1 week Ago
It’s hard to wrap your head around why the Wests Tigers refuse to entertain playing more games at one of the club’s spiritual homes Leichhardt Oval given the epic scenes of Sunday’s golden point thriller over Cronulla. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1.
Limited-time offer. In the words of new Tigers co-captain Jarome Luai: “I loved it man, my first grade game here. Just to look up at that hill was pretty daunting because I am used to being against it.
“But they were with us and behind us all the way. They gave us energy and they got us home.” Blog with Hoops from 1:30pm below! There’s a strong argument if that game was played at CommBank or any other venue then the Tigers don’t finish over the top of the Sharks the way they did.
Yet raise the issue with Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson and the big fella immediately pricks the feathers up and gets super defensive about the venue failing to meet NRL standards and having inadequate corporate facilities. The counter argument to that is even though it was a wet and windy Sunday, there’s always long queues for a beer, a pie or the brascoes and it’s standing room only on most of the hill – the Tigers still posted a sold-out crowd of 14,812. Sometimes sport can’t always be all about the corporate dollar.
You’ve also got to cater for the members and fans who turn up every week rain, hail or shine. From the epic scenes on Sunday there’s clearly still a lot of love for the eighth wonder of the world and the tribalism it brings to rugby league. The good news is Leichhardt Oval is getting a $40 million makeover next year to deliver far superior dressing rooms, corporate facilities and upgrade the old Norman “Latchem” Robinson Grandstand.
Tigers boss Richardson also recently threatened to walk away from playing games at Campbelltown Stadium if the southwestern venue wasn’t also upgraded. This is clearly a political power play designed to try and squeeze more money out of all levels of Government to better improve Campbelltown – similar to the road the Tigers traversed with Leichhardt this time last year. The deadline put on this was June 30 this year or the Tigers are out.
If Richo’s play proves successful and the Wests Tigers also get an upgrade for Campbelltown then the club should just play half their games in the southwest of Sydney and the other half in the inner-west. Sure there’s better corporate facilities at CommBank Stadium but it’s not the same as the suburban cauldron atmosphere of Campbelltown and Leichhardt. For too long the Wests Tigers have been nomadic around their home grounds.
They’ve been everywhere from Allianz to CommBank to Accor over the course of the last five seasons and it hasn’t translated into on-field results. Winning in sport fixes everything. After what the Tigers have been through in the past fortnight’s there’s never been a truer statement made.
On the football front Wests Tigers new recruit Terrell May has certainly given NSW State of Origin coach Laurie Daley something to think about with his 84 minutes of quality against the hard-edge Cronulla forward pack. Payne Haas will clearly be the first prop picked for NSW provided he’s fit and you’ve also got to have Blues incumbents Mitch Barnett and Spencer Leniu in there on current form. But the form of May has been next level this season and to punch out 84 minutes in a game of that intensity on Sunday underlines what an enormous motor the Tigers play one front rower possesses.
The other NSW front row contenders will obviously be captain Jake Trbojevic and there’s even cases to be made for Melbourne’s Josh King and Canterbury-Bankstown’s Max King. What were your likes or dislikes from another cracking round of rugby league save for the high tackle crackdown chaos that’s left the majority of NRL fans mystified? BLOG WITH HOOPS FROM 1:30PM! CAN’T SEE IT? CLICK HERE!.
