From play-offs to red carpet

mark flanagan... in action for Wests Tigers in the NRL.

Oldhamer Mark, who plays for Wests Tigers in the NRL, writes for the Chron about the game Down Under

G’DAY from Oz!

The NRL play-offs are well under way now. We took on Sydney Roosters in round one and unfortunately, we lost an epic contest 19-15 after a gruelling 20 minutes of golden point extra time.

The game will be remembered as one of the greats. Played out in front of a crowd of 35,000 at the Sydney Football Stadium, we lost to a Shaun Kenny-Dowall try in the 100th minute.

Even though we were defeated in that game, we were given a second bite at the cherry thanks to our high finish in the table.

It meant we travelled to Canberra to take on the Raiders — the biggest team in the league, with a side jam-packed full of freakishly large humans.

We knew we were in for a tough night. Thankfully we managed to come out on top, winning 26-24, to leave us only one win away from a Grand Final appearance.

I attended the annual Dally M Awards last week, which is the equivalent of Super League’s Man of Steel night.

Fellow pom Gareth Ellis was nominated for second rower of the year and, fortunately for me, his fiancé wasn’t able to make it so I was the chosen replacement.

We must have stuck out like a sore thumb, as all the other players were accompanied by their platinum blonde, spray-tanned-to-the-max WAGs.

It felt like the Oscars with red carpet and paparazzi all over the place. You might spot us in OK magazine soon looking like Sir Elton John and David Furnish!

With the campaign coming to a close soon, I am looking forward to heading home for the off-season.

As soon as it finishes — hopefully after a Grand Final win — I will be booking a flight home to spend a month seeing my family and friends.

Hopefully, I will get a chance to fit in a few rugby matches and see how the local amateur sides are going on.