So far, so good — on the pitch

G’DAY from Sydney, where the weather is cooling down and the ‘footy’ season has started.

Our trial matches went well with Wests Tigers winning two from three. I was lucky enough to trip over for two tries in our win over North Queensland Cowboys.

The Tigers’ NRL season started with a great comeback to beat Manly Sea Eagles. I came off the bench in the second half for a brief taste of the competition, but unfortunately it lasted only 10 minutes as a bad bang on the head required me to leave the field and receive a few stitches.

Not the ideal way to leave the field with starry eyes and claret running down my face, but it’s definitely an experience I won’t forget in a hurry!

Our second game was against Sydney Roosters which we lost 44-32. Playing in 32-degree heat, we needed two drinks breaks.

Fortunately I got the nod to play a full 80 minutes and created a couple of tries before receiving our players’ vote for man-of-the-match. So far, so good on the pitch really — I just need to keep my head down and cement my place in the team now.

We were up against a Parramatta Eels side last week boasting the superstars Jarryd Hayne and Fuifui Moimoi, so we knew we would have our work cut out. Thankfully we won the game 23-12, a great result against last year’s Grand Finalists.

Off the field I’ve been making plenty of trips to the golf courses and the beaches around Sydney. It has also been good to see my mum and dad who have been over on holiday.

Hopefully a few more of my pals will be out here soon enough. A couple of familiar accents always cures a bit of homesickness...


::Mark is the Oldham-born former Wigan loose forward, now playing in Australia’s National Rugby League.