Good Old Days..

[mike]

I grew up in the country, my first memories of Rugby League are watching my dad play for the local team the Aberdeen Tigers. I then remember watching a game at a friends place and on the screen was a team that played in the same colours as my father's team, of course this was the Balmain Tigers. I was about 4 at the time and equated the team on tv to be the same team that my dad was playing for. I growing up I played for the Aberdeen Tigers, I also played for Scone High in the commonwealth bank cup. I played in the com bank cup for 3 years with a year with a year off after year 10 as I left to start work but returned to school after 12 months. During that time I played with Darren Albert and the Wests Tigers own John Morris. I player with Darren when he was in year 12 and I was in year 10 and I played with John when he was in year 10 and I was in year 12.

My love of the Tigers never subsided and continued until I moved to Sydney in 1998 and I started to attend games. My love and support transferred to the Wests Tigers and I have been a season ticket holder since the year 2000. The final months of the 2005 season will always be some of my greatest memories in sport, following a team that was literally soring tries from anywhere and raised through the finals is unforgettable to me.

Anyway I could go on on for hours about my love of this club but that is probably enough of my isolation induced ramblings lol.

That’s awesome

 

[gallagher]

I miss having 4 or 5 games on Sunday all at 3pm. You'd have a strong interest in the games that affected your clubs position on the ladder. At the game or glued to the radio waiting anxiously for around the grounds. Sundays arnt as exciting now.
I miss the magpie magazine too.

 

[Fade.To.Black]

Miss Sunday arvo grand finals, whoever was the "marketing genius" behind switching to a night GF needs a backhander. It has killed off so much of the mystique and allure of GF day for me, there was something special about watching the shadows lengthen across the field as time ebbed away in the most important game of the year.......
Miss the players actually having personalities and as such making articles/interviews with them an interesting experience instead of the Cooper Cronk-like dross and dribble of today's entitled robots.
Loved the old grounds, the picket fence circling North Sydney Oval (miss the Bears!), the old grounds that had a character of their own be it the flint-hard cricket pitches in the middle, the dustbowls and the mudheaps: it all added so much character to the game for me. Compared to the lawn-bowling-green pristine surfaces of today that pretty much get trimmed with scissors.
Hate it the way most of the media around the game today is contracts/players breaking contracts/players wanting to bail out of contracts instead of footy content out on the field over the weekend. It's just become a monotonous soap-opera with pigs like Hooper, Rothfield, Crowley etc making a great living off lies, innuendo and pathetic gossip instead of quality sports journalism and reporting.
Greatly miss the loyalty factor of yesteryear when blokes like Blocker, Sirro, Benny and Garry Jack were offered barrels of money to defect elsewhere but instead chose loyalty to their mates, their fans and their clubs because they had a real sense of community and not dogging it like some ponces of today: Moses and Matterson spring to mind readily.
As a whole today's product is not a patch on the way the game was in its heyday (IMO, the late 80's/early 90's), but I'm thankful to still have a team to support with passion (although dwindling).

 

[gallagher]

Day time grand finals!!! Absolutely. Moroe Park finals too but probably not fair on a national comp. I used to regularly go to finals at the SFS where I didn't support either team. I wouldn't go to manly or Cronulla or Penrith semi of we went playing.

 

[Guest]

I remember being bored on a Sunday arvo as a 9 year old boy growing up in Nowra. Turned the TV on and there was this sport being played which I liked the look of...two teams going at each other, one wearing black and orange and the other blue and white. I sat down and watched the rest of it and liked what I saw. Balmain gave the Bulldogs a touch up that day and I was hooked. Signed up to play in the under 10's and loved it.

I liked the look of Balmain and coincidentally Bruce Maguire who is a Nowra boy played for Balmain in the 80's. Anyhoo, fast forward to today...

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Footy is like Xmas. It’s fun, but it doesn’t have the same magic as when you were a kid.

 

[hobbo1]

Miss Sunday arvo grand finals, whoever was the "marketing genius" behind switching to a night GF needs a backhander. It has killed off so much of the mystique and allure of GF day for me, there was something special about watching the shadows lengthen across the field as time ebbed away in the most important game of the year.......
Miss the players actually having personalities and as such making articles/interviews with them an interesting experience instead of the Cooper Cronk-like dross and dribble of today's entitled robots.
Loved the old grounds, the picket fence circling North Sydney Oval (miss the Bears!), the old grounds that had a character of their own be it the flint-hard cricket pitches in the middle, the dustbowls and the mudheaps: it all added so much character to the game for me. Compared to the lawn-bowling-green pristine surfaces of today that pretty much get trimmed with scissors.
Hate it the way most of the media around the game today is contracts/players breaking contracts/players wanting to bail out of contracts instead of footy content out on the field over the weekend. It's just become a monotonous soap-opera with pigs like Hooper, Rothfield, Crowley etc making a great living off lies, innuendo and pathetic gossip instead of quality sports journalism and reporting.
Greatly miss the loyalty factor of yesteryear when blokes like Blocker, Sirro, Benny and Garry Jack were offered barrels of money to defect elsewhere but instead chose loyalty to their mates, their fans and their clubs because they had a real sense of community and not dogging it like some ponces of today: Moses and Matterson spring to mind readily.
As a whole today's product is not a patch on the way the game was in its heyday (IMO, the late 80's/early 90's), but I'm thankful to still have a team to support with passion (although dwindling).

Beautiful post !

 

[WT2K]

Anyone remember the tiger paw prints along darling street? Remember them a few times growing up and then they came back with the 05 GF

 

[gallagher]

Anyone remember the tiger paw prints along darling street? Remember them a few times growing up and then they came back with the 05 GF

I remember they took me to the orange grove

 

[happy_tiger]

I miss having 4 or 5 games on Sunday all at 3pm. You'd have a strong interest in the games that affected your clubs position on the ladder. At the game or glued to the radio waiting anxiously for around the grounds. Sundays arnt as exciting now.
I miss the magpie magazine too.

That massive cheer when a big upset was on the cards when they went around the grounds

 

[cochise]

I grew up in the country, my first memories of Rugby League are watching my dad play for the local team the Aberdeen Tigers. I then remember watching a game at a friends place and on the screen was a team that played in the same colours as my father's team, of course this was the Balmain Tigers. I was about 4 at the time and equated the team on tv to be the same team that my dad was playing for. I growing up I played for the Aberdeen Tigers, I also played for Scone High in the commonwealth bank cup. I played in the com bank cup for 3 years with a year with a year off after year 10 as I left to start work but returned to school after 12 months. During that time I played with Darren Albert and the Wests Tigers own John Morris. I player with Darren when he was in year 12 and I was in year 10 and I played with John when he was in year 10 and I was in year 12.

My love of the Tigers never subsided and continued until I moved to Sydney in 1998 and I started to attend games. My love and support transferred to the Wests Tigers and I have been a season ticket holder since the year 2000. The final months of the 2005 season will always be some of my greatest memories in sport, following a team that was literally soring tries from anywhere and raised through the finals is unforgettable to me.

Anyway I could go on on for hours about my love of this club but that is probably enough of my isolation induced ramblings lol.

That's awesome m8..

But what about the Game itself..what did you like or not like compared to today..?

As well as attending games I know your a fan of the big Stadiums but surely back in the day nothing beat Leichhardt

Actually Leichhardt is one of my favourite places on earth, I have amazing seats there that are right next to the players enclosure. I absolutely hate ANZ with a passion, it is souless and sucks the life out of the game for me. I do believe we need one home ground though and believe that bankwest should be that compromise!

In regards to the game, I too miss the attrition I grew up with the game of the late 80's and early 90's. I hate the impact the bunker has on the game and wish we would move to a captains challenge system that is only in use for try scoring situations.

Ultimately I love Rugby League and I got a bit of a canning for saying this the other night but will say I miss the game incredibly at the moment and believe it would do wonders for my mental health in this time of crisis!

 

[cochise]

Footy is like Xmas. It’s fun, but it doesn’t have the same magic as when you were a kid.

I still believe in the Rugby League Santa Claus!

 

[Furious1]

Kerry Hemsley arriving at Leichhardt walking through the crowd on the hill to get to the grandstand. Always up for an autograph or a photo. It ain’t like that anymore

 

[happy_tiger]

Footy is like Xmas. It’s fun, but it doesn’t have the same magic as when you were a kid.

I still believe in the Rugby League Santa Claus!

I want to know which Tigers fan is being naughty so we don't win premiership after premiership

 

[beachtiger]

Being born in Darwin I didn’t get to many games as a kid but when I was about 8 the Tigers came and played a game up there which we went along to, I was hooked on the Tigers from that day! 35 years later and I’m still a diehard but now it’s Wests Tigers that I’m hooked on, was lucky enough to work for the club for a couple of years and as a tragic fan is a time of my life I’ll never forget!!

 

[hobbo1]

Footy is like Xmas. It’s fun, but it doesn’t have the same magic as when you were a kid.

I still believe in the Rugby League Santa Claus!

I want to know which Tigers fan is being naughty so we don't win premiership after premiership

Look in the mirror ( if you have one ) ?

 

[Geo]

Footy is like Xmas. It’s fun, but it doesn’t have the same magic as when you were a kid.

I still believe in the Rugby League Santa Claus!

I want to know which Tigers fan is being naughty so we don't win premiership after premiership

Look in the mirror ( if you have one ) ?

How about sharing some memories...

 

[hobbo1]

Footy is like Xmas. It’s fun, but it doesn’t have the same magic as when you were a kid.

I still believe in the Rugby League Santa Claus!

I want to know which Tigers fan is being naughty so we don't win premiership after premiership

Look in the mirror ( if you have one ) ?

How about sharing some memories...

It’s all been done before ....

 

[Geo]

I touched on the Mick Liubinskas Affair in my post which I'm sure a lot of old Wests Fans would know well and perhaps some Balmain fans to but for younger fans may not..

It was 1975 ans Wests were playing the Dogs at Belmore (was there) in those days you could play in the lower grades and be named on the bench for FG..Liubinskas was named in Reserves but never actually took the field he was then named on the bench for FG..

He came on and scored a TRY in FG the game finished 7 all..woo a point each but no the Scumdogs made a official complaint for use of an illegal replacement and Wests were stripped of the point,,

This resulted in Wests Finishing in a tie for 5th at the end of the Year with Parramatta and Balmain Parramatta went through..had Wests Retained that point we would have played Finals..

So there you have it another reason to hate Canterbury oh and Parra..