There are few sporting teams in the world with a history like the Wests Tigers, a joint venture that was formed by two struggling foundation clubs in the aftermath of the most tumultuous period in rugby league’s history.
The agreement of Balmain and Western Suburbs in forming the merger was that the board would be a 50-50 of members from both sides and would play half their games at Leichhardt Oval and the rest at Campbelltown Stadium.
Many people gave them no chance, saying they would fall apart due to infighting on the club’s board, financial issues or fans abandoning their team because of the merger. For a few years it seemed that they’d be right. But then in 2005, just five years after they played their first game, they won the premiership out of nowhere.
It seemed like the rocky marriage was working. They had a good coach in Tim Sheens, experienced leaders in Brett Hodgson, Scott Prince and John Skandalis and exciting youngsters like Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall.
(Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)
Flash forward 15 years and the 2005 premiership seems like a lifetime ago. Since then they have made the finals just twice (2010 and 2011), have experienced infighting on the board and financial hardship. They have many problems with player and club culture, but their biggest issue is they don’t seem to know exactly who or what they represent.
They started out playing with an even split of home games at Leichhardt and Campbelltown, roughly six games per season. Since then they’ve taken multiple home games each year to the Sydney Football Stadium, ANZ Stadium and now Bankwest Stadium. Their traditional homes get only three games per year, usually against out-of-town teams that don’t draw a crowd, such as Melbourne, North Queensland and Gold Coast. Not only that, but they train somewhere in the middle of all this at Concord.
Unsurprisingly, crowds have dwindled, and this is being used as an excuse to play fewer games there. When the club plays actual derbies at those grounds they still pull near sell-out crowds.
People around Campbelltown have lost interest in the club because they no longer feel like the club represents them. Campbelltown Stadium has had Macarthur FC soccer flags hanging up for over a year. Not once have they been taken down to support Wests Tigers. It’s no surprise people aren’t interested in a team that hasn’t actually played in front of a crowd there all year.
Sydney’s south-west is one of the fastest-growing regions in Australia, projected to grow by over 300,000 people in the next two decades, as well as welcome the construction of a new airport. The A-League have already made their intentions clear by forming Macarthur FC to play at Campbelltown from 2020-21. If Wests Tigers aren’t careful, they could lose one of the most important rugby league heartlands.
The solution is simple: they need to start investing in Campbelltown again. They can’t keep this nomadic existence across Sydney going. They need to be based out of Campbelltown full-time. There have been proposals to build a ‘mini-Bankwest’ stadium at Campbelltown, which the club should jump at.
Being based permanently at Campbelltown wouldn’t mean the end of Balmain or Leichhardt Oval. They could still play some games there and do school visits, training days and fan days. It would just mean that, for the first time, the club could actually represent something and develop a proper club culture. They can simplify things to improve the club.
If they were to play eight games at Campbelltown and four at Leichhardt, that would be as close to perfect as this club and its fans can ask for. Honour the inner west past and embrace the south-west future.
Richard Parker
Guest
Wests Ashfield have all the say as they have paid off all the Balmain debts. At the moment they want the club based at the training venue of Concord. Which is being overhauled at the moment. They want the team to play closer to the Ashfield Leagues club. At the moment Wests Tigers are still two clubs combined with new fans confused by it all
Tigranes
Guest
Hunter Mariners.. now that is one name I haven't heard for years....finalists from 1997 World Club Challenge. Never met anyone who said they were a fan...
Steve
Guest
So what's the point? Before Cronulla and Penrith were invited into the comp there were 10 teams with 5 games a week. The feature "Match of the Day" was at the SCG on Saturday, with a feature match often played at the old Sydney Sports Ground on Sunday. If you don't like Leichhardt don't go, it's usually a sellout anyway. Although I think Wests will retire it soon, as they have just about done with the gold in the jerseys.
Sammy
Guest
Yes McDonald Jones Stadium is State Owned and it’s also shared by NRL and A-League, ie Newcastle Knights and Newcastle Jets. WIN Stadium is owned by Wollongong Sportsground Trust.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
Guess it depends on your database. Balmain + Wests Tigers have played 589 first grade games at Leichhardt Penrith have played 606 @ Penrith Sharks 588 at Shark Park.
peeeko
Roar Guru
penrith have played 630 at Penrith. sharks have played at Endeavour/ronson/caltex/pepsi/shark/toyota/remondis park tigers have played 634 at Leichhardt and yes it is a dump
peeeko
Roar Guru
what do the tigers have more of jerseys or games?
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
McDonald Jones Stadium and WIN Stadium belong to Venues NSW as well. There are no A-League or Super Rugby teams playing at these venues and they have both had major state funded upgrades in the last 5-10 years.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
Why should the Roosters relocate so that Souths can play at Allianz? Souths have chosen to play at ANZ - a location no where near their supporter base - for the last 15 years. Souths are the ones happy to forsake their regional identity for money - relocate Souths if anyone.
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
I'd be extremely surprised if the Bulldogs returned to Belmore full time. Nice old ground but belongs in a different era.
Sammy
Guest
The people only have a right to campaign against stadium upgrades that are funded by the NSW Government, ie Bankwest and Allianz. But these are justified on the basis that they are shared by the NRL, A-League and Super Rugby. All other stadiums are either Club-owned or Council owned. The NRL has stated it's intention to build some tribalism and have Clubs playing a dedicated stadiums - not shared. The Bulldogs will return to Belmore when it is upgraded to a boutique stadium. The funding won't need to flow from the State Government - it will be funded by Canterbury Bankstown City Council, Canterbury League Club and private investors. Campbelltown Stadium upgrade could get NSW State Government support given that the MacArthur A-League Team is also a tenant and the stadium will be an important asset for Western Sydney.
Muzz
Guest
Is this Curtis Woodward?!! He's been banging on about this for years.
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
Yes. Makes it easier for fans of both sides to get to the game. Penrith is a long way from anywhere so guaranteed small crowds. Stick the game at Bankwest and bigger crowd, plus much better gameday experience.
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
You can’t justify spending money on a stadium with limited use by an NRL team and A League. As for Belmore is that a joke? The dogs play a token game there each year absolutely no need to upgrade it
Sammy
Guest
Bankwest and Allianz Stadiums are State-owned and the intention is thst they are used by NRL, A-League and Super Rugby. But no Stadium should be shared by multiple NRL clubs. A redevelopment of Campbelltown / MacArthur Stadium can be justified if properly utilized by both West Tigers (NRL) and MacArthur FC (A-League). A redevelopment of Belmore can be justified since it’s located along the new Bankstown Metro line and also close to Canterbury Leagues Club. The Roosters need to rebrand as the “East Coast Roosters” and shift their home ground to the Central Coast Stadium to properly connect with their only junior base. Then Souths can have the redeveloped Allianz Stadium at Moore Park, South Sydney. Then all NRL Clubs will have a dedicated home ground - albeit South Sydney, Parramatta and Wests will share their ground with A-League and Super Rugby.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Cruel
paul
Guest
We need one totem animal : The Tiger. Lose the ridiculous bin chicken. Then settle on one home ground . Preferably somewhere in Sydney. Campbelltown is not in Sydney. They follow A League. The horse has bolted. We would lose half our fan base if we moved there. I suggest Bankwest until either Leichhardt Or Lidcombe Oval are rebuilt.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
I think the opposite. If the stadium was located centrally between two club regions - then I could agree, but Bankwest is in Parramatta and there is a club called Parramatta. So when trying to attract new fans, if those local people have to go to Parramatta for home games, then they may as well support Parramatta. Wests Tigers need a home - 1. Not 2 not 3 not 4. It has been 20 years, pick a location and stick to it. The location should be Campbelltown. It is ridiculous to look at a satellite image of Sydney and for the NRL not to have a team playing 11 games in the south west of Sydney, but Souths, the Bulldogs and Tigers basically all playing out of the same place (ANZ) - when 2 of the three are based nowhere near ANZ - is absurd.
Noosa Duck
Roar Rookie
may surprise many but the Drummoyne Balmain Five Dock region was once a working class area and the locals supported the Balmain Tigers. They had a seriously large, and loyal following. Western Suburbs were the same but the Tigers had serious financial issues because the Leagues Club was running at a loss and could not prop p the footy club, but the had good footy side. On the other hand Wests through the leagues club had plenty of money but the footy club was not doing so well. The majority from the loyal Balmain followers have long departed their area and the greater population and the membership prospects lay out west but they refuse to accept the reality and until they do they will continue to languish as a club. Sure they will attract a crowd to Leichhardt Oval a couple of times a year but they can attract more to a better and larger capacity stadium ig they go market the Club like GWS have done & they started from scratch.Starting in 2012 have played in a grand final within 7 short years, it has to tell you something about what you can achive if you put your mind to it.
Balmain
Guest
Hi Its an interesting issue. Should the Tigers pick a home ground or continue to play all over. Happy to be corrected, but it is really only Campbelltown supporters who raise it. I cant think of a Balmain supporter insisting all games must be at Lilyfield. A few points. While Balmain were struggling as at late 90s, the 80s they were incredibly successful without winning. 2 grand finals, one other prelim, many Australian reps. What would have happened to Balmain without merger, it was not inevitable they would continue to struggle. Wests on the other hand have been not good for decades. Balmain won 11 premierships, Wests 4. On Campbelltown in 2020 - didn't they play the Raiders and Cowboy there? Article suggest no games this year. If the fans existed there, which they don't, they would turn up to anything. On Leichhardt - Yes it is blown out of proportion the talk about it being '8th wonder' etc. But it is important to remember the ground has a significance beyond Balmain. It was one of the first grounds to get lights and hosted most/a lot of mid week games as part of the Panasonic/Amco Cup - an awesome competition. I don't think any of the other teams home grounds can point to such a broader significance. At the moment players from other Sydney clubs can easily stay at their current address and switch to the Tigers as they train in the inner city. A move to Campbelltown would have to be a disincentive. It is 50 km away from the CBD. The issue with the Tigers relates to the Wests side of the merger. It is a tragedy that Balmain and its culture of success - strong into the 80s - was not able to continue supported by legends still relatively young - Blocker, Siro, Pearce, Jack, Freeman etc. Wests have all the say, have largely taken the orange off the jersey and to no one's surprise the team has been pretty ordinary. Not a perennial wooden spooner but they have not been close to a premiership since 2010. The quickest way to end the Tigers is to make it more like Wests. And even the most passionate Magpies know deep down that their path is not the correct one. The facts and history are undeniable.