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The Roar

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How rugby league administrators have abused loyal fans over the years

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Expert
26th April, 2018
42

Roarer Paul posted an honest comment on my column yesterday saying it’s a mistake to compare the record 11 successive NSWRFL premierships by St George to the good run by St George Illawarra in the NRL this season.

And he’s quite right with a different format, semi-professional to professional, different tackles ranging from unlimited to six, and a host of different laws of the code.

What Paul was commenting on was from the player’s point of view, my column yesterday was about how loyal fans react.

So today is enlarging that theme, and how senior rugby league administrators have abused those loyal fans far too often over the years.

Let’s start at the beginning with the nine Foundation Clubs that formed rugby league’s debut season in 1908.

Only one of the original nine has remained untouched by administrators from 1908 to 2018 – 110 years – and that’s Eastern Suburbs, now known as the Roosters.

The other eight originals in alphabetical order:

Balmain was amalgamated with Western Suburbs to become Wests Tigers in 2002.

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Cumberland lasted one season, but returned as Parramatta in 1947.

Glebe folded in 1929.

Newcastle lasted two seasons and left to form its own local competition, but returned as the Newcastle Knights in 1988.

Newtown was punted from the competition in 1983, just two years after reaching the grand final where the “Bluebags” lost 20-11 to Parramatta.

North Sydney was amalgamated with Manly in 2000 to become the Northern Eagles only to be gobbled up by Manly regaining its independence in 2003. The Bears are buried in the NSW Cup, as a feeder club to South Sydney.

South Sydney was punted out of the competition from 1999 to 2002, despite the fact they were the inaugural premiers, and had won 20 premierships and been in 11 losing grand finals, more than any other club.

And Western Suburbs was amalgamated with Balmain in 2002, to become Wests Tigers.

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So Cumberland wasn’t too badly off returning as Parramatta, so too Newcastle returning as the Knights, but for Newtown, Balmain, Western Suburbs, and Norths, their fans were, and are, shattered.

St George was admitted to the competition in 1921, and Illawarra in 1982, and they were amalgamated in 1999.

Amalgamations are a bastard of a decision for fans, and any administrator who tries to tell you it’s in the best interests of the game needs mental attention.

And there were meaningful side issues, with Steve Menzies the prime example.

He played 150 games for Manly from 1993 to 1999, 69 for the ill-fated Northern Eagles from 2000 to 2002, and another 130 for Manly from 2003 to 2008.

Menzies was denied one-club status of 349, which would be third on the all-time list behind Cameron Smith’s 366 on-going for the Storm, and Darren Lockyer’s 355 for the Broncos.

The saving grace for the St George Illawarra amalgamation is the stand-out big red V of the original Dragons.

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St George pays token recognition to Illawarra by playing the odd NRL game at Wollongong, but the reality is St George has gobbled up Illawarra to still be the Dragons.

Badly affected are the Balmain and Wests fans, with the latter feeling the pinch with the club virtually known in rugby league circles as the Tigers, despite the majority of club officials being Wests supporters.

Leichhardt is the best drawing ground when the Balmain faithful turn out in droves. They aren’t too interested in travelling to Campbelltown.

But the worst affected are Norths supporters. Having lived on Sydney’s north side all my life, I know countless Bears fans who are like lost souls, their love of rugby league has been butchered.

The NRL must never ever amalgamate clubs again.

Officials never feel the pain, but the fans do, many of them for the rest of their lives.

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