With the forecast promising a deluge the night of the game, I needed to assemble some sort of outfit that would at least give me a fighting chance to not get drenched. I headed to the local mall and found a waterproof windbreaker in Lowes, a tarp-like thing in their version of our ‘dollar’ store and finally the only pair of rubber boots I could find from the Big W. They were pink, a color that doesn’t exist in my wardrobe but they did have an amusing saving grace -  they were covered with a black skull and crossbones pattern!

All of my preparation was for naught, thankfully. You know when you call TicketMaster one second after a concert goes on sale and out of a 40,000 seat venue, the “Best Available” for you is in row ZZ behind a set of speakers? Well, that was the seemingly annoying situation when I bought the tickets because I got Row M in a stadium that looked like it was never even going to get to Z in the number of rows. That seat turned out to be worth its weight in gold because it turned out Row K was the beginning of the ‘monsoon zone’! I was dry but my pretty punky pink boots did came in handy on the muddy, puddle filled walk from the parking lot!

The game was great, even given the ‘slip and slide’ like conditions. Again, to my admittedly ‘still learning’ eye, the biggest difference was that Souths had no uncertainly or hesitation; it was like looking at a well trained army staying in crisp formation down the field. In spite of the intensity they played with, they made it look effortless and in times where they needed to improvise, all eyes were on the ball. That precision and focus is what left an impression with me and it seemed markedly ‘different’ from what I had seen at times last year.

As I found in the RTR game, the stands were so close to the field that you could see clearly individual performances. Rhys Wesser has such fast feet, and when the forward momentum with his bulk was added he really was an effective presence and his try was no surprise. He caught one kick and after running free for many meters you could feel the collision that finally took him down. Luke Stuart and John Sutton made their meters the hard way. You could see Sandow and Issac square themselves up and tackle any Panthers who came in their direction.

My new favorite player is young Shaune Corrigan. At 21 he plays with a quiet, confident assurance at wing. In practice he caught most anything thrown or kicked his way. I think he’ll be a great asset once he works himself into the first grade side.

I believe Souths will more than surprise this year if the two trial game, one with mostly younger players and then with a more veteran side in Coffs are any indication.

I just got a few pics with a compact camera of the game. I’ll also include one last shot I took the morning I left. I’ve rarely seen a full rainbow and this was a beautiful way to end my time in Coff’s Harbour.