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Code Sports no BS – Fan view: Why good times are finally here for Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers fans have been through it all. But with stability in the front office and improvement on the field, it is finally a very different time to be a supporter of the club, writes JOEL HELMES.
Give up? Raise the white flag? Walk away? Most reasonably-minded Wests Tigers fans have likely contemplated finding an escape hatch at some point in the past decade.
Consistently losing on the field, the desertion of generational talent to other clubs, having a coach walk out mid-contract to win four straight premierships elsewhere, archaic home grounds, and never-ending boardroom and ownership turmoil would test the most patient and loyal sports fan.
We Wests Tigers fans have been through it all. You name it, we’ve probably experienced it. We’ve been to Hades so many times it feels like we have a standing reservation!
Yet despite all the setbacks and challenges, we’re still here and Wests Tigers remain the undisputed sleeping giant of the NRL.
Wests Tigers are the NRL’s sleeping giant. Picture: NRL Photos
In 2025, despite another season that ended with the club not playing finals football (a record that now stretches a bewildering 14 seasons), few would argue that the giant has at least started to stir.
The season began with hope and promise (something every fan has before a ball is kicked), with some classy new imports coming to hopefully help out a new generation of promising young stars.
Unfortunately, one of those stars was already looking for one of those aforementioned escape hatches, Lachlan Galvin.
The messy Lachlan Galvin divorce derailed the Tigers’ finals fairytale. Picture: NRL Photos
What played out during our messy divorce from the highly-touted young playmaker halfway through the year derailed those hopes of an almost unheard of last place to finalist fairytale.
It was just the latest in our history of copping something on the chin and carrying on.
Despite this, we could see some genuine change in the confidence and camaraderie of the team in the second half of the year.
There were some really satisfying wins, including toppling eventual semi-finalists such as the Roosters and Sharks. Wests Tigers also went toe to toe with the high-flying Raiders on their home turf.
But proving that the squad, while being much more competitive, isn’t quite there yet, the boys went down to the lowly Cowboys and Titans in games that probably should have gone into our win column.
Still, breaking a run of three straight wooden spoons is at least something to (sort of) celebrate, isn’t it?
The Tigers celebrate after beating the Roosters in Round 18. Picture: NRL Photos
What does 2026 promise for our club?
Well, things are different. We have arguably the best CEO in the game at the helm in Shane Richardson (“Richo” as he’s widely known), and many of his moves over the past 18 months have helped give us the first thing any organisation needs to succeed, stability.
We have one of rugby league’s best CEO’s in Richo. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard
After a fan revolt (led, I’m proud to say, by us), Wests Tigers now have, for the time ever, an independent board (almost completely) free of the ghosts of our long past.
Our coach, Benji Marshall, has moved on to his green P plates and has shown he’s likely to prove himself a competent NRL coach moving forward. While our squad, echoing perhaps the stability being found in the Wests Tigers’ back office, looks settled with very few alterations likely to come over this off-season.
This is a very different place to be, as for years we’ve had consistently high player turnover, which has never produced any real or tangible success for the team.
We will be boosted by the consistent Kai Pearce-Paul in 2026, along with returning halves option Jock Madden, and some other promising youngsters. Most fans probably believe we might still be one dominant prop forward short, but fingers are crossed another Terrell May will fall into our laps over the warmer months.
Speaking of Terrell, it is impossible not to love what he produces for us week after week. To then add his brother Taylan, a high-quality player himself, helps to cancel out the disappointment of some of those player departures in recent years that have stung the fan base.
Another positive, and certainly something to look forward to for us, is that those substandard home grounds finally look set to enter the 21st century. Strong lobbying from Richo helped secure funding for much-needed upgrades from all three levels of Government.
That funding means that the Wests Tigers can continue to call Leichhardt Oval and Campbelltown Stadium home for years to come. Again, this provides some always welcome certainty and stability for fans, and that can’t be discounted.
While the club tells us sponsorship incomes are up, and membership numbers (now accurate) are trending north.
So, while it has been a really hard slog to be a Wests Tigers fan in recent years, there are some signs that we are finally being set up for genuine and sustained success. Given what we’ve been through, I don’t think any rival NRL fans would deny we deserve at least a peek at heaven.
Wests Tigers fans have been through it all. But with stability in the front office and improvement on the field, it is finally a very different time to be a supporter of the club, writes JOEL HELMES.
Give up? Raise the white flag? Walk away? Most reasonably-minded Wests Tigers fans have likely contemplated finding an escape hatch at some point in the past decade.
Consistently losing on the field, the desertion of generational talent to other clubs, having a coach walk out mid-contract to win four straight premierships elsewhere, archaic home grounds, and never-ending boardroom and ownership turmoil would test the most patient and loyal sports fan.
We Wests Tigers fans have been through it all. You name it, we’ve probably experienced it. We’ve been to Hades so many times it feels like we have a standing reservation!
Yet despite all the setbacks and challenges, we’re still here and Wests Tigers remain the undisputed sleeping giant of the NRL.
Wests Tigers are the NRL’s sleeping giant. Picture: NRL Photos
In 2025, despite another season that ended with the club not playing finals football (a record that now stretches a bewildering 14 seasons), few would argue that the giant has at least started to stir.
The season began with hope and promise (something every fan has before a ball is kicked), with some classy new imports coming to hopefully help out a new generation of promising young stars.
Unfortunately, one of those stars was already looking for one of those aforementioned escape hatches, Lachlan Galvin.
The messy Lachlan Galvin divorce derailed the Tigers’ finals fairytale. Picture: NRL Photos
What played out during our messy divorce from the highly-touted young playmaker halfway through the year derailed those hopes of an almost unheard of last place to finalist fairytale.
It was just the latest in our history of copping something on the chin and carrying on.
Despite this, we could see some genuine change in the confidence and camaraderie of the team in the second half of the year.
There were some really satisfying wins, including toppling eventual semi-finalists such as the Roosters and Sharks. Wests Tigers also went toe to toe with the high-flying Raiders on their home turf.
But proving that the squad, while being much more competitive, isn’t quite there yet, the boys went down to the lowly Cowboys and Titans in games that probably should have gone into our win column.
Still, breaking a run of three straight wooden spoons is at least something to (sort of) celebrate, isn’t it?
The Tigers celebrate after beating the Roosters in Round 18. Picture: NRL Photos
What does 2026 promise for our club?
Well, things are different. We have arguably the best CEO in the game at the helm in Shane Richardson (“Richo” as he’s widely known), and many of his moves over the past 18 months have helped give us the first thing any organisation needs to succeed, stability.
We have one of rugby league’s best CEO’s in Richo. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard
After a fan revolt (led, I’m proud to say, by us), Wests Tigers now have, for the time ever, an independent board (almost completely) free of the ghosts of our long past.
Our coach, Benji Marshall, has moved on to his green P plates and has shown he’s likely to prove himself a competent NRL coach moving forward. While our squad, echoing perhaps the stability being found in the Wests Tigers’ back office, looks settled with very few alterations likely to come over this off-season.
This is a very different place to be, as for years we’ve had consistently high player turnover, which has never produced any real or tangible success for the team.
We will be boosted by the consistent Kai Pearce-Paul in 2026, along with returning halves option Jock Madden, and some other promising youngsters. Most fans probably believe we might still be one dominant prop forward short, but fingers are crossed another Terrell May will fall into our laps over the warmer months.
Speaking of Terrell, it is impossible not to love what he produces for us week after week. To then add his brother Taylan, a high-quality player himself, helps to cancel out the disappointment of some of those player departures in recent years that have stung the fan base.
Another positive, and certainly something to look forward to for us, is that those substandard home grounds finally look set to enter the 21st century. Strong lobbying from Richo helped secure funding for much-needed upgrades from all three levels of Government.
That funding means that the Wests Tigers can continue to call Leichhardt Oval and Campbelltown Stadium home for years to come. Again, this provides some always welcome certainty and stability for fans, and that can’t be discounted.
While the club tells us sponsorship incomes are up, and membership numbers (now accurate) are trending north.
So, while it has been a really hard slog to be a Wests Tigers fan in recent years, there are some signs that we are finally being set up for genuine and sustained success. Given what we’ve been through, I don’t think any rival NRL fans would deny we deserve at least a peek at heaven.
