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A recent article by Roy Masters in the Sydney Morning Herald lamented on the one-sided nature of the Wests Tigers organisation, towards the Balmain half.
He mentions the Tigers name, the predominately gold jerseys and the Magpie logo being often obstructed by the players tape on the sleeve.
While I empathise with the Western Suburbs’ identity struggle, at least you have a Magpie on your jersey. Try being an old Illawarra Steelers fan.
Upon hearing that I came from the Illawarra side of St George Illawarra, my high school history teacher sheepishly remarked, “oh the socks team?” Nowadays we don’t even have that anymore.
This year the socks have reverted back to the St George hoops of old.
Now I know the same detractors will roll their eyes and mumble the same lines about how I am just another disgruntled Steelers fan.
I will hear how Illawarra was broke and St George saved us and thus should be grateful to have the NRL games in Wollongong. I will hear how we agreed to the terms of the joint venture, how we are still a nursery of talent and a training base and that this whole discussion is dated and irrelevant.
Let me just be clear that while I would love to see a standalone Illawarra club in the NRL, I am not naive enough to think that St George Illawarra will dissolve and Illawarra will have a team in the NRL anytime soon nor am I advocating such a proposition.
I understand that the logo and the Red V are non-negotiable under the terms of the joint venture contract and I wholeheartedly respect the history and tradition that are attached to those famous symbols.
It is not needed to list all the unequal elements that favour St George in this union of two rugby league clubs. You’ve heard it all before.
What I do want to point out however, is why it continues to be a matter of relevance 16 years after the partnership began. It is important because Illawarra is on the precipice of losing its rugby league identity.
The continual reluctance and/or laziness on the part of the media and NRL marketing team to simply acknowledge the Illawarra half of the club, beyond being a talent pool, is not only neglecting and belittling the Illawarra’s contribution, but is akin to historical rugby league genocide.
When you take away the history and identity of the Illawarra Steelers, it’s as if they never existed. Despite the likely innocent intentions of the perpetrators, each time a commentator or journalist says or writes “St George” without the “Illawarra”, it encourages and gives fans the authority to follow suit.
As a result, people are already starting to forget what the Illawarra on the emblem means. Kids in the Illawarra are growing up knowing the Dragons represent their hometown but not fully understanding why.
It is made all the more confusing when they hear Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns continually call their team “St George” on TV.
Anyone outside the Illawarra or those who grew up in the post-joint venture era will not understand the significance of a red alternate; all they see is a red St George jersey.
In the minds of most league fans, particularly those who are too young to remember the Steelers, Illawarra has effectively been relegated to the same status as “Sutherland”, “Warringah” or “Bankstown” – a mere etching on the bottom of the St George crest.
At best, Illawarra rugby league is on par with Newtown or North Sydney, a once first grade club languishing in reserve grade, albeit under a different moniker.
The Illawarra Steelers embodied the working class identity of our region, its rich rugby league heritage and underdog status to the boys up the F6.
While our history was short and relatively unsuccessful on the field, it was nonetheless proud and does not warrant to be systematically forgotten.
It is sad to think that in a generation’s time, the Illawarra Steelers will be forgotten to all but the few scarlet hearts who can only reminisce of a time when Illawarra had its own rugby league team running around in the premier competition.
All Illawarra fans are really asking for is fairer recognition and greater acknowledgement of our existence from the club, the NRL and the media so as to keep alive the history and identity of the forgotten half of the team in red and white.
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