Wests Tigers

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

Wests Tigers were formed as a joint venture club between original Sydney clubs Western Suburbs and Balmain in mid-1999 as preparations began for the 14 team NRL premiership in 2000.

Both clubs appeared to be headed for mergers with other more financially secure partners, Balmain with Parramatta, the Magpies with Canterbury.

However, at the last moment the two foundation clubs decided they had more in common with each other, resulting in the birth of the Wests Tigers.

The club's name and logo were an immediate combination of the two partners, and kept some semblance of their pasts. Similarly, the colours chosen were an easy fit around the shared black along with white (from Western Suburbs) and gold (from Balmain).

Two jersey designs were adopted and the fans from either side of the marriage had one to be reasonably satisfied with. In a further effort to ensure the Magpies logo was not lost, it was placed permanently on the jersey sleeve.

Benefitting from a large salary cap exemption the Wests Tigers took to the player market strongly signing internationals Terry Hill, John Hopoate and Jarrod McCracken. Also snapped up were NSW Origin fullback Matt Seers and the enigmatic Owen Craigie.

The Tigers also signed many former Western Suburbs and Balmain players including Craig Field, Darren Senter, Mark O'Neil, John Skandalis, Shane Walker, Luke O'Donnell, Joel Caine, Kevin & Ken McGuinness, John Carlaw, Jason Lowrie, Tyran Smith and Ciriaco Mescia. The coach was Balmain's Wayne Pearce.

The debut season started with a solid 24-all draw against the eventual premiers Broncos at Campbelltown. The Tigers lost just two matches in their first ten outings in the NRL, leaving many of their critics floundering. However, injuries soon hit hard and a lack of quality playing depth was soon exposed.

With ten games remaining Wests Tigers looked certain for the end of season play-offs when they travelled to Canberra and were shocked by snow flurries as they ran out on the field. The Raiders grabbed a stunning win after charging down a Tigers kick near fulltime.

The loss seemed to rob the club of its momentum and confidence. In the following game against Penrith the Tigers held a match winning lead before being run down by 32-31. The Wests Tigers never recovered and won only two more games as their season of promise fizzled away.

The only signifcant change in personnel for the 2001 season was replacement of coach Pearce by Terry Lamb, but the club's on field performance didn't improve. The Wests Tigers provided season 2001 with its two greatest scandals - the fallout left the club on the brink of collapse and left Lamb an impossible task to rally his team.

After just four weeks of the season two players (Craig Field and Kevin McGuiness) returned positive drug test results and were suspended for six months leaving a gaping hole in the backline.

Only weeks later winger John Hopoate was called to front the NRL judiciary after claims from opponents about his onfield conduct in tackles. He was suspended for three months by the NRL and had his contract terminated by the Wests Tigers.

The on field results reflected the dramas surrounding the Wests Tigers. After winning four of their first seven games the Tigers fell heavily, managing to produce just one win in the next eleven weeks as they slid to 12th spot.

There were few bright spots for the season. One was the rise of 22 year old Ben Galea, who captured a City Origin jersey on the back of his solid performances.

A great fightback win over eventual premiers Newcastle near season's end was particularly uplifting for fans. The Tigers were down 24-0 before eventually winning 36-32.

Season 2002 offerred little reason for more hope - and the expected poor results were soon realised. By mid-season the club's lacklustre form lead to the announcement that coach Lamb would not be retained for 2003.

As the West Tigers administration then struggled to secure a replacement coach, prospective players steered away from the club due to the uncertainty. Eventually former premiership winning coach Tim Sheens agreed to terms for 2003 and beyond.

Sheens provided a more stable season for the club. While the on field results were nothing startling, the Wests Tigers did gain more respect, saw the rise of a number of promising youngsters and attracted good signings for 2004.

The club had some good performances in 2004 but again could not string enough wins together to reach the play-offs. If any team had 'bad luck' in 2004 in terms of critical decisions from referees - including the video referee - it was the Wests Tigers.

Wests Tigers began 2005 as 150-1 shots to win the premiership. The management had decided to split the home games between Leichhardt, Campbelltown and the Olympic Stadium.

Many wondered how the team and supporters would relate to disparate home grounds. How wrong everyone was about the club's 2005 prospects.

Fans flocked to the various home grounds, and in the second-half of the season in particular, marvelled at the fearless and thrilling attack of the Wests Tigers. The team's winning momentum failed to stall, taking the club to the Grand Final in its first ever play-offs series.

In the decider against the North Queensland Cowboys, Wests Tigers were challenged at various times, but in the end triumphed by 30-16. Undoubtedly the highlight was the spectacular run and flick pass from Benji Marshall that unleashed Pat Richards, and set the winger try-bound.

The first joint-venture club to win a premiership, their success saw old Magpies and Tigers suddenly appear from everywhere, and talk of in-fighting faded away, seemingly forever.

Copyright © 2006 - Sean Fagan. All rights reserved - the article above may not be reproduced (in full or part) in any form without written permission.