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The history of the Wests Tigers goes back to the merger of the Western Suburbs Magpies and Balmain Tigers which took place in 2000.[ citation needed ]
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The history of the Wests Tigers goes back to the merger of the Western Suburbs Magpies and Balmain Tigers which took place in 2000.[ citation needed ]
Balmain coach Wayne Pearce was the initial coach of the Wests Tigers and new recruit Jarrod McCracken was named captain. A large crowd attended the first trial match played by the team. Before the first round the Tigers were controversially denied a place in the double header at Stadium Australia. It was rumoured that the NRL did not believe the side would be competitive against their opening round opponents and competition heavyweights Brisbane. The debut match for the side was therefore held at Campelltown where after leading 18-6 the side snatched a 24-all draw after falling behind late. The Tigers surprised many by maintaining a high place on the ladder for most of the year (often in second place). Heartbreaking losses to Penrith (after leading 31-8) and in the snow against Canberra combined with injuries to key players saw the Tigers slide out of the 8. The loss of inspirational captain Jarrod McCracken from a spear tackle against Melbourne was a crucial blow.
2002 was a bitter year for the joint venture club, including off-field incidents. After Wayne Pearce announced he would no longer coach the team, Terry Lamb was appointed to the position. This was a controversial selection because of animosity from Balmain supporters due to an incident involving Ellery Hanley in the 1988 Grand Final (see Terry Lamb entry for more information). Early in the season key players Craig Field and Kevin McGuinness tested positive to cocaine and received long suspensions. Field was the team's halfback and playmaker whilst McGuinness was a leading try scorer for the club. Later in the season another big name player was suspended: John Hopoate earned worldwide notoriety when he was charged with inserting his finger into the anus (pushing the players' shorts) of opposition players. Hopoate quit the club and received a long suspension. Lamb was criticised for seeming to condone the activity.
During the season the club announced Terry Lamb would not have his contract renewed. The side struggled near the foot of the ladder and only a large victory over Souths moved them clear of the wooden spoon position.
The coaching job for 2003 was offered to (and rejected by) both Craig Bellamy and Ian Millward before Tim Sheens was selected. The selection was by no means seen as a positive move by the media as Sheens most recent coaching stint had seen him sacked by the North Queensland Cowboys.
The 2003 season was notable for the emergence of new young players through the team as the club moved away from the era of big names and big money signings and focused on developing junior talent. Most notably Benji Marshall, then a schoolboy prodigy with no senior league experience, made his debut against the Newcastle Knights.
The Tigers improved greatly in 2004 aided by astute signings of players such as Brett Hodgson and Pat Richards who began to blend well with the younger players emerging as talents. The Tigers narrowly missed the playoffs after losing their final three games when a single victory would have guaranteed finals football for the first time. Key injuries to play makers played a large part as did a long list of errors and tough calls by officials during the year.
2005 was the Wests Tigers best season yet, as they not only made it to the finals for the first time, but also reached the top four in the round robin part of the competition, setting crowd attendance records at three different grounds: Campbelltown Stadium (20,527), Telstra Stadium (29,542) and Leichhardt Oval (22,877).
After a slow start, bookmakers rated the Tigers a 150-1 chance to win the premiership. However the club emerged from the bottom half of the table to win a club record 8 in a row before finishing 4th. The team developed a reputation as a flamboyant attacking side who played at a rapid pace to compensate a lack of forward size.
The Tigers played their first ever final as a joint venture club at Telstra Stadium against North Queensland. Backed by a passionate crowd the team won 50–6. They then beat the Brisbane Broncos 34-6 and premiership favourites St George Illawarra Dragons 20–12 to book a spot against the North Queensland Cowboys.
Based on their winning form (they had won 11 of their last 13) and their big win over the Cowboys in the opening finals game, the Wests Tigers were rated favourites to win the 2005 grand final. After a slow start, Bryce Gibbs and Pat Richards scored tries to give the Tigers a 12–6 lead. The Richards try has been called one of the all-time great Grand Final tries. The try was started by five-eighth Benji Marshall, who received the ball from Brett Hodgson 98 metres from the opposition tryline. He beat Cowboys five-eighth Johnathan Thurston and Matt Sing. He then ran 60 metres, only to be caught by Cowboys fullback Matt Bowen. He made a flick pass to Pat Richards, who then fended off Rod Jensen to score.
In the 2nd half the Tigers gained control with tries to Anthony Laffranchi and Daniel Fitzhenry. After withstanding a Cowboys fightback, a Todd Payten try on full-time sealed a 30–16 win. Captain Scott Prince was then awarded the Clive Churchill medal for 2005. Prince joins football great Peter Sterling who was the original recipient of the medal. Ben Galea, John Skandalis, Benji Marshall among others starred for the Tigers.
The premiership victory meant that the club joined an exclusive group that won premierships in their first finals appearance, which had not been achieved in almost 100 years. The group also includes Souths in 1908 and Newtown in 1910.
Following the premiership win several key players left the club. From the grand final team, Mark O'Neill, and Pat Richards signed with English clubs. New signings included Jamaal Lolesi (Bulldogs), Keith Galloway (Cronulla Sharks) and Ryan O'Hara (Canberra Raiders).
As defending premiers, the Tigers began the season by travelling to England to play ESL champions the Bradford Bulls. Missing many of their star players the Tigers tried hard but were eventually beaten 10–30. After a come from behind win over competition heavyweights St George-Illawarra, the team struggled with injuries to key players. Most notably Benji Marshall and Brett Hodgson missed large portions of the season. The team suffered a number of narrow losses late in games and also two golden point (extra time) matches in controversial circumstances.
The Tigers narrowly missed the finals and the chance to defend their title. One highlight of the season was the debut of several players including Chris Lawrence and the emergence of up and coming players such as Dean Collis. Brett Hodgson played for the NSW State of Origin team in all three games.
In 2013, the Wests Tigers had a horror season and finished on the ladder in 15th and did not qualify for the finals.
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs Magpies. The Wests Tigers started playing in the 2000 NRL season and they won their maiden premiership in 2005. It is one of only two clubs that has never lost a Grand Final in which it has participated. The club also won the final edition of the World Sevens in 2004.
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia. The club, as a sole entity, departed the top-flight competition in 1999 after forming a 50–50 joint venture with Balmain Tigers to form the Wests Tigers. The club currently fields sides in the NSW State Cup, Ron Massey Cup (Opens), S.G. Ball Cup and Harold Matthews Cup competitions.
The 2005 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the National Rugby League's 2005 Telstra Premiership season. It was played on the night of Sunday, 2 October at Sydney's Telstra Stadium between the Wests Tigers and North Queensland Cowboys, with both clubs making their grand final debuts. The Wests Tigers won the match 30–16 to claim their first premiership title, becoming the first joint-venture club to win a premiership. Scott Prince of the Wests Tigers received the Clive Churchill Medal as the official man of the match. The game set a new record for the highest television audience in Australia for a rugby league match since the introduction of the OzTam ratings system in 2001.
Tim Sheens is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. Head Coach of the Australia national team between 2009 and 2015, he has also been the head coach of National Rugby League (NRL) clubs, the Penrith Panthers, the Canberra Raiders, the North Queensland Cowboys and the Wests Tigers. As a player, Sheens was a prop forward with Sydney's Penrith club in the 1970s and 1980s before he retired and became their coach. Sheens returned to the Wests Tigers in 2021 as the Head of Football Operations.
Benjamin Quentin Marshall is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played at five-eighth or halfback.
Brett Hodgson is an Australian rugby league coach and former professional player during the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
Shane Elford, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a winger and centre in the 1990s and 2000s.
The 2005 NRL season was the 98th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the eighth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen teams contesting the 2005 Telstra Premiership, which culminated in a grand final between the Wests Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys.
Timothy Brasher is an Australian former rugby league footballer who primarily played as a fullback in the 1990s and 2000s. He began his career with the Balmain Tigers, where he played the majority of his career. He then moved to the South Sydney Rabbitohs for two seasons, before finishing his career with a season at the North Queensland Cowboys. During his career he also represented New South Wales on 21 occasions and Australia on 16 occasions.
The history of the Parramatta Eels dates back to their formation as the Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club in 1947 to the present day.
The 1988 NSWRL season was the 81st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and saw the first expansion of the New South Wales Rugby League Premiership outside the borders of New South Wales, and another expansion outside of Sydney, with the addition of three new teams: the Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast-Tweed Giants. The largest NSWRL premiership yet, sixteen clubs competed during the 1988 season, with the J J Giltinan Shield for minor premiers going to Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. The finals culminated in a grand final for the Winfield Cup between the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Balmain Tigers. This season NSWRL teams also competed for the 1988 Panasonic Cup.
The 2006 Wests Tigers season was the seventh in the Wests Tigers joint-venture club's history. They competed in the National Rugby League's 2006 Telstra Premiership. They're based in based in the Inner West and Western Sydney.
The 2007 Wests Tigers season was the 8th in the joint-venture club's history. They competed in the National Rugby League's 2007 Telstra Premiership, finishing in 9th position and failing to reach the play-offs.
The 2005 Wests Tigers season was the 6th in the joint-venture club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2005 Telstra Premiership, captained by Mark O'Neill and Scott Prince and coached by Tim Sheens. The Tigers finished the regular season in 4th position before reaching the 2005 NRL grand final, their first. After a Clive Churchill Medal-winning performance by Prince, Wests won and claimed their maiden premiership.
The 2008 Wests Tigers season was their 9th in the NRL. Major signings for the 2008 season are former Dragons halfback Mathew Head, backrower Corey Payne, and back Nick Youngquest.
The 2006 World Club Challenge was a Rugby league match held on Friday, 3 February 2006, at Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield, UK. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and Wests Tigers.
The 2010 NRL season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds, starting on 12 March and ending on 5 September, followed by four weeks of play-offs culminating in the grand final on 3 October.
The 2011 NRL season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds, which began on 11 March and ended on 4 September, followed by four weeks of the finals series culminating in the grand final on 2 October.
The 2011 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 62nd in the club's history. Coached by Des Hasler and co-captained by Jamie Lyon and Jason King, they competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) 2011 Telstra Premiership, and finished the regular season in second place. The Sea Eagles then qualified for the NRL grand final, in which they defeated the New Zealand Warriors, claiming the club's eighth first-grade premiership.