Coming of age

[CULLUS.ONLINE]

For all of us, this Sunday will be the most important game for us in, well I would say ever!

For 5 years we have all gone through hell, no doubt about it. In 2000 we though we were going somewhere, but that fell through and we have never looked up since. But look at the Wests Tigers now.

Winning the World 7's started the year off for not just the team, but the fans. It proved that there are massive amounts of fans out there all bursting with the desire to support the JV team. But it also proved that this team has the ability to win. Sure, 7's isn't the greatest gauge of form, but who ever wins it will have a definate boost.....mentally!

It has now been 11 rounds in what I would call our best season ever (not counting the 2000 success in the first half of the year). We have won 50% of our games and the bye has given the team 12 points out of a total 22.

So far our team has been improving with leaps and bounds each week.
Every game this year we have been in and looked like we could have won (and in most cases did). A great example of this was the Penrith game. I, and alot of other fans and i am sure the team aswell, walked away winners from that game, even though we lost.

But now were are beating the teams beneath us on the ladder aswell as giving the teams above us a hell of a shake!

So here we are!


We are in a situation that I cant remember ever being in before.
Our team is winning games and we have a great chance of making the finals. Its great!

We are on a roll, we have won 2 in a row.
Darren Senter, Mark O'Neil and the other die-hards will be so proud of their efforts and the efforts of the team and this I am sure of will be hammered into the squad as they get ready for Sunday.


Sunday

A Sunday at Leichhardt Oval!
A Sunday at Leichhardt Oval against the Eels!
A Sunday at Leichhardt Oval against the Eels and coming off a winning streak!

Already the BOM is predicting fine weather with slight southerlies. 19 degrees. The conditions are perfect. This sunday will be a game that many people will turn up to. The crowd is going to be huge! The atmosphere will be.........................

words cant describe it.

But the important thing is that this Sunday will be prehaps a turning point for the team, for us fans and the future of the club. If we loose, i am sure we will still go on to give the top 8 a shake. But it wont be the same as if we win.

If we win, it will be the coming of age of the Wests Tigers. I dont need to explain why or how, because i am sure that you all know why and how.
But what I do need to explain is the importance of this game.
It is at Leichhardt Oval, against a traditional club. This Sunday is a showcase of what Rugby League is all about. The walking through the park. The hot-dogs. The grass, the smokers, the kids, the dirt, the smell!

I am so worried about this game. If the tigers loose this, we will still go great for the rest of the year but our respect in the league would suffer. If we win it, then there is no doubt that a ball has been set in motion.
The reality of winning this weekend will mean that the Wests Tigers will be in a situation that has never happened in our history: respect.

For us fans, monday will be the most intresting day.

 

[Tigerpete]

The thing i like about our situation now is, back in 2000 we were a side who had reached its potential, we were never going to get much better than we did . Most of our best player were late 20's early 30's.
IN 2004 its completely the opposite, Prince is 24, Hodgson 26, while the likes of Marshall, Halatau, Fulton, Harrison, Lima and Gibbs have only just began their first grade careers. They still have a lot of improving yet in them This side will only get better and better.

ALso only one game this season have we not being in , against the dragons, but that week we were a lightweight side that had lost a winger early on. Apart from that we've held our head high, even the roosters game, we may not've scored a point but we earned the respcet of our opponents that game.

Bright times ahead indeed! 8)

 

[LiL_MiSs_TiGeR_BaBe]

ALso only one game this season have we not being in , against the dragons

hate to be a burden but we werent in the game againest the roosters either!

 

[westie]

ALso only one game this season have we not being in , against the dragons

hate to be a burden but we werent in the game againest the roosters either!

Yes we were, that game was quite winnable for the majority of the match.

 

[Gobbso]

A 22-0 scoreline says to me also, that Wests we never in it. We looked the goods for the first 20 mins, then the wheels fell off. Don't kid yourself champ.But in a positive, Wests have bounced back from both those games. I can smell a big Wests Tigers victory coming on this week. Anyone for Perched Eel? 8)

 

[magpiemax]

BEWARE!! Of the wounded Gobbsie,look what happened to NSW tonight despite all the controversy. You may find the Eels a tad harder than what most people think this weekend and let's face it WT are masters at making a game look hard right to the very nail biting end. :|

 

[holla4amarshall]

your putting too much pressure on this one game
its v's the eelse who are below us on the ladder its not our biggest game of the teams history
and if it is then we are struggling
sure our win against dogs means nothing if we lose this week but your putting way too much pressure on a game that really has no need for their to be pressure

the boys are trying every game this year and if a better team beats us we gotta keep trying aslong as they give 100% you cant ask for anything more
3 in a row would be excellent but not the end of the world
fitzy for mom

 

[CULLUS.ONLINE]

Well im just saying that its important if you look at it in the way that IF we win then it would mean that Tigers would have won 3 in a row infront of a massive crowd at leichhardt which, In my oppinion, will translate into:

More Crowds....we will be coming 6th!!!!!
More respect.... we CAN beat teams when tipped to win
Better results!

If you can imagine what would happen if we lost the game then you will see why it is important:

16,500+ fans who are now starting to come out of their holes will go straight back into them because they will see the tigers "do the same old thing of loosing when tipped to win"
The boys, although they will no doubt go on to make the 8, will feel shotty afterwards because they knew it was a game that they should have won!


Look, i know it might be hard to see where I am coming from, but I am a long suffering Tigers fan who feels, like almost all the other fans, that IF we win this game on the weekend it will be the cement in the footings of something big.

....But if we loose it, then there will be 16,500 sad fans walking home, 17 very sad players, 1 really regretfull club and a hungry media just waiting for a story.

I may be wrong, but my feeling is that if we win then.....

well........

 

[holla4amarshall]

hey mate i follow tiges too dont get me wrong but its just a round 12 game
big crowd and 3 in a row are big things but the players wont be thinking oh no what is ray hadley and the daily tele gunna say about us? are they?
it will be dissapointing but the more pressure you put on the harder it gets
tigers eat pressure for breakfast so i doubt it will matter
we should win and i sure hope we do but dont go on a rampage if we lose we just have to play harder next week
they boys will give 100% and if anyone writes us of because of 1 bad game THAT wont happen let them

 

[simon says]

Cullus you are spot on mate......this game is vital.

 

[CULLUS.ONLINE]

hey mate i follow tiges too dont get me wrong but its just a round 12 game
big crowd and 3 in a row are big things but the players wont be thinking oh no what is ray hadley and the daily tele gunna say about us? are they?
it will be dissapointing but the more pressure you put on the harder it gets
tigers eat pressure for breakfast so i doubt it will matter
we should win and i sure hope we do but dont go on a rampage if we lose we just have to play harder next week
they boys will give 100% and if anyone writes us of because of 1 bad game THAT wont happen let them

your absolutely right! I agree with you.
And i bloody hope that you are right! I have got the worst feeling about this game!

I guess really what im trying to say is that win or loose we are still a great club....

but there is a HUGE deal of potential if we win.

 

[tigergal]

i agree with Holla, its an important game in the way that it would help the team and the supporters to realise we can beat teams when are expected to- most other teams supporters would be confident going into this game when we arent so sure coz of our teams history but in the big scheme of things if we do lose this game we are still in a good position to make the 8 and its not a matter for us to be depressed and think we are going to come last just because we lose one game. In saying this I really hope we win and will be upset if we lose just as i always am when we lose but im not going to give up hope or anything ridiculous like that and neither should any of u.

 

[holla4amarshall]

hehe yea i get what you are saying too
i love the tigers i live on them but wat ever happens on sunday happens they'll try their best and they should win easily should be good just want it to come quicker 3 ina row would be awesome
as tezza would say"shenshational"

 

[CULLUS.ONLINE]

hehe yea i get what you are saying too
i love the tigers i live on them but wat ever happens on sunday happens they'll try their best and they should win easily should be good just want it to come quicker 3 ina row would be awesome
as tezza would say"shenshational"

you forgot to add in some extra saliva to that post!
lol

cya sunday! on the hill!

 

[B_Tiger]

well said cullus. f**king bring on sunday! I think you're right about the inmportance of the match. Parra are hurt and will definately put in a good performance, while we need to keep on playing better. I still don't think our forward momentum is anywhere near good enough and our backline is only just starting to come together but there is definite potential there. I agree that sunday is crucial because it not only is a win but it would also put a tiny gap between us and those below the 8. On top of that we'd actually have a winning record of 6-5. When was the last time we had a winning record this late? 2000. and we didn't have as much talent available back then to continue that form throughout the season.

In any case, it's great being able to go to leichhardt oval with high hopes and genuine excitement about what could happen. Scott prince (origin superstar) also returns.