BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

Rugby league fans in Sydney’s South West, Camden, Wollondilly and down to the Southern Highlands have voted and agree that Wests Tigers is perceived in the media and by other fans as an “Inner West/Balmain” centric club, would like to see more first grade and aspiring stars staying and living in the region and that management has done a poor job over an extended period.

The Macarthur Rugby League Wrap asked their followers on Facebook to take a wide-ranging survey on Wednesday with more than half the participants citing they actually supported a rival club despite 87.1% of them living in Campbelltown, Camden, Wollondilly and Southern Highlands.

Almost 68% of the survey takers said they weren’t active Wests Tigers fans but more than half had been to one or more Wests Tigers games in the last 12 months.

The survey also revealed that locals were mostly happy to share a split of games between Campbelltown and Leichhardt rather than a majority at Leumeah.

Other questions varied from reasons to not attend Campbelltown Stadium, performance of the team on-field, junior football, opinions on Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe and club chairman Lee Hagipantelis and the best-performed Wests Tigers players so far in 2023.

We discussed the results in the latest episode of the MRLW Podcast which you listen to by clicking here.

See the full results below:

“Do you support Wests Tigers?”
Yes: 32.3%
No: 67.7%

“Do you live in the Macarthur, Camden, Wollondilly or Southern Highlands?”
Yes: 87.1%
No: 12.9%

“Have you been to one or more Wests Tigers at Campbelltown in the last 12 months?”
Yes: 54.8%
No: 45.2%

“What would be your main concerns about whether you would go to a Wests Tigers game? Select more than one if applicable.”
Disconnect with club: 48.4%
Price of tickets: 45.2%
Form of team: 45.2%
Interest in visiting team: 41.9%
Scheduling/KO times: 19.4%

“On the scale, give the team a score for their performance over the last 12 months.”
2/10: 26%
3/10: 19%
1/10: 16%
5/10: 13%
0/10: 13%
4/10: 10%
6/10: 3%

“On the scale, give Wests Tigers administration a score for their performance over the last 12 months.”
0/10: 39%
1/10: 19%
2/10: 19%
5/10: 13%
3/10: 6%
4/10: 3%

“Has Wests Tigers done a good job including the region in promotion, publicity, grassroots development over last decade?”
Yes: 16.1%
No: 83.9%

“What score would you give the club per previous question…”
0/10: 23%
3/10: 19%
1/10: 13%
2/10: 13%
4/10: 13%
8/10: 10%
7/10: 6%
5/10: 3%

“Have you seen a difference in development from Wests Tigers for junior players in this region in the last 12 months?”
Yes: 58.1%
No: 41.9%

“Are you happy with Wests Tigers playing 3 games a season at Campbelltown?”
Yes: 0%
No: 90%
Indifferent: 10%

“How many games should Wests Tigers play at Campbelltown per season?”
Six: 35%
Ten: 35%
Eight: 13%
Five: 13%
Zero: 3%

“How many games should Wests Tigers play at Leichhardt Oval per season?”
Zero: 29%
Six: 26%
Five: 13%
Ten: 10%
Two: 6%
Three: 6%
Four: 6%
One: 3%

“Are Tim Sheens, Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah doing a good job at Wests Tigers?”
Yes: 45.2%
No: 22.6%
Indifferent: 32.3%

“Has Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe done a good job as CEO of Wests Tigers?”
Yes: 3.2%
No: 87.1%
Indifferent: 9.7%

“Has Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis done a good job as chairman of Wests Tigers?”
Yes: 6.5%
No: 67.7%
Indifferent: 25.8%

“Would you like to see more Wests Tigers players and aspiring local stars staying and living in the region?”
Yes: 83.9%
No: 9.7%
Indifferent: 6.5%

“Has the junior region and junior clubs gotten stronger since Wests Tigers Macarthur took over?”
Yes: 45.2%
No: 45.2%
Indifferent: 9.7%

“Who has been the best performed Wests Tigers player in 2023?”
Koroisau: 61.3%
Bula: 12.9%
Utoikamanu: 9.7%
Klemmer: 6.5%
To’a: 6.5%
Papali’i: 3.2%

“On a scale of one to 10, how interested are you in hearing more content on the MRLW Podcast?”
Ten: 23%
Five: 23%
Seven: 17%
Zero: 13%
Eight: 7%
Six: 7%
Two: 7%
Four: 3%

“Do you agree or disagree that Wests Tigers is perceived in media and by rival fans as an Inner West / “Balmain” club?”
Agree: 64.5%
Somewhat agree: 12.9%
Neutral: 9.7%
Somewhat disagree: 6.5%
Disagree: 6.5%

@woodward_curtis