It’s rare to see footy fans leaving the ground with smiles on their faces after their team has been beaten 60-26.
That’s exactly what you saw last Friday night after the referee blew the final whistle on the Wests Tigers clash with Parramatta Eels at a heaving Campbelltown Stadium.
The official attendance was 17,100, a pretty good turnout for an NRL match the teams coming last and second last on the ladder.
But listening to people around you it was clear that for most people inside Campbelltown Stadium the scoreline did not matter much.
The reality was that the future was much more important for both the Tigers and the Eels than any navel gazing about the 2024 season.
It was after all the last match of the season for both teams and Mad Monday was just around the corner.
We’ll leave the Eels to their media people to comment upon, but as far as the Wests Tigers are concerned these massive sell-outs at Campbelltown Stadium, which hosted five matches in 2024, are a strong signal to the powers to be that the time has come to relocate the club to Macarthur.
And the sooner the better.
Yes, it is a joint venture with Balmain, and we respect that.
Some matches should be played at a refurbished Leichhardt Oval moving forward, but the future of the club is out here in the great south west.
Don’t know why it has taken so long for some people realise that being the nomads of the NRL is the worst possible approach if you’re serious about winning.
Bean counters will point to the extra revenue for the club when it plays “home’’ matches at Parramatta or Homebush, as it did in the past.
But asking fans to travel to the home ground of a traditional opponent no less is beyond the pale.
There’s another way: start winning and the sponsorship money will start rolling in, it’s as simple as that.
And no doubt Wests Tigers will win more matches next year, and be a good chance for a finals appearance for the first time since 2011.
Last week Wests Tigers announced the signing of Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks forward Royce Hunt on a three-year deal.
This will add to the experience Jarome Luai will bring in the halves, taking some of the pressure of young Lachlan Galvin.
Bring on 2025.
