Sydney Swans vs. Hawthorn

On Sunday, I went on the class field trip to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the Sydney Swans take on the visiting Hawthorn Hawks. I was very excited to watch this AFL match because football is such a big part of Australian sport culture. I came dressed in red and white ready to cheer on the Swans. The stadium was packed with fans, who were mostly supporting the home team. There were more fans at this match than at the rugby league game I attended recently. I soon realized why this might be true. At least in my opinion, AFL is much more exciting than rugby league because it is faster-paced. There are more possession changes and goals in roughly the same amount of time. The ball was constantly in motion as it was thrown or kicked to teammates across the field. I noticed the AFL players were leaner than rugby league players. I remembered learning in class that AFL players do a lot more running than rugby league players do, which means they probably have to do more conditioning than strength training. I also noticed that the field was oval shaped, which although seems odd, it was great for spectating because you can see more of the action. The past history between the two teams favored the Swans, winning the last 10 of the 11 matches at the SCG against the Hawks. However, this was not the case on Sunday. The match was close at the beginning, but the Hawks found their motivation in the second term.  The Hawks completely dominated the third quarter securing a 46-point victory over the Swans.