Rugby League Game

Today we went to Coogee to see our first Australian Rugby League game. Prior to today, all of the rugby games that I had seen were Rugby Union games. Today I realized how different these two variations are. In Rugby League, there are 13 players on the field for each team. The objective is still to score tries by touching the ball down past the opposing team’s goal-line. However, a try is worth four points, a goal is worth two points, and a drop goal is worth one point. In this sense, the scoring is very different from Rugby Union. Also, Rugby League is similar to American football in the sense that there are forms of “downs”. The team on offense can only be tackled six times before they have to turn the ball over to the other team. Or, the team can choose to kick the ball away after the fifth tackle is made. It was great to experience the rules we learned about in lecture, in person! Also, I really enjoyed seeing the family dynamic that was present to support the Aboriginal teams. It really highlighted the fact that in Australia, sport is a family centered, cultural tradition. Many children were there to support their dads and spent most of the time passing rugby balls and playing various sports. It was an awesome dynamic to experience!