tits&tans for the Titans hops, pecks and flutters on to the field.
748 words (OWC) between the stars
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What a flu-zy!
Your nose doesnt stop running. You shiver and sweat uncontrollably and your body temperature alternates between Kelvin and the surface of the sun. Your head throbs. A single cough wracks your entire body forcing your already uncomfortable joints into even more painful positions. Somebody clearly went to town on your throat with some glass-paper and every swallow results in searing pain. Breaths do not come easily and your lungs must have shriveled up. Vomiting follows. The diarrhoea shortly after. A deep weariness fills you. You are exhausted. Sleep, were it not so uncomfortable, would be very welcome.
Then the men in white coats come, armed with nasopharyngeal swabs. They test, nod, look serious and take you away.
Hopefully these symptoms and this situation doesnt seem
too familiar although Im sure that weve all lived through parts of it.
It wasnt that long ago that had this happened to you, you would have joined a select group of almost 1,000 people in Australia who were diagnosed with swine-flu. Outside of North America (US, Canada and Mexico), Australia was the hardest hit by the pandemic of 2009 with almost 75% of Australias cases being confined to the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Wwhat that says about our Victorian cousins, is not for me to say.
The NRL did not escape its effects and Queenslands three teams were all monitored carefully after the Bulldogs Ben Hannant tested positive and was quarantined. The moving feast (as described by Graham Annesley), then almost devoured Ashley Harrison and Darius Boyd, as they were forced to withdraw from an NRL clash at Skilled Park. The Cowboys also quarantined their Origin players, as did the Broncos. There was a moment when the virus threatened to hitch a ride down to NSW and cause havoc there, but this was short-lived as it was very quickly confirmed that the Blues trainer, Tony Ayoub, did not have the virus.
It was close. At the time, tabloids and pundits alike, in a predictably irresponsible manner, were screaming about the end of the game (and life) as we know it. With implacable calm, however, the NRL dealt with this, as it had dealt with many events in its tumultuous history, with an elegant brush-off and simply powered on.
This wasnt their first encounter.
Approximately, 90 years ago League was almost rocked by the deadliest natural disaster in human history. Over the course of 2 years, between 50 and 100 million people died due to a simple non-living organism. The Spanish flu of 1918 killed approximately 20% of the people it infected, in total taking the lives of almost 3% of the worlds population.
In its burgeoning years in Australia, rugby league was almost stopped before it even began. The impact of the 1918 pandemic threatened the financial-stability of the NSWRL and NZRL and the very future of the QRL.
In 1918, the NSWRL had arranged for a New Zealand team to tour Australia. The trip was looking uncertain, however it was then decided that regardless of the potential risks, the show must go on. The NSW and Queensland governments closed public buildings, prohibited public gatherings, and enforced the use of facemasks but just couldnt bring themselves to cancel popular sporting events. In hindsight, a move fraught with danger especially since the majority of rugby leagues players and fans were working class men without health care living together in close quarters. Despite or, perhaps, to spite the public health warnings, the New Zealand vs NSW games attracted almost 85,000 people. The financial dent in the NSWRL would have been too large to fill had these games not gone ahead, and the story since may have been very different.
It was further up north where the potential trouble really lay, as the Exhibition Ground in Brisbane was closed. This was the only ground where gate-money could be securely collected. Without the generosity and sheer ballsiness of Harry Sunderland, the QRL Secretary, who took out a loan to build a grandstand and fencing at Davies Park, QRL may have wilted and died. The gate-money could now be collected, and with a turnout of 10,000 fans, there were sufficient funds to build a second grandstand and consolidate the success.
Once again, league had shrugged off its troubles and marched on. If anything, during times of trouble, it acted as and continues to act as a source of relief, distraction and enjoyment for those with concerns or worries in their lives.
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