Friday night football in Brisbane, and a chance to complete a useful comparison. This was my second A-League fixture of the series, with Brisbane Roar hosting Auckland FC at Suncorp Stadium for a 6:35 pm kickoff. Having seen the Roar play Wellington Phoenix at Redcliffe’s Kayo Stadium a week earlier, this felt like the natural next step: same league, same team, but in the city’s main sporting cathedral.
Wednesday night marked the first appearance of tennis in this series, with a visit to the Brisbane International night session beginning at 6:30 pm. Two matches were scheduled on Pat Rafter Arena: first, Australian Kimberly Birrell against American Amanda Anisimova, currently ranked third on the WTA Tour. The second match was a men’s doubles contest, featuring Australian favourites Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis against French pairing Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.
Saturday afternoon football in Queensland, and this time it was finally the A-League’s turn. After weeks of being told “it’s not great” or “you’ll see why people complain”, curiosity got the better of me. Brisbane Roar were hosting Wellington Phoenix in a 4:00 pm kickoff, with the Roar sitting an impressive third after significantly outperforming preseason expectations. Wellington, meanwhile, arrived in 10th and under pressure.
Saturday afternoon in Brisbane, and it was finally time to step into another side of Australian sport. After AFL, hockey, football, and NRL, today's basketball game offered a familiar rhythm but with a distinctly local twist. The Brisbane Bullets were hosting the South East Melbourne Phoenix at 4:30 pm, an early-season clash promising a fast, high-intensity spectacle on court.
Sunday afternoon in Brisbane, and my friends insisted it was finally time. After dipping my toes into AFL earlier this year, the other side of this country’s great sporting divide was calling. The Brisbane Broncos were hosting the Penrith Panthers in a Preliminary Final: a rematch of 2023’s Grand Final that had the whole city buzzing. Kick-off was set for 4:05 pm, the late-afternoon sun setting the perfect stage for a Queensland rugby league blockbuster.
I’ve watched a lot of football in my life. Mostly European, to be specific. In Köln, the average midtable game in February would comfortable draw fifty-thousand electric fans. So turning up to an Australia Cup Round of 32 tie between two semi-professional clubs in suburban Brisbane might seem like a strange decision. But as I've learned in my time here, the soul of the sport in this country very much resides below the top tier. And with two local teams in Brisbane Olympic and
On Sunday afternoon, I found myself at the O’Brien Icehouse in Melbourne’s Docklands, ticking off the second entry on my list of Australian sporting experiences. This time, it was ice hockey, a sport which is much less popular here, but one that I am more excited to attend.
The first article in a new series exploring the gameday experience at different Australian sports.
