Balmain greats have vowed not to let the famous club die, as it emerged that the Tigers may have a private benefactor prepared to help keep them afloat.
Rozelle Village, a property developer attempting to develop the site of Balmain Leagues Club on Victoria Road, is attempting to appoint a receiver or voluntary administrator after alleging the club has defaulted on a series of loans, including one for $4.5 million.
If that were to occur, the future of the 1908 foundation club would be in severe doubt as it has struggled to pay its share of costs in the Wests Tigers joint venture since the closure of Balmain Leagues Club for the failed re-development.
Committed to Balmain: Steve Roach.
Committed to Balmain: Steve Roach. Photo: Simon Alekna
However, Fairfax Media understands that a wealthy benefactor has told Balmain officials he would be willing to provide a letter of credit to ensure the survival of the Tigers as a stand-alone entity.
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Should that fail, Balmain great Steve Roach said he and former teammates such as Wayne Pearce, Paul Sironen and Ben Elias would rally to help the club.
"We are a foundation club and if push comes to shove we will all have to get together and try to do something to save the Bamain Tigers," Roach said.
"We have got huge support so we won't let the joint die. I'd think that we would have had the greatest number of one-club players ever, and certainly when I was playing, so I am sure that Sirro and Junior and Benny and me will all get on board. We would do anything to help the club."
Former long-serving Balmain chairman John Chalk also insisted the Tigers would not die and said the club was fortunate to be able to call on famous supporters such as Dawn Fraser.
"We are not going to lie down, no way in the world," Chalk said. "This is not the end, there are so many high-profile people who will come out fighting to keep the club alive."
Since the closure of its Rozelle premises, Balmain Leagues Club has been operating at Sydney Markets and Five Dock and Chalk said both clubs were trading well.
"The [Sydney] Markets Tigers trades well, they made $1 million last year, the one at Five Dock holds its own so they are going good," he said. [Former Balmain Leagues Club chief executive] Danny Monk is back working a couple of days per week so the club is doing what it can."
However, Roach said it was essential that the leagues club at Rozelle be redeveloped so the Tigers could resume trading there.
"It depresses me when I drive past it so I would like to see whoever owns it now and the council come to some sort of agreement because the whole part of the deal was that the Balmain Tigers would get a new club," Roach said. "I wish they would come to some sort of compromise and all the parties would work together to understand that we need it there otherwise there won't be any Balmain Tigers.
"But we will do something about it or we will try. We won't just let it die. We have got to have some sort of semblence of a club, we have got the land there and the deal was that they would build units on top and we would get a new leagues club. I reckon common sense has got to prevail so we can keep trading. That is the only place we can get the money from."
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/we-wont-let-the-balmain-tigers-die-vow-club-stalwarts-20140318-hvk51.html#ixzz2wJ3dj5vZ
