Leichhardt Oval the GRAVEYARD

[TimmyB]

We have played very poorly at Leichhardt this year. You could see after about 10 minutes we were going to lose this match. Absolutely no energy, no composure, and almost trying to hard. It looked exactly the same during the GCT games.

No doubt there was an incredible atmosphere last night and really should have had the opposite effect on the players. Makes me think that they may not be managing the nerves/energy/build up/sense of occasion very well. Very strange, as in previous years it seems to have motivated the players.

 

[gallagher]

But the huge crowd didn't make a difference. It didn't in 2016 either.

You can't blame the fans for not making the difference Gallagher , if we played anywhere near our best yesterday in the 1st half it would have been game , set and match

I'm not. :brick:

I don't think Gallagher is blaming the crowd per se, just that playing at the ground itself is no real advantage to us as the home side and it rarely ever has been! And certainly not in the way it's always depicted to be in the media or by the players and the club itself. It's the same with Campbelltown.

Honestly, I think this team plays better away from home than they do at either of their so called 'spiritual' homes. There is zero home ground advantage for the Wests Tigers.

Thankyou spud. Get it now Happy?

 

[barra]

So why was our handling so bad yesterday? Why did the game plan go out the window at times, and off-the-cuff plays with a high degree of difficulty come in? Why did we throw so many passes under pressure, time after time?

It's clear to me that the players were too anxious, too excited, became distracted and had very little composure and their timing/execution went out the window.

I believe they do get affected by playing in front of a packed Leichardt - in a negative way. They are terrible front-runners and terrible in front of a big home crowd. They simply don't handle those sort of things as well as they should.

I thought Ivan might have helped the team become more mentally tough, but apparently not. And it's a worry that is seems to affect our senior players as much as anyone. Bad footy was on display from our most senior to our youngest rookie.

 

[TCL]

Great day , crap result.

Wouldnt swap Leichhardt for the world.

Eeeeaaaagh Tiger!!!!!

What an atmosphere. Put a bomb under ANZ.

And there you go .. stuff the thousands of members and fans that would of liked to attend but were shut out as it was sold out . Good way of doing business have over 20k members and have 2 grounds that struggle to hold 18 k. No matter what emotional spin you put on this it is Fake News , the club is dead unless it moves quickly and grasps its future.

Your right, the facilities are bad, access is terrible, limited capacity. Playing a Sydney club, the game should have been in a bigger stadium and the club I believe is doing something about it.

While the club is playing games there I'm going. Did you go? The atmosphere was awesome!

 

[Telltails]

18 to 8 error count and 44 missed tackles to 22.

 

[Guest]

Fall of the fortress: How the Tigers lost their Leichhardt Oval edge
By Adam Pengilly
17 August 2018 — 5:10pm

Dene Halatau remembers it like yesterday.

Last round, Leichhardt Oval, Sunday afternoon, sun shining, barely a blade of grass free on the hill. Beat the Raiders and the Wests Tigers were playing finals. Lose and they were playing Mad Monday pranks the next day.

By half-time, they were down 30-4\. By full-time, they had lost 52-10\. An hour after full-time, Robbie Farah was sinking cans on the scoreboard and it was the beginning of the end for Jason Taylor.

"We just got spanked," Halatau shrugs.

Which begs the question: magical, mythical . . . or just a myth?

You can call Leichhardt Oval many things – Tigertown, eighth wonder of the world, postcard perfect, Junior's joint – but don't call it a fortress if recent history is any guide.

Ask any Tigers administrator, coach, player or fan where they would like to play if their season hinged on just one game. Without surprise, the majority would give the nod to their suburban sanctuary.

But, as they again prepare to let it all ride against a bumbling Dragons in the inner west, the Tigers will will be up against a record that shows they've won just eight of their last 19 games at Leichhardt stretching back to 2014\. Another loss and it will be another summer of "what ifs".

So, is it really that much of an advantage to play there any more?

"The guys that probably haven't played there as youngsters and came from different places to be at the club, it probably doesn't have the same effect, I would say," Halatau said.

"When I first started playing there, there were blokes like Ben Galea, Mark O'Neill, Robbie [Farah], Bronson Harrison, who spent time in the lower grades there. We had a strong sense of the club. Just when you don't have that attachment as a youngster, maybe it doesn't have the same effect.

"The wins far outweighed the losses in those early days at Leichhardt. You always thought it was an advantage and you looked forward to playing there."

Given commercial considerations, the Tigers will play just three games at Leichhardt this year. It's one of five home grounds they've used this year. As much as their Leichhardt record surprises, they've won even less at Campbelltown since 2014 and have lost their last seven games there.

Coach Ivan Cleary told Fairfax Media earlier this year he would prefer to have more games at just one venue. They will keep playing at Leichhardt and Campbelltown next year – probably three games each again – but might also use the new Western Sydney Stadium at Parramatta.

The Dragons have gone the opposite way, taking more games back to Kogarah and Wollongong this year. They have the best home record in the competition.

The Tigers' last match at Leichhardt was one pegged as only slightly less important than this Dragons clash: Robbie Farah's 250th NRL game for the club and return to his spiritual home. They turned in one of their worst performances of the year against the Titans.

"It used to be a fortress, but unfortunately we don't play there as much any more," Tigers legend Steve Roach said. "That's probably the reason.

"Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall know what it means to play at Leichhardt Oval. If they can harness that belief and power that comes from that oval, they should play well. You've got to feel the energy of the crowd, and if they can't get up for this game, then they shouldn't be playing."

At last count on Friday night, there were only a handful of tickets left for the Dragons' first visit to Leichhardt since Nathan Blacklock backflipped so many times at the end of a 2001 fixture he almost finished on Mary Street. It's expected to be a sell-out.

In another era, at another time, the Dragons might have been fretting about going there.

"It's a great suburban ground," St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor said. "Whether you're the home team or the away team, it's a great ground to play at. The crowd is on top of you. It's one of those grounds you look forward to playing at."

Added Cleary: "It will be nice to have the crowd behind us. We haven't had that for a while. We've played away. The ground, the crowd . . . they're not going to get us home. But I'm sure it will help."

It might, it might not.

"But it's all set up for them, and it's just whether or not the result follows," Halatau said.
\
\
\
Adam Pengilly

 

[diedpretty]

Great day , crap result.

Wouldnt swap Leichhardt for the world.

Eeeeaaaagh Tiger!!!!!

What an atmosphere. Put a bomb under ANZ.

And there you go .. stuff the thousands of members and fans that would of liked to attend but were shut out as it was sold out . Good way of doing business have over 20k members and have 2 grounds that struggle to hold 18 k. No matter what emotional spin you put on this it is Fake News , the club is dead unless it moves quickly and grasps its future.

Good point - it would have been interesting to see what crowd we would have got at ANZ for this match. As has been said before Leichhardt has become a boutique ground that attracts a large " man bun" crowd that aren't there for the football. Its the atmosphere and the outing that thay are there for - and this isn't bashing the crowd or the ground - both did their part well. Its just the demographics of playing at Leichhardt have changed. I dare say though that we would have got at least 30k at anz and possibly more for such an important game for both teams.

 

[Harvey]

Leichhardt oval is a graveyard for our finals hopes.

 

[gallagher]

Great day , crap result.

Wouldnt swap Leichhardt for the world.

Eeeeaaaagh Tiger!!!!!

What an atmosphere. Put a bomb under ANZ.

And there you go .. stuff the thousands of members and fans that would of liked to attend but were shut out as it was sold out . Good way of doing business have over 20k members and have 2 grounds that struggle to hold 18 k. No matter what emotional spin you put on this it is Fake News , the club is dead unless it moves quickly and grasps its future.

Good point - it would have been interesting to see what crowd we would have got at ANZ for this match. As has been said before Leichhardt has become a boutique ground that attracts a large " man bun" crowd that aren't there for the football. Its the atmosphere and the outing that thay are there for - and this isn't bashing the crowd or the ground - both did their part well. Its just the demographics of playing at Leichhardt have changed. I dare say though that we would have got at least 30k at anz and possibly more for such an important game for both teams.

30k easily. What a masterstroke.

 

[gallagher]

Leichhardt oval is a graveyard for our finals hopes.

Along with CSS it will be the graveyard of the club.

 

[Telltails]

Funny how the people who seem to be so knowledgeable about what happens at Leichardt seem to also never go there and then create an illusion for themselves of what the crowd demographic is like.
I can assure you the vision that you have of an increased number of man buns is so far from the truth that its laughable.
There was a big crowd there because it was a game where the result was important to us - and our club has a large supporter base in the inner west who have been starved of success.
Had both teams been down the bottom of the ladder there would have been 6-7000k there - the diehards that go regardless.
Every team have fairweather fans - some with man buns even - that is what success does.
Whatever the issue is for those who are anti Leichardt the club continues to demonstrate that the support is there, itching for some sign of success, and what will turn them off more than the state of the venue is poor performances no matter where they play.

 

[happy_tiger]

You can't blame the fans for not making the difference Gallagher , if we played anywhere near our best yesterday in the 1st half it would have been game , set and match

I'm not. :brick:

I don't think Gallagher is blaming the crowd per se, just that playing at the ground itself is no real advantage to us as the home side and it rarely ever has been! And certainly not in the way it's always depicted to be in the media or by the players and the club itself. It's the same with Campbelltown.

Honestly, I think this team plays better away from home than they do at either of their so called 'spiritual' homes. There is zero home ground advantage for the Wests Tigers.

Thankyou spud. Get it now Happy?

Which is backing what I said when I said opposition teams love playing at Leichhardt as well , especially seeing they get little or no opposition when they show up

We have used 7 home grounds from memory this season , might be good for the coffers , not good when trying to build a fortress

 

[Telltails]

I'm not. :brick:

I don't think Gallagher is blaming the crowd per se, just that playing at the ground itself is no real advantage to us as the home side and it rarely ever has been! And certainly not in the way it's always depicted to be in the media or by the players and the club itself. It's the same with Campbelltown.

Honestly, I think this team plays better away from home than they do at either of their so called 'spiritual' homes. There is zero home ground advantage for the Wests Tigers.

Thankyou spud. Get it now Happy?

Which is backing what I said when I said opposition teams love playing at Leichhardt as well , especially seeing they get little or no opposition when they show up

We have used 7 home grounds from memory this season , might be good for the coffers , not good when trying to build a fortress

Tell that to Jonathan Thurston

 

[jirskyr]

Well the article that says Tigers don't show up for important games at LO is just a truism because Tigers don't show up for important games at any venue.

What is our record at Campbelltown? 2/2 losses this year, 3/3 losses 2017, 2/4 wins 2016, 2/4 wins 2015, 2/4 wins 2014 - that's 6 wins from 17 matches the last 5 years.

Basically our record recently is poor everywhere. It may have something to do with a lack of consistent home ground, but also tough to take games away from places like LO if you can get ~16K regularly to matches. All-time Wests Tigers average at LO is above 13K.

 

[Tigerdon]

Eeeeaaaagh Tiger!!!!!

What an atmosphere. Put a bomb under ANZ.

And there you go .. stuff the thousands of members and fans that would of liked to attend but were shut out as it was sold out . Good way of doing business have over 20k members and have 2 grounds that struggle to hold 18 k. No matter what emotional spin you put on this it is Fake News , the club is dead unless it moves quickly and grasps its future.

Good point - it would have been interesting to see what crowd we would have got at ANZ for this match. As has been said before Leichhardt has become a boutique ground that attracts a large " man bun" crowd that aren't there for the football. Its the atmosphere and the outing that thay are there for - and this isn't bashing the crowd or the ground - both did their part well. Its just the demographics of playing at Leichhardt have changed. I dare say though that we would have got at least 30k at anz and possibly more for such an important game for both teams.

30k easily. What a masterstroke.

We only got an Attendance of 9,865 at ANZ for our last game there against the Bulldogs.
….anthe Bulldogs use it as their home ground regularly.

 

[Russell]

And there you go .. stuff the thousands of members and fans that would of liked to attend but were shut out as it was sold out . Good way of doing business have over 20k members and have 2 grounds that struggle to hold 18 k. No matter what emotional spin you put on this it is Fake News , the club is dead unless it moves quickly and grasps its future.

Good point - it would have been interesting to see what crowd we would have got at ANZ for this match. As has been said before Leichhardt has become a boutique ground that attracts a large " man bun" crowd that aren't there for the football. Its the atmosphere and the outing that thay are there for - and this isn't bashing the crowd or the ground - both did their part well. Its just the demographics of playing at Leichhardt have changed. I dare say though that we would have got at least 30k at anz and possibly more for such an important game for both teams.

30k easily. What a masterstroke.

We only got an Attendance of 9,865 at ANZ for our last game there against the Bulldogs. WestsTigers fans don't like going there.

Don't think hardly anyone like going there - but if your team is playing there - it doesn't give you any other option.

 

[gallagher]

And there you go .. stuff the thousands of members and fans that would of liked to attend but were shut out as it was sold out . Good way of doing business have over 20k members and have 2 grounds that struggle to hold 18 k. No matter what emotional spin you put on this it is Fake News , the club is dead unless it moves quickly and grasps its future.

Good point - it would have been interesting to see what crowd we would have got at ANZ for this match. As has been said before Leichhardt has become a boutique ground that attracts a large " man bun" crowd that aren't there for the football. Its the atmosphere and the outing that thay are there for - and this isn't bashing the crowd or the ground - both did their part well. Its just the demographics of playing at Leichhardt have changed. I dare say though that we would have got at least 30k at anz and possibly more for such an important game for both teams.

30k easily. What a masterstroke.

We only got an Attendance of 9,865 at ANZ for our last game there against the Bulldogs.
….anthe Bulldogs use it as their home ground regularly.

That was the dogs home game . Our last home game there got 25k v souths.

 

[magpiesteve]

I was there & the place was pumping as it was for the Titans & just too many errors killed us. I do not know what else the fans could have done to support the team . In a season of 'what ifs' the first twenty minutes could have seen three trys & game over by alas the Leichhardt hoodoo kicked in again.

 

[magpiecol]

The new stadium at Parramatta is looking good for us next year.

 

[innsaneink]

Good point - it would have been interesting to see what crowd we would have got at ANZ for this match. As has been said before Leichhardt has become a boutique ground that attracts a large " man bun" crowd that aren't there for the football. Its the atmosphere and the outing that thay are there for - and this isn't bashing the crowd or the ground - both did their part well. Its just the demographics of playing at Leichhardt have changed. I dare say though that we would have got at least 30k at anz and possibly more for such an important game for both teams.

30k easily. What a masterstroke.

We only got an Attendance of 9,865 at ANZ for our last game there against the Bulldogs. WestsTigers fans don't like going there.

Don't think hardly anyone like going there - but if your team is playing there - it doesn't give you any other option.

No….we have too many options and that the problem