This morning we had a long drive back to Perth ahead of us. The sky was rosy over Albany when we left the house to grab some breakfast, but it didn’t last long and we had blue skies for the rest of the day. We took a fairly direct inland route this time. There was not going to be much to see along the way, but we needed to get settled in to our Perth accommodation by mid-afternoon, so we weren’t interested in any stops other than for lunch.
The people we’d spoken to in Albany had told us they desperately needed rain, and before we’d gone far it became evident how dry the countryside was. We travelled a long way before we saw any green grass. Much of our journey was through wheat belt country, but we didn’t see any wheat fields gently swaying in the breeze. All we saw was dusty, dry paddocks. Now and then there were treed sections, but no real forests. Occasionally we were slowed down by large trucks, but there were regular passing lanes and the road was in fairly good condition, so we made good time to Williams, a wheat belt truck stop, where we ate our lunch.
We still had a couple of hours to drive after Williams. A fire to the east of us had us intrigued for a while. I guess it was farmers or rangers doing a controlled burn. The smoke clouds grew in magnitude as we approached them, but after ten or so minutes we changed direction and that was the last we saw of it.
We’ve seen a few emus by the side of the road over the past few days. Usually our car has sped past before I can bring my camera up, but today I spotted them ahead and managed to get a shot before we’d gone past.
The final hour of the journey brought us back into scrubland and then forest once more as we approached Perth. Everything was greener here. With about 10 km to go, the traffic was crawling. Signs cautioned motorists that the evening’s football game would cause traffic delays. Just after 3pm, Optus Stadium came into view. Our accommodation was nearby, within walking distance of the stadium. We’d chosen well. We’re staying at East Perth Suites. They’re very comfortable and we have water views.
At 5pm we left our rooms and walked through parkland along the bank of the Swan River to the Matagarup Bridge. There were plenty of footy fans taking the same route. I was very happy to see lots of Collingwood apparel, although it was obvious the Fremantle fans outnumbered us. Optus Stadium is certainly an impressive structure when first viewed, and I could feel a sense of excitement growing as I crossed the bridge into the stadium precinct. It was a balmy 25 degrees. It’s hard to comprehend anyone going to the footy without jackets or warm clothing just one week before the start of winter.
We took the elevators to the fifth level. I’d been worried that they might not be good seats when I’d bought the tickets, but they turned out to be really good. We had a brilliant view of the whole stadium, and I must say that I think it’s a fantastic venue. We had a bite to eat and settled into our seats just as the teams were entering the field. The Welcome to Country followed. As it’s part of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, celebrating the contribution of indigenous footballers, former champion players Leon Davis from Collingwood and Michael Johnson from the Dockers, both featured in the presentation. Being a Fremantle home game, purple lighting illuminated the stadium as a couple of musicians perched on the stadium roof let rip with AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’.
Fremantle got out to a good lead in the second quarter and led by just over a couple of goals at half time, but the Pies kept Freo goalless in the third quarter while kicking five of their own. Collingwood scored a few more early in the last quarter and opened up a 25-point lead with only about 10 minutes remaining. I thought we had the game won. But Freo scored a goal to narrow the difference to 19 points and suddenly the momentum changed. The Dockers began to surge forward and Collingwood struggled to quash their attacks. The Dockers were awarded a very dubious free kick right in front of goal, which brought the Pies’ lead back to 13 points, and within minutes the home team had goaled twice more. With just a couple of minutes remaining, Fremantle scored a behind. The scoreboard read 75 points apiece. Collingwood brought the ball into their forward line, but the final siren sounded with no further score being added. It was a drawn game. It left a bit of a hollow feeling at first, because we were in a position to win the game until the final few minutes, but when I considered that we’d brought over a team depleted by injuries and featuring quite a significant number of players at the beginning of their AFL careers, a draw against another top eight team didn’t seem so bad. We stretched our unbeaten run to eight games, picked up two points for the tie, and remained in a fairly good place on the ladder. It had been worth coming over to Perth to witness.
The crowd of just over 54,000 was an impressive one for Optus Stadium. We made our way through them as we left the stadium and headed back across the bridge and through the parkland towards our accommodation. It was still quite warm. Glancing back at the stadium across the water, I stopped for one last look. It is a great football stadium and I’m so glad that we can say we’ve supported the Magpies there. And the bridge across the Swan River looke amazing too, illuminated in the colours of the Aboriginal flag to acknowledge the importance of indigenous footballers to our game during Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
On The Road With Garry 