In June of last year I wrote a piece outlining the many issues the Wests Tigers had sustaining their presence in Sydney’s south-west.
After reading the story, then-Wests Tigers Chief Executive Stephen Humphreys invited me to Concord to discuss various issues surrounding the stunted growth of the Tigers brand in the Macarthur region.
It is remarkable to think that one of rugby league’s biggest hotbeds of young talent had been alienated to a certain extent for such a time.
I made that point to Humphreys and he agreed that there had been plenty of roadblocks in streamlining administration in the area.
In a perfect world the Tigers would have planted themselves in Campbelltown years ago and would certainly be reaping the rewards today. Instead, fans are rationed four games a year while other matches are played at Leichhardt Oval and Allianz Stadium.
Talk about a self-inflicted identity crisis.
“There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the management of our game in south-west Sydney needs to be the top priority – from grassroots through to the elite level,” Humphreys told me at the time.
“In a strategic sense, the area is just too important to receive anything other than top billing.
“At the moment, there are a number of separate bodies involved in managing the interests of the game and its participants across south west Sydney and despite all of their best endeavours, the efforts are uncoordinated and rather dysfunctional.”
When Humphreys spoke I could tell he was a beleaguered man.
With so much infighting at the top you could certainly understand how the Macarthur region had been somewhat forgotten.
For years board members from rival groups have bickered and politicked and all the while Western Suburbs District Rugby League has been left to run its own race.
Wests Juniors are bleeding players on a yearly basis to other competitions and rival codes. Everyone simply accepts that rugby league in and around Campbelltown is as strong as ever.
Not the case.
For the uneducated, the junior league has no ties to anyone. They have an ABN and they do as they please. The bickering at ground zero is just as bad as the bickering in the boardrooms of the Wests Tigers.
Ten years ago, Macarthur had a strong A-Grade competition.
In recent times Wests Juniors were forced into a joint competition with Country Rugby League and Group 6. Fast forward and Group 6 voted to leave Wests and their clubs behind.
Campbelltown City and Campbelltown Eagles quickly joined Group 6 leaving other local clubs no choice but to join the Sydney Combined Competition and travel halfway across Sydney on most weekends for a game of football.
Now Humphreys is gone and it seems we are back to square one.
The Tigers are in crisis, Macarthur supporters are left short-changed and unwanted, the kids are leaving for other competitions and the bickering continues at every level of every organisation.
Looking into the crystal ball and working out where this will all end for the Tigers is impossible. It is a murky and unsure future.
The Tigers can not sustain themselves in their current form.
Everything has to change.
With iconic playmaker Benji Marshall and others leaving the club, the Tigers can no longer rely on star power to drag people through the gates and sugar coat the systematic problems for the franchise and any other organisations below them.
Dark times ahead for the Tigers.
Let’s just hope the Macarthur region and their kids aren’t forgotten altogether.
81paling
Roar Rookie
Wow, I can't believe that the chairman of the Balmain Tigers (Leslie Glen) can honestly say that they treated Wests with respect when his club made the Grand Final of the NSW cup and Wests were beaten so badly every week that they did not enter a team the following year after the thrashings they received. I have nothing against the Balmain Tigers but, I do have something against a person like Leslie Glen who is clearly telling his version of events for his own ends that is not a way to resolve anything. If Balmain loose control of the Wests Tigers and if their club folds the blame must be placed on people like Leslie Glen.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
The game Greg is run by the ARLC not the high profile personalities.The day they run the show<I will take up farnarkling. To state the game doesn't care too much about violence is utter nonsense.Else it would be part of the rules,additionally many of the greats would have the biff as part of their repertoire,which they did not and many do not. Show me where Marshall,Cherry Evans,Thurston,,Slater,Cronk promote fighting. Smith has been quite explicit about punching being punished. if that were the case the fastest growing segment (females playing) would not be happening. And don't kid yourself punch-ups don't occur in other sports in juniors and at times in seniors.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
I know Renegade ,they have a perception and run with it.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
AR . +Yawn!!! Please do a bit of research,historic research,not over the past 6 months but over many years. You obviously have never seen packed Leichhardt Oval ,where Gould wets himself over the fact. I explained my relos come from the area,my 2nd cousin is a graded junior,so please try again.I have some knowledge of where my forebears spent the bulk of their lives. If you bring in the SCG against st George or ANZ when the Tigers are playing well different story.they pack them in. The comment was also made about the demos of the area.When the ground is packed at Leichhardt ,the span covers many age groups and indeed the majority at the lower youthful end.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
What a load of codswallop..Exactly where rugby league has less numbers and less nations playing now than ever before on this planet.? It has nil to do with competitiveness The response was made to the statement ""league is not exactly growing anywhere else in the world",which is not only made out of ignorance but blatantly wrong,And no amount of trolling will change that fact. Keep up to speed with the posts,or seek solace in the union threads. My comment is awaiting moderation because I followed a post and responded to a falsehood,yet you get away with it by ignoring the actual statement..
mushi
Guest
Certain success like the Crushers?
clipper
Guest
Have a go at Pomoz, below - I have clearly stated that he said it and was only agreeing with it.
Von Neumann
Roar Guru
haha im no expert in these matters, ok..... but hey, well.... if you dont have the money, why should you make the decisions? though i wish someone would defer the 'power' to the other in this case - it certainly can't be to balmain just now. So this is going to take some faith, because we can't rely on evidence, only providence. they should give in to the demands I have heard. 3 years running. fine. wests run it for 3 years, then balmain 1, then wests 3 then balmain 3, then wests 1. during that timeframe, they should move to get independent people onto the boards somehow. its a dogs breakfast the runnings of the club. but those guys are not important - the players on the field are. they need try's scored. they need to move away from the old 'joining' and become one club all the way down. As we always see we are getting a 'wish-legacy' of those who've come before. So faction orientated. These people need to start a new schism that creates the foundation for a unified future wests tigers. I can't believe they have not done this already. (a phrase- I _can_ believe they have haven't done this already, are we to expect anything less). Some people think its ok to make the board room their battleground. Its not cool. I want them to forget about preserving wests or preserving balmain - let the chips fall where they may. Let the !BETS! be on a unified, potentially unaligned to faction legacy new club behind the scenes, for the future - NOT the past. Start to polish wests-tigers mantles and let the rest gather cobwebs The mere fact that the club known as 'wests-tigers' is not generating the money to sustain itself just 1 Psss's me off (sic) and 2 makes me cringe, because no one has learnt a single thing. You should be able to prop this thing up now with the increased grants. You gotta start moving the lines of the pie chart around. This kind of politics has no use here, its counter productive. Going back here but its a great analogy: its like dating a girl and her parents along beside her. You wont get to f nothing in the end.
ciudadmarron
Guest
That's interesting MILF... but maybe they do count the clinics if the clinic runs for more than 6 weeks and the kids do it for more than that time? Whereas they don't if they just rock up to a school and run one clinic?
Midfielder
Guest
From the smh today... http://m.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/claws-are-out-infighting-has-joint-venture-on-the-brink-20130820-2s9bf.html
me, I like football
Guest
the clinics aren't counted as Auskick figures as the AFL have claimed to of visited more than 1m school kids through clinics but only have 180,000 odd Auskickers. No doubt that the official Auskick numbers alone are not an indication for support of a sport as NSW/ACT have more Auskickers than Victoria, but taken together with club and school comps numbers it givesa better overall indicator
ciudadmarron
Guest
Yeah MILF wasn't suggesting that it was just after school care eligible for a rebate! or there is absolutely not choice involved with the school based one. Not sure what you mean by "not counted", because they are counted as Auskick figures. At any rate, 50 bucks for a terms worth of Wednesday afternoon supervision is not bad... This actually wasn't what I was curious about though - when I said "standalone" I meant that there had been a conscious decision by a parent for the kid to play footy as opposed to a convenience. Where I live there are clinics run at the local school after hours; if I wanted my kids to play footy properly I could also go to a club which is relatively nearby (a bit further away). The second is a more solid commitment - they will play games, as opposed to a few skills drills every Wednesday arvo. The original point about just turning up was hyperbolic, but this article is about traction, and the point that Auskick is not a reflection of real traction is a fair, if debateable one.
barfly
Guest
Johnno I hear yah brother if the word Campbelltown is on the jersey trust me orana park will be a packed house week in week out with the battlers of Campbelltown working class embracing the side that wears it regardless of of success that would be a bonus but even if this side comes last every year the people will still totally adore and support them..................................
81paling
Roar Rookie
The saddest moment that I have ever seen in rugby league was last year's double header at North Sydney oval when Balmain, Ryde Eastwood played Newtown and Wests played North Sydney on the same oval on the same day. It was so obvious on that day that the Wests Tigers had given all of their resources to the Balmain club that I fell silent for the 2nd game as the thrashing of over 60 points took place. The Wests had potential with strong surges up the centre but they could not hold their opposition and despite the fact that Balmain have been such a historic club to the game, I hope that Wests survive to take over Birchgrove oval and Balmain with it's incompetence just fail and disappear.
clpper
Guest
Just because you don't like the statement, doesn't mean it is ill informed - I would say that most people would say internationally, league was more competitive in the '50's and 60's
me, I like football
Guest
ciudadmarron, There are 3 types of Auskick, club, community and school. The school Auskick is not done within school hours as part of PE, they are known as 'clinics' and are not counted in the official numbers they maybe done after school like a ot of sports but would not be considered After School Care with the rebates that go with it, and may even be held on weekends
ciudadmarron
Guest
Mark these message boards are for discussion. You want an AFL sanctioned whitewashed view of the world - or even western Sydney - then head over to bigfooty or somewhere where no questioning gets done. You said no; I had a niggling feeling about the 6 week thing, seeing as you two were so certain I thought I'd ask... Didn't get an answer so looked it up. Things aren't cut and dried. I like footy. Blinkers, swallowing the party line, that's another story..
Arthur fonzarelli.
Guest
Easy solution . De-merge and bring back the Wests magpies playing all their games out of campbelltown . Let the balmain tigers survive on their own . If they can't well they go the way of the Newtown jets . If they can - well that's great .
Renegade
Guest
"Balmain is now a suburb of professional people with minimal interest in league." What a F*#$%#$ dumb comment....
Australian Rules
Guest
Just to clarify, the crowds are not "far bigger at Leichardt Oval, than either Campbelltown or the SFS". They are approx. 10.5k, 10k and 9k respectively...pretty even.