Meyer: cambo has once last chance

[hybrid_tiger]

The abuse on that Facebook page was disgusting. Do the people on there realise they abused a teenage/early 20s girl? There were even females joining in, and there was only one person that I could see stood up and said something. Should be ashamed of themselves, absolute ferals.

 

[magpiecol]

There are passionate WT fans of ALL backgrounds and orgins that follow WT at all venues.. But as you can see by the twitter screenshot below, apparently you can't call or chant at a WT game as just 'Wests'

Chanting your team name is seen as the reason and cause for all of Wests Tigers problems. Not an issue at all to chant 'Tigers,Tigers'.. but god forbid don't chant 'Wests'

Hypocrisy?, ignorance? Double standards? take your pick…


So taking a random twitter comment from what looks to be a teenage girl is somehow an explanation of Campbelltown's poor crowd?

You'd be better off jumping on the magpie fanatics facebook page and posting their lovely comments about hoping the wests tigers die, bringing back the magpie, and barracking for teams who the WT play against, as a more realistic explanation of what the WT are up against when it comes to some minority factions in Campbelltown.

All the old delusional dinosaur brigade (from both sides of the JV mind you) need to get it through their collective thick heads that this is not an 'us v them' power struggle, but a common journey we are all on.

I have mates who support the doggies and laugh at the mudslinging that goes on in this forum, and on twitter, between supposed supporters of the same team. To be laughed at by doggies supporters is a shameful act in itself, but to know that they are actually right, is what makes it even worse.

The Campbelltown crowd issue is not a signal to attack Leichhardt or Balmain or to bring up old grievances from years ago, but I guess it does not take much scratching to reveal people's true intentions which bubble away under the surface continuously.

A word of advice… as long as your main concerns are what strip the reserve grade side is wearing, or how many times the team is called 'Tigers' instead of 'Wests' by Ray Warren, and what % of the merchandise is orange, instead of being grateful that you still have an exiting NRL side to follow (because you almost didn't), then your not going to find any pleasure in supporting the Wests Tigers. You may as well grow a beer belly, don't shave for a few weeks, throw away the deodorant can, and join those dinosaurs who dream of the day that the wests magpies return to the NRL to play in front of 3,500 fans each week at cambo like they did in the 1990s.

There is no more Balmain, there is no more Magpies, there is just Wests Tigers. If you don't want to be a part of it, then there is plenty of room on the hill to watch the magpies run around in the Ron Massey Cup each week.

Both you and Mary are a disgrace. So some people chanted "Wests". So what?

What do they chant at Leichhardt? I would imagine it would be "Tigers".

What do the fans of St. George Illawarra chant? I would imagine it would be "Saints", not "St. George Illawarra"

Both of you should grow up.

As for you comments on beer bellies etc, you really are showing your ignorance. You obviously do not know a thing about the area of Campbelltown. I have followed the Magpies since 1959\. I do not have a beer belly, shower and shave and worked all my life.

I do not live in Campelltown but I worked in and around there for a lot of years. I have seen some of the people that you describe in that area and in lots of other areas, including Balmain.

A word of advice, stay off the Kool-Aid.

 

[hammertime]

Sataris makes some good points.

At the end of the day, I think we are all frustrated because so much focus is being put on one side of the venture. Some think too much, the others think not enough… and when will it all stop?

The excuses seem to change. I recall money and marketing being a factor before, but given a solid lead up and $10 tickets, the people didn't show up. It's frustrating. For Mayer, he is probably wondering how much more time and expense should he be throwing in. Especially when the council or the leagues club (who would profit from it all), don't help and even go out of their way to attack the club via the media. Effort shouldn't be one directional.

At the end of the day, its about profit. If the crowds continue as is and it looks like more and more time & money needs to be pumped into cambelltown to make people happy enough just to buy $10 tickets, then it's a simple business decision to pull out. I don't think Wests Tigers owe anything to the area and it seems like people need the red carpet rolled out for them.

Keep focusing on the kids, expand ANZ games & members packages like this year (to keep it affordable) and see if we can work with Cambo leagues to help organise a great fun transport on game day to ANZ.

I want my team strong, our members united and plentiful, and seeing crowds like that after the players & club invested their time to drumming support are extremely disheartening for fans and the players.

It will go a long way to removing divisions if we centralize to ANZ and we will be able to better spend our time & money in easier markets.

 

[batboy]

One key thing I keep seeing mentioned is growth of the SW.

and to be sure the SW is growing and growing, one little thing no-one is mentioning is who is causing the growth?

Who is moving to the SW? Mostly immigrants who have little to zero experience with Rugby League. The Idea that they are going to be immediately interested in the local sporting team is absurd.

According to the 2011 Census 45% of the people who live in Campbelltown had both parents born overseas.

so you can pretty much forget about targetting them.

The kids are where its at.

30% of campbelltowns population is less than 20 years old. The kids are the ones who are going to become fans of the tigers (or other clubs).

Is playing games there the answer? Remember parents who have nfi what league is or who the tigers are aren't going to take their kids to games.

and Depsite everything else that's been said, it's not a case of supporting AFL OR Soccer OR NRL. Most people support a team in each code.

having said all that I'm just a nuffie on an internet forum so all of this should be taken with a healthy dose of sodium chloride

Bout time someone said it:
Some of the New house plans for the ever growing SWS Sydney that is fantasized over I have had in my hands this week, Have suburbs on them like: Minto, Camden, Oran Park etc, etc, etc…
Names on these plans are: Foong, Pham, Fan, Prasad, Fucheung etc, etc, etc...
And I have them a mile long.

If the place was filling up with Rugby League fans, They would go to the game weather they follow the Tigers or not!! - That's what you do when the best players in the world are playing at your doorstep.
I'm in the ACT and I catch most Raiders home games...
Don't go for them (Hate them with a passion)
Only like 1 team they ever play, But I go.... Because I am a fan, AND I take my mates along... Because we like a day out at the Footy, A pie (Or 2) a beer and to heckle the crap out of teams we don't care for....

Just because something is Growing, It doesn't mean it is in the right direction!!

 

[Staks]

When are you people going to realise that over 90% of those that claim to be Wests Tigers fans are bandwagoners… whose support is heavily influenced on who (dead club) they previously supported.

The faithful will become members will attend nearly every home game. These people are who the club can rely on to support them through the bad and good times.

The bandwagoners will pick and chose the games they attend based on a few factors including the day & time of the game, the ground it is played at, whether the team is winning or on the verge of something big, the weather, the mood they are in depending on past 'wrong doings or a combination of these factors. These people are the ones that feel they have been wronged by the WT in past, or they are not been represented equally, that complain about colours/ logos on jerseys, that only travel to one ground on purpose, that still think there previous dead club still exists, that refuse to accept that there team is called "Wests" or has a Tiger as a team mascot etc etc etc :blah

The ground isn't the issue. The issue is the mentality of Wests Tigers 'so called' fans. The game could of been played at a state of the art mega dome in Liverpool and the same crowd would of turned up. These 'so called' fans need to realise if they love suburban grounds so much that they actually need to turn up every game as the Wests Tigers management will quickly take these games away and play every game at the money making concrete jungles!

Support your club or support no one

:sign:

 

[batboy]

Here, Here ^^^

 

[genoshan]

As for my remarks about Gobbs. I stand 100% behind them. Nothing lower on the football totem poll then a person who swaps teams as an adult

Almost everyone on here changed teams as an adult. You were obviously a Balmain supporter before you were a Wests Tigers supporter ?

I actually understand why people might change their allegiance. Have you even seen something you love slowly transform into something you wish never happened ? That's how some people feel. Passion is both a strength and a weakness.

 

[westy81]

As much as I know where Mayer is coming from as in trying to bring in as much cash to the club as possible by taking games to ANZ as they are paid to play there, I would be very disappointed if they don't play at Campbelltown at all as I work every weekend and it's hard for me and my family to go to ANZ then get up the next morning to go to work as we all do, I have been to every Campbelltown game for at least the last 8-10 years and was going to ANZ and Allianz the last 6-7 years but now it's to hard for us to drive in and out then wake up early the next day as we live just a 5 min drive from Campbelltown stadium, I love being a member every year and probably would not get a membership if the tigers pulled out of Campbelltown as I couldn't go to the other games unless I got the $50 ANZ package and went to a game or two that is at a good time for me to go, but don't get me wrong I would go to every single tigers game where ever it was if I could afford it and had the time

_Posted using RoarFEED V.4_

 

[system]

Almost everyone on here changed teams as an adult. You were obviously a Balmain supporter before you were a Wests Tigers supporter ?

I actually understand why people might change their allegiance. Have you even seen something you love slowly transform into something you wish never happened ? That's how some people feel. Passion is both a strength and a weakness.

My team became something else. I took a few years to digest it but never wavered to support another team. I understand your point but honestly for mine it has been difficult but a steady evolution. Throwing your toys out of the cot and switching to the Storm (a team funded by the people that began the SL War) Sorry but there is zero logic or excuse for that. (from my perspective)

Funnily enough I had immense respect for the man when he was appointed at Ashfield. His rhetoric sounded truthful and for the best of the club but sadly his personal opinions expressed since that point have shown all of that to be a front.

Anyway I am past talking about that to be honest.

How about a new thread of proposing solutions? It can't hurt

 

[TimmyB]

This is an extremely long thread, and I'll preface my post by acknowledging I haven't read much of it. Apologies therefore if I repeat any points made by others.

The crowd at Campbelltown Stadium was a bit of a disgrace. I'm not going to castigate Wests Tigers fans who live in the area nor former Magpies fan. It is the responsibility of all Wests Tigers fans to attend games no matter where they are being played. I attended the previous week's game at Leichhardt oval, and I should have attend the game at Campbelltown Stadium but I was lazy. Myself and the 10,000+ other fans at the game the previous week let the club down by not attending at Campbelltown.

I'm guessing there is a whole bunch of finger pointing in this thread amongst the different sets of fans. I was a third generation Balmain fan prior to the merger. That side of my family has strong ties to the region with 2 of my aunts still living in the area. My cousins played reserve grade for the club. The colours, the moniker, and Leichhardt oval are immensely close to my heart. That said, I am 28 years old. I have followed the Wests Tigers for longer than I followed the Balmain Tigers. With each year that passes more supporters are in the same position of having followed the Wests Tigers for a longer period of time than the Balmain Tigers/Western Suburbs Magpies.

If Wests Tigers ever severed ties with Leichhardt oval - prior to clearly outgrowing the stadium and playing games being untenable - I would find it very difficult to maintain my support. I imagine Western Suburbs Magpies fans feel a similar sentiment and rightly so. It would be a betrayal of that side of our fanbase.

Moving games away from Campbelltown Stadium is not an option at this point of history. It is part of our identity, and we need to find a way to make it work. That's the job of the club. Blunt threats about moving games away is amateur stuff. I like Mayer, but it's his job to find out why only 7,000 fans attended and to remedy the situation.

I can see a time when we have an identity that is tied to a stadium other than Leichhardt or Campbelltown. When that is the case then it will be understandable to play 1 game a year at each stadium. We should be working to establish that new home. Moving games between Stadium Australia and the SFS on the basis of commercial arrangements that are unrelated to actual crowd attendance is not the way to do that.

In the mean time we must continue to play at both Leichhardt Oval and Campbelltown and the split must be even.

Apologies this is rather unstructured and slightly incoherent. It's also rather preemptory. I'm just sick of the rubbish and finger pointing from both JV partners.

 

[Benjirific]

I've read through all 19-20 pages of comment here, and can't help but throw my two cents in, but forgive me for going over stuff that's already been covered - just some things that need to be said.

First of all, this should never be a debate of Leichhardt v Campbelltown. While I understand people comparing the two crowds, considering the form of the team and the much more positive feel around the club (compared to 2013, where all crowds were poor regardless of conditions) the number on Saturday night was disgraceful. The argument about where were all the people that turned up to the week before SHOULD be irrelevant. IMO, our strong brand and solid early season form should have seen at least 12k worth of locals to come out and watch their team. For me, the issue is that Campbelltown has never embraced any team, neither WT or the Magpies before them. The club put at least double the amount of time, money and effort into promoting the club in the south west sydney region, yet beyond any reason, the people simply don't want a bar of it.

I don't believe any of this is related to the claims by old Wests Magpies supporters that they're being ripped off by the joint venture. The club was able to capture this region around 2005 and the years following when we were winning, but the reality is they don't want anything to do with losing teams. We're now winning again, yet they don't turn up.

In regard to the argument about playing non-Sydney teams in the region, I think this should be also invalid. Both of our traditional venues have out of town games as a result of our deals with the bigger stadiums. These deals require us to provide the big stadiums with the big drawing teams (Parra, Dogs, Souths, St George/Illawarra), but moving all games to ANZ is also not a smart decision as it reduces our bargaining ability on the guaranteed return. To these stadiums, the current WT structure of big games at the big stadiums and out of teams at our smaller grounds is perfect - they prefer these deals to full time tenants as they can provide a guarantee to us for when they know they'll get a crowd, and they don't have to bear the brunt of a low-drawing team. Our current structure, or possibly a move back to 6-3-3 as Smeg suggested, is the best way to go for out short-medium term future. (Just FYI, I also agree on Smeg's comments re Gobbs/DWH - anyone who jumps ship from his local and loyal club forfeits any right to comment on their situation).

The suggestion that the WT state cup situation, or the colours of this jersey has anything to do with Saturday's crowd is just ridiculous. This is just looking to make the situation a Balmain v Wests debate which it is not. The debate is whether Campbelltown has embraced the club (which it has not), and why this is the case.

As stated above, it's clearly not a lack of trying by the club. Playing big Sydney teams in the area is all but out of the question unfortunately due to contractual obligations.

I also disagree with any suggestion that we should move the club out here permanently. The reality is that the area could not support an NRL franchise the way the game is now. No doubt grassroots support and juniors would be flowing, but commercial support would be severely lacking, and the club would have to pay significant overs to recruit any marquee players to live in the region. Much like with Gosford, the current arrangement is the best fit for the area, however if people don't turn up to the game v Broncos, I can't see any alternative for the club than to look at other options for the remaining two games and beyond. They can't afford to be losing money continuously playing at Campbelltown (btw, the $25k fee is simply to open the ground, they then have to add all the same costs as Leichhardt onto this).

 

[jinu]

http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/04/15/campbelltown-crowd-figure-is-a-blight-on-the-tigers-not-their-fans/

The writing was on the wall for Campbelltown Stadium long before the Wests Tigers took the field against the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday night.
A disappointing crowd of just 6456 turned up for the match, guaranteeing one of rugby league’s great anomalies would continue to grab headlines. A week earlier a tick over 16,000 supporters braved the treacherous Sydney weather to see the Tigers upset the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at the prehistoric Leichhardt Oval.
Leading into the Round 6 showdown with North Queensland, the Tigers’ social media team promoted the match with the #2560 hashtag, Campbelltown’s postcode, and urged fans in the Macarthur region to try and topple the Leichhardt crowd from Round 5.
The 2560 promotion was replaced with the fans’ very own four digit boycott. That’s 6456 fans at an NRL match in Sydney’s rugby league heartland against a team that boasts Johnathan Thurston, James Tamou, Matt Scott and Brent Tate.
“Crowds are always going to vary no matter where you are,” Paul Lake, Deputy Mayor of Campbelltown, said to The Roar. “Last season they got 7000 to a game at Leichhardt against the Cowboys and a few weeks later they only got 5000 when they played Melbourne.
“The interstate sides are never going to attract a lot of away fans, so it’s probably a little childish from them to make statements like they’re going to take games away from Campbelltown if the fans don’t show up. I guess you can take what they said as a threat.
“Perhaps the promotion of the game was an issue and something senior management has to look at. I didn’t see much promotion of the match apart from a sign outside the ground on Pembroke Road.”
Instead of officials blaming the fans, they should be having a good hard look at the factors leading to a crowd figure akin to those of the Western Suburbs Magpies of the late 1990s.
This may sound odd, but crowds at Leichhardt Oval and Campbelltown shouldn’t be compared. You can hear the Balmain faction arguing the point all the way from Norton Street – that crowds speak for themselves, and Leichhardt Oval is always packed rain, hail or shine.
The truth is those Leichhardt crowds are made up of a completely different set of fans that didn’t show up at Campbelltown on Saturday night. A handful of games annually at the old venue will always pull a crowd. Leichhardt Oval sells itself, the Tigers know it, and they most definitely know they don’t have to promote games played there.
It’s a perfect fit in the current climate, but the club couldn’t sustain itself at Leichhardt in the long-term. Take away the nostalgia of the ground and all you have is an eroding suburban dinosaur slowly being consumed by its surroundings.
Then there is Campbelltown Stadium, which is apparently the heartbeat of the Wests Tigers in Sydney’s expanding south-west. It’s a large rugby league nursery that will continue to thrive and grow in the coming decade, yet here we are scratching our heads as to why only 6456 witnessed the Tigers live on the weekend.
“Most teams have a home base to work from but not the Tigers, they’re all over the place,” Deputy Mayor Lake said. “They should have sat down and worked out a realistic business plan back in 2000\. Now after fifteen years they still don’t have a permanent base.
“The team should be out here but I suppose I’m a little biased. The fact is though Campbelltown, Camden and Wollondilly are the real growth areas in population. There will be half a million people living here in the next 10 years, and a million people 50 years from now.
“The arrangement with the Tigers is different every year. They proposed what they wanted and got exactly what they wanted on their terms. If they came to us and said they wanted to set up at Campbelltown Stadium as their home base we would more than happy to talk about that. But nobody has ever come to us and said they were coming.”
Rookie sensations James Tedesco and David Nofoaluma are the future of the club, and both are local juniors straight out of the area. You can add Jarryd Hayne, Israel Folau and Ryan Hoffman, who have all gone on to become superstars of the game.
Junior talent alone will ensure the Tigers don’t turn their back on Macarthur, and if they ever did they’d be committing one of the great sporting suicides. They surely couldn’t expect to keep the production line pumping if they decided to take those four games away from Campbelltown Stadium.
But the Tigers can’t have their cake and eat it too.
When you think Parramatta you think the Eels and you immediately link Penrith with the Panthers. But try and explain to a rugby league novice what the relationship between Macarthur and the Tigers is without having to take a breath.
Wests first moved home games away from Campbelltown in 2005, triggering the ailing relationship between the club and the most important cog of their supporter base. Any good work they had done in their first years as a joint venture was stopped in its tracks.
Taking the guaranteed money and playing at quarter-full stadiums was and still is a short-term fix, and now we are seeing the results. Macarthur fans are now voting with their feet and refusing to budge.
It must be an odd feeling for passionate fans in the south-west who follow a side based in Concord, that play home games in Sydney’s inner west and have players publicly spruiking their love for Leichhardt Oval.
AFL and rugby aren’t a threat to the Tigers or the NRL in Macarthur. The Wests Tigers are all alone in one of the most vibrant sporting areas in the country, yet they won’t use it accordingly.
Officials from the club will tell you they have always cared about the Macarthur. But part-time work isn’t the same as full-time work.
The 6456 figure isn’t a blight on the fans – it’s a blight on the club.

 

[system]

It is a blight on the fans. Regardless of where they call home

 

[jirskyr]

How biased is that article, what a load of dross.

LO and CSS get treated exactly the same - same opportunities, same # games, same pre-game advertising. We, the fans, ensure this happens, because anything less and one half of the merger is up in arms. Even if the magpie gets a little too small, someone notices.

So the reality is that Tigers fans need to step up and attend wherever possible. If you sit on your date during a low crowd game, then you are at fault.

 

[Guest]

It is a blight on the fans. Regardless of where they call home

Agree. Another rubbish article pointing the finger at the wrong entity yet again.

 

[Magpie_Magic]

Still thinking of that 21yo lady who thought Wests now Wests Tigers fans were dickheads for chanting Wests.

If a 21yo who is close enough to the club to attend a match was not aware that we are the Wests Tigers we have a massive issue.

I mean what a joke.

The media is legally bound to portray the club correctly so blame must fall on past and present administration of this club for dereliction of duty.

Former administration should have threatened to sue media outlets defaming the brand.
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There are many mergers in the corporate world like KonicaMinolta which don't roll off the tongue easy but you don't hear of consumers unaware of half the company

 

[batboy]

Could have been anyone…
Can hardly hold her to the stake!!

 

[system]

I believe it had less to do with not knowing we are Wests Tigers but more to do with the divisiveness that surrounds the issue of pre WT clubs being discussed.

That is my read though I obviously do not speak for the young lady in question

 

[GNR4LIFE]

She's not the first person to have that kind of ignorance. Its an epidemic that half the supporter base has been affected with.

 

[innsaneink]

**Almost everyone on here changed teams as an adult. You were obviously a Balmain supporter before you were a Wests Tigers supporter ?**

I actually understand why people might change their allegiance. Have you even seen something you love slowly transform into something you wish never happened ? That's how some people feel. Passion is both a strength and a weakness.

What a load of crapola that is…clutching at straws bigtime here