Australian v NZ Test

Just what is going on with our cousins across the ditch in New Zealand? First they are bundled out of the Rugby Union World Cup without even getting to the finals. This resulted in great national anguish, breast beating, and post-mortems and blame-shifting. Then there was the magnificent win of Australia's Kangaroos at the weekend with a 58-0 result against the Kiwis which, between Australia's Captain Cameron Smith and the wonderful Israel Folau, looked very much like a Melbourne Storm victory.

So are things so bad over there that the Maoris are revolting?

PS: Please note, all AFL fans. Your code cannot play internationally except in a concocted game against Ireland. Here is the Captain of a Melbourne team, who is Captain of an Australian team, playing internationally for Australia and winning comprehensively. AFL - eat your heart out!

Poker Machines: Rabbitohs give the one armed bandits the flick

Congratulations to Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court! Poker machines are to go from the Rabbitoh's South Sydney Club. Don't like the chances of seeing that other Souths institution, Souths Juniors, doing away with theirs.

Miss Eagle hopes that Russ and Pete find their other plans paved with integrity and gold so that other people take notice - particularly the State politicians.

Australia has wall to wall Labor governments in the states with the likelihood of making it floor to ceiling as well should Rudd win government. It is sickening to see how these supposed pillars of the working class rip off working class and welfare recipient citizens and take their cut as well. The Australian Labor Party clearly has made taking the poor an art form.

Boo-ing loud, boo-ing long, boo-ing from the heart

Here's a not-news item. When The Eels run on to the turf at Telstra Dome next Sunday there won't be any welcoming applause - not even of the polite sort. The boos will be loud and long and the motivation deep and heartfelt. To know why, read to-day's missive from Jeff Wall in Crikey.

Talk of next Sunday’s NRL preliminary final at Telstra Dome in Melbourne between the Storm and the Parramatta Eels may have to take a back seat this week thanks to the obsession the Eels CEO has with driving the Storm out of the NRL.

Despite the on-field success the Storm have enjoyed since entering the NRL in 1998 – premiers in 1999, runners up in 2006, top eight placing in eight of the ten seasons they have competed in, and minor premiers last year and this year – the Eels CEO, Denis Fitzgerald, wants the Storm ejected from the NRL premiership.
The Eels had hardly begun celebrating their comprehensive win over the Bulldogs on Saturday night when their CEO, who at times makes good sense and other times makes complete nonsense, opened fire on their next opponents.

The off-field anti-Melbourne salvos will probably have two outcomes – the crowd at Telstra Dome will be even better than the Storm hopes (around 40,000), and the odds on premiership favourites will be even more fired up by the attack on their very legitimacy.

Fitzgerald is the longest serving CEO in the NRL. He has been at the Eels helm since 1978. He was one of the staunchest opponents of Super League and that partly accounts for his opposition to the News Limited owned Melbourne Storm.

A few years ago he compared promoting rugby league in Melbourne to promoting beach volleyball in Iceland. Yesterday he said the majority of the Storm supporters came from New Zealand or the northern states.
The Storm have been playing below their best in recent weeks – but still winning – and if they need some firing up Fitzgerald seems to have obliged.

The other preliminary final will be between the Manly Sea Eagles and the North Queensland Cowboys at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday night, after the Cowboys wiped out the New Zealand Warriors by 49-12 in Townsville yesterday.

The Cowboys captain, Jonathan Thurston, again laid claims to be the best player in the NRL, a claim that now enjoys wide support among the game's experts. The best, but maybe not the fairest. He has been charged this morning with a grade one dangerous throw and will miss Saturday night's preliminary final against the Manly Sea Eagles unless he can beat the charge before the Judiciary. The Cowboys will miss him: he's the one player capable of ending the Sea Eagles grand final ambitions. He will be represented by the "Perry Mason" of judiciary advocates, Geoff Bellew, SC -- who happens to be a former Manly Sea Eagles Chairman!"

The Sea Eagles coaching and administration teams won’t be interested this week in a media shoot out with the Cowboys. They know that if they can shut down Thurston, and fullback, Matt Bowen, a grand final appearance almost certainly awaits them.

Electrification - Storm and Eels next Sunday

Disregard this post. El Masri won't be playing in Melbourne this month. The Bulldogs were sent off with their tails between their legs under the electrifying power of The Eels. Now, because The Cowboys sent The Warriors packing, North Queensland will now meet Manly. Miss Eagle, as a North Queenslander in exile in Melbourne, would find it very satisfying to have a Melbourne versus North Queensland final. Just she won't be in Sydney to see it.

Magic in Melbourne?

It won't be known until after the Eels -v- the Bulldogs match in the qualifying finals at the week-end who the take-all-before-them Storm will face off against in the Preliminary Finals on Sunday 23 September at Telstra Dome in Melbourne.

But Miss Eagle has a special request. Could the Bulldogs please win?

You see, dear and gentle Reader, the Bulldogs have a special magical person Miss Eagle wants to see in person. You see, Miss Eagle wants to watch El Magic in person. She has only seen him play in this year's State of Origin series - which was Hazem El Masri's first appearance in a State of Origin - and he was indeed magic.

The story of the moment is how the Magic Boot will manage the finals period which, this year, is happening during Ramadan.

The Storm, final-ly

Hopefully, this post marks a more consistent return to the blog. The last three weeks or so have been plagued with ill health in the form of a severe case of the flu - in spite of the annual injection back in April which usually keeps the nasty stuff away.

Yesterday was a boost because it marked the 1st Qualifying Finial for National Rugby League (NRL) Minor Premiers, the Melbourne Storm who played the Brisbane Broncos at home at Olympic Park in Melbourne. How prescient then is the Photo Friday choice of a topic, Purple.

If the Storm had lost yesterday, this would have been their last game in Melbourne this season. This meant that this could be the last time that we would get to see Matt King play in Melbourne before he leaves for England to play for the Warrington Wolves. If the Storm were to win yesterday, then they would be rewarded with a week off and then yet another home final in Melbourne the week after.

And the purple, blue and gold won yesterday in no uncertain terms - defeating the much-depleted Broncos 40-0. This was the grudge match after Melbourne, 2006 Minor Premiers, was defeated by Brisbane in the Grand Final. This was the opportunity to have a finals play-off between Melbourne and Brisbane and Melbourne made, as well as scored, its point. For Melbourne supporters, the atmosphere was pure grand final. Most of us won't get to Sydney. If things had gone awry, it would have been the Storm's last hurrah in Melbourne for this season. So Storm fans made the most of it.

First, there was the waiting. The 4pm start meant that the game took place on a beautiful Melbourne spring afternoon - with a light breeze, enough to tip footballs over before the boot could reach them and flutter the tall, welcoming flags.

Olympic Park, Richmond, looking north-east

Olympic Park, Richmond, looking north-west

The crowd waits in the Eastern Stand

Purple, purple everywhere

The scoreboard welcomes everyone

The fans are ready...

...banners unfurled

The Brisbane Broncos warm up...

...and so does the Melbourne Storm

Storm supporters are warmed up too

Then there's the waiting: cheerleaders wait, the banner handlers are at their ropes, the crowd waits...

At last, the banner goes up,

followed by the Storm

and at last the game is on, the crowd urges the Storm on and excitement reigns...

and for one person it was all too much and he streaked across the ground from south-east into the arms of policmen at the north-west end.

Daily Telegraph photo by Phil Hillyard

The Storm won in grand fashion - actually, grand final fashion.

On Sunday 23 September they will play the winner of the forthcoming Eels-Bulldogs match at Telstra Dome here in Melbourne, Storming to the Grand Final in Sydney.

Queensland defeats New South Wales - 2007 State of Origin - Telstra Dome, Sydney

Queensland rejoices!

Mal Meninga - Qld coach - and Darren Lockyer - Qld captain - led the Maroons to a 2-0 victory in the 2007 State of Origin series at the Telstra Dome in Sydney to-night.

How wonderful to have Mal winning for Queensland once more.

Congratulations to Darren Lockyer!

The first captain since The King, Wally Lewis, to win back to back Origins.

And all this at Telstra Dome in Sydney which so often has seemed to work against Queensland.

Oh - what a night!

Origin 2 did not have the brilliance and lightness of the second half of Origin 1.

Origin 2 was marked by determination and doggedness on the part of both teams.

The 10-6 score said it all, really.

Queensland was out to stop Willy Mason and Brett Kimmorley.

They were assisted by the absence due to injury of Mr Everywhere, Anthony Minichiello.

History was made to-night.

Wayne Bennett leaves the coach's box
to congratulate the Broncos.

History was made to-night.

Wayne Bennett is now, officially, the greatest NRL coach

after the Broncos decisive 15-8 win in Sydney
against the Storm.
The Storm got in there: Blair, Geyer, Slater

The Storm tackled

They tackled Shane Webcke

They tried and rejoiced

But it was not enough.

It was a great night for the Broncos

Shane Webcke and Sam Thaiday tackle the Storm
Matt King of The Storm under a Broncos tackle
The Broncos rejoice in Victory

The Storm: their faces say it all

The historic figures of the night: Wayne Bennett, Australia's greatest NRL coach; Shane Webcke retires after 254 games and Shaun Berrigan was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal.

Broncos Captain Darren Lockyer sums it up for the media

The Battle of the Coaches

To-night is an historic event in Rugby League as the Broncos play the Storm at Olympic Park in Sydney.

If Wayne Bennett's Broncos can overcome minor premiers Melbourne, he will become the most successful coach in premiership history. Bennett's five premierships (1992, '93, '97, '98 and 2000) equal St George legend Ken Kearney and super coach Jack Gibson.

This is at the heart of the dilemma in Miss Eagle's Household. Our Queensland origins mean that Wayne sits high in our hearts. We love and respect him as we do few individuals. Miss Eagle and Herself think he is a wonderful role model in life. Miss Eagle loves Mrs Lockyer's boy Dazza and to-night is the farewell - win, lose or draw - of that wonderful stalwart, the grand old man of the Broncos, Shane Webcke. How wonderful it would be to send Shane out on a grand final high after years of sterling service. Miss Eagle always pictures Webcke as a man of broad shoulders backing up the team and keeping it upstanding in the face of tremendous assaults.

Then there is the Storm. This team gets Miss Eagle and Herself where they live - in Melbourne. Craig Bellamy coaches the Storm. A win by the storm to-night will set Craig on the path to super-coachdom. He has worked miracles at the Storm. This year the Storm have topped the ladder at 44, losing only 4 games. They are Minor Premiers. The also swept all before them at the NRL's Dally M Awards with Craig named Coach of the Year; Cameron Smith crowned Player of the Year; and everyone's favourite Cooper Kronk named Five-eighth of the Year.

Not only will Bellamy and the Storm do themselves and Melbourne proud if they defeat the Broncos to-night, it will also be proof of Bennet's influence since Bellamy had been Assistant Coach to Bennett at the Broncos, and - prior to that - Assistant Coach to that other great Queenslander, Mal Meninga, at the Canberra Raiders.

Now if all this is not enough to trouble Melbournians who love Broncos, then there is the fact that the Storm is riddled with Queenslanders: Billy Slater (be still Miss Eagle's beating heart), Cameron Smith, Antonio Kaufusi, Dallas Johnson, Cooper Cronk, Nathan Friend, Michael Crocker, Jake Webster (the only Melbourne born player) spent his formative years in Queensland, Sam Tagataese (began his Australian career in Queensland), Jeremy Smith, Dennis Scott, Smith Samau, Greg Inglis, and Scott Anderson. Out the thirty young men in the 2006 Squad, 14 are from Queensland. Is it any wonder that a Broncos v Storm game causes tremors in this household.

Herself is in denial. She doesn't want to know. Everything stopped last weekend for her and both the Broncos and the Storm are winners. Miss Eagle will watch every second of the match on television to-night - barracking for Mel-bun; Mel-bun; Mel-bun but carrying Brisbane in her heart every inch of the way.

Get ready, get set.............

Winners are Grinners
Matt King being interviewed after the game
Happiness is......
Matt Geyer with Joey (Andrew Johns)

....for the Grand Final to end all Grand Finals. Miss Eagle is over the moon.

Her teams meet in Sydney in the NRL Grand Final next weekend:
Brisbane v Melbourne - The Broncos meet The Storm.

The Storm defeating the Broncos 10-4, Olympic Park, 7 July 2006

Miss Eagle went to Olympic Park on Friday night to see The Storm play The Broncos. Wonderful game. The Storm at the top of the NRL (National Rugby League ladder) played The Broncos who are number 2 on the ladder. The two top teams in the competition provided great entertainment before a - needless to say - partisan Melbourne crowd who cheered, applauded, and sang The Storm to victory. While competition League games in Melbourne are not well attended compared to the preferred code of the locals, Aussie Rules, The Storm did well on Friday night with an attendance of 15, 479 providing a packed stadium and the best attendance in six years. Now Miss Eagle is not the best sporting photographer ever to grace a League game but the slide show below will give a feel for the game and its excitement. Miss Eagle is a Billy Slater fan ever since his magnificent first try in the first game of 2004 State of Origin. This is helped along because they are both North Queenslanders. Miss Eagle's friends, Skye and Eden, who Miss Eagle accompanied to the game are fans of Cooper Kronk who comes from Brisbane.

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Ecstasy! Delirium!

Probably Miss Eagle's biggest whinge since coming to live in Melbourne in September 2004 has been the fact that there is no live broadcast of the State of Origin series between Queensland and New South Wales. Melbourne is bigoted. It is not ecumenical. Queensland supports four codes: League, Union, Soccer, and AFL. Melbourne can't get past their highly localised game, AFL.

The whinge from Miss Eagle was so bad this year, dear Reader, that Herself promised her, as a birthday present, a ticket to the final State of Origin match which, this year, is being held in Melbourne. Miss Eagle has now been saying how wonderful if it would be - and it seemed unlikely - if Queensland defeated NSW in the second game and the decider would be played here in Melbourne.

And guess what?

Last night The Canetoads walked all over The Cockroaches to win 30-6 and the decider comes to Melbourne. The tickets had already been arranged through our good friend Sarah and we are doing the whole thing in style. We have a corporate box!

Now Miss Eagle is off to see if Melbourne can produce a Queensland scarf - and to check on the supplies of Champagne and Bundy Rum.