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The NRL could be headed for another finals venue controversy, with a push for Wests Tigers to host a play-off match at tiny Leichhardt Oval gathering momentum.
The Tigers, currently fourth with five rounds of the regular season left, will earn the right to stage a finals match at one of their three home grounds; Leichhardt Oval, Sydney Football Stadium and Campbelltown Stadium, if they finish in the top four.
The 45,000-seat SFS looms as the most logical venue for the week one qualifying final but the intimidating atmosphere at Leichhardt, which is jam-packed at 20,000, would offer the Tigers a massive advantage despite the threat of thousands of fans being turned away.
Last year the Dragons came under heavy criticism for refusing to shift their 1 v 8 finals match against Parramatta away from Kogarah to a larger venue.
While emphasising the joint venture club had a long way to go before it started thinking about finals football, captain Robbie Farah is excited about the prospect of playing at their spiritual home.
'We'd love to play at Leichhardt,' he told Sportal.
'If we got a home semi I'm sure there would be 30-40,000 West Tigers fans in Sydney that would want to come and watch it so for the fans it would probably be the footy stadium (SFS), but for the players we'd love to play at Leichhardt.'
'You'd have to ask (CEO) Stephen Humphreys about that (venue choice) and the NRL may have the final say anyway, so we'll see what happens.'
'No matter where we play we've got a great following and the Tigers fans always travel.'
Second-rower Liam Fulton fears staging a finals match at the SFS would play into the hands of the Tigers' opponent.
'If I had a preference I'd be going for Leichhardt,' he said.
'Being at the Sydney Football Stadium, that's pretty much like everyone's home ground.'
'It's a semi-final cauldron that most teams get to play at.'
'If we got the chance to play at Leichhardt, I'd love that.'
The NRL chief operating officer, Graham Annesley, confirmed the Tigers would have every right to put forward Leichhardt as a finals venue should they make the top four.
The NRL will begin taking submissions later this month.
'We have played at suburban venues in the past. There's a few ifs and buts about it but at this stage of the year we never rule anything in or out,' Annesley said.
'But we haven't had that discussion with the clubs yet.'
'It's something we will speak to all clubs who are in contention over the coming weeks.'
'Most clubs don't want to jinx themselves by talking about finals.'
Veteran Tigers coach Tim Sheens subscribes to that theory, declaring: 'Don't talk to me about a home final; that's too far away.'
[Source](http://www.skynews.com.au/sport/article.aspx?id=494318&articleID=)
The Tigers, currently fourth with five rounds of the regular season left, will earn the right to stage a finals match at one of their three home grounds; Leichhardt Oval, Sydney Football Stadium and Campbelltown Stadium, if they finish in the top four.
The 45,000-seat SFS looms as the most logical venue for the week one qualifying final but the intimidating atmosphere at Leichhardt, which is jam-packed at 20,000, would offer the Tigers a massive advantage despite the threat of thousands of fans being turned away.
Last year the Dragons came under heavy criticism for refusing to shift their 1 v 8 finals match against Parramatta away from Kogarah to a larger venue.
While emphasising the joint venture club had a long way to go before it started thinking about finals football, captain Robbie Farah is excited about the prospect of playing at their spiritual home.
'We'd love to play at Leichhardt,' he told Sportal.
'If we got a home semi I'm sure there would be 30-40,000 West Tigers fans in Sydney that would want to come and watch it so for the fans it would probably be the footy stadium (SFS), but for the players we'd love to play at Leichhardt.'
'You'd have to ask (CEO) Stephen Humphreys about that (venue choice) and the NRL may have the final say anyway, so we'll see what happens.'
'No matter where we play we've got a great following and the Tigers fans always travel.'
Second-rower Liam Fulton fears staging a finals match at the SFS would play into the hands of the Tigers' opponent.
'If I had a preference I'd be going for Leichhardt,' he said.
'Being at the Sydney Football Stadium, that's pretty much like everyone's home ground.'
'It's a semi-final cauldron that most teams get to play at.'
'If we got the chance to play at Leichhardt, I'd love that.'
The NRL chief operating officer, Graham Annesley, confirmed the Tigers would have every right to put forward Leichhardt as a finals venue should they make the top four.
The NRL will begin taking submissions later this month.
'We have played at suburban venues in the past. There's a few ifs and buts about it but at this stage of the year we never rule anything in or out,' Annesley said.
'But we haven't had that discussion with the clubs yet.'
'It's something we will speak to all clubs who are in contention over the coming weeks.'
'Most clubs don't want to jinx themselves by talking about finals.'
Veteran Tigers coach Tim Sheens subscribes to that theory, declaring: 'Don't talk to me about a home final; that's too far away.'
[Source](http://www.skynews.com.au/sport/article.aspx?id=494318&articleID=)
