Wow! What A Day! Our Tour of the SSFC Rabbitohs' Training Facilities

Sheri, Danielle, Gayle-Lynne, and Susi

The day started like any other.  Oh who am I kidding?  We were on holiday in Australia, and we hopped the train from Museum Station, and off we went! To say the least, we were  very excited about going to the South Sydney Football Club (SSFC) Rabbitohs' practice facility in Redfern for a tour of their facilities.  As instructed by the Rabbitohs' wonderful representative Mr. Luke Byrne, we waited patiently at the Park Cafe on Chalmers, adjacent to Redfern Oval. My mates Danielle, Susi, Gayle and I had refreshments while we waited (aka, I had a  couple "Pure Blonde" beers, as did Dani, to calm ourselves, as we were VERY excited). Little did we know we would be met by (the VERY handsome) former First Grade player Mr. Mark Hughes (retired, 1991) and Rabbitohs' assistant Jessica for our meeting.  Both were just a delight to meet and talk to!  Mark, noting my Nike Shox in Bunnies colors, said "Russell needs to see your shoes!" So I replied "Well, why don't you ring him up and have him come over for a look then!?  Everyone laughed.  "I was serious," I said. We all laughed again.  (It's always "no" unless you ask, my Dad always said.)

We finished the introductions, and off to the training facility we went.  The Club played all home games here  between 1948 and 1987.   Although most home games are played at ANZ Stadium, the Oval was refurbished in 2009 to its present condition, and is a treat  to visit for Rabbitohs fans and  also serves the surrounding community alike. This inside area we toured is not accessible to the public, so we can not share our photos of it here.  But I will tell you, that what we saw was nothing short of amazing to us!  To be in the same facility that our beloved favorite players like Nathan Merritt, Chris Sandow, and Sam Burgess train, get dressed for games, and get pre-game words of wisdom from Coach  John Lang and co-owner Russell Crowe in, was just awe inspiring, to say the least!  I got a photo in a chaise lounge in front of Chris Sandow's locker, which had a gold  bejeweled "crown" hanging in it.   Mark said Chris got it for something or another, perhaps as a joke.  I was asked if I wanted to put the crown on, but declined, as I didn't have enough nerve to touch anything belonging to any of the players.  This was sacred Rabbitoh territory!  And we got to go in there!  There were so many interesting photos, plaques, and quotes on the walls depicting the Rabbitohs history from their inception from 1908 to the present.  I, for one, was just astonished that I was  right there, in person, standing in the hallowed halls of such a historical NRL team as the Rabbitohs.  I had to pinch myself.  I couldn't snap enough photos of the facility.  Mark had an appointment, so we had to finish our tour of the inside of the top notch training facility.  We said our thank yous and goodbyes to Mark, and  Jessica proceeded to show us the outside of the facility and the beautiful practice oval, referred to by us Bunnies fans as "The Holy Land."  We were shown the players' entrance/tunnel, the field, the terraced hill seating around the field, and the grandstands.  Absolutely beautiful, especially on this perfect  sunny Sydney day!

Jessica then interviewed each of us separately, and asked us a bit about ourselves,  where we were from, how we came to be fans of the Rabbitohs, and who our favorite players were.  Jessica said they would do a story on us and put it on the Rabbitohs website, sometime soon.  Well! It appeared on November 5, 2010, much to our surprise, so quickly!  Jessica took us back to the Rabbitohs Headquarters on George Street, a very short walk from the Redfern Oval.  Susi and Danielle renewed their International Memberships, while I joined as a new member, as did Gayle-Lynne.  I also purchased a "Return to Redfern 2011" ticket, so I'll be going back to Australia in February 2011 with my awesome friend and fellow Bunnies fan, Danielle.  I am so excited  to see my first live NRL game , and our beloved Bunnies play in person for an exciting 80 minutes (against the Newtown Jets), for the first time ever!  The Rabbitohs are in the process of packing up and moving to a brand new headquarters nearby in Redfern, and were pretty excited about it.  They were also very generous with their time in meeting us,  giving us a dream come true tour and experience, and having us be a part of their business day, which we most certainly appreciated!  Afterwards, we went downstairs to the Official South Sydney Rabbitohs Store, and loaded up with a bunch of cool stuff!  Many, many thanks to all that made our day possible:   Mr. Luke Byrne, Mr. Mark Hughes, Jessica (sorry, I didn't get your last name),  Kate (for going to get the footy ball for me to take a photo with), "Richard" down in the SSFC Official Store, and the entire SSFC Rabbitohs Staff!

So, in short, we had an   A  W  E  S  O  M  E   day, to say the least!  We couldn't have capped off a "dream come true" day like this any better, but we did!  We went and saw Danielle Spencer in concert at "Raval" in Surry Hills.  She was outstanding and put on a most wonderful show!

Interested in becoming a South Sydney Rabbitohs member?  Just go to http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/ and click on "Membership". 

Stand tall together with us, become a true "Red & Green" supporter, and help us Up the Mighty Rabbitohs in 2011!

Click here to see the SSFC Rabbitohs in person for their first game of 2011!