Wests’ Tigers have an identity crisis
Roar Guru By Curtis Woodward, 13 Jun 2012 Curtis Woodward is a Roar Guru & Live Blogger
- Tagged:
- NRL, Rugby League, Wests Tigers
Benji Marshall in actions for the tigers against Souths (AAP Image/Action Photographic, Renee McKay)
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The New South Wales Government and Premier Barry O’Farrell may have given the Wests Tigers the wake-up call they needed after announcing the budget for 2012-2013.
O’Farrell, a Tigers tragic, and Treasurer Mike Baird have inadvertently woken a sleeping giant in the sporting mega centre that is the Macarthur. A hotbed of sports crazy kids who have been snubbed by the Tigers for far too long.
Its almost been criminal what the Tigers have done to one of the fastest growing areas in New South Wales.
Time and time again, the club has turned its back on Campbelltown and the surrounding areas. The place is an afterthought.
Considering the struggle Sydney clubs have in the National Rugby League, its mind boggling that the club decided to move even further away from Campbelltown Stadium and instead set themselves up at Concord.
Instead of securing their future in a guaranteed growth area, the Tigers only play four games a year in the region and rarely are players seen training at the complex at Leumeah.
Its simply idiotic and smug that the club can hold such a large place to ransom the way they do.
There is always a place for Leichhardt Oval and there always will be. The nostalgic venue is a hot ticket and should be treated accordingly.
But Macarthur is different. The people want to be wanted. They want to be treated like Phil Gould is now treating the people of Penrith. With respect and with a team they can truly support.
Little wonder a poor crowd turned out for the Tigers last match at Campbelltown against a North Queensland side that featured Johnathan Thurston, James Tamou and Matt Bowen.
Enter the NSW Government.
In their budget, the government announced new projects costing $181 million dollars on new housing areas which will support 76,000 new homes. Many of them in Camden and Liverpool.
They also announced $397 million for the South West Rail Link. Not to mention upgrades to the M5 Motorway and Camden Valley way. These are the growth indicators Tigers Chief Executive Stephen Humphreys surely must be looking at.
Balmain legend Benny Elias is on record saying that Campbelltown is the place the Tigers need to be.
“The ideal situation for the NRL would be to have the Dragons playing down at Illawarra, the Rabbits up at Gosford and the Tigers out at Campbelltown” Elias said in 2006.
“That is just my personal opinion. I have a great personal attachment to Leichhardt but you would have to say that would be the optimum situation for the NRL.”
The “Wests” Tigers have an identity crisis. More importantly, the people of Macarthur have an even bigger one.
Its time the Tigers hierarchy put down the lattés and head out west and get in the trenches.
- Explore:
- NRL, Rugby League, Wests Tigers
June 13th 2012 @ 1:13am
Johnno said | June 13th 2012 @ 1:13am | Report comment
Problem is as well for west tigers image is the balamain factor seems to have more influence than campelltown with magpies being killed off it seems.
Reality is blaming tigers is on the other side of sydney a long long way from campelltown and west sydney yet it seems to exert more influence. a bit like the breakfast Point GWS AFL team as they are now being seen as seemingly abandoning there heartland.
If that is the case they should stop playing games at campelltown if they get rid of magpies a bit hypocritical to play there otherwise.
June 13th 2012 @ 3:51am
peeeko said | June 13th 2012 @ 3:51am | Report comment
good article, campbelltown must get more games. if needed the ARLC should help in this matter. in saying that the last crowd out there a few weeks ago was dissapointing but that may be due to neglect
June 13th 2012 @ 8:23am
chrisc101 said | June 13th 2012 @ 8:23am | Report comment
The future of Rugbly League isn’t more games at suburban grounds! It is games at the large venues attended by both home and away supporters.
You can probably agrue the split could be balanced a little better (perhaps go to 4 SFS, 5 Camp & 3 Leichhardt).
June 13th 2012 @ 11:23am
Curtis Woodward said | June 13th 2012 @ 11:23am | Report comment
The answer is most certainly suburban grounds when it comes to Penrith, Campbelltown and Parramatta.
June 13th 2012 @ 12:30pm
chrisc101 said | June 13th 2012 @ 12:30pm | Report comment
And how is that? Why do you think Penrith crowds are so low? It is the curse of the suburban ground, away supporters (rightly or wrongly) will not go.
June 13th 2012 @ 12:36pm
Curtis Woodward said | June 13th 2012 @ 12:36pm | Report comment
Its becaue Penrith are losing. So you want Penrith, Parramatta and Tigers to play home games at Homebush or Allianz? Please
June 13th 2012 @ 12:37pm
Curtis Woodward said | June 13th 2012 @ 12:37pm | Report comment
Just because Manly or Roosters fans wont travel ?
June 13th 2012 @ 1:01pm
chrisc101 said | June 13th 2012 @ 1:01pm | Report comment
Penrith have always been historically a low crowd drawer. All Sydney teams very soon will have a number of games taken away from their home suburban grounds. The IC will make this happen. While Penrith are almost the excpetion to the rule, they will need to do this too. You don’t think a Penrith home game v Parramatta at ANZ on Easter Saturday wouldn’t draw a crowd?
June 13th 2012 @ 1:26pm
Curtis Woodward said | June 13th 2012 @ 1:26pm | Report comment
Maybe. . but its still a dumb idea
June 13th 2012 @ 4:41pm
chrisc101 said | June 13th 2012 @ 4:41pm | Report comment
Yes dumb idea that clubs become financial viable. Silly me.
Mate if you can’t cop reasonable debate, then don’t post.
June 13th 2012 @ 10:19pm
Football United said | June 13th 2012 @ 10:19pm | Report comment
No its just a dumb idea chris
June 13th 2012 @ 6:08pm
mick h said | June 13th 2012 @ 6:08pm | Report comment
no offence chris unfortunately campbeltown staduim is not large enough for the wests tigers big games eg souths parra bulldogs i believe they have the mix between the stadiums spot on. i am a season ticket holder and attend all games. if the stadium at campelltown was a 30,000 seat staduim your argument would have support.
June 13th 2012 @ 8:23am
mds1970 said | June 13th 2012 @ 8:23am | Report comment
The parallels between this article and some recent ones about GWS Giants are uncanny.
June 13th 2012 @ 8:35am
Australian Rules said | June 13th 2012 @ 8:35am | Report comment
That was my first thought mds.
The “identity crisis” and the “failure to connect”…and overtures about dismal crowds…all very GWSsy.
June 13th 2012 @ 11:24am
Curtis Woodward said | June 13th 2012 @ 11:24am | Report comment
I dont read or care about GWS/AFL
June 13th 2012 @ 11:28am
The Cattery said | June 13th 2012 @ 11:28am | Report comment
Curtis
If only your comrades were able to follow the very fine example you set.
June 13th 2012 @ 12:03pm
Curtis Woodward said | June 13th 2012 @ 12:03pm | Report comment
Perhaps a spot on the commission is in order?
June 13th 2012 @ 8:42am
Mark Young said | June 13th 2012 @ 8:42am | Report comment
You are spot on mds
The Tigers cannot afford to take Campbeltown for granted any more, they will lose the love if they don’t get their noses in there.
The decision to move the operations to Concord Oval, however, was certainly made for no other reason then cost. When the club was established, they spent the bulk of their grant on getting some high profile recruits into the team (McCracken, Field, Hopoate, Hill). Unfortunately, through a combination of injury and age, they failed to make an impact and at the 2002 they had a terrible team and no money. When they moved the operations to Concord, it was deserted and unused (I’m pretty sure, and Rugby readers help me out?) and in such dire need to care that Tim Sheens and Royce Symmonds ended up painting the gym!
Meanwhile, fast forward a decade and things are looking up.
Stephen Humphreys is a bright fellow and has made excellent decisions since taking the reigns at the club. I am very interested to see if he continues the SFS/SCG arrangement when it expires (I think it is this year?) and also where the long term base for the club is.
On a side note, the gods continue to punish Wests for playing home games in the Eastern Suburbs
http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/04/04/do-wests-tigers-suffer-home-ground-disadvantage/
June 13th 2012 @ 9:07am
roarr said | June 13th 2012 @ 9:07am | Report comment
The difference is the AFL will probably do something about it whereas the NRL/ARLC will wait til some sort of blaringly obvious disaster point before they make a move.
June 13th 2012 @ 8:28am
Al from ctown said | June 13th 2012 @ 8:28am | Report comment
Spot on peeko… Being raised 5 minutes from the stadium in leumeah and having a father whom played for the magpies along side tommy, it’s definately having an effect on the crowds at tigers games out here. Not only were we stripped of our magpie identity, we are getting just a handful of games now. We understand and have embraced the WESTS tigers as our own, which is a huge loss to cope with, but to treat us with contempt and play home games at the sfs and anz hurts badly. The younger generation have no idea who the magpies are/were anymore and it’s becoming sadder everyday..
I know there have been alot sed of how many different guernseys the tigers wear, however alternating between a prodominately BLACK, WHITE and orange strip for campbelltown games and ORANGE, BLACK and white strip for other games would satisfy many out this way… When it feels like your half of the team you support is playing, you tend to make more of an effort. You have no idea how many remade victor magpie guernseys sell out this way.. Like it or not, we are westies and are proud of the western suburbs. The club just needs to give a little bit of the identity back to us and we will support it again. One little magpie on the sleeve isn’t enough.
The amount of kids out here that love and support the tigers is astounding, just let their dads get that love back too.
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June 13th 2012 @ 9:16am
Ads said | June 13th 2012 @ 9:16am | Report comment
WESTS magpies died in 99. I don’t support this club which are the TIGERS of Balmain. My heart is with the black and whites, and I’m lost to league until the Wests Tigers disbands / de-merges back to Balmain or Wests. I would rather they had moved to Perth and become the Western Magpies. At least they would have still been the magpies wearing black and white. Now they are predominantly orange tigers, and most people refer to the Tigers when calling the game or in print media. I know there is no point saying ‘the game was better in the good old days’, you have to move with the times but the whole administration of the mergers was and has been poor. The whole point was Wests were forced to merge or die as they failed the league’s criteria at the time. Yet Souths failed it as well but got re-instated. Life ain’t fair. Long live the MAGPIES!
June 13th 2012 @ 9:39am
apaway said | June 13th 2012 @ 9:39am | Report comment
Good article, though I need to say I’ve had a pretty decent latte in Campbelltown.
June 13th 2012 @ 9:50am
Mark Young said | June 13th 2012 @ 9:50am | Report comment
I need to say I’ve had a pretty decent latte in Campbelltown.
Apaway, if you get the chance… watch the movie ‘Idiocracy’.
Then you will see why that comment is easily the funniest thing written on theroar ever!
June 13th 2012 @ 11:26am
Curtis Woodward said | June 13th 2012 @ 11:26am | Report comment
Haha fair call
June 13th 2012 @ 9:47am
Al from ctown said | June 13th 2012 @ 9:47am | Report comment
Apaway, they make a pretty mean laksa at the Thai shop in Macarthur square too… And what’s not to like about having a hooters 5 min walk from the stadium… Lol
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June 13th 2012 @ 11:27am
Curtis Woodward said | June 13th 2012 @ 11:27am | Report comment
Only problem with that is the Krispy Kremes is gone !
June 13th 2012 @ 9:53am
turbodewd said | June 13th 2012 @ 9:53am | Report comment
Wests Tigers certainly have an identity crisis – they change jersey every fortnight.
And they really arent even western…i mean Parra or Penrith are the most western NRL teams in Syd.
June 13th 2012 @ 11:25am
Daniel said | June 13th 2012 @ 11:25am | Report comment
It is time to get over this wests-balmain thing. We have been the Wests tigers for 13 years and it is time to realise that. The fact is that there will never be a Wests Magpies or Balmain Tigers again. To disband would be suicide for both. Also you must realise that the Wests Tigers train at purpose built training facility in Concord. One of the main reasons for this is that most of the playing roster live closer to Concord than Campbelltown. You will see the team train at Leichhardt or Campbelltown when they are playing their that week. I think the poor crowd at Campbelltown against the Cowboys had a lot to do with the team we were playing. Not too many fans from Nth Qld. In saying that the crowds at Campbelltown have always been pretty poor considering how the team is going. If it ever gets to a point where more games are played away from the SFS it should be an even split. Just remember not all tigers fans live out west and I for one have been travelling to Cambpelltown to see every game, it’s not that hard!