Monday, 17th August 2009
Last weekend we hopped on the M4 and motored out to Sydney's west to
visit the Wentworthville Magpies. Or as they are known by everyone in the footy
universe, 'Wenty'. We settled in to watch their thrashing of the Windsor Wolves
and had ourselves a ripper of an afternoon.
We will admit we went into this assignment carrying a whole lotta bias.
Our darling friend Jess (hi baby!) is a Wenty fan of epic proportions and has
been in our ears to get out and watch a game the whole time we've known her.
Although a dedicated Dragons fan in the NRL competition, Kiki recently figured
out Wenty is actually her local reggies team so has now decided to jump on the
black and white bandwagon.
Apart from the awesome footy, we have fallen completely in love with
the charm of all the local grounds we've visited. For those cynics out there
that bemoan the loss of soul in rugby league, get off your bum and get yourself
to a NSW Cup game. Instant soul!
Ringrose Park is adorable. Can a footy ground be 'adorable?' It can
now! The grass is all green, neat and perfect like astroturf and the whole place
is surrounded by a quaint white picket fence. And because we love nothing more
than eating and drinking, we have decided to rate each ground on these
factors.
At Ringrose Park you can buy a Smirnoff Black for 6 dollars. SIX
DOLLARS PEOPLE! And according to Sassy the hot chips are 'the best
ever'.
As for Wenty as a club, to be frank....we are pretty much in love
with them. And apparently the feeling is mutual. Kiki was being bestowed with
hugs and kisses from 'Emu', life long member and the team rubber, within 5
minutes of meeting him. There is a fantastic spirit at Wenty that is immediately
apparent to even the most casual visitor. We were especially impressed seeing
all the first grade Parramatta players watching and supporting their mates,
including Jarryd Hayne, Dan Mortimer and Matt Keating.
Not only is Wenty lovable, they are also extremely successful. Before
the formation of the current competition they won the reserve grade premiership
3 times in a row, and backed it up last year as the first team to win a NSW Cup
Grand Final. And if you ask the players and fans they will tell you they are
building up for number five this year.
After talking to a few players including Tim Mortimer, Brendan Oake ,
Jeremy Latamore and Marty Lewis we have come to the conclusion that the boys
very much enjoy playing at the club. According to Mortimer there is fantastic
support structure in place that cannot compare to other clubs. To quote him
'Wenty is the best!'. And we have to agree.
We are off on a little overseas sourjourn but will be back to write
in time to write about the NSW Cup finals. We can't wait!
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