LAST weekend, I was given the choice of either watching Orange City’s Blowes Clothing Cup clash with Narromine, or heading up to Kinross to watch them play traditional rivals St Stanislaus College.
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Yep, you guessed it, no brainer. I was never going to Pride Park.
Don’t get me wrong, I love watching Orange Emus and Orange City play when I get the chance and even though I play for the former’s almighty reserve grade side, I actually prefer watching the latter in a work capacity.
But, all I’ve done for the past almost two years is watch the Lions and Emus demolish teams, so I was chuffed with something different.
Since I started here in 2013 I’ve covered almost a dozen Emus’ and Lions’ Blowes Clothing Cup games, and only once seen an Orange side defeated - and that was at the hands of the other Orange team, when Emus won last year’s final round local derby 33-21.
As enjoyable as it is to watch both sides win, it gets slightly monotonous at times.
So getting the chance to watch a bunch of teenagers with way too much testosterone bash each other off the rugby field for 80 minutes, in an inevitably firey clash? Why not.
I recall watching Kinross and Stannies games when I had mates at both schools, and while this one was nowhere near the quality of the sides I remember, with 50 points piled on and referee Matt McGuire being forced to hand out a red card and four yellow cards, it was just as hostile.
Kinross hooker Charlie Cooper, who is supremely talented and a lovely kid too, got red-carded in the second minute for striking.
The second minute. Outrageous. I couldn’t believe it, neither could Cooper.
Unfortunately for Kinross, that spelled the beginning of the end as Stannies skipper James Donato led his side to an easy 43-7 win.
Watching the game certainly gave me a fair hit of nostalgia too.
Granted, in my days in Orange High’s first - and only - XV, we definitely didn’t take it as seriously as Kinross and Stannies do.
But I’d still back my OHS sides from 2007 and 2008 to beat both the sides I saw on Saturday, or at the very least give them a serious run for their money.
Oh god, look at me. I’m only 24 and I’m already a bitter, “back in my day it was better” spectator. Eat your heart out Ian Chappell.
Apparently the public loved it too. Central Western Daily digi-maestro Dave Neil gave me the numbers on Tuesday morning, and the match report has gone toe-to-toe with our most popular weekend gallery online.
Clearly, just like Rafiki said, very simply, in The Lion King - and no one is as wise as Rafiki, no one - “change is good”.