king_sirro
Well-known member
Completely agree. But its hardly costing the NRL so why not do it.
Integrity of the game? šš I couldn't keep a straight face there saying integrity and NRL together
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Completely agree. But its hardly costing the NRL so why not do it.
Neil Breen has never written anything interesting in his life. Nice fancy little musical reference to start and then a whole bunch of rehashing and fascination with the opinion of journalists and commentators. His writing makes it seem like he hates sport. Vanilla and boring. He's identified that we're not a good club. Onya Breen, you've done it again!a lovely SMH article this morning
Thereās no Sweet Caroline at the Wests Tigers, the team still looking for a home
Neil Breen
July 17, 2026 ā 5:22am
Sweet Caroline is a fan favourite at sporting events around the globe.
The Neil Diamond classic from 1969 is universally known, upbeat, and easy for the crowd to sing along to. For many fans, itās a great way to get the party started.
The Wests Tigers, though, align more with one of Diamondās lesser-known and more introspective songs, the broody 1970 hit I Am, I Said.
Whatās that song about? Well, itās about Diamond himself. Brooklyn born-and-raised, he loved New York City with a passion. But, to grow his musical career, he moved to the showbiz capital of the world ā Los Angeles ā āpalm trees grow, and rents are low ... and the feeling is lay backā.
That sounds ideal, but he goes on to explain: āIām New York City born and raised and nowadays, Iām lost between two shores ⦠LAās fine, but it aināt home, New Yorkās home, but it aināt mine no moreā.
Within those words lies the same existential crisis that engulfs the Wests Tigers.
They are a club with so many homes it doesnāt know which way is up, or which master to serve.
Take a drive down Parramatta Road beyond Five Dock and have a look at Concord Oval on the right-hand side outbound.
Once a decaying old rugby union facility is now a rugby league Taj Mahal. The lavishly named Zurich Centre is the predominantly taxpayer-funded centre of excellence for the Wests Tigers.
It has it all ā a high-performance gym, which unfortunately has produced only average performances, a hot-and-cold plunge room which at least mirrors the teamās patchy form, a theatre where the mounting losses can be reviewed over and even a āsleep roomā which is handy for coaches who routinely need a Bex and a good lie down.
Thereās an education and wellness hub, which is basically a glorified family home āmedia roomā where tired parents send kids to overdose on video games. There are even some plush strapping chairs because who wants to sit in an average chair when the ankles are taped.
Then we have the pool, sauna and steam room. You get the picture.
While Concord is their training base, itās not their home, as such.
Neither is Leichhardt Oval, where anywhere between two and six home games have been played each year for decades. Itās the spiritual home of the Balmain half of the joint venture. And, of course, theyāll be away from there while that venue is upgraded during the 2027 season.
About 50km and two million or so residents away is Campbelltown Sports Stadium, the home of Westsā half. While itās the home, itās not the spiritual home of Wests.
That lies 40km away back towards town at the old Lidcombe Oval, where Tommy Raudonikis and teammates slapped each other in the sheds, and Roy Masters sent his band of āfibros,ā including John āDallasā Donnelly, into battle breathing fire.
They also play home games at CommBank Stadium, better known as the home of the Eels.
The Tigers play there to service the corporates, apparently. But during home games you could fire a cannon through those areas and not hit anyone. That isnāt the case at Eels home games.
Financially, the Holman Barnes Group controls the clubās purse strings. It runs the mega-rich, poker machine and electronic roulette-laden Wests Ashfield Club, as well as Croydon Sports Club and Markets Club at Homebush.
Balmain Leagues Club in Rozelle has been closed since 2010, meaning the Balmain side has been at the financial mercy of the Wests side for far too long.
If you take out the St George Illawarra Dragons, which faced similar geographical and philosophical challenges post-merger, all other Sydney clubs have clearly defined areas, giving them a clear sense of belonging and purpose.
The Roosters in the east, Souths adjacent to them along the coast and southern city areas, the Sharks in the Shire, the Bulldogs in Canterbury-Bankstown, Manly on the northern beaches and Parramatta and Penrith in their locales.
It could be argued that in the professional sporting era, teams should be able to function anywhere, but itās not that simple.
This game is tribal, and history shows split tribes donāt fare well.
Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall did what Benji normally does on Tuesday when he blamed the media for spreading rumours about a fall-out between himself and Jarome Luai in the aftermath of the news they asked him to leave at seasonās end.
Luai, signed to provide the heartbeat that would drag them up from well below mediocrity, will soon be gone just two years into a five-year deal. Yet, somehow the media were the bad guys.
Marshall would be better served to look inside the many walls of the lavish Zurich Centre instead.
News broke last Thursday the club would pay up to $500,000 of ex-saviour Luaiās salary in 2027 to have him play anywhere else, and no-one at the club addressed their own fans until Marshall spoke.
From that news until Marshallās media conference on Tuesday was five days. Thatās four and a half days too long. What did he and the club expect? Everyone to just say āoh well, theyāre getting rid of the guy who was going to save us. So what?ā
It doesnāt work like that. Then, when Luaiās dad liked a post from Triple M suggesting there was a fallout between his son and Marshall, was everybody supposed to ignore it?
The mismanagement of their captain and star playerās exit summed up the club and speaks of management dysfunction.
Luai was supposed to lead Tigers back to the finals. Heās leaving after 18 months. What went wrong?
New full-time CEO Shaun āIāve never failedā Mielekamp would probably want to revisit how this was handled for future reference, unless he wants his self-proclaimed success rate as a CEO to go the way of everything else at the club. That direction is south, and fast.
They havenāt made the finals since 2011 and will miss them again this season after a promising start. Even the Titans made it to September in 2021.
If Benji wants to make a proper go of coaching after 21 wins and 38 losses so far, the club needs to work out exactly who they are and who they represent.
It has to stop being a transit lounge and find a way to instil a sense of purpose and belonging. Thatās not an easy task when you are the nomads of the competition.
With governments of all levels funding redevelopments at Leichhardt and Campbelltown, they will roam the west forever.
At least taxpayers have been able to share in the misery. Itās their money which built every venue the club inhabits, despite how many people arrive on buses to play the pokies at Wests Ashfield.
Also Luai was touted as our savior and Marquee man, so stuff like disappearing to PNG will get a lot more airplay with us than it would if he is on a gap year at Parra.They went into the contract aware of it. When the tigers entered a contract with luai this wasnt on the radar..
This is what Stephen āTeflonā Crichton dishes out every weekend .. the NRL look at .. and sweep it under the rug .. !! Disgraceful .. !!
Yep. They haven't learned from NauruAll those natural resources...GDP per capita of $2,700.
Most corrupt friends we have - long term.
As we are about to sign Manase Fainu no doubt. Gold!Integrity of the game? šš I couldn't keep a straight face there saying integrity and NRL together
Apart from probably the best defensive half in the comp u mean.I think itās the fact that Luai is spreading himself between the tigers and PNG, while playing for the tigers. We get no benefit from him taking regular work trips to PNG.
I havent been online for a while.earlier but the links reqd to access it thru a free paywall siteI am not a subscriber. diedpretty has now posted it.
He raises some good points & plenty of us would agree. However the personal attacks is just gutter talk. It bugs me, I know it shouldnāt but it does. Every single Nrl club other than the Warriors have benefited from taxpayer dollars here in Australia. Whether that be a new Stadium, Centre of Excellence or even $17m in indigenous grants hello Broncos. To single us out is pretty ordinary. Donāt get me wrong our management have made some poor decisions and they need to called out but having a crack at our new Ceo is a shite go. Is he then having a crack that we couldnāt retain Jarome? Hmmm $3m tax free against $1.2m taxable yep what duds we are not to match that. I actually have a pretty thick skin when it comes to the Tigers but that article really peed me off. For god sake boys win some games to shut these muppets up.a lovely SMH article this morning
Thereās no Sweet Caroline at the Wests Tigers, the team still looking for a home
Neil Breen
July 17, 2026 ā 5:22am
Sweet Caroline is a fan favourite at sporting events around the globe.
The Neil Diamond classic from 1969 is universally known, upbeat, and easy for the crowd to sing along to. For many fans, itās a great way to get the party started.
The Wests Tigers, though, align more with one of Diamondās lesser-known and more introspective songs, the broody 1970 hit I Am, I Said.
Whatās that song about? Well, itās about Diamond himself. Brooklyn born-and-raised, he loved New York City with a passion. But, to grow his musical career, he moved to the showbiz capital of the world ā Los Angeles ā āpalm trees grow, and rents are low ... and the feeling is lay backā.
That sounds ideal, but he goes on to explain: āIām New York City born and raised and nowadays, Iām lost between two shores ⦠LAās fine, but it aināt home, New Yorkās home, but it aināt mine no moreā.
Within those words lies the same existential crisis that engulfs the Wests Tigers.
They are a club with so many homes it doesnāt know which way is up, or which master to serve.
Take a drive down Parramatta Road beyond Five Dock and have a look at Concord Oval on the right-hand side outbound.
Once a decaying old rugby union facility is now a rugby league Taj Mahal. The lavishly named Zurich Centre is the predominantly taxpayer-funded centre of excellence for the Wests Tigers.
It has it all ā a high-performance gym, which unfortunately has produced only average performances, a hot-and-cold plunge room which at least mirrors the teamās patchy form, a theatre where the mounting losses can be reviewed over and even a āsleep roomā which is handy for coaches who routinely need a Bex and a good lie down.
Thereās an education and wellness hub, which is basically a glorified family home āmedia roomā where tired parents send kids to overdose on video games. There are even some plush strapping chairs because who wants to sit in an average chair when the ankles are taped.
Then we have the pool, sauna and steam room. You get the picture.
While Concord is their training base, itās not their home, as such.
Neither is Leichhardt Oval, where anywhere between two and six home games have been played each year for decades. Itās the spiritual home of the Balmain half of the joint venture. And, of course, theyāll be away from there while that venue is upgraded during the 2027 season.
About 50km and two million or so residents away is Campbelltown Sports Stadium, the home of Westsā half. While itās the home, itās not the spiritual home of Wests.
That lies 40km away back towards town at the old Lidcombe Oval, where Tommy Raudonikis and teammates slapped each other in the sheds, and Roy Masters sent his band of āfibros,ā including John āDallasā Donnelly, into battle breathing fire.
They also play home games at CommBank Stadium, better known as the home of the Eels.
The Tigers play there to service the corporates, apparently. But during home games you could fire a cannon through those areas and not hit anyone. That isnāt the case at Eels home games.
Financially, the Holman Barnes Group controls the clubās purse strings. It runs the mega-rich, poker machine and electronic roulette-laden Wests Ashfield Club, as well as Croydon Sports Club and Markets Club at Homebush.
Balmain Leagues Club in Rozelle has been closed since 2010, meaning the Balmain side has been at the financial mercy of the Wests side for far too long.
If you take out the St George Illawarra Dragons, which faced similar geographical and philosophical challenges post-merger, all other Sydney clubs have clearly defined areas, giving them a clear sense of belonging and purpose.
The Roosters in the east, Souths adjacent to them along the coast and southern city areas, the Sharks in the Shire, the Bulldogs in Canterbury-Bankstown, Manly on the northern beaches and Parramatta and Penrith in their locales.
It could be argued that in the professional sporting era, teams should be able to function anywhere, but itās not that simple.
This game is tribal, and history shows split tribes donāt fare well.
Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall did what Benji normally does on Tuesday when he blamed the media for spreading rumours about a fall-out between himself and Jarome Luai in the aftermath of the news they asked him to leave at seasonās end.
Luai, signed to provide the heartbeat that would drag them up from well below mediocrity, will soon be gone just two years into a five-year deal. Yet, somehow the media were the bad guys.
Marshall would be better served to look inside the many walls of the lavish Zurich Centre instead.
News broke last Thursday the club would pay up to $500,000 of ex-saviour Luaiās salary in 2027 to have him play anywhere else, and no-one at the club addressed their own fans until Marshall spoke.
From that news until Marshallās media conference on Tuesday was five days. Thatās four and a half days too long. What did he and the club expect? Everyone to just say āoh well, theyāre getting rid of the guy who was going to save us. So what?ā
It doesnāt work like that. Then, when Luaiās dad liked a post from Triple M suggesting there was a fallout between his son and Marshall, was everybody supposed to ignore it?
The mismanagement of their captain and star playerās exit summed up the club and speaks of management dysfunction.
Luai was supposed to lead Tigers back to the finals. Heās leaving after 18 months. What went wrong?
New full-time CEO Shaun āIāve never failedā Mielekamp would probably want to revisit how this was handled for future reference, unless he wants his self-proclaimed success rate as a CEO to go the way of everything else at the club. That direction is south, and fast.
They havenāt made the finals since 2011 and will miss them again this season after a promising start. Even the Titans made it to September in 2021.
If Benji wants to make a proper go of coaching after 21 wins and 38 losses so far, the club needs to work out exactly who they are and who they represent.
It has to stop being a transit lounge and find a way to instil a sense of purpose and belonging. Thatās not an easy task when you are the nomads of the competition.
With governments of all levels funding redevelopments at Leichhardt and Campbelltown, they will roam the west forever.
At least taxpayers have been able to share in the misery. Itās their money which built every venue the club inhabits, despite how many people arrive on buses to play the pokies at Wests Ashfield.
I'm not sure how the recent Luai saga and Benji's handling it has stopped a 'mass exodus' when nearly all our key/starting players who were off contract for 2028 had already re-signed?atty Johns: How Benji Marshallās handling of Jarome Luai saga stopped a PNG exodus at Tigers
There are a number of reasons why the Tigersā Jarome Luai call was a smart one ā but for Benji Marshall it solidified his integrity as a coach and his standing among the players, writes MATTY JOHNS.
Matthew Johns
4 min read
July 17, 2026 - 5:00AM
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...71524183b769b8f2b2f0ac4dae593963?amp#comments
Video-link![]()
NRL: Jarome Luai has set the record straight regarding his current relationship with Benji Marshall and had a message when asked to reflect on his time at the Tigers.
Thatās the problem with relationships, particularly ones which start hot and heavy: they most often fall apart, and most often it involves a third party.
A new acquaintance enters oneās realm, turns oneās head, and suddenly makes the current look a little less interesting, less adventurous.
Thatās the way I think Dr Phil would explain the Jarome Luai-West Tigers break-up.
It was a relationship which, despite those lurking clauses, looked set for the long haul.
Earlier this season, you could see the way Jaromeās swagger and confidence were bleeding into the rest of the side.
But then that pesky new team with all that tax-free money started flirting with their No.6 and ruined everything.
You canāt blame the Chiefs. They werenāt around when the clauses were placed in Luaiās contract, and PNG are in the business of assembling a roster capable of snaring a premiership fast, Melbourne Storm style, and they have the means to do it.
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Jarome Luai speaks to the media after being let go from Wests Tigers for 2027 NRL season. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
But the collapse of the Tigersā season, and the winning of only two of their last 10 matches since Jaromeās PNG announcement, is not a coincidence. Yes, injuries have played a part, but even coach Benji Marshall conceded heās allowed it to become a distraction.
The decision to allow Jarome out of his final year before joining PNG is a smart one. They canāt afford to lose another crop of young stars, but, boy, kicking in $500,000 to strengthen a western Sydney arrival must hurt like hell.
Jarome Luai was shocked by the Wests Tigers' decision to cut ties with the half at the end of the 2026 season, and says he won't get in the way of the young crop if that's the direction Benji Marshall wants to go in.
My information was the Tigers were only willing to go so far as $300,000, but in the end they had little choice. A backflip on a decision to let him leave was never going to happen.
Another reason why releasing Jarome is the smart move is his standing in the team, particularly among the younger members. His charisma and their admiration for him couldāve easily seen a couple follow him out the door.
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It's not a coincidence the Tigers' season has collapsed after the Luai announcement. Picture: NRL Photos
But the decision is also a good one for Marshall and his integrity as a coach.
At the start of the year, Marshall warned his players, āat the Wests Tigers we f***** now stand for something and if youāre not prepared to follow what we stand for, guess what, thereās the f***ing doorā.
These statements are powerful in theory, but only tested when applied to a star player.
Benji hasnāt so much shown Jarome the f***ing door, but shown him in which direction it is.
Benjiās strength and standing among his players has just grown.
The question, has Jaromeās time at the Tigers been a success? Itās a complex one to answer.
On the field, a bit like how Jarome plays his football, theyāve had bursts of form, explosions of great moments.
![]()
Benji Marshall and Jarome Luai. Picture: NRL Photos
The team looks better, but results donāt really show that, so no, it hasnāt been what theyād hoped for.
But I would say, as far as changing the perception of the club and their ability to recruit, it has worked.
And heās helped the players improve individually. Alongside Jarome, Samuela Fainu is on his way to becoming one of the gameās premier back-rowers, and Adam Doueihi is playing the best football of his career by far, displaying some of Jaromeās confidence, swagger and unorthodox creativity.
Overall, heās left the Tigers a better club than he found it and will be warmly welcomed back on reunion days.
![]()
Jarome Luai can walk away from the Tigers as a successful signing. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
So now to Parramatta, where the Eels bring in another playmaker on a one-year deal.
I like this move more than the Jonah Pezet experiment. Jonah was entering a young team with still a lot to learn, and he was in exactly the same position: looking to learn, not ready to teach.
Injuries have prevented Jonah from making any real impact, but I didnāt believe he was quite ready to anyway.
With Jarome, itās completely different. His experience, talent and charisma will impact this team greatly, and he walks into a scenario which suits him perfectly.
Jarome isnāt a seven. Itās been proven, and heās admitted to it. This is a forewarning to PNG: they need to sign an experienced, quality halfback and, if the rumours are to be believed, thereās a possibility he might be reunited with one.
At the Eels, Mitchell Moses is that centrepiece playmaker he wants and needs.
![]()
Mitchell Moses and Jarome Luai played together for NSW in 2024. Picture: NRL Imagery
He completes a formidable spine capable of seeing this young team surge up the ladder.
Isaiah Iongi is a superstar, trust me. He just needs this type of quality spine around him and a clear run without injury, while Tallyn De Silva is a young dummy-half whoās been showing glimpses of his capabilities, and next year expect consistency to complete that puzzle.
On top of that, the Eels have some young playmakers, led by Lorenzo Talataina and Lincoln Fletcher, who are showing great promise for a big future. They just need time and some quality mentoring. Iād hope Jarome will take on that role with enthusiasm.
Yes, itās only a year, but Parramattaās next young crop of stars canāt get too used to losing. Itās a virus which enters an athleteās bones and has no simple cure.
Too many times in the last two years, the commentary at the end of an 80-minute Eels performance has been, āAnother wholehearted effort from the young Eels, but ā¦ā
Luai can help change that.b
Definitely Has a sniff of Benji about him, keen to see him play NRL with the big boys.Just hope we don't blood him give him 3 year contract and then he heads back the Qld .. Broncos, Dolphins or CowboysReminds me of Benji, 09-11.
Gees he combines well with Latu.
šÆšŖ