Why would anyone want to move Magic Round from Brisbane?
The NRL’s decision to preserve the marquee weekend in the river city for another three seasons resulted in a fantastic weekend with over 140,000 spectators attending Suncorp Stadium over three days.
If you’re a rugby league fan, you’ll feel at home from the moment you arrive in town for the flagship event.
After checking into my hotel, the first thing I saw when I stepped out onto the pavement was a bloke with his two sons, riding the super-popular E-scooters.
All three were sporting very rugby league mullets, but that wasn’t what stood out.
The father was decked out in a Dolphins jersey, one of the boys had a Cowboys jersey on and the other was proudly sporting a South Sydney Rabbitohs kit.
That’s one of the great things about footy – families can be divided by teams, but brought together by their love of the game. I’ve experienced it for 20 years with a household split between Rabbitohs, Roosters and Dragons fans.
While the city of Brisbane as a whole was buzzing, it wasn’t until stepping foot onto the famous Caxton Street that things became ridiculously exciting.
This place had everything. Magicians on stilts, retro jerseys, a giant Steeden, live DJs and of course, the most iconic rugby league pub in the world – The Caxton Hotel.
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The fact that such a vibrant area is located in such close proximity to Suncorp Stadium is the exact reason why Magic Round couldn’t be located anywhere else.
Allianz Stadium is state-of-the-art, but the Moore Park precinct pales in comparison to Caxton Street and the Suncorp Stadium surrounds.
Inside the stadium, which remains the best in all of rugby league, seven out of the eight games were decided by narrow margins – thanks a lot, Parramatta – as supporters from across the eastern seaboard flocked to Suncorp to cheer on their team.
But perhaps the most popular team – despite travelling from the furthest distance – was the New Zealand Warriors, who managed to pull off a shock upset against Penrith.
“It was pretty surreal,” fullback Taine Tuaupiki said post-game after slotting the match-winning conversion against the Panthers.
He wasn’t the only one to appreciate the love and adulation of the crowd either.
Sharks young gun Kayal Iro, who remains undefeated in the top grade this season, admitted the noise inside Suncorp took him by surprise.
“I was pretty rattled,” he told Wide World of Sports.
“We were warming up in the sheds and we ran out and I didn’t realise the crowd. This is what dreams are made of … it was pretty surreal.”
Iro’s teammate and potential State of Origin centre Jesse Ramien also praised the fans, admitting this edition of Magic Round “took the cake” compared to previous years.
Cowboys winger Murray Taulagi made his return from injury for Magic Round and helped his side snap a losing streak – but he credited the fans for the victory.
“You feel the ground shake a little bit,” he told Wide World of Sports.
“It was a massive crowd, it felt like we were playing at home and full credit to the fans – they got us over the line there at the end.”
Outside of actual team jerseys, Brisbane was littered with those donning Bloke In A Bar kits to support the social media phenomenon founded by former player, Denan Kemp.
There was also plenty of love for the man behind The NRL Roast, with plenty of fans – including myself – asking for a photo with the popular social media figure at the Caxton.
While the action on the field was what brought everyone together, the good vibes off it is what makes Magic Round the spectacle that it is. Really, it’s like a giant extended family including a few drunk uncles having the time of their life.
Fans high on life – and maybe some alcohol – celebrating victories or drowning their sorrows after defeat. Meeting people you’ve only ever spoken to on Twitter. Cheering your favourite players or booing those you aren’t as fond of.
Magic Round isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s the best spectacle rugby league has to offer and making it a yearly tradition is something plenty involved wouldn’t have to think twice about – especially if their team got the chocolates this time around.
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