On Monday afternoon, April 5th, Scott, Juliet, Callum (Juliet's nephew) and I attended a footy (football) game in Newcastle. The day started out with rain, then dark clouds and by the time the football game started, the sun came out and the sky was blue. We were lucky with the weather but not so lucky with the game results. In the final minute of play, the Penrith Panthers scored over the Newcastle Knights, giving the Panthers a 34-30 victory.
Rugby league football is a full-contact form of football and the teams do not wear helmets or any protective gear. The game consists of two halves, each half consisting of 40 minutes. Passing the ball may only be in a backward or sideways direction. Teammates therefore have to remain on-side by not moving ahead of the player with the ball. Only the player holding the ball may be tackled. An attacking team gets a maximum of six tackles to progress up the field before possession is changed over. Touching the ball to the ground on or beyond the defending team's goal-line is worth four points and a field goal is worth one point.
I was very impressed with the field goal kickers. The ball is kicked from the 20-yard line in a straight line of where the ball was grounded for a touchdown. A couple of times I did not see any way that the ball could be kicked through the goal post at the angle the ball had been placed. Absolutely amazing kicking!
Before the game started, there was an exhibition game played by the reserve team of the Panthers and Knights; a 5-minute game played by a junior league team; the Australian National Anthem was sung by Mike Vee; the mascots paraded around the field; and the cheerleaders did their thing.
I can't say that I understood what was going on most of the time, but we all had a great time cheering for the home team. Believe it or not, even Ronald McDonald showed up!
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