Raiders Army @ Marathon

As one Army member sent to me in a text message after the match, one word can sum up Sunday's performance from the players and fans, "Gutsy". A brilliant defensive effort from the boys, and a determined effort from the Raiders fans on the hill, made this long trip to Newcastle worthwhile. 

The trip to the North Coast started on Saturday for myself and the other members of the Army, that had decided for some ludicrous reason to head the best part of 500kms north to see two reserve teams play. As I arrived into Sydney Central the night before it reminded me that Canberra really is God's Country. As I dodged the hordes of smackies and deadbeats that inhabited the shooting gallery that is Central, I met up with the other boys and we discussed the attack plan for Sunday over a few Tooheys 'Spews'. The next morning we were really in the mood for the game, honouring an 

Army tradition of stopping at Macca's beforehand. After a nice fat injection, we were bound for former great BHP town, Newcastle. 
After arriving in Newcastle, you could have sworn that we were from another planet. The amount of slack jawed looks from the local rednecks would have you believe that Scotty just beamed us down from the Starshit Enterprise, or whatever its called. I'm not sure whether it was the fact that the car that wasn't a rusted old torana, we were in Raiders gear or the lack of ugh boots and flannies on us that made us stick out, whatever, we were quite a novelty. After driving through can best be described as a de-militarised zone, we somehow miraculously stumbled on the sponsorless Knight's home ground, Marathon Stadium. 

Now for the important things, where were the nearest Macca's and club. Luckily for us, not too far, unluckily for us, we had to walk through an industrial wasteland that looked like something out of the Balkans War to get there. What was slightly intriguing was when we walked over a large storm drain to get to the club, there was a car lying in the drain looking like it had been abandoned. When we came back an hour later it was gone. I would say it had been taken to the steel works to be melted down, but, you know. After having a few drinks at the local club, we were again at Macca's, which was packed to the brim. A dentist could easily operate a very profitable business just by serving the people that were lining up around me. I must have missed the sign on the way in to Newcastle saying 'Full set of teeth banned'. 

As we walked back to the ground, the breeze we nicknamed the 'Newcastle Doctor' hit us square in the face. Unfortunately, the Doctor brings with it a stench that can best be described as the odour that month old, bloated road kill emits. Unlike the Fremantle Doctor, which is a pleasant breeze, the Newcastle equivalent is really just a stagnant smell of death and decay, just to remind you where you are. However, we soldiered on with our walk back to the ground. As we were walking back to the ground, we walked across an sports oval next to Marathon, that we thought may be Newcastle's training field. Incidentally, we saw a whole load of used syringes on the side of the field... 

We were finally in the ground, and positioned ourselves on the corner of one the hills. Marathon is quite a weird stadium nowadays, they have one of the best grandstand in the NRL, yet the rest of the ground can be described as 'Shark Parkish' i.e. dog turd. The old stand looks like it should be condemned, while the corporate boxes hanging off the side of it were flapping in the breeze. We couldn't wait for the game to start, and to witness the renowned Newcastle atmosphere. However, that could wait, the Newcastle cheerleaders warming up behind the hill prior to the game, was, erm, particularly entertaining. These girls certainly knew how to work a crowd, and seemed determined to show us their 'wizard's sleeve'. 

Well, I'm not sure why the atmosphere at Newcastle is so renowned, it was crap. One Newcastle song in 80 minutes, they didn't even sing when they had what seemed like a million sets in a row on our try line. After a tight first half, the Raiders got the match winning try to Gafa Tape just before half time, after Howelly had previously crossed for us. The second half was a dour affair, with the Tape's penalty goal enough to seal the points as we kept a clean sheet in the second half, in what can only be described as a monumental defensive effort. The effort from the few Army boys there in the second half was terrific. Despite the small numbers, we basically went non-stop in the second half, as we sung not only our hearts, but our lungs and throats out to get the boys over the line. This effort was definitely worth it, and we'd like to think that it gave the boys a little extra impetus to keep out the Knights in the second half. 

The best part of the day was undoubtedly when the boys came over, and the Army and the players congratulated each other on what had been a terrific 'team effort', from both groups. The huge smiles on some of the players face showed how much this win meant. We kept singing until the players had gone off. The abuse we copped off the departing 50 year old grandmas just inspired us more, 'Cheerio Cheerio Cheerio', 'We are green, we are white...', 'We are the!!!', what a top day. We cheered a few of the players as they left the ground, then it was back to the car for the long trek back to Canberra. One of the best parts of winning an away match is proudly wearing your colours as you leave the ground, especially amongst the bitter and twisted faces of the Newcastle fans. I was having a great time walking out with a huge grin on my face, just to rub it in even more. 

A stop at the surprisingly good West's Leagues at Crumbletown (Top Sunday roast!), and a stop at a servo toilet for one Army member to 'Drop the kids off at the pool', were the only stops we made in a trip back to Canberra that eventually took the better part of 7 hours. Let me tell you, it didn't seem like 7 hours, funny how winning makes the trip go so much faster. The only hiccup was for poor Skippy the kangaroo, who got obliterated by the front tyre of the car just before we got into Canberra. Luckily we were in a fairly fast moving Pajero, which made pretty short work of him. I just fear for the coach that was about 1km behind us. The driver certainly would have got a nasty shock when he saw the Pajero's handywork lying in the middle of the Hume Highway. 

Next week brings another huge challenge for the Raiders, Penrith away. We typically struggle at Penriff, and getting away with a win will be tough. Although with all the players we're getting back, I'm sure we're in with a good shot of getting the points. Unfortunately this will be the first game I've missed this season, so I may have to get one of my reporters to fill in next week. However this terrific column, which is now internationally renowned, will be back for the Sharks game. All the best. - Ultra 

P.S. I just wanted to make mention of Braidon Ewing. I hope to see you at more Raiders games in the future with the Raiders Army!!