Meyer: cambo has once last chance

[Benjirific]

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

Yeah, that was my read as well. Having seen a couple of the other tweets directed at her, they were absolutely disgraceful, regardless of what was said in hers. From what I could gather over her side of the discussion, she believed the people chanting 'Wests' were quite clearly doing so as a divisive protest rather than in support of the team (tbh given some of the comments of old Wests supporters on various foums and social media, it doesn't surprise me).

 

[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

Do you actually think Wests Tigers fans changed clubs, while blokes like you Magpie fanatics stuck solid and didnt change anything?
Is that how you see things?

It sounds like ti

 

[Magpie_Magic]

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

Thats the point.

Its her propagandists.

 

[genoshan]

**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

Do you actually think Wests Tigers fans changed clubs, while blokes like you Magpie fanatics stuck solid and didnt change anything?
Is that how you see things?

It sounds like ti

Do you truly think that there were supporters on either of the foundation sides that either now follow another team, follow another sport or gave up on rugby league altogether ?

In regards to the Magpies group I follow. I am a recent member, who has until last year been a Wests Tigers paying member, but feels the Wests side is not getting a fair share.
I know you were once a Wests supporter, so tell me you have no love for your old team ? Tell me you think the JV is an equal 50/50 when it comes to game allocation and team colours ?

 

[balmain boy]

Do magpie fans seriously still think they get ripped off with team colours?? Seriously?

We have 2 jerseys, an orange one and a black one. Both get worn the same amount of times, and then there's a few novelty jerseys thrown in too. Do they expect the black jersey to have no orange on it at all?

Do they actually think the WT get called Balmain more than a few times a year in mainstream media, and usually by prehistoric dinosaurs when it is? Hardly cause for a mass exodus.

Canberra get included as an out of Sydney team, which they are but then Campbelltown is the closest opposition stadium to them so its fair enough to think they would attract more Raiders fans to games at CSS than any other stadium outside Canberra. Its a logical team to play at CSS and not one they Magpies fans should be complaining about.

 

[Flippedy]

So we should've been called the Balmain Magpies - I knew it! Would be no problem then :wink:

 

[jirskyr]

One of the things I can't wrap my head around is all this talk of a bias towards LO and Balmain side of the JV. If the Magpies component of the JV has all the money and thus most of the political capital, how can there possibly be an agenda against / ignoring the Magpies faction and Campbelltown area?

There are comments by Jim Marsden in the SMH today about the Macarthur region being neglected, but if this is the case, what are the Magpies component of the JV doing about it? Until a few months ago their board members held all the cards.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/nrl-warned-not-to-leave-campbelltown-for-other-codes-20140414-zquo2.html

It's a shared responsibility, certainly, but if Wests have as much clout as we are lead to believe, then Wests group is equally contributing to any neglect of the region that they are ostensibly responsible for.

And then comes the reality check, that Balmain Leagues contributes zero money to the JV, Wests Campbo now also contributes zero, leaving Wests Ashfield as the money-spinner, some 45 km from CSS.

Therefore I cannot buy the "us vs them" argument that some people take. Poor crowds at CSS are a reflection only on WT, not Wests or Balmain, and on the supporters.

As said by some others, it comes down to business. I personally expect the crowds will rebound and this is just a kick in the bum, but if not, WT needs to make business decisions. At the moment we lose a bucket of money propping up the nostalgia of the old factions.

I love going to LO, but with the merger of the first grade side, combination of juniors, merging of lower grades, new board structure - we are really only 1 step away from eliminating all functional splits. A single-stadium policy eliminates a lot of the "us vs them" ideas, really only leaving the size of the maggie to complain about.

So if you don't support the single-stadium policy, if you want to keep the club at your local ground, then get out there!

 

[Juro]

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!!

My nephews live in SW Sydney. They are born of parents who grew up in Vietnam. Now, as teenagers, their love of footy is growing and growing. Just because their parents don't follow the sport, doesn't mean the next generation are going to be exactly the same.

 

[Abraham]

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.

Did I say anything about chanting people 'wests'?

You may have found your way to the shower, but you still have not located your comprehension skills it seems.

Chant 'wests' all you like, we are the WESTS TIGERS after all, you drop kick.

My attack was against the feral 'fanatics' (big tough men, but only on facebook it seems) who laid threats against the young girl, and who rave all day and night about the wests tigers dying off. How you somehow twisted that into an attack on all people who live in Campbelltown, or who supported the magpies, is a complete mystery.

But hey, when you find those aforementioned comprehension skills, let me know and maybe someone can have an adult conversation with you on here.

 

[diedpretty]

The only people who constantly whinge about poor crowds at Campbelltown are the inner city crowd. I'd like to know how many of the 16000 that braved the atrocious conditions at Leichhardt because they are the real supporters of the Tigers actually went to the Campbelltown game or for that matter have ever been to any game at Campbelltown.

 

[diedpretty]

I have no idea what Mayer's agenda is in making this threat but one thing it has certainly done is ignited all the underlying hatred from both camps of fans. We'll done Grant all the good work to build a united fan base has been destroyed with one remark that was probably made in frustration on the spur of the moment.

 

[sideline_eye]

Not rubbish at all. Campbelltown seem to be offering themselves as a permanent home base and we all know that Concord is not going to be an option going forward. So, do we continue to live in the inner west or do we follow the population? The answer seems obvious and I have no axe to grind here - I don't live in Sydney.

 

[gallagher]

The more this thread goes on the more I think we need to move all our games to ANZ to unite the club, Before I only saw the financial benfits but we need to kill off the supporters who dont follow the wests tigers for good.getting rid of LO and CSS is the only way. True supporters will stick.

 

[jinu]

SouthWest Sydney is the fastest growing region in Sydney and if the Tigers want to grow their member base and inturn revenue then moving away from Campbelltown is a bad call from Mayer. I can appreciate the diehard Balmain fans wanting to replace ctown home games at Leichardt but for the good of the club that certainly is not viable.

 

[Tim Sheens]

"You're what's wrong with this club"

I was not at the game, but from the accounts on here, her tweet seems to have captured the moment perfectly. A picture speaks a thousand words and it seems they all started with W and ended in S.

I have no problem with ordinary supporters chanting Wests as it is part of our name, but those depicted in the shot are not part of the norm. Individually they (or you) are probably fine a reasonable, but collectively form part of an unruly mob of mostly aging men, still holding a grudge. If as others have written, they partake in continually whining on a dedicated forum, they need to seek help.

As a family, we made a late, weather based decision not to go to the match. It would have been their first visit to Cambo and my second, having attended in our early JV years. Even though seeing a similar group annoyed me back then, I could understand that some of us, whilst wanting to support our new entity, would need a little more time to fully embrace it. Such attitudes were not exclusive to Cambo, but certainly less prevalent at Leichhardt.

Whether with intent or by consequence, their (your) actions do nothing for WT, whilst probably making other feel intimidated and affecting attendance figures as well. FFS it has been FIFTEEN years now, surely time to get on board, or get out of the way.

 

[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

**Do you actually think Wests Tigers fans changed clubs**, while blokes like you Magpie fanatics stuck solid and didnt change anything?
Is that how you see things?

It sounds like ti

Do you truly think that there were supporters on either of the foundation sides that either now follow another team, follow another sport or gave up on rugby league altogether ?

In regards to the Magpies group I follow. I am a recent member, who has until last year been a Wests Tigers paying member, but feels the Wests side is not getting a fair share.
I know you were once a Wests supporter, so tell me you have no love for your old team ? Tell me you think the JV is an equal 50/50 when it comes to game allocation and team colours ?

You avoided my main question…I bolded it and made it blue in case you missed it

Generally I dont waste my time further when question are skipped, but I'll give you one more chance, I'll even answer your questions.

I have my memories for the Magpies, like my memories for everything else in my life that is the past

I think the game allocation is very even

Yes, I concede there is merchandise where some of it is only black and orange as opposed to our three colours...this needs to change. I think a lot of this is cheap Best & Less stuff where two colours is used on all the clubs they provide stuff for, thats why its cheap

Colours to me is important, but not to the extent it needs to be evenly spread 33% 33% 33% where in a case I read somewhere recently about the heritage jumper that met someones approval...thats ridiculous

so, once again:

_**Do you actually think Wests Tigers fans changed clubs**, while blokes like you Magpie fanatics stuck solid and didnt change anything?_

 

[LCA]

The only people who constantly whinge about poor crowds at Campbelltown are the inner city crowd. I'd like to know how many of the 16000 that braved the atrocious conditions at Leichhardt because they are the real supporters of the Tigers actually went to the Campbelltown game or for that matter have ever been to any game at Campbelltown.

Or, for that matter, how many of the 16000 at Leichhardt actually live closer to Campbelltown? Is it that the fans from the South-West travel to Leichhardt but not the other way around?

It wouldn't be hard to do a quick poll at the next LO and CS games to determine where fans are travelling from.

And, surely WT would have a breakdown of where 2014 members live. Particularly given the range of Member options available in 2014\. I would love to find out but I assume it is not something that would be published.

More than anything though, I think the whole topic is dodgy as I think the crowd figure was WRONG! But, given the media hype now, nobody will come out and say an error was made.

Or, maybe the guy who does the counting at Leichhardt is one of their faithful in Nick De Girolamo. He seems pretty good at inflating figures ….allegedly.

 

[stevetiger]

LO and CSS get treated exactly the same - same opportunities, same # games, same pre-game advertising.

Agreed. So the Campbelltown fans should stop complaining as per that article.

Not rubbish at all. Campbelltown seem to be offering themselves as a permanent home base and we all know that Concord is not going to be an option going forward. So, do we continue to live in the inner west or do we follow the population? The answer seems obvious and I have no axe to grind here - I don't live in Sydney.

I also agree with this but the fans out there aren't turning up to games unless the crowd figure was wrong which it might have been.

In saying that the Campbelltown fans should stop complaining and articles like that shouldn't be written.

If the club plays at Homebush and Leichardt are they abandoning the South-West ? I don't think so at all. Its about doing the right thing for the Wests Tigers. I have no idea what the solution is - maybe do nothing for a while longer and see what happens.

 

[PYMBLEPETE]

The only people who constantly whinge about poor crowds at Campbelltown are the inner city crowd. I'd like to know how many of the 16000 that braved the atrocious conditions at Leichhardt because they are the real supporters of the Tigers actually went to the Campbelltown game or for that matter have ever been to any game at Campbelltown.

That is a poor argument. Leichardt seems to be able to draw a crowd and Campbelltown doesnt simple as that. Cambelltown crowds have been on the decline for a while now. The issue is not the 'inner city crowd' not going to Campbelltown. It is the Campbelltown folks not going to Cambelltown.

As for the underlying article it makes no sense. Nothing there makes the case as to why actions of the Weststigers have affected crowds at one ground and not another.

If I were to venture a case as to why Campbelltown crowds are down I would place two factors high on the list:

First there would be a high proportion of the population in that area that are sensitive as to where their discretionary dollars are spent. These days they are probably more likely to be spent on Foxtel rather than going to rugby league games - check out Penrith's crowd figures in recent years - I think much the same applies to that club.

Second, there is now a lot of competition with GWS and the Wanderers.

Apart from that, as many others have noted, Campbelltown has been getting the rough end of the pineapple with matches scheduled there for some time.

Even allowing for all of the above, the attendance on Saturday was staggeringly low.

 

[Snake]

:bawling I love this new age generational crap …if the massive population of the south west want to support the Weststigers get of your rear ends and do so . All this garbage that is written is utter rubbish ..it is to expensive ..there not good enough teams that they play against ...it might be a cold night ..it might be on a Monday night ..it might be on a Friday night..the food costs to much..they only play here 4 times a year ..news flash my generation were the real supporters if OUR team was playing we were there rain ..hail ..sunshine ,we did not complain because we had no money and it WAS the working mans game...When are all going to wake up that the area does not want to Support a footy team .i will say again ask the Magpies where did that end up . And for a certain spoke person PLEASE I remember the speech in the middle of Campbelltown Stadium before the merge PLEASE GO AWAY .
Time to come home Weststigers to the inner west where you are appreciated and supported , 1 game at Liechardt the rest at ANZ ...finance the junior leagues of both sides to keep a path way there for new talent . :bawling modern society SOFT!