Wests Tigers

Wests Tigers

File:Westsigers.jpg
Club information
Full name	Wests Tigers Rugby League Football Club
Founded	2000
Current details
Ground(s)	Campbelltown Stadium Leichhardt Oval Telstra Stadium (21,000 23,000 83,500 )
CEO	Steve Noyce
Coach	Tim Sheens
Competition	National Rugby League
2006	National Rugby League, 11th

The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team in the National Rugby League (NRL), the premier rugby league football competition in Australasia. They are currently coached by Tim Sheens and captained by Brett Hodgson.

The Wests Tigers are based at Concord Oval for training and admininstrative purposes but are historically linked to the inner-west of Sydney and the Campbelltown region in Sydney's outer-west. The Tigers were admitted in 2000 to the NRL competition after the merging of two Sydney based clubs: the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs Magpies.

The Tigers won their maiden premiership in 2005. This win was called by some a 'fairy tale' story, as at the start of the season several sport pundits had claimed they would finish close to or at the bottom of the table.

Though this is the Wests Tigers' only NRL premiership to date, the club has a heritage of eleven premierships won by Balmain and four by Wests. The club also won the World Club Sevens in 2004. However, when the clubs' individual histories are considered, the Wests Tigers have the second most successful history. They have a combined tally of 16 premierships.

Club history

The Wests Tigers is one of only two joint venture football clubs that still exist in the current NRL competition. The Wests Tigers were formed in mid 1999 as a joint venture club between two of the NSWRL's foundation members: the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Balmain Tigers. This merger was in preparation for the 14 team NRL premiership of 2000.

Both clubs had appeared to be headed for mergers with other more financially secure partners — Balmain with Parramatta, and the Magpies with Canterbury. However, they later decided to merge with each other resulting in the Wests Tigers being admitted to the NRL in 2000. David Trodden has been the chairman of the club in 2004 and 2006.

Supporter base and Home Grounds

The joint venture draws supporters from the historic bases of Balmain and Western Suburbs. Because they are a joint venture the basic structure of the former teams remains in place including their respective leagues clubs. The Balmain Leagues Club is based in Rozelle. The Western Suburbs Magpies have two leagues clubs, one representing their former inner-city base Ashfield, and the other established when they relocated to the outer west in the 1980s Campbelltown.

The club's official fanatical supporters group is the Wests Tigers Fanatics. The group had its origins in the 2004 World Sevens tournament and now are active at all Tigers games with banners and flags.

The Tigers do not have a single home but play at a number of grounds each year. Home games are split between traditional games played at the former home grounds of Balmain and Western Suburbs and financial games played at grounds that offer incentives to play there. Traditional home games are played at Campbelltown Sports Stadium and Leichhardt Oval, the former home grounds of Wests and Balmain respectively. The grounds are around 50km away and attract different supporter bases. Financial home games are mostly played at Telstra Stadium the former Olympic Stadium used for the 2000 games. For the past three years a "home game" was played in Christchurch against the Auckland based New Zealand Warriors. This agreement has now expired and in 2007 a game will played in Gosford against Melbourne Storm. As Gosford is located near Sydney this will allow far more Tigers supporters to attend.

The club's name and logo are a combination of the two partners. The uniform colours are a combination of the black and white of the Western Suburbs Magpies uniform and the black and gold from the Balmain Tigers uniform.

Major Sponsors

• Meriton Apartments (2000)
• Don Smallgoods (2001)
• New-Loan Home Loans (2002)
• Radisson Maine Financial Group (2003)
• Herbal World Therapeutic Soft Drinks (2004)
• JFTA Petrochemical Services (2005)
• Proton Cars (2006-)

Previous seasons

2000

Balmain coach Wayne Pearce was the initial coach of the Wests Tigers and new recruit Jarrod McCracken was named captain. A large crowd attended the first trial match played by the team. Before the first round the Tigers were controversially denied a place in the double header at Stadium Australia. It was rumoured that the NRL did not believe the side would be competitive against their opening round opponents and competition heavyweights Brisbane. The debut match for the side was therefore held at Campelltown where after leading 18-6 the side snatched a 24-all draw after falling behind late. The Tigers surprised many by maintaining a high place on the ladder for most of the year (often in second place). Heartbreaking losses to Penrith (after leading 31-8) and in the snow against Canberra combined with injuries to key players saw the Tigers slide out of the 8. The loss of inspirational captain Jarrod McCracken from a spear tackle against Melbourne was a crucial blow.

2001

2002 was a bitter year for the joint venture club, including off-field incidents. After Wayne Pearce announced he would no longer coach the team, Terry Lamb was appointed to the position. This was a controversial selection because of animosity from Balmain supporters due to an incident involving Ellery Hanley in the 1988 Grand Final (see Terry Lamb entry for more information). Early in the season key players Craig Field and Kevin McGuinness tested positive to cocaine and received long suspensions. Field was the team's halfback and playmaker whilst McGuinness was a leading try scorer for the club. Later in the season another big name player was suspended: John Hopoate earned world wide notoriety when he was charged with inserting his finger into the anus (pushing the players' shorts) of opposition players. Hopoate quit the club and received a long suspension. Lamb was criticised for seeming to condone the activity.

2002

During the season the club announced Terry Lamb would not have his contract renewed. The coaching job was offered to (and rejected by) Craig Bellamy before Tim Sheens was selected. The selection was by no means seen as a positive move by the media as Sheens most recent coaching stint had seen him sacked by the North Queensland Cowboys On the field the side struggled near the foot of the ladder and only a large victory over Souths moved them clear of the wooden spoon position.

2003

The 2003 season was notable for the emergence of new young players through the team as the club moved away from the era of big names and big money signings and focused on developing junior talent. Most notably Benji Marshall, then a schoolboy prodigy with no senior league experience, made his debut against the Newcastle Knights

2004

The Tigers improved greatly in 2004 aided by astute signings of players such as Brett Hodgson and Pat Richards who began to blend well with the younger players emerging as talents. The Tigers narrowly missed the playoffs after losing their final three games when a single victory would have guaranteed finals football for the first time. Key injuries to playmakers played a large part as did a long list of errors and tough calls by officials during the year.

2005

File:MarshallRichards05.jpg

Pat Richards scores in the 2005 Grand Final

2005 was the Wests Tigers best season yet, as they not only made it to the finals for the first time, but also reached the top four in the round robin part of the competition, setting crowd attendance records at three different grounds: Campbelltown Stadium (20,527), Telstra Stadium (29,542) and Leichhardt Oval (22,877).

After a slow start, bookmakers rated the Tigers a 150-1 chance to win the premiership. However the club emerged from the bottom half of the table to win a club record 8 in a row before finishing 4th. The team developed a reputation as a flamboyant attacking side who played at a rapid pace to compensate a lack of forward size.

2005 Finals Series

The Tigers played their first ever final as a joint venture club at Telstra Stadium against North Queensland. Backed by a passionate crowd the team won 50-6. They then beat the Brisbane Broncos and premiership favourites St George Illawarra Dragons to book a spot against the North Queensland Cowboys.

2005 Grand Final

Based on their winning form (they had won 11 of their last 13) and their big win over the Cowboys in the opening finals game, the Wests Tigers were rated favourites to win the 2006 grand final. After a slow start, Bryce Gibbs and Pat Richards scored tries to give the Tigers a 12-6 lead. The Richards try has been called one of the all time great Grand Final tries. The try was started by five-eighth Benji Marshall, who received the ball from Brett Hodgson 98 metres from the opposition tryline. He beat Cowboys five-eighth Johnathan Thurston and Matt Sing. He then ran 60 metres, only to be caught by Cowboys fullback Matt Bowen. He made a flick pass to Pat Richards, who then fended off Rod Jensen to score.

In the 2nd half the Tigers gained control with tries to Anthony Laffranchi and Daniel Fitzhenry. After withstanding a Cowboys fightback, a Todd Payten try on full time sealed a 30-16 win. Captain Scott Prince was then awarded the Clive Churchill medal for 2005. Prince joins football great Peter Sterling who was the original recipient of the medal. Ben Galea, John Skandalis, Benji Marshall among others starred for the Tigers.

Their premiership victory means that they join an exclusive group of clubs that won premierships in their first finals appearance, which has not been achieved in almost 100 years. This group also includes Souths in 1908 and Newtown in 1910.

2006

(For more details see Wests Tigers 2006)

Following the premiership win several key players left the club. From the grand final team, John Skandalis (the last former Magpie) retired and Mark O'Neill, Shane Elford and Pat Richards signed with English clubs. New signings included Jamaal Lolesi (Bulldogs), Keith Galloway (Cronulla Sharks) and Ryan O'Hara (Canberra Raiders).
As defending premiers, the Tigers began the season by travelling to England to play ESL champions the Bradford Bulls. Missing many of their star players the Tigers tried hard but were eventually beaten 10-30. After a come from behind win over competition heavyweights St George-Illawarra, the team struggled with injuries to key players. Most notably Benji Marshall and Brett Hodgson missed large portions of the season. The team suffered a number of narrow losses late in games and also two golden point (extra time) matches in controversial circumstances.
The Tigers narrowly missed the finals and the chance to defend their title. One highlight of the season was the debut of several players including Chris Lawrence and the emergence of up and coming players such as Dean Collis. Brett Hodgson played for the NSW State of Origin team in all three games.

Current season

2007

Joining the club for the 2007 season was John Morris (ex Parramatta) to replace Scott Prince who signed with the new Gold Coast Titans side. Fellow 2005 Grand Final player Anthony Lafranchi also left to join the Titans and Shane Elford also left the Tigers. The Tigers had a bad start to the season losing their opening 4 games by narrow margins. Since then they have won their last six games to move into the top 4, however they have lost star playmaker Benji Marshall to a shoulder injury. The Wests Tigers most recent win was over the Penrith Panthers, 25 - 24 at CUA Stadium.

Current squad

As of 20 February, 2007:

Player		Position	Height	Weight	Previous Club	Nickname
Brett Hodgson		Full Back	175cm/5'9"	78kg/172p	East-Valley United, Wests Junior Rep	Hodgo, Hodg
Shannon McDonnell		Full Back, Wing	180cm/5'11"	86kg/192p	All Saints, Wests Junior Rep	Macca
Daniel Fitzhenry		Wing, Centre, Five Eight, Hooker, Utility	180cm/5'11"	78kg/196p	Dorrigo, Nambucca Heads	Fitzy, Blitzy-Fitzy, Fitz
Chris Lawrence		Wing, Centre, Fullback	183cm	90kg	Eagle Vale St Andrews, Wests Junior Rep	Lawry
Jason Moodie		Wing	186cm	86kg	Retired/Wests Tigers	Moods
Taniela Tuiaki		Wing	183cm/6'0"	105kg/231p	North Curl Curl	TNT, Nulla
Dean Collis		Centre	181cm/5'11"	90kg/198p	Campbelltown Warriors, Wests Junior Rep
Paul Whatuira		Centre	183cm/6'0"	91kg/201p	Penrith Panthers	Fatz
Ben Jeffrey		Centre	182cm/6'0"	81kg	St George Junior	Pug
Danny Galea		Centre, 2nd Row	185cm/6'1"	97kg	Penrith	DG
Benji Marshall		Five Eighth	181cm/5'11"	83kg/183p.	Keebra Park	The Messiah, Bagz
John Morris		Half Back	185cm	90kg	Parramatta Eels	Bomber
Bryce Gibbs		Prop	188cm/6'2"	104kg/229p	All Saints, Wests Junior Rep	Gibbo, Gibbenator
Ryan O'Hara		Prop	188cm/6'2"	102kg/225p	Canberra Raiders	Rhino (Rhino Mrk.2)
Todd Payten		Prop	185cm/6'1"	112kg/247p	Sydney Roosters, Canberra Raiders	Rodney, Sayten
Robbie Farah		Hooker	178cm/5'10"	87kg/192p	Leichhardt Wanderers, Balmain Junior Rep	Podge, Faffy
Keith Galloway		Second Row	196cm/6'5"	112kg/247p	Cronulla Sharks	Kilo, KG
Dene Halatau		Second Row	178cm/5'10"	89kg/196p	North Ryde, Balmain Junior Rep	Hammer, Kapow
Bronson Harrison		Second Row	183cm/6'0"	103kg/227p	Leichhardt Wanderers, Balmain Junior Rep	Taps
Jarrod Saffy		Second Row	189cm/6'2"	104kg/229p	Safman
Liam Fulton		Lock	186cm/6'1"	90kg/198p	Wentworthville, Wests Junior Rep	Boz, Derrick, Fults
Ben Galea		Lock	178cm/5'10"	95kg/209p	Balmain Tigers	BG, GA GA Galea
Chris Heighington		Lock	187cm/6'2"	101kg/223p	Umina Bunnies	Rhino, Heighno
Ben Teo		Second Row	188cm/6'2"	104kg/229p	Keebra Park

See Also: All Time Player List

Player Records

All-time Top 5 "Wests Tigers" tryscorers

Player	Tries
Daniel Fitzhenry (*)	40
Kevin McGuinness	30
Joel Caine	26
Brett Hodgson (*)	26
Pat Richards	26

(*) player still active in the Wests Tigers team.

All-time Top 5 Wests Appearances

Player	Appearance
John Skandalis	142
Mark O'Neill	121
Ben Galea (*)	107
Darren Senter	96
Anthony Laffranchi	82

(*) player still active in the Wests Tigers team.

Dally M Award Winners

• Joel Caine (2000 Top Pointscorer)
• Scott Prince (2005 Captain of the Year)
• Tim Sheens (2005 Coach of the Year)
• Brett Hodgson (2005 Fullback of the Year, Top Pointscorer)

Clive Churchill Medal Winners

• Scott Prince (2005)

Representative Players

New South Wales Origin

Brett Hodgson (2006) Terry Hill (2000)

Queensland Origin

Scott Prince (2004)

Australia

Scott Prince (2005)

New Zealand

Benji Marshall
Dene Halatau
Bronson Harrison
Paul Whatuira

Players Of Note

• Mark O'Neill (2000-2005)
• Ben Galea (2000-present)
• Pat Richards (2004-2005)
• John Skandalis {2000-2006)
• Robert Farah (2003-present)
• Brett Hodgson (2003-present)
• Benji Marshall (2003-present)
• Scott Prince (2004-2006)
• Paul Whatuira (2005-present)
• Craig Field (2000-2001)
• Scott Sattler (2004)
• Daniel Fitzhenry (2002-present)

Captains

• Jarrod McCracken (2000)
• Darren Senter (2001-2004)
• Mark O'Neill/Scott Prince (2005)
• Brett Hodgson (2006-present)

Coaches

• Wayne Pearce - 2000
• Terry Lamb - 2001-2002
• Tim Sheens - 2003-present

See also

• National Rugby League
• Balmain Tigers
• Western Suburbs Magpies

External links

• Official site
• Balmain Tigers Official site
• Western Suburbs Magpies Official site
• Daily Telegraph - West Tigers 2007 season feature