Ok, I'm a dinosaur. In the past, if somebody said Balmain Tigers to me, the first player to mind would be Steve Roach. He's a legend. To me, for years, he was the image of the (Balmain) Tigers. All heart, tireless, passionate, grind, bash, don't Fk with me. He's definitely one of the reasons I became a (Balmain) Tigers supporter. If he can have a positive effect on our forwards and their 'go forward' I'm all for it. You may have noticed from my posts I love watching our forwards smile as they rip through the opposition.
Blocker
- Thread starter Eddie
- Start date
Getting Blocker to the club is one of the best moves in the clubs history. He is everything our forwards should want to be. In his day he was aggressive as @#$% and pretty damn skillful with the ball, he had a great turn and offload that chewed tonnes of meters. In Wests Tigers history we have never had a forward pack that didnt have a heart the size of a tick. Finally we have a pack with Woods, Gavet, Galloway, Tapau, Sue, Ava that actually are having a go and I reckon it leans heavily on getting Blocker to the club. He isn't a 'Wests Tigers' Legend as some continue to drone on about (give it a rest) but he is a legend from part of the JV. I think of a Tigers forward pack i want us to be, I think of Pearce, Siro, Brooks, Benny, Maguire, Blocker. I dont think of anything from the Magpie side cause I wasnt a fan of the magpies as a kid, i couldnt tell you who played in their forward pack nor do i care. It doesnt matter. He is now a coach that is killing it for our forwards. Great call by the club to get him involved, it seems to be working in spades.
Didnt Sheens play for Penrith and coach against Balmain (half Wests Tigers) to a victory in 89\. His first couple of years turned out pretty well for Wests Tigers. Reckon Blocker will have an impact for a couple of years and he'll move on to somewhere else. Before us he was with Manly who seem to have a pretty decent forward pack. Its a job.
Didnt Sheens play for Penrith and coach against Balmain (half Wests Tigers) to a victory in 89\. His first couple of years turned out pretty well for Wests Tigers. Reckon Blocker will have an impact for a couple of years and he'll move on to somewhere else. Before us he was with Manly who seem to have a pretty decent forward pack. Its a job.
I don't believe in bagging club legends like Blocker and Tommy. I think they should hold a special place in the club. I think its great they have Blocker around to mentor the forwards … If they all play with as much passion as he did it will augur well for the remainder of the season.
happy_tiger
Well-known member
@reyre2000 said:
Well the Magpies had some half decent forwards of their own
Blokes like Les Boyd ,the late great Dallas Donnelly , Bruce Clark all had fearsome reputations and Boyd could of been anything if he kept the thuggery out of his game
Tim Sheens
Well-known member
@reyre2000 said:
Hardwick and "buckets" Hemsley also deserve a mention as part of that Balmain pack.
Roach has been used in a similar role at club, country, state and national levels over many years, so he must bring plenty to the table. Let us hope that the list of WT forwards above will one day be remembered as the Balmain pack of the late eighties and onwards is. Upon retirement, Farah will be our first true post JV legend
"He is a legend from part of the joint venture". Like it or lump it, Blocker is probably referred as a WT legend as he, Sirro Snr etc are about the closest thing we have to it, as well as being the most recent. Their efforts are looked upon by many and particularly the media, as being central to NSW getting some back after early QLD SOO dominance, hence their status
I really don't understand why some WT supporters find it offensive to call them club legends. They have associated themselves with the club from day one, so the connection has never been broken. Tommy is remembered for similar reasons.
Sully
Well-known member
Passion is what is needed in our club.
We constantly see the passion of the old raise it's head when the Magpie v Tiger debate rears it ugly side.
Great to have Blocker in to assist and I think Kidwell has been great with the defensive reads with Payten looking at the attacking option as he did when he played.
Potter has been able to harness a coaching team that players want to learn from and they seem happy to be playing together.
If the past can help the current or the future then I am all for it.
We constantly see the passion of the old raise it's head when the Magpie v Tiger debate rears it ugly side.
Great to have Blocker in to assist and I think Kidwell has been great with the defensive reads with Payten looking at the attacking option as he did when he played.
Potter has been able to harness a coaching team that players want to learn from and they seem happy to be playing together.
If the past can help the current or the future then I am all for it.
I agree Sully. You can see the "passion" in our pack this year. The way Woods is enjoying the moments out in the middle reminds me of Roach. I remember Roach dominating on the field and he was often seen laughing and making his presents felt. However some times he went overboard. Like the time he kept patting the ref on the head. You couldn't get away with anything like that these days. Actually I don't think he totally got away with it back then. :smiley:
king_sirro
Well-known member
I have put my hand up and say i never rated the idea of Blocker being involved with the club. And while i agree with those who have stated its more Potter than Blocker, the fact is, all reports have been that Blocky has had a positive influence and thats all you can ask.
Lets hope he doesnt wear thin by the 2nd half of the season
Lets hope he doesnt wear thin by the 2nd half of the season
cqtiger
Well-known member
@king sirro said:
If he does wear thin, then we just bring in Roy Masters and get the face slapping started!
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