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11. Newcastle Jets vs Central Coast Mariners – 09/02/20

Newcastle Jets 4 (Dimi Petratos 2, Nikolai Topor-Stanley & Own goals) def Central Coast Mariners 3 ( Ruon Tongyik, Jack Clisby & Chris Harold goals)

Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners warm up prior to the game in front of an empty grandstand

PRE-GAME

Parking is plentiful in the streets around McDonald Jones Stadium with paid parking also available in the grounds at the front of the stadium. Public transport is also available if coming from Sydney or the Central Coast with Broadmeadow train station only a 1.5 km walk from the stadium.

There are a number of clubs and bars available within walking distance to the ground, as well as some local bars closer to the city who will run their courtesy bus to the ground. We can recommend Wests Leagues Club on Hobart Rd, New Lambton (a leisurely 1km stroll to the ground) or if a pub is more your scene both The General Roberts Hotel on the corner of Alma & Lambton Rd, New Lambton or The Sunnyside Tavern on Broadmeadow Rd, Broadmeadow are about a 1.2km walk.

ARRIVING AT THE GROUND

There are two main gates that are opened for most events the larger one on the western side of the ground also houses the ticketing and services areas for purchase and enquiry while the secondary gate is positioned in proximity to the south-eastern corner and is the best access point for seats on the southern hill or the eastern (Andrew Johns) grandstand.

THE GAME

Fortunately for the wet day ahead we had won ourselves a corporate suite in a raffle courtesy of the Hunter Melanoma Foundation and the Jets had made sure our spot was well out of the weather.

View of the action from our corporate suite

Leading up to the match the weather conditions had consisted of torrential rain for a couple of days leading in, add a Rugby Union match on the ground the night before and it was a chance the match wouldn’t even go ahead. But go ahead it did and what a display of attacking football we saw, seven goals in total meant the purists may not have been happy but it brightened what was otherwise a dour day. The Jets probably should have won by more with the number of opportunities they had but it wasn’t to be and the local faithful had to hang on to the edge of the seat as their local rivals the Mariners almost came back and seized a split of the points, an all too common experience in recent times for Jets fans.

Ultimately the Jets hung on through some questionable defensive decisions and walk away with a timely one goal win, their first since late November.

FOOD

It was a very good spread of finger food that was provided as a complimentary inclusion of our corporate suite with the usual fare of pies, sausage rolls, arancini balls, spring rolls and plenty more, we certainly were not left wanting.

OVERALL RATINGS

Parking – 4.5/5
View – 4/5
Value – 4/5 (based on standard ticketing)
Food Quality – 4/5
Food Pricing – 4/5 (Based on standard food pricing here)
Atmosphere – 2/5 (unfortunately a very small crowd didn’t add a lot)

TOTAL – 22.5/30

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10. NSW Waratahs vs Blues – 08/02/20

Blues 32 (Mark Telea 3, Blake Gibson & Joe Marchant tries, Stephen Perofeta 1/3 & Harry Plummer 1/2 conv. and Perofeta 1/2 pens) def NSW Waratahs 12 (Lalakai Foketi & Mark Nawaqanitawase tries, Will Harrison 1/1 & Kurtley Beale 0/1 conv. & Harrison 0/1 pens)

It was ominous weather predicted for the match at McDonald Jones Stadium

PRE-GAME

Parking is plentiful in the streets around McDonald Jones Stadium with paid parking also available in the grounds at the front of the stadium. Public transport is also available if coming from Sydney or the Central Coast with Broadmeadow train station only a 1.5 km walk from the stadium.

There are a number of clubs and bars available within walking distance to the ground, as well as some local bars closer to the city who will run their courtesy bus to the ground. We can recommend Wests Leagues Club on Hobart Rd, New Lambton (a leisurely 1km stroll to the ground) or if a pub is more your scene both The General Roberts Hotel on the corner of Alma & Lambton Rd, New Lambton or The Sunnyside Tavern on Broadmeadow Rd, Broadmeadow are about a 1.2km walk.

ARRIVING AT THE GROUND

There are two main gates that are opened for most events the larger one on the western side of the ground also houses the ticketing and services areas for purchase and enquiry while the secondary gate is positioned in proximity to the south-eastern corner and is the best access point for seats on the southern hill or the eastern (Andrew Johns) grandstand.

The Waratahs took to the pitch early and rewarded the early attendees with a glimpse of their heroes

The GAME

For today’s game we managed to pick up a complimentary ticket to the game thanks to Newcastle’s number 1 rugby whistle blower. We were allocated a seat in Bay 3 of the Andrew Johns (Eastern) grandstand, tickets were pretty pricey for non rugby players/members up to $65 for some seats which seemed a bit steep. Our seats had us positioned in line with the 22m line at the Southern end of the stands, we were originally sitting about 12 rows back but when some of the early rain came in we retreated back about 6 rows and found a spot in the furthest row forward that the rain was hitting and sat ourselves there for the remainder of the fixture.

The view from our seats – Rob Simmons takes an attacking line out in the first half

From pillar to post the Blues seemed to have the upper hand, and it certainly seemed for the most part the Waratahs were their own worst enemy, when they did make a break the ball wouldn’t stick when the pass was thrown or the ball would go to ground. The standouts for the home side were certainly the young guns, fly half Will Harrison and winger Mark Nawaqanitawase, albeit with some real concern for a short period after Nawaqanitawase’s spectacular try as he landed awkwardly.

It was the Blues though who were dominant with their forwards laying a great platform through ruck work and a strong scrum, allowing their backline to capitalise on repeated overlaps on the outside and Mark Telea was the repeated beneficiary as he scored a hat-trick including his third and the sealer on full time.

Mark Telea scores his third try after the siren

The Waratahs will now need to go back to the drawing board and rectify a number of areas particularly handling, dealing with the counter ruck, scrummaging and one on one defence as they are now win less after 2 matches and will travel to Melbourne for a bottom of the Australian conference match up with their southern counterparts the Rebels who are also yet to chalk a victory in 2020.

FOOD

We didn’t partake in the catering fare this game, but McDonald Jones in our experience serves up a solid offering

OVERALL RATINGS

Parking – 4.5/5
View – 4/5
Value – 2.5/5 (based on ticket pricing – not price of our complimentary ticket)
Food Quality – 4/5 (based on other events here)
Food Pricing – 4/5 (based on other events here)
Atmosphere – 2.5/5

TOTAL – 21.5/30

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9. Newcastle Jets vs Western United – 01/02/20

Newcastle Jets 0 vs Western United 0
McDonald Jones Stadium, New Lambton, Newcastle

Both sides took to the pitch in sweltering temperatures in the high 30’s

PRE-GAME

Parking is plentiful in the streets around McDonald Jones Stadium with paid parking also available in the grounds at the front of the stadium. Public transport is also available if coming from Sydney or the Central Coast with Broadmeadow train station only a 1.5 km walk from the stadium.

There are a number of clubs and bars available within walking distance to the ground, as well as some local bars closer to the city who will run their courtesy bus to the ground. We can recommend Wests Leagues Club on Hobart Rd, New Lambton (a leisurely 1km stroll to the ground) or if a pub is more your scene both The General Roberts Hotel on the corner of Alma & Lambton Rd, New Lambton or The Sunnyside Tavern on Broadmeadow Rd, Broadmeadow are about a 1.2km walk.

ARRIVING AT THE GROUND

There are two main gates that are opened for most events the larger one on the western side of the ground also houses the ticketing and services areas for purchase and enquiry while the secondary gate is positioned in proximity to the south-eastern corner and is the best access point for seats on the southern hill or the eastern (Andrew Johns) grandstand.
While for Jets games I would normally sit in the eastern stand a predicted kick off temperature of 37 degrees at 5pm we organised some seats in the upper tier of the Western Stand in Bay 66 (for a good view over the whole field at a price of $39 – good value on a hot day). Tickets can be picked up for $25 in general admission areas such as the hill or $30 for seats in the eastern stand.

The GAME

It was 90 minutes of the Jets dominating Western United without any ability to convert it into points. There was plenty of heat not just in the air but also in the actions of all the players, Josh Risdon, Nigel Boogaard and Besart Berisha to name a few found themselves in physical altercations at different stages of the match as the heat was matched by the aggression of the players.

The Jets had a absolute plethora of scoring opportunities and if it wasn’t for the work of United’s keeper Filip Kurto and inability to finish in front of goal by the Jets it had the potential to be a blow out win for the home side, however it didn’t seem to matter which of the home team it was with opportunity they would spray it wide, drill it at the keeper or in Dimi Petratos’ case somehow kick it backwards when running at a losse ball in front of an almost completely open goal.

That said after 90 minutes of football in temperatures of the high 30s neither team could break the deadlock and they split the points. It was almost relief in the end that it was over rather than the result.

Johnny Koutroumbis & Steve Ugarkovic collapse with exhaustion at full time

A low crowd of just shy of 5,500 in a 30,000 seat stadium however didn’t do the game justice in terms of atmosphere even with a passionate group going hard in the Jets active supporter bay.

FOOD

Food and Drinks weren’t high on our priority list but we did grab some hot chips and a couple of beverages, pricing was reasonable (with a 10% discount for Newcastle Jets members) a 600ml coke, a bottle of water and some hot chips left us with change from $15.

The chips were some of the better ones I have had at a stadium recently so more than a pass mark here.

A meager crowd turned up with only a few choosing to brave the direct sun on the North Hill

OVERALL RATINGS

Parking – 4.5/5
View – 4/5
Value – 4.5/5
Food Quality – 4/5
Food Pricing – 4/5
Atmosphere – 2/5

TOTAL – 23/30

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8. Sydney FC vs Brisbane Roar – 31/01/20

Sydney FC 1 (Adam Le Fondre 57′) def Brisbane Roar 0
NetStrata Jubilee Oval, Carlton, Sydney

A healthy crowd rolled in early to watch the Sky Blues in action

Pre-Game

Free parking was readily available on the north side of Princes Highway, about 400 m to the northern side of the ground. Alternatively the ground is a short stroll (600m) from Carlton Railway Station, which is only a 20 minute ride on the T4 line from Sydney’s Central Station.

Nearby venues, that are ideal for a drink before the game include St George Leagues Club (which is about 100m south of the ground on the opposite side of the Princes Highway or if you have caught the train, the Royal Hotel, Carlton is opposite the railway station on your walk to the ground.

ARRIVING AT THE GROUND

There is four entrances labelled Gate A through D with Gate A located at the southwest corner, B at the northwest, C at the northeast and D at the southeast, there is a ticket booth easily accessible from the Princes Highway parking end next to gate D.

Ticket pricing is quite reasonable with tickets ranging from $60 in the covered grandstand to $35 for uncovered concourse reserved seating and through to $30 General Admission tickets on the hill.

We opted in for a central bay in the concourse and the view of the whole ground was pretty solid

View from Concourse Bay E during the match

The Game

It was a balmy night in the early 30’s in the south of Sydney as the ladder leading Sky Blues took on an improved Brisbane Roar who were wanting to consolidate a spot in the top six. Brisbane started off aggressively with a tik tak style short passing football and Dylan Wenzel Halls was an early stand out but couldn’t converting his attacking raids into anything more.

In the first half Brisbane had a small handful of chances as did Sydney FC with the best of theirs a one on one for cult hero Rhyan Grant but he stumbled on the ball and couldn’t capitalise and the sides went to the break locked at nil all.

In the second half Brisbane came out with some attacking flair but nothing could amount to them breaking the deadlock, until the 56th minute when an Adam Le Fondre shot was blocked by Scott Neville and it was adjudged to be handball, giving the Sky Blues a penalty and Le Fondre dutifully stepped up and converted to give Sydney the lead, the hand ball also saw Neville given his second yellow and his marching orders along with it, seeing the Roar reduced to 10 men.

Sydney FC coach Steve Corica encourages his troops on as The Cove supporters cheer on in the background

From here Sydney had the majority of the upper hand in the remainder of the match, including a penalty that was awarded and then overturned by the VAR for offside. Sydney kept up their pressure throughout and only the superb work of Jamie Young kept the scoreline at 1-0 through to full time.

Food (At THe GROUND)

The food available at the ground was solid and in the mid range of pricing available for food, We went with a Fish & Chip combo which included two pieces of fish, a serving of chips and a 600ml drink for $14.90

Fish & Chips from the combo at NetStrata Jubilee Oval

The fish was pretty tasty, and the chips were more than passable, all in all not a bad meal and far from the worst I have got at a stadium. Good serving size.

Overall Ratings

Parking – 5/5
View – 4/5
Value – 4/5
Food Quality – 3.5/5
Food Pricing – 3/5
Atmosphere – 3/5

TOTAL – 22.5/30