Beginning of the end for the Wests Magpies
Roar Guru By Curtis Woodward, 13 Jan 2012 Curtis Woodward is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- Balmain Tigers, NRL, NSW Cup, Rugby League, Western Suburbs Magpies
Not many kids remember the Western Suburbs Magpies. Not many kids know their history. When the Magpies merged with the Balmain Tigers in late 1999, the only thing Magpies supporters could keep was their memories and the chance to support a new competitive side in the NRL. Now, that’s gone too.
In the late 1990s, rugby league was changing. It was a necessity that clubs evolved from the dark ages and move forward together. That meant Sydney clubs like North Sydney, Manly, South Sydney, St George, Balmain and the Magpies had to make some harsh business decisions to survive.
The Magpies had to decide between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Tigers. One of these teams would be their new partners in a merger.
It was thought that going with the Bulldogs would be a death sentence as the cashed up Bulldogs simply wanted the Macarthur region. The Tigers were also considering an offer from the Parramatta Eels, but Balmain too thought a takeover was inevitable from Dennis Fitzgerald and the Eels.
The Wests Tigers were born. Two foundation clubs built on heart and spirit. This thing could work. It would be a long process but it could work.
But 2012 will be the final season of senior footy for the Magpies. A decision made by Wests Tigers chief executive Stephen Humphreys will see only a Balmain side entered into the NSW Cup from 2013. The Magpies are dead.
“In my opinion Wests, Balmain and Wests Tigers spend an inordinate amount of time, money and effort on the NSW Cup, and I believe we’d all be far better off if some of that time, effort and money was redirected into the junior leagues and junior development programs,” he said.
“I’ve expressed that view to the Wests Tigers directors.”
The Balmain takeover began with the subtlest of moves. A decision was made last year to drop fringe first graders only to the Balmain NSW Cup side.
The least Humphreys and the Wests Tigers could do is field the NSW Cup side as the Wests Tigers in a predominant black strip.
Magpies chairman Paul Dillon is fuming. “We’re very disappointed with the Wests Tigers, and what should have been a wonderful celebration has come to this,” Dillon said.
“The agreement was the Wests Tigers be the NRL side, and Wests and Balmain remain in the New South Wales Cup. We offered to the Tigers to play in the NSW Cup with a Magpies jersey and stick a Tiger on the sleeve but they said no.”
People will probably tell me to stop whingeing and get over it. To move with the times and accept the Magpies fate.
But those people weren’t there in ‘99 when the Magpies played their last game against the Auckland Warriors. I was there with the other fans that never gave up. Twelve years old and sitting by myself, crying and chanting for 80 horrid minutes while the Warriors thrashed a hapless Wests side.
As an eight-year-old I sat at the Sydney Cricket Ground watching a Sheffield Shield game with my father and brother when I realised Andrew Leeds was sitting directly behind me. I was such a fan of Leeds I couldn’t bare talk to him and went and hid for three hours until he was gone.
The very same kid who would cry with joy when the Magpies would win a rare game.
Then came the merger and the dawning of a new era. I remember their very first game like it was yesterday. A 24-24 draw against the Brisbane Broncos was a good start. But it was the crowd that stuck with me that day. One side of Campbelltown Stadium chanted “Tigers” while the other side chanted “Wests”.
Eventually the Wests chants died out and people accepted this new team. But that doesn’t mean you can forget history and respect.
They might as well call themselves Balmain again. The Wests Tigers doesn’t work without the Wests Magpies.
Passion and loyalty are things you don’t associate with modern day rugby league. The last piece of loyalty left dies with the Magpies.
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January 13th 2012 @ 10:35am
Josh Boonboon Burnell said | January 13th 2012 @ 10:35am | Report comment
I just want to correct a few facts that this article and those in the papers seem to be spreading.
The one NSW Cup team will not be Balmain – it will be Wests Tigers – so it is the end of both Western Suburbs and Balmain in the NSW Cup
Western Suburbs own 50% of Wests Tigers and as such have 50% of the votes on any decision and hence it is not Balmain who are making this decision but a joint venture board representing both sides
Campbelltown gets 4 games, Leichardt gets 4 games – this an equal number
Campbelltown hasn’t sold out a game in years (if ever)
Wests get 50% of the name “Wests” – people in the media and everywhere else call them Wests Tigers, Wests and Tigers in equal distribution
Wests get their log on the shoulder of the Wests Tigers Jersey – Balmain get no recognition on the Jersey
Training is at Concord – this is not “The City” and is definatly not Balmain or Leichardt
Campbelltown has hosted a trial game each of the last few years – Leichardt has not
The money saved by going to a single NSW Cup team will be re-directed to Juniors – Is this not a better spend then a bunch of nobodies playing reserve grade
Neither Western Suburbs or Balmain have had since 2000 nor will ever have a team in the top flight – Kids don’t follow the Magpies or Balmain they follow Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers Jerseys are 1) Predominatly Orange/ Gold – Balamin Colurs and the other 2) Predominatly White – Wests Colour
The crowds at NSW cup games both at campbelltown and Leichardt are miniscule – when you take out those related too the players or club officials they would be less then 100 – I know because I have been one of them
No one is stopping Wests from having their own NSW cup team – But the Leagues clubs (Wests leagues clubs) have decided not to fund one as they consider juniors and the survival of their clubs more important
Any of this that isn’t true please point it out
Thanks
January 19th 2012 @ 3:23pm
Mals said | January 19th 2012 @ 3:23pm | Report comment
Eh, Balmain get no recognition on the jersey??? Could have sworn there’s a Tiger on the left hand side of the jersey above the heart. Not circa pre-merge logo but still a Tiger.
January 13th 2012 @ 11:17am
tigergerry said | January 13th 2012 @ 11:17am | Report comment
It’s very clear Balmain passed the criteria and wests came last. What is also clear is that Balmain has about 10 times more supporters than wests ever had with a far more prestigeous history. The only thing wests has going for it is the Camplletown catchment area. Leichhardt oval is packed vrtually every game while Camplletown averages less.
My way of thinking is wests wouldn’t exist only for Balmain and too a far less extent visa versa. We are now the Wests Tigers and should just focus on this
January 14th 2012 @ 11:36am
Al said | January 14th 2012 @ 11:36am | Report comment
10 times more supporters than wests ever had and a far more prestigious history? You have to be kidding me.. I agree both teams need each other in this day and age to exist but that is complete crud. I’ll admit being bias to the magpies thru being the son of an ex player, and a friend of the western suburbs magpies director, however I’d stop short from writing tripe about balmain for both teams have proud history’s in the same way a club like newtown does.. To compare crowds at leichardt and campbelltown is silly, one is a traditional ground with history and the other isn’t, you also have to take note of the affordability of people in each area…. Believe it or not, people from campbelltown don’t have money to throw around when the other option is to go to a mates house for a BBQ and watch it on his fox… Not saying that people of Balmain are rich, but they arent exactly struggling to pay their 300 grand mortgage or living in housing commission…. Just cause people don’t go to games doesn’t mean they don’t support a team is what I’m saying.
January 29th 2012 @ 6:49pm
Pete75 said | January 29th 2012 @ 6:49pm | Report comment
Geez!
You talk about typing “tripe” on one hand, and then follow it up with:
“Believe it or not, people from campbelltown don’t have money to throw around when the other option is to go to a mates house for a BBQ and watch it on his fox… Not saying that people of Balmain are rich, but they arent exactly struggling to pay their 300 grand mortgage or living in housing commission…. Just cause people don’t go to games doesn’t mean they don’t support a team is what I’m saying.”
So what you’re saying is that most Balmain supporters are better off than the average Wests supporter? That may or may not be the case, but it’s an entirely moot point. I’d doubt there’s any real evidence for it. I certainly aren’t what you’d call “rich”. Nor do I live in any of the Wests Tigers local districts. Notwithstanding all of that, the fact is that nobody cares what the reasons for fans not turning up at a particular ground are, they only care that they don’t. We hear a lot of bleating that Campbelltown doesn’t get enough games (even though Leichhardt gets the same amount and sells out every one), but why SHOULD Campbelltown get more games when Leichhardt consistently sells out, and more people front up for games at the SFS than Campbelltown?
I understand that you don’t have to buy a jersey, go to a game or buy a membership to be a supporter. What you need to understand that clubs, merged or otherwise, like any business, will service paying customers over those that don’t. It’s simple economics. You have to pay to play.
As a “Balmain” supporter I understand that times have long past that my team would be a stand alone entity. I’m a club member of the Wests Tigers, I go to games at Leichhardt and the SFS and occasionally Campbelltown. I wear a Wests Tigers hat and I show my support for Balmain by wearing a retro jersey. I’m a Wests Tigers supporter who became so via Balmain. If Campbelltown starts to pack out then I’ll have no problem with the club transferring some of the SFS games to Campbeltown. Until then, enjoy the fact that your team is a successful one and maybe even get to a game or two.
Cheers.
January 29th 2012 @ 8:42pm
Al said | January 29th 2012 @ 8:42pm | Report comment
Where did I say that campbelltown should get more games? Or where did I mention that I didn’t support the successful union of both teams by not following the wests tigers? I also sed that people of balmain weren’t “rich”, I was merely indicating that the balmain area and it’s people were better off financially that those of the campbelltown area in general, and going off the costs of living and real estate prices, that would be true. My comment was aimed at the division of history of clubs eluded to by tigergerry whom seemed to just want to take away from the pride of western suburbs and then sugar coat it by saying that we just focus on the unity… My reply was simply casting aside the individuality of the teams by not saying one was better than the other, just that they were both valuable and should be seen as equal. The crowds of grounds was my opinion of why leichardt gets more than ctown, NOWHERE did I say that one should get more games than the other. My point was that people are more likely to go to leichardt games as its a traditional ground with more history, and ctown is… Well ctown… Out of all the home games, why do you only ” occasionally” go to campbelltown?
January 13th 2012 @ 12:20pm
Razzle Dazzle said | January 13th 2012 @ 12:20pm | Report comment
This is a load of crap. They will known as the Wests tigers in all divisions not “Balmain”. And I also hear that the Wests tigers in the nsw cup will alternate strips each week, please get some of the facts rights, stop trying to destroy a great foundation club.
January 13th 2012 @ 12:49pm
JVGO said | January 13th 2012 @ 12:49pm | Report comment
They play as one side in Totyota Cup U21′s. It might make more sense to play the two sides in U21′s which is more of a junior comp. I’d imagine this is where the Wests strength lies anyway. Is this under any consideration as a compromise? It seems Wests and Balmain play seperately in the Junior reps. It’s interesting that these jealousies still remain as superficially the merger has appeared so successful.
January 13th 2012 @ 12:54pm
matty119 said | January 13th 2012 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
Ok, firstly I think it’s important to realise that you have your facts wrong. Wests Tigers decided that they only want one State Cup feeder team, and their preference is for it to be a Wests Tigers team. The reason it is Balmain Ryde Eastwood this year, and in previous years, if because of the incompetence of the Wests Magpies football department and board, as referenced by Roy Masters in his article in the SMH this morning.
Just because Wests Magpies don’t have a NSW Cup team, doesn’t mean the club will be dead – and as a Balmain fan, I think people are forgetting that this proposal will also mean the end of Balmain at a senior level as well, a club with just as much history and tradition as Wests. The club will still survive at the junior level, a level which in my opinion, allows it to have significant success due to their talented junior base – once which seemed to rarely turn into success at the senior level. Balmain will still be alive at that level as well, and as a former Balmain fan, and now Wests Tigers fan, I have accepted that this is simply the result of rugby league in 2012.
There is also an inaccuracy in the inference that this is somehow the dealings of Balmain. This whole issue is an internal one within the Wests Group, made up of the Wests leagues clubs at Ashfield and Campbelltown, and the Wests Magpies rugby league club. So any Wests Magpies fans unhappy at this should direct their anger towards their own club administration rather than simply at Wests Tigers, who are keeping their great club (at least half) alive at the top level of rugby league. Without Wests Tigers, Wests would no longer be alive, plain and simple. The same goes for Balmain, and they have accepted and embraced the merger, Wests have not, and as this shows, it is to their own detriment.
January 14th 2012 @ 11:46am
Al said | January 14th 2012 @ 11:46am | Report comment
Sad but true, spot on from what I hear matty
January 13th 2012 @ 1:11pm
Graeme Szynal said | January 13th 2012 @ 1:11pm | Report comment
The thing everyone misses here is if you take the Magpies out of the NSW Cup, the Macarthur region loses its last senior rep side for that entire area.
Where do our local kids, and I repeat, kids go who don’t make Wests Tigers U20′s team?
You will have 19 year olds being sent back to club footy when they could have continued honing their skills with the Magpies in the NSW Cup.
We need more opportunities for kids in the South West of Sydney, not less!
When you consider Wests Tigers U20′s teams are filled with imports from around Australia, Keebra Park and New Zealand…. it doesn’t leave many spots for our local kids to give rep footy a try.
This is about doing what is right for the area. Wests Tigers only care about Wests Tigers.
As locals from the area, we have to finally stand up and say enough is enough.
Join the SOS (Save our Sides) Rugby League Protest Rally on Sunday the 5th February at Campbelltown Council @ 10am. We will march to Campbelltown Stadium. We need to stand up and be counted!
January 13th 2012 @ 2:52pm
matty119 said | January 13th 2012 @ 2:52pm | Report comment
Graham I think you are missing the point. Wests Tigers (whether that be the NRL or Toyota Cup – or even the proposed NSW Cup team) are the representative team for the Macarthur region! The reason that Wests Magpies find themselves in this situation, and why your reply is going to be that Wests Tigers don’t represent the Macarthur, is that Wests Magpies have never embraced the joint venture. In 1999 they had the opportunity to embrace a new club that held the traditions of the Magpies into the future, and simply chose to whinge about everything not being equal enough for them. In 2005, they had the same opportunity, and again, wanted something to whinge about. The opportunities for the kids who are 19 or 20 are there if they are good enough. Wests Tigers have been, and will continue to, pump money into junior development in the Macarthur region, which is clearly money better spent than on a very costly NSW Cup team who don’t produce enough players for that kind of cost.
If Wests Magpies want to put a NSW Cup team in to represent the Macarthur region, there is nothing stopping them doing so, but they shouldn’t expect Wests Tigers to lose money so that they can support a pipe dream.
January 13th 2012 @ 3:20pm
chrisc101 said | January 13th 2012 @ 3:20pm | Report comment
Graeme, your intentions may be good but in many fans opinion are misguided. I would rather money spent on junior league than some mickey mouse competition which quite frankly means nothing. What is wrong with kids going back to local club footy?
January 13th 2012 @ 1:36pm
tigger madness said | January 13th 2012 @ 1:36pm | Report comment
Josh,
Very well summarised. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I’m an old balmain tigers fan but I no longer support balmain – I support the mighty wests tigers!!
–
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January 15th 2012 @ 8:30pm
Pala said | January 15th 2012 @ 8:30pm | Report comment
Only one team I remember that said no and fought to stand alone,, and everyone laughed at them, ? Th mighty south Sydney…Look at we’re all these clubs are now… Gone!!!! GLORY GLORY
January 16th 2012 @ 11:12am
CurtisW1908 said | January 16th 2012 @ 11:12am | Report comment
Another question is raised through all of this .. What kind of presence is rugby league really going to have in Sydney’s South West. It is after all one of the AFL’s target areas. Surely the NRL and Wests Tigers battle plan isn’t to merely play 4 games a year at Campbelltown ? Absolute shambles.
January 29th 2012 @ 6:53pm
Pete75 said | January 29th 2012 @ 6:53pm | Report comment
As I said above, if the good people of Macarthur want more games played in their region, all they have to do is turn up to the games. Why should Campbelltown get more games when more people show up the Leichhardt (which is consistently sold out) and the SFS (which consistently gets over 20,000 and sometime over 30,000)?
There’s a simple remedy. Make it impossible for the club not to schedule more games at Campbelltown by making it economically attractive to the club.
Buy a ticket!