BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

On a freezing cold Monday night in Campbelltown in 1996, Andrew Willis’ fifty-metre field goal on the siren helped Western Suburbs sink North Sydney and propel them toward their last ever finals appearance – sending the success-starved locals into a frenzy. Less than 24 hours earlier, the ‘Sydney Tigers’ hosted Illawarra in front of just over 3000 fans at their home ground – Parramatta Stadium.

For here stands the truth about the latest cat fight between warring factions at Wests Tigers.

Should Leichhardt Oval be saved?

Or can it?

Some might argue that there isn’t a debate to begin with.

Time catches up to all of us and Leichhardt Oval is on her last legs.

A minority want the NRL to spend $30 million to upgrade it themselves and when it’s all said and done – hand back the keys of the house to Wests Tigers while the rest of Sydney’s clubs aren’t looking.

For three nights we’ve heard from journalists on NRL360 that Leichhardt must be rescued.

Because. Nostalgia. History and stuff.

The coup de grâce may have been this slice of expert pie.

“All the pubs around Leichhardt were full.”

Blimey.

And just when you thought the Balmain brigade and the fumes of nostalgia had won the fight with the eye of the tiger and a second-round knockout – NRL360 rolled out Steve Roach and Ben Elias.

“We spilt blood on Leichhardt Oval for years and years right, and I’m trying to talk about the Magpies too,” Roach fumed.

“There was 100 years of the Magpies, there was 100 years of the Balmain Tigers.

“They’ve tried to brush 200 years of heritage, they’ve said ‘we’ve got a new club here’.

“We haven’t been invited to anything.

“Sorry, I tell a lie, we got invited when they wanted to raise money for the pathways.

“Now we get invited this week by Parramatta.”

The point is it is a new club.

History is important but it can only help you fight the future for so long.

It had all gotten a little silly by this point of the show.

The segment had all the finesse of a starved Kerry Packer in front of a succulent Macca’s cheeseburger.

“We want to feel a part of it, we don’t feel a part of it, that’s the problem.”

Was that really said?

Did we hear that, correctly?

Perhaps the humble folk out in the Macarthur can dodgy up a banner and sprawl it across the northern hill of Campbelltown Stadium when Wests Tigers host St George Illawarra in a few weeks using that exact same quote.

The irony.

Back to ’96, or better yet, back to the end of 1994.

Some seem to forget that the old Balmain Tigers sacked 21 of their players at the end of ’94 season, gave itself a paint job, changed their name, chucked ‘Tiger Tim’ and Laurie in the back of the Commodore with the jerseys and tackle bags and headed up Parramatta Road.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Almost saved Newtown in the early 1980s before the Magpies swooped into Orana.

Some thought Macarthur was so important that a Campbelltown bid came within a whisker of entering the NSWRL in 1983 ahead of Canberra which may have just made a marriage of Balmain and Western Suburbs so much easier for those that have never wanted the club to succeed anywhere but Lilyfield.

The Jets, Magpies and the NSWRL knew it forty years ago.

Balmain knew it in ’94.

And how are those chocolate soldiers going these days out there at the foot of the mountains?

Head west!

Beetson Raudonokis Medal 2024 – Round 3

NSW Premier Neville Wran once said, “Balmain boys don’t cry”.

They are well within their rights to stick up for Leichhardt.

There is nothing like a full Leichhardt Oval, it’s better than Belmore & Kogarah Ovals.
The best place to play. #NRLTigersSharks ⁦@WestsTigers⁩ pic.twitter.com/3fTKqd8VJ0

— Garry Jack (@jimmyjack244) March 23, 2024

360 last night was further proof of “Balmain centric” Tigers

Wests have played 94 games at Leichhardt since 2000 and 280 players have represented the club

Still..the media trots out Elias & Roach (again)

And people wonder why crowds don’t turn up to games at Campbelltown

— 91 03 21 22 23 PREMIERS 🐾🏆 (@SnoogThe) March 27, 2024

The NRL cannot revolutionise the game commercially playing at Leichhardt Oval in its current state. Modern stadiums do not adversely affect “tribalism/the game-day experience”, the NFL is proof.
The issue – people are threatened by change.

— Martin Lang (@Martin_Lang11) March 27, 2024

Under the joint venture agreement established in '99, after three years, Wests Tigers were to play all games at Campbelltown and establish a administration base in the south-west. Fact. Politics at board level got in the way of that, hence why they ended up at Concord post 2002.

— Daniel Watson Hayes™ (@dwatsonhayes) March 27, 2024

But calling Leichhardt Oval the spiritual home of a 25-year-old club is very rich.

The reality is, Wests Tigers’ spiritual home is in the sky.

That’s where they’ll go when I die.

When I die and they lay me to rest.

Wests Tigers are gonna go to the place that’s the best.

Sydney’s South-West.

@woodward_curtis