I just don't get how the powers that be at Parra don't do what Manly do to us and raid the bejeezus out of their area. It is ripe and juicy with quality and the Tigers are far from a stable and must play for organisation.
Parts of their nursery used to be ours anyway so there is plenty of overlap. We just seem to be very meek and unaggressive in our junior recruitment strategy. We need to be a whole lot smarter and ruthless. Look at what the Dogs under Gould are doing. They are leaving no stone unturned.
Also if the Tigers ever do split from the JV they deserve to die they are that stupid and arrogant. It would also leave a Hell of a lot of fans in limbo and disenfranchised with the game, cos at least half of their fans especially the younger ones are followers of the Tigers and not the Magpies. I suppose we may be a small but significant benefactor of this and pick up a few new followers, but it should/would definitely over time give us more followers out that way if there is no Tiger to follow on account that the Tiger moniker is so strong and beloved and a favorite for young and old. The Magpie moniker is on about the same level of popularity as the Eel so will be easier to entice new supporters one would think.
Anyway will be interesting where this all leads to in the end. One thing for sure though is surely the ARLC/NRL will not want both entities to exist as separate NRL clubs at this point in expansion of the game. You would think it's both in as one or just the one otherwise we are going backwards and weakening the Sydney teams further once again and adding nothing in regards to new markets and fans overall. We still have Perth, PNG, Christchurch and even Adelaide to conquer and then maybe places like Darwin, Tasmania and the pacific Islands way down the track. A stand alone entity that would represent basically Balmain, Leichardt and Glebe is as ridiculous as it sounds.