By STEVE MASCORD
THERE are certain non-negotiables when you’re a rugby league fan. Being excited about the start of the season is one of them.
It’s heretical to be nonplussed by the first Steeden of summer.
But if you were going to be just a little lacking in eagerness, if there was one year when your hunger for the game might be a bit below maddening, then it may have been 2018.
The World Cup final was on December 2. Two matches kicked off Super League on February 1. That’s less than two months’ worth of off-season.
Some of you extremely keen fans who waited years for a rugby league-related reason to go to Australia will be there twice in just over two months, following England and – next week – Leeds, Wigan or Hull down under.
The flame throwers at Halliwell Jones Stadium on Thursday night were welcome on a couple of counts. First there was the spectacle (the Rhinos will soon see something similar outside Melbourne’s Crown Casino). Then there was the warmth.
The game itself, won 16-12 by Leeds, wasn’t bad. With two minutes to go, it wasn’t great either.
But to butcher an old saying: you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s back.
Two Rhinos collided at the back trying to clean up a kick and the game was back on, Warrington import Bryson Goodwin converted before the visitors had even retired behind their posts and then motioned for his team-mates to lift with a minute and a half left.
With less than a minute left, the Wire received a penalty. With five seconds remaining, veteran forward Ben Westwood opted to go himself – and was stopped.
But it was after the game that this fan was reminded what he really misses about rugby league: weird and wonderful stories you just don’t seem to find anywhere else.
Warrington prop Chris Hill had been replaced when his pregnant wife – who was at the match – had contractions. He rushed to hospital to be by her side, leaving his team one interchange player down.
“She was having some contractions pre-game … the timing fell in Leeds’ favour I suppose,” said coach Steve Price. Yes, the imminent creation of a tiny new life limited Warrington’s front row rotation.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Rival gaffer Brian McDermott, known as a stern ex-Marine, offered us these quotes on the World Club Challenge at AAMI Park against the Storm on February 16: “I don’t think Melbourne will be shaking in their boots, looking at that.
“There’s no secret that we’re going to have to go to Melbourne and do something a little bit more, something different. I’m not going to do that in the first two rounds of Super League.
“We have to hit Melbourne with something they’ve never been hit with before and sustain that. There’s no training for that. We just parachute ourselves in there for a week, go try and do it, and get back out of there again.
“It’s a massive task we’ve got. I believe it can be done, though.”
He then went on and spoke about other stuff, before concluding his media conference by saying “It’s not wearing women’s clothing, by the way”.
Huh? Reporters exchanged quizzical looks. McDermott begins getting to his feet to leave. Swivels head.
“That’s not what we’re going to do different against Melbourne.”
Seriously, that happened – just like the Twitter Simpsons memes of Ryan Atkins deciding to get airbourne in search of a try and ending up somewhere in the vicinity of Bank Quay station. Like Homer in flying skateboard.
Truth be told, it may actually be possible to kick the habit of watching multiple games every week – if that’s all you do, in complete silence, on your own.
But the stuff around it? Pregnant pauses in interchange and cross-dressing jokes from would-be drill sargeants? It’s way too seductive to seriously consider living without.
Welcome back, rugby league. We didn’t realise we missed you this much, but I guess we did.
