Southernsaint said:
Willow, I'd like to have your attitude as well but I don't really feel it's realistic. Does your rationale mean that the Wests Tigers are on fifteen Premierships too??
Cheers,
Ben S.
Thats entirely up to Wests and Balmain supporters to work out. If they want to deal with the issue, then it has nothing to do with me.
Nevertheless, their situation is a little more complex with both 'sides' having a long history of division beforehand.
I recall Mark Coyne referring to St George and Illawarra as being "kindred spirits" in 1998. IMO, this still rings true.
The history issue is too emotive to get bogged down in rigid bookwork. The NRL has messed it up and thats something which will need to be corrected. But Peter Doust has repeatedly said that the next premiership will be number 16... a little lip service perhaps but currently, that is the club's view.
Quite clearly when thinking of the Dragons, we think of St George. Sure, the name is St George Illawarra and I mean no disrespect to the Steelers supporters... but lets face it, there is no denying the overwhelming dominance of the Dragons history. And in that, we think of St George. Making it official with the NRL (who have had a few name changes of their own) will take time.
I call them St George because thats who they are... and I'm not alone. Even our (Illawarra based) team captain calls them St George in post match interviews, even though he's been asked not to. The point I'm making is that the identity is there.
I dont believe the Wests Tigers have this luxury. And I have no idea how they will tackle the issue... assuming they even want to tackle the issue.