Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
RUGBY LEAGUE
There's plenty to yell about if you arrive during the winter footy season. 'Footy' can mean
a number of things: in Sydney's it's usually rugby league, but the term is also used for Aus-
tralian Rules football (Aussie Rules), rugby union and soccer.
In this big, dirty city, rugby league is the big, dirty game: mud, swearing, broken bones,
cheerleaders…and that's just in the stands! Rugby league is king in NSW, and Sydney is
considered one of the world capitals for the code. The pinnacle of the game is widely held
to be the annual State of Origin where NSW battles Queensland (and Queensland usually
wins). This best-of-three series even overshadows test matches, such as the a nnual
ANZAC Test between Australia's Kangaroos and New Zealand's Kiwis.
Not many people have a ferry and a swimming pool named after them, but Dawn Fraser is
quite extraordinary. One of Sydney's most loved sportspeople, she is one of only two swim-
mers to have won the same event at three successive Olympics (the 100m freestyle in 1956,
1960 and 1964).
in the sell-out Grand Final at ANZ Stadium. You can catch games every weekend during
the season, played at the home grounds of Sydney's various tribes. The easiest ground to
access is the 45,500-seat Sydney Football Stadium, home of the Sydney Roosters, but noth-
ing beats a Wests Tigers home match at Leichhardt Oval.
The main Sydney teams are the Sydney Roosters, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the
Wests Tigers, the Canterbury Bulldogs, the Cronulla Sharks, the Parramatta Eels, the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Penrith Panthers. The St George Illawarra Dragons
are based in Wollongong, but also in Kogarah in Sydney's southern 'burbs.
GO RABBITOHS! GO RUSS!
For a rugby league team in need of friends in high places, South Sydney (aka Souths, aka the Rabbitohs) has cer-
tainly managed to pull some bunnies out of the hat. Big-name fans waving their green and red scarves around in-
clude TV host Ray Martin, comedian Andrew Denton, Australia's favourite ex-son-in-law Tom Cruise and actor
Russell Crowe, who loved the team so much he bought the franchise in 2006.
