It’s been a huge week for football in Australia, with Manchester United and Liverpool both visiting our shores to tackle local opposition. The games staged in Sydney and Melbourne respectively were both played to sold-out crowds.
The Socceroos have also been competing in the East Asian Cup in South Korea, where they have played the hosts and went down to Japan overnight. All games have provided quite a spectacle for patrons of Strathfield Sports Club.
With the weekend about to click into gear, it’s that time of the week when we hit the accelerator on what we’ll be powering through on the big screen.
Friday night rugby league will see the kick-off to “rivalry round” when the Bulldogs host the Eels and the Broncos play the Cowboys. The Eels will be desperate to break their losing streak against a Bulldogs side determined to make it back to this year’s grand final. Meanwhile the Broncos and Cowboys will be aiming for Queensland bragging rights in their derby, with the teams only being separated by a couple of tries worth of points differential.
Saturday will see rugby union take centre stage with the Super 15 semi-finals set to decide who will compete for this year’s title. The Chiefs take on the Crusaders in the first match, with the Bulls taking on the Brumbies later in the evening. In what is a nice piece of alliteration there also promises to be some great running rugby!
The Chiefs can earn the right to host the final after finishing top of the competition, while the Crusaders will go into the match full of confidence after they belted the Reds last weekend. The Brumbies are the only Aussie team left to fly the flag in what promises to be a tough encounter against the Bulls as no more than three points have separated the two sides in their last two encounters.
Sunday night we go back to football for the final round of games in the East Asian Cup. Japan will be playing Korea Republic to decide who wins the title, while Australia will hope to show what they are capable of against China.
The Blue Samurai just got over the Socceroos with a 3-2 win as they aim to win their first title, while a rejuvenated Korea Republic have been playing like they have an extra player on the field with the home crowd support they’ve been receiving.
Socceroos Coach Holger Osieck has said he will be trying new players and formations for the game against China, so it will be interesting to see who steps up when they put on the national colours.
So there’s our scenic tour of the weekend, which we hope will lead to a visit from you at some stage. Remember SSC promotes safe driving as we take the wheel on what’s coming up!