There was a moment during yesterday’s Wests Tigers vs Parramatta Eels thriller that would have left a bad taste in the mouth of the most ardent Tigers fan. It came in the 15th minute and ironically involved some of the best football they’ve played this season. The movement was set in motion by a hyper-aware James Tedesco, who summed up the situation perfectly from fullback, sprinted into dummy half, and exploded out of the blocks feeding half, Mitchell Moses, who took it on an angled run broke the line and added a neat swerve to beat the fullback and score under the sticks.
It was fluent, fast and pretty much impossible to defend, the kind of combination between half and fullback that you can build a club’s future around. Indeed that was the plan until a few weeks ago.
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As the world now knows, the potentially premiership winning Big Four of James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses, Aaron Woods and Luke Brooks is no longer. At the very least the Tigers will lose Moses, possibly as soon as next week, to the Eels. They are also a good chance of losing James Tedesco and Aaron Woods to the Roosters, which, given the Big Four are all managed by the same man, Isaac Moses (brother of Mitchell), suggests we are in the early stages of what may be a very hurtful, almost sinister exodus of top-flight talent from the club. All of it the result of an eternal shit storm that has raged for so long in Tiger land, the joint is gonna be stunk out for years. Take a deep breath and step inside.
When Ivan Cleary replaced Jason Taylor as coach in early April he became the fifth person to do so in as many seasons – Tim Sheens, Mick Potter, Jason Taylor and Andrew Webster (interim) being the others. That is a remarkable statistic but it’s only the start.
Between the record number of coaches; the two-year long bankruptcy saga that raged from 2014 to 2016; the constant power struggle between the Western Suburbs and Balmain Tigers boards (it’s a joint venture); the remarkable dismissal of Farah; the sordid tale of “sorry” Tim Simona; the Big Four and their manager Isaac Moses; and the sacking of Jason Taylor three games into 2017, it’s little wonder the Tigers have been nothing short of Bi-Polar on the field this year. One certainty remains, however. If you had the chance and the money was vaguely comparable, you’d be on the first bus out of Leichardt.
Their dismissal of local junior, one-club-man, and former captain, Robbie Farah, at the end 2016 ranks up there with the most cold-blooded moves by a club in the history of the game. Farah had earlier in his career famously taken a massive pay cut to keep their roster together in 2012 in the process earning undying respect from fans and the playing group.
He was, and still is, tight with the Tiger’s current captain, Aaron Woods, and hails from the tightknit Christian-Lebanese community that has also produced half, Mitchell Moses, his brother-manager, Isaac Moses, and their uncle and all-time Tiger’s great, Benny Elias. All of whom are significant players behind the scenes at the club. How the Tigers power brokers took the axing of a loyal club servant like Robbie Farah to end 2016 remains unclear. What is certain is one of the key men behind Farah’s dismissal, former coach Jason Taylor, was gone just three games into 2017 and the Tiger’s board is now staring down the barrel of losing the entire Big Four.
The view from the hill at Leichardt oval aka the spiritual home of suburban rugby league. Photo: Jed Smith
The real pain for Tigers fans will not only be the break up of the Big Four but the fact all four are local juniors; an anomaly in the modern game where few players stick it out with their local clubs. You cannot underestimate the appeal of having local juniors to go down and barrack for on a Sunday afternoon at Leichardt Oval. This is a game built on blue-collar tribalism and you’ll find many traditionalists who’d rather support a shit team packed with local talent than a successful team made up of mercenaries. Combine local juniors with on-field success and you are rare bird in the NRL who will be the beneficiary of years worth of goodwill among fans and rival fans alike. Russell Crowe, despite his many flaws, understands this.
Read More: Watching The Tigers Play At Leichardt Oval Is The Most ‘Sydney’ Thing You Can Do
The death of this dream might be too much for Tigers’ fans. It could very likely lead to the complete overthrow of the board. Former club-greats, Liam Fulton and Benny Elias, have already unloaded both barrels on the administration.
“They should just bring someone else in, because if it’s the same board that’s been there the whole time they are doing a pretty s****y job. The players are underperforming, which is the bottom line. But it does start at the top and the board…Look at the decisions they’ve made over the years. There is no stability in the club,” Fulton told News Corp Australia.
Club Chairwoman Marina Go, a former journalist and one of the only women in a position of power in the game, says she gets singled out because of her gender. “Because I am a woman. Let’s call it for what it is. Most of the commentary is plain ignorance,” she said in an interview with rugbyleaguehub.com.
“A small section of the media is tedious. A minority of the other chairmen are tedious. For example, in my first rugby league season during the Women In League round, a group of the club chairmen got together for a meeting and the two female chairs were excluded,” she said.
For the players, turning out for the club on the field and in the streets has simply become a pain in the arse. As former-captain, Robbie Farah, explains, getting bailed up on the streets of Leichardt by fans wanting answers gets old real quick, especially when you’re as fed up as they are.
“It’s hard. When you go through what you’re going through – and I spoke to (Tiger’s captain, Aaron Woods) about my experiences – it does become draining. It just controls your life 24-7. Away from footy everyone is asking about what’s going on, asking about your contract. All those issues at club land take over your life. I’ve got no doubt it’s been affecting his body language and his performance on and off the field,” he told reporters last week.
