Deep inside mighty Brisbane, on the cusp of its famous brown river, a firework-breathing, liver-killing, colour-controlled insanity – sucked tens of thousands of rugby league fans from all around the southern hemisphere into its cocoon over the weekend.
For this, was Magic Round, and once in – there is no way back from the nook.
Come to me, child, welcome and feast on my rugby league bosom, she will say for years to come.
“Begins now the dance,” Rudyard Kipling wrote in The Jungle Book.
“The Dance of the Hunger of Kaa.
“Sit still and watch.”
Kaa sits beneath imperious Lang Park.
After three days of Magic Round and a further day of fucking around before our flight back to Sydney at 9pm on Monday night – this writer needs more.
Magic Round should run 365 days a year.
It’s Christmas, Sydney Easter Show, WrestleMania, State of Origin and Grand Final day all rolled into one.
Throw your kid’s birth in for good reason.
And after you roll all that up – roll that again into some heroin, an adrenaline shot to the heart and the greatest sex you’ve ever had… for some of you.
For here, stands NRL Magic Round.
Any given Magic Round doesn’t have a starting or ending point.
It’s simply the most beautiful, rolling, mush you can think of it and yes we’re not even talking about the footy itself.
Those that haven’t attended Magic Round or been in the suburb, city or state of Queensland since it began in 2019 – might watch from there televisions or mobile phones and wonder why the stadium is never full despite the NRL always spruiking that every day is sold out.
The reason is easy to explain.
There’s just too much happening to sit down for any given amount of time.
Magic Round is a window into a reality rugby league lost in the 1990s when the NSWRL and Super League went to war.
The reason rugby league is so strong in 2025 is because we can now forget the bullshit of the past.
Hundreds of different jerseys spewing through Caxton Street every day and there’s just no hate. It’s strangers acting as best friends, whether you’re wearing a Hunter Mariners or a Newcastle Knights jersey.
Balmain Tigers or Western Suburbs.
“Up the Wahs” or “Up the Milk”.
And a special mention to the Kiwi wearing a black and white top who explained his black and white jersey was from a defunct west-coast, southern island club in New Zealand…
Maybe Awatuna?
Sorry if I got that wrong, mate.
Before we go any further – we can also give Magic Round another compliment.
It doesn’t need to be about grog or drugs or women or whatever.
Magic Round is perfectly built to tailor for whatever you want from the weekend.
It’s a party.
It’s for families.
It’s one day.
It’s two days.
It’s three days.
It’s a thing to do before you die.
You don’t need to go to Caxton with your kids because there is so much to do.
But…
On Friday night at half-time, with the Roosters and Dolphins players eating oranges in the sheds, thousands of fans fused in the smoking areas outside Suncorp Stadium.
A lady in a Dolphins jersey, covered in tattoos on her left and right arms, lit up a joint, the smell danced down throughout the throng of people.
Nobody cared.
Smiles.
Joy.
Footy.
More than footy.
The circling snakes of Uber drivers began their descent.
Alarmingly, footy fans became experts of hired scooters.
On Sunday, morning-ish, your writer met Jason out the front of Lefty’s Music Hall, who had just opened their doors.
In his early 50s, on his own, decked out and wearing an original 1988 Broncos jersey [and another Broncos jersey underneath], and a Broncos wrestling mask sitting on the table, says he has a bottle of vodka covered covertly around the corner.
He is worried about the Panthers despite them being on their last breaths of their four-time reign.
An hour later, hundreds of fans, of every club, join joyous Kiwi fans in splendid Warriors jersey to throw wooden spoons at Penrith fans as they enter Caxton Street.
It’s all in good jest.
Warriors and Raiders fans controlled the balcony over the weekend at the Lord Alfred Hotel – despite it being a HQ for Dolphins fans who may have swum back up to Moreton Bay earlier after being defeated by the Chooks of Bondi a few days before.
Strippers from the closed Kittens club, which will be open later and directly across from Lefty’s, do their best to offer “TRY” signs to kids while massaging the egos of their future-fallen elder statesmen.
A kebab shop called Abbra Kebabras… the bin out the front of their shop looks more like the cusp of Woodstock 1999.
The edge of chaos.
But it never gets there.
Magic Round is always on the edge but never gets there.
It’s an incredible thing.
Down the road, a Lebanese kid is selling international cigarettes with sunglasses on.
Everyone is his best mate.
Double happiness.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo walks down Caxton Street.
Nobody cares but in a good way.
Petero Civoneciva.
The guy from Better Homes and Gardens.
$20 for a mullet cut at the Caxton.
It doesn’t matter.
Sunday is a brand-new day.
You almost want to stop partying to get back fresh in case you miss something.
Crabby’s is a good start.
The Queensland sun is out again.
Canterbury is out on the field.
Titans of Gold Coast as well.
Then you get lost in the humans.
Guess the footy counts too.
Teams win and lose.
Does it really matter?
This is fans getting together.
If you haven’t yet – make the journey.
Breathe it in, baby.
