This week, Mary Kaye looks back at the Blue and Gold Round 25 clash against the Cronulla Sharks at Pirtek Stadium and the Round 26 encounter against the Canberra Raiders. You can catch up on Mary Kaye's blogs at Ladies who League here
What we saw on the weekend - now that's football.
A real battle between our Parramatta Eels and the Cronulla Sharks. Va va voom in attack and desperation in defence, but in the end it was the Cronulla Sharks that were that little bit more desperate. Congratulations to the Sharks, I have a big soft spot for them considering so many ex-Eels manage to find their way down to the Shire (must be the close proximity to water). I know I'll be cheering them on as they play Finals Football this year and I may even know some of the words to 'Up Up Cronulla'.
How moving also to see the reception and support for our captain, Timmy Mannah as he celebrated the life of his brother Jon. For me, the Johnny Mannah Cup is one of the most emotional games of the year and I am always touched by the strength of the rugby league family and its ability to rally together at times of difficulty. It makes me really proud to love this game so much.
This weekend is our last game of the year and I'm delighted that I'll be given the opportunity to farewell our boys at home and I'm hoping for a bumper crowd to end what has been a year of many ups and downs. That means plenty of blue and gold at Pirtek Stadium.
We have an interesting opposition this weekend - ever since I wrote a story about how excited I was to see the Canberra Raiders playing finals football, they did not win a game (apologies to any Raiders fans reading this)… until last weekend. However with Blake Austin out and no more wooden spoon to play for, I'll be very interested to see what the mindset of the team is.
If we play like we did against the Sharkies, anything is possible. I have my fingers crossed that some records are going to be broken this weekend - Semi, I am looking at you to score a couple of tries.
On a separate note, you'll have to forgive me all if this blog post seems a little bit distracted this week.
For those who are regular followers of Ladies who League, you will know that this year I have taken part in NRL SuperCoach for the very first time. Anyone who plays the game knows how much time and effort it takes if you want to be successful - but after playing for a year, I can honestly say that I have never loved the game of rugby league more.
This week is my Grand Final week. I am currently ranked 3rd in the country out of 118,440 and am only 15 points off the lead. I am actually a chance at winning the whole thing, overall. Something I am very proud of in my first year of playing.
So spare a thought for me this weekend as I go into battle with the hashtag #mkforsupercoachqueen .
Hopefully both myself and the Parramatta Eels can end the season on a high.
