Watched the Parramatta Eels get clobbered by the Manly Sea Eagles in this very suburban stadium…read more From Sydney, we took the river cat ferry service for a pleasant taste of the suburbs and sporting life. Fun environment to see a rugby game outside the big city stadiums. Kept up fine, but small even by the standard of mid-sized college stadiums in the US. Literally no bad seats in the house. One particular highlight was the members' club across the street, where we had quite a decent dinner before walking back to the stadium for the game. (Food in the stadium itself was underwhelming.)

Aussie Rules Football...now there's a weird game! It's to Victoria what Rugby League is to NSW and…read moreas a result Sydney only has one team (although it's about to become 2 with the introduction of Greater Western Sydney Giants next season), the Sydney Swans. The Swans have resided at the SCG since 1982, having previously played as South Melbourne (a fact that is still recognised by the SMFC on the back of their shirts) for 107 years. Now for anyone born outside of Australia, this game will seem strange and confusing. 5 years in the country, and it still seems strange and confusing. Watching on TV, it can be a bit tedious to watch if you're not totally clued in to what's going on. However, as with most sports, if you're at the stadium watching it live, then it definitely adds to the excitement. The Swans themselves have been relatively successful over the last few years, having won the competition in 2005 and losing by a single point a year later. They are usually expected to finish within the top-8, therefore qualifying for the finals, so they are a pretty decent team to go and watch if you're fancy checking it out for the first time. Most of their games are played at the SCG in Moore Park, but some of the bigger games are moved out to Homebush and the bigger capacity ANZ stadium. Either way, you shouldn't have too many problems getting tickets. Price-wise, it's pretty good value, with adult tickets starting at $24 at the SCG and $28.50 at ANZ (2011 prices, so may change for 2012 season). So if you're around during the winter months and you're curious to see why people get excited about 36 guys chasing a unevenly bouncing ball around a cricket oval, get yourself to a game!

Freshwater is Manly's rad little teenage cousin. A little bookish, kinda quiet, but with wisdom…read morebeyond its years and a fringe that just won't quit. The SLSC here is an ugly salmon block, just like every other surf club in the country - who designs these things? - but there's something wonderfully nostalgic about trotting up to the canteen in your dick stickers with a first full of loose change, it makes me feel like a kid again. Smash a meat pie and a Golden Gaytime and all is right with the world.

Working in the area meant that we dropped in here because one of the guys at work is a supporter…read more Which meant that I could buy christmas presents for those of my friends who follow this sport. It's on the 3rd floor, or is it 4th floor? Either way it takes up a floor. The lay out is interesting and they had some amazing leather jackets with engravings on the back. The price tag was out of the world for them however. There's also a huge bike as you walk off the lift. A sign underneath it saying that you could own the beast for a tidy sum. If you don't mind a red and green bike with a bunny on the petrol tank. Oh, plus it's a cruiser. Cruisers aren't my thing. I can see the draw for supporters however. There's stickers, facepaints, shirts, jersey's, jackets, socks, hats, scarves, gloves.... you name it, it's been branded and is sitting on a shelf somewhere in here. The only thing I was surprised at was that clothes were totally overpriced, however other things were reasonably priced, which was a nice surprise. So if you like this sport and you support these guys, then this might be the place for you.

Russell Crowe might punch me repeatedly for only giving them 3 stars, but they get 3 nonetheless…read more*hides behind sofa*. Yes, the Aussie hardman of Gladiator fame (and Robin Hood infamy) is the co-owner of this rugby league side (although if you've spent any time in Australia during the NRL season, you'll probably already know that. The Bunnies are the most successful team in Australian rugby league, however the team have struggled in recent years, despite plenty of investment from Big Russ et al. Their last appearance in the finals was in 2007 and they last won the competition back in 1971! Most of their games are played at ANZ Stadium out in Sydney Olympic Park, however with an average crowd of under 20,000 the atmosphere at games is mediocre at best seeing as the stadium holds 80,000. Each season seems to promise a Rabbitohs push for the finals, so perhaps next season is their season, in which case they may be worth watching, but you may just want to play it by ear. One game that is worth going to is the annual opening weekend game against their rivals, Sydney Roosters at SFS as it attracts a healthy crowd and a great atmosphere (plus, Russell will more than likely be there, so good for a bit of a laugh!).

Used to watch North Sydney Bears vs Manly Sea Eagles footy matches here back in the day, we'd have…read morea mate on the outside throwing six-packs of beer over the fence to smuggle in. Ah, meeeeemories, light the corners of my mind. But I digress (sometimes I digress just so I can say I've digressed...). It's a beautiful oval, with a giant moreton bay fig tree at one end that kids climb in and watch sport from. It's a smallish ground so if you watch the cricket you'll see plenty of fireworks, 4s and 6s aplenty, a real slog-fest. They also do Starlight Cinema here in the summer with a giant inflatable movie screen that ripples gently when the wind blows as you laze on the springy green turf, it's major rancho relaxo.

Recently I came to see a game at this Oval with coworkers. Our company provided us with VIP…read morehospitality tickets so we were very exited to see Manly and Roosters game. Brookvale Oval is a home of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and is located on Pittwater Road in Brookvale. The ground's capacity is around the 23,000 mark and limited parking is available in nearby schools, alternatively there is limited parking in nearby streets or you can park at the Brookvale hotel near by. First if all the VIP wasn't really what i expected and I have been to Allianz stadium so many times with corporate tickets. The VIP area was basically packed. The ticket comes with free drinks during the game and food. The drinks part was fine as the selection of alcohol was great - beer, cider, sparkling, wine, Canadian club etc. No complain about that. But the food?!? We had to line up for a bit or rice and and some curry and a coleslaw on the side. We all were not impressed with the food. The curry wasn't amazing at all. We all ate as we were hungry and mixing alcohol with no food... you know how this would end... Going to get drinks you could see sometimes a waiter walking around with some other food like sausage rolls or beef pies. I was told didn't tasted nice at all. You could take your drinks and sit outside and that's what we did as there was not many seating available in the VIP area. There was not enough tables or seats to even eat your dinner. Not sure how much the tickets are but if you only interested in free alcohol and you will drink a lot this could be the deal for you but if you come here for food - don't... And remember this is Manly area so all fans go for the Sea Eagles....

We took our four year old grandson to his first professional rugby match, to see the Manly…read moreWarringah Sea Eagles. Good match, mediocre facility. The Brookvale Oval has nice viewing and typical uncomfortable seating. That's normal. Food service was minimal and disappointing. Beer flowed, of course, but food choices were poor. Luckily Mommy had packed some goodies for the grandson to eat.

We've been visiting the Flying Squadron for a few years since the in-laws moved to Kirribilli and…read moreit is great. Well, it was great, then it took a slide for a while, and now it's great once again! This is not a fancy place, it's for the poorer older Kirribilli folk (the moneyed go to yacht club up the road) who just like to hang about. It gets quite a lot of pre-theatre traffic as well, so expect to wait for a table on show nights. I'd recommend that you come for the trivia, but that'd mean there'd be yet another team that would beat us. They're pretty competitive... ;-p

The Flying Squadron is a membership club located at the end of Careening Cove, Milsons Point and…read morenext to Milsons Park. It's a casual and laid back atmosphere is the perfect place to socialise to have lunch or dinner in the restaurant or have a few beverages at the balcony bar on a nice summers evening. The drinks are reasonable and some Sundays there is live entertainment. The Squadron was founded in 1891 by Mark Foy and was one of Sydney's first skiff sailing clubs. During Summer the club runs skiff sailing lessons in the weekends. Meat Raffles and Trivia nights are run every Thursdays and a Spectator Ferry leaves and returns to the club from 2pm every Saturdays. With so much going on in this little social club you should discover yourself what it has to offer.

I was there for a suburban game between Sydney and Brisbane in the National Soccer competition…read more The weather was wet, windy and cold- in the middle of summer! In many ways it replicated the feeling and atmosphere of watching the soccer on a small suburban ground in England Although the common word of paying spectators was had the weather been fine, the stadium would have easily sold out (2-3K more people), 11K PAX for the soccer that afternoon The closest train station to this stadium is Carlton on the Illawarra line, the train only stops at Carlton on special events

'Oh when the saaints, go marching innn...' This footy stadium at Kogarah is home of the big red 'V'…read morejerseys, the St George Illawarra Dragons. During rugby league matches you can hear the crowds chanting for miles. At least that's how far away you'll be walking from if you happen to go to one of these matches. If you're late to one, well good luck. The parking for game day events is purely atrocious because there is no stadium parking lot. You can head over to St George Leagues Club , the Kogarah Council Car Park or some spots up near Kogarah Station. Otherwise, you can always try your hand at street parking. Cars queue up for one of these valuable spots because it's a much shorter walk and try to avoid the crowd of red and white pedestrians. And let's not forget about the traffic either. Road blocks and detours make it impossible for ordinary folk to get around, and for pumped up rugby fans, road rage is absolutely mental. So if you're heading in to the Kogarah Stadium, head in early to get some decent parking. The newly renovated Kogarah Stadium has an extended Northern Grandstand so that capacity can reach about 22,000. Of course, cheaper tickets are always available for a spot on The Hill, where most of the local fans are. Food, beverages, alcohol, radio commentary head sets and merchandise are all available on site - what else do you need to watch a great game of footy?