Long-suffering Wests Tigers fans are taking strong action this week after the latest in a decade-long string of debacles, this time a 0-74 loss at the hands of the North Queensland Cowboys – a club they have matched up well with historically, most notably in their famous 2005 Grand Final victory.
The records came thick and fast on Saturday night as the Cowboys piled on 13 unanswered tries. The Tigers were without playmakers Api Koroisau and Luke Brooks, but not even that can excuse a lacklustre effort.
Questions must be answered about club culture as similar performances are repeated regularly. Last year, the Roosters beat Wests 72-6 in an eerily similar match.
Since they last tasted playoffs in 2011 it has been a stretch of dark seasons and dark weekends for fans.
In a show of their growing anger and frustration, a group of fans have set up an online petition asking the club’s owners to bring in an outside expert to review where it’s all gone wrong under CEO Justin Pascoe’s custodianship. Hundreds of fans have so far signed on.
Fans are especially unhappy at this latest form rut. Just a few weeks ago, the constant media scrutiny had somewhat eased after encouraging signs from the perennial strugglers, beating premiers Penrith, St George Illawarra and then the Cowboys in a 66-18 rout at Leichhardt Oval, one of their many home venues.
But the month since has been a predictable return to the misery Wests Tigers fans are so accustomed to. I won’t repeat the many failings of the leadership at Wests Tigers which have been documented too many times and rugby league fans don’t need a woeful history lesson.
Maligned halfback Luke Brooks recently joined this list of players to opt for another jersey over the black and gold one he has toiled in for so long.
Fans are now demanding to know why the club is so consistently poor. Players and coaches continue to cycle through the establishment, while the club’s main decision makers always escape unscathed.
There is anger that the plan communicated by the club is often changed shortly thereafter, leaving the supporter group more and more disillusioned.
The recent decision to undermine head coach Tim Sheens by replacing his trusted recruiting guru Warren McDonnell was the latest in a pattern of bewildering decisions.
Unlike some other clubs, Wests Tigers don’t allow their fans any voting rights when it comes to their decision makers. Tigers Chairman Lee Hagipantelis this week asked supporters to “keep faith” following the club suffering the third worst loss in Australian rugby league history.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
With all due respect Mr Hagipantelis, I know many supporters lost faith in our administration years ago and they have lost trust in yourself and your peers to correct the position the club is in.
If you’d like, sign the petition to hopefully pressure the club into finding some answers.
The Tigers play Cronulla tomorrow night and will do so without recognised first grade halves, the most important position in the team. They don’t have anyone to fill those positions on their books for next year.
This alone would be enough for any strong club to turn the microscope on itself.
…Written by a 10 year Wests Tigers member and lifelong fan.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
Hi megeng. Ignore my why comment below. I was starting a sentence and forgot to delete it. I agree it will be hard for other locations to get the nod over another Brisbane club.
Megeng
Roar Rookie
I live in Brisbane and it looks like the next team will be a Brisbane team because there's more eyeballs up here than anywhere else, tv revenues etc. But the growth areas are north (Redcliffe to noosa), South (Logan to the goldie) and West (Ipswich). They'll pick one of the latter two for sure.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
Why
Birdy
Roar Rookie
Is leumeah near the campbelltown stadium? If so go for it and get the tigers up with easts tigers.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
Yes but then easts would be allowed to use the colours and logo. Being a lifetime Balmain supporter now living in qld I'd be real happy with that. Maybe 1 game at Leichhardt each year.
Rellum
Roar Guru
If Balmain merged with Easts, Balmain would get swallowed up and pretty much disappear.
Abbot
Roar Rookie
Simple solution (I know it’s not, but just imagine), wests tigers split. Magpies to Macarthur and Tigers to Brisbane where they join the Brisbane Tigers as 18th team (not sure what benefit Brisbane get out of this). Works on a purely name and colours basis only.
greg parker
Roar Rookie
In principle, I agree. It doesn’t matter what they are called. But in practical terms, the Magpies already have a strong club right at the ground and many juniors still fly the flag as Magpies. Plus alliteration always has strong marketing potential. The Macarthur Magpies is a marketing winner.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
The Macarthur Magpies, the Macarthur Tigers, the Macarthur Broom Stick Riders. It probably doesn't matter what you would call them, the gross neglect of the area by the NRL and Wests Tigers is enough reason to blow the whole thing up and start from scratch out there. A significant percentage of the residents of the Macarthur are imports from other areas of Sydney/Australia/the world at large, or were born long after the Wests Magpies last finished in the top 4 of a league (which from memory was something like 1980), so history be danged, lets justget a team out there who represent the area. The last game of the regular NRL season will be played on September 3rd. The Wests Tigers played their last game at Campbelltown for 2023 on June 17th... That is gross neglect on behalf of the Wests Tigers, and the NRL for allowing it.
Tony
Roar Guru
There’s a lot of rugby league juniors and supporters in the rapidly growing Macarthur area and virtually no serious NRL presence. The Macarthur Magpies, based at Leumeah, would be a winner.
greg parker
Roar Rookie
:laughing: That's fine. As a long-suffering Magpie fan who tried hard for to adjust to supporting an invasive non-native species, I would love to see the Tigers pack their bags, tuck their tails between their legs and go and leech off some other club. If this had been a marriage, the case would have been made long ago that one party to it was inflicting financial abuse upon the other. The Magpies should be brought back, based in Campbelltown and perhaps rebadged as the Macarthur Magpies. The Tigers, assuming they would be shunned by other clubs for a new JV deal, could then be offered up to potential new owners for shipping out to another state.
Megeng
Roar Rookie
I lost faith when we merged with the Magpies. No offence to Wests, but no thanks, no one asked me if it was alright