Rugby league proves just the job in Oz for Giants’ fan Laura

Aug 27 2008 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

ONE day Huddersfield woman Laura Harrison was sitting in Sydney’s impressive ANZ Stadium watching a big rugby league match.

A week later she was back at the same stadium and working there after landing a job in its membership department.

“It’s the most amazing place to come to every day and a sight I never grow tired of,” she says of the spectacular stadium.

Laura, 27, is a rugby league fanatic who was first taken to games at the old Fartown ground by dad Richard.

Mum Glenys and sister Katharine joined them later to make going to the match a real family affair.

She coached one of the junior teams at the Underbank club in London before making the move to London in April, 2006.

Laura became a community officer at Harlequins rugby league club and was one of the few qualified female coaches in the capital.

Sadly, she was made redundant in January this year after a change in management at Harlequins.

Taking stock of her life, she decided to make the trip to Australia.

Laura says: “Australia is somewhere I’ve always wanted to come to so I figured this was my best chance to actually do it.”

She flew into Sydney in mid-June and set about trying to do as much as possible while attempting to find a job.

“I was keen to find something that would benefit my career while also providing me with the income I need to support my travelling out here,” she says.

Initially, she spent four weeks sightseeing, spending a week in the beach resort of Newcastle and the rest of the time in Sydney.

She managed to see places like the Blue Mountains and Lake Macquarie and also managed to indulge her passion for rugby league with a trip to State of Origin 3 at the ANZ Stadium at the beginning of July.

Already she was showing a bit of loyalty to the city of Sydney by cheering on the New South Wales team.

It was a disappointing result, with Queensland beat New South Wales to take their third series in a row.

Laura says: “It was a great experience and I loved every minute. The only downside was that I was wearing my beloved Huddersfield Giants shirt so everybody thought I was supporting Queensland.”

The ANZ Stadium where she is now working was built on the site of the old Olympics stadium and was completed in 1999.

It can hold crowds of more than 80,000 for rugby league, Australian rules football, cricket, rugby union and soccer.

Laura’s job in the stadium has a big emphasis on hospitality and events which she finds great in terms of her career plans.

She has a six-month contract which runs until January and so far is enjoying every minute.

It was a great experience for Laura when she ran the New York Marathon last November, completing the distance in 6hrs 48mins.

She is hoping to be in the London Marathon next year and is keeping her fitness levels up by entering the Blackmores half-marathon in Sydney next month.

Laura says: “I originally expected that this would be the only thing I’d get involved in this year, but one day at work a couple of colleagues came to speak to me and said they’d managed to get a team into something called the Oxfam Trailwalker and had a spare place.

“Now I’m not one to resist a challenge so I immediately said yes without even realising what I was getting into. I just knew it was for a great cause and it would be a great experience, just as New York was.

“After doing a bit of research I discovered that the Oxfam Trailwalker is an annual event that involves walking 100km through the NSW bush. Not so difficult you might think, until you realise that all teams have to finish inside 48 hours.”

Laura now knows it’s going to be tough with only four weeks’ notice and little experience of the bush.

She’s been getting into shape for the event over next weekend by competing in City2Surf, one of the biggest fun runs in Australia.

Laura says: “My body is holding up okay despite sore knees and sprained ankles and I’m sure I’ll finish the trailwalk no matter what happens.

“The hardest part is going to be walking through the night on rough terrain. The sights during the day make it all worth while however – so far I’ve encountered huge Goanna lizards and kangaroos which I’ve never seen in the wild before.

“We’re also raising money for a great cause in Oxfam which is fantastic.”

Laura will be going to New Zealand for a couple of weeks when her contract at the stadium ends in January and then either back to Australia or London depending on what jobs are available.

Her team in the Oxfam walk is called the ANZ Stadium Stompers. To sponsor her go to www2.oxfam.org.au/trailwalker/Sydney/team/390 and click on the name Laura Harrison.