Which team would be the worst for your mental health to support?

[Chins get the wins]

Parra fans have to pretend to like Moses and Guffo. That has to be rough

 

[nick87]

It’s probably the tigers, knights or raiders being objective
It’s hard to divorce myself from my lived experience and not say the raiders

But the true answer might be the tigers… the knights and raiders occasionally produce some hope. The tigers just seems genuinely hopeless

 

[pinball_collector]

not just the ex steelers supporters (i'm one) we sure got shafted in the 'joint venture'

the crowds at win stadium have died atmosphere wise as the people of the illawarra area know we aren't represented.

not only haven't the ex steelers supporters not embraced the joint venture, many don't follow league at all or support a totally different club

the illawarra region should have our own stand alone team.

 

[Apey]

We’re all striving to be the best in this competition and in this case the best of the worst. I think Parra and Raiders fall into a slightly different category here, in that those cruel bastards have given us hope.

There’s been moments where, as a Raiders supporter, I think we’ve turned a corner and we’re no longer shit but then that reality check kicks in. Whether it’s some ridiculous player pact, where they publicly declare they’re not shaving their beards until they lose a game … * lose next 5 games *. A coach and playing group stating they are focusing on ‘peaking for the finals’.

Then there’s those 5 year deals and subsequent knee injuries, the Todd Carneys, Bogan Dugan and Fergo on rooftops. The unsackable Dave Furner - who was then sacked and the new/current unsackable one. But then you have those moments of pure joy, Campo lighting up the comp. 2019 … hey we’re a good side again - only to be ripped apart by Sticky fighting with those two soap dodgers.

Parra have been very similar.

Those other shit teams have been shit for a long time. I feel sorry for the Warriors because the NRL doesn’t seem to care about that market, but at the same time gift everything to the Storm.

Disappointed at the lack of Raiders votes honestly, not much better off than Parra in the drought stakes for all the shit they cop about it. Maybe it's because they're not a 'big' Sydney club though so the expectation is less.

 

[mongoose]

Dragons have been a basket case since 2011 but they made a lot of grand finals and prelim finals throughout the 90s and 2000s, just no premiership to show for it. Their fans are just whingers lol

Eels also seem to build themselves up at least once a decade to be a premiership chance, just can't win the final game. Frustrating but not mental health affecting.

I feel like the Warriors and Titans could be powerhouse clubs if they really got their shit together, so there is always some hope there.

The Tigers, Raiders and Knights are the clubs with the true fans. Raiders and Knights just accept mediocrity, its infused in their dna's. The Tigers barely resemble a professional sports team at times. That 2005 premiership now looks like the biggest fluke in the games history.

 

[Victoire]

not just the ex steelers supporters (i'm one) we sure got shafted in the 'joint venture'

the crowds at win stadium have died atmosphere wise as the people of the illawarra area know we aren't represented.

not only haven't the ex steelers supporters not embraced the joint venture, many don't follow league at all or support a totally different club

the illawarra region should have our own stand alone team.

Illawarra Steelers averaged 10k+ crowds just 4 times in it's entire history. The joint venture only ever averaged under 10k during the covid years. Nostalgic boomers are obviously the same in Wollongong as they are everywhere else

 

[Vic Mackey]

Tigers, with the demographics of the whole Campbelltown/Narellan/Macarthur area at their disposal, should be a powerhouse. Their junior development should rival Penrith's.

This is the greatest misconception in the history of rugby league. People do realise that the Penrirth competition is roughly 3-4 times bigger then Wests right? When Wests jnrs get to U14s they need to merge with Canterbury to fill a comp. Penrith have an A,B,C, D grade. Cronullas junior comp is actually bigger then Wests.

 

[MKCS]

I have 2:

Souths - They are one of the most supported teams in the comp, have a shit ton of money, backed by a literal Hollywood A-Lister, have had the best coaches (Mainly Bennett), goodwill from the media (And you could argue at times referees also) have a number of superstars playing for them and yet all they've managed is the one premiership in 52 years.

Souths have had such little success in the NRL era that the fans of the club need to brag about premierships from the 1950s, 60s and 70s which most of them probably have never seen let alone lived through. On paper you'd expect Souths to be one of the most successful teams of the NRL era but in reality from 2000 onwards they are as successful as teams like the Bulldogs, Cowboys, Newcastle, St George and the Tigers who all have 1 competition win as well...however those teams haven't had anywhere near the same opportunities Souths have.

---

Tigers - Yes they have 05 but as a Tigers fan you'd have to be frustrated at the gross mismanagement of the club. A number of players have left and gone onto win or achieve representative honours (Tedesco, Moses, Woods) whilst coaching wise they've had coaches leave and go onto achieve big things with teams that are managed properly (Cleary probably the most notable example)

Players seem to sign there and can't achieve their full potential, the obsession with Luke Brooks, the obsession with Benji and Farah, the inability to attract true superstar players which they desperately need all leads to a team that would have to be a struggle to support.

I've got mates who are Tigers fans though and they hold the faith and are a much better support base than most other teams.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

It's the teams that have officials that make decisions just to keep them in their comfortable jobs rather than driving for success that drive fans mad. In a comp where the power clubs pluck the best talent with ease it's especially frustrating.

Raiders are a case in point. Our last 2 coaches have been old boys who you know have to basically lose every game for a season before they're moved on.

I can't see Canberra winning a premiership in my lifetime. I can't see a great talent coming through the ranks, I can't see any players wanting to play in Canberra.

 

[Wb1234]

Parra fans have to pretend to like Moses and Guffo. That has to be rough

Omg that’s good

 

[MKCS]

I’d imagine there’s still a number of ex Steelers and fans in general down the coast that haven’t fully adopted the club due to the takeover fashion of the merger as well as not committing to the region. They’d feel a more ownership of the team if the club fully embraced the Illawarra.

I grew up in Wollongong and lived the majority of my life there, I've since moved to Sydney but feel that I have enough knowledge to comment on why a Wollongong exclusive team would be pretty bad.

Wollongong is really nice aesthetically and to someone that hasn't lived there (Not saying you, just in general) it might seem like the perfect spot for a national sports team but to be quite honest the people there don't really have much hometown pride and they don't get behind locals having a go unless it's someone they know personally. Since moving to the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA I've seen a lot of examples where the local community will get behind a local person giving it a go or they'll back an event simply because it's local, I very rarely saw that in Wollongong which is why no events really go to Wollongong and if they do they quickly stop because the people won't get behind it.

Sporting team wise the entire Illawarra region has a population of over 300,000 people which is serviced by just one sporting team that is exclusively from the Illawarra which is the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL, the average attendance for an NBL team (According to Dr. Google) is 6000 or so whilst the Illawarra Hawks averaged around 2000-3000 this season. Even teams like Cairns (161,000 population) are getting better attendances than the Hawks.

Wollongong recently hosted the Wellington Phoenix A-League team and whilst not a team that was exclusively Wollongong it was a national sports team in our own backyard. The team similar to the Hawks had about 2000-3000 at the start and then it started to die down, the last game the Wellington Phoenix played there had to be played in front of nobody due to lack of support, the game before that had just under 600 people in attendance...

Wollongong sucks for anything that involves getting people to support anything and always has.

 

[yobbo84]

This is the greatest misconception in the history of rugby league. People do realise that the Penrirth competition is roughly 3-4 times bigger then Wests right? When Wests jnrs get to U14s they need to merge with Canterbury to fill a comp. Penrith have an A,B,C, D grade. Cronullas junior comp is actually bigger then Wests.

Yeah, because Wests have terribly ignored their junior base. I have nephews in the Oran Park area that go play junior footy in Liverpool due to lack of teams, competition, etc.

Quantity-wise, yes, no-one in Sydney will come close to Penrith. However, the demographics of the Macarthur region are absolute prime for the Tigers and they have barely any presence there.

Even if I'm being hyperbolic you have to admit that Wests aren't developing the area as well as they could be.

 

[yobbo84]

I have 2:

Souths - They are one of the most supported teams in the comp, have a shit ton of money, backed by a literal Hollywood A-Lister, have had the best coaches (Mainly Bennett), goodwill from the media (And you could argue at times referees also) have a number of superstars playing for them and yet all they've managed is the one premiership in 52 years.

Souths have had such little success in the NRL era that the fans of the club need to brag about premierships from the 1950s, 60s and 70s which most of them probably have never seen let alone lived through. On paper you'd expect Souths to be one of the most successful teams of the NRL era but in reality from 2000 onwards they are as successful as teams like the Bulldogs, Cowboys, Newcastle, St George and the Tigers who all have 1 competition win as well...however those teams haven't had anywhere near the same opportunities Souths have.

So, your argument is because Souths have had money, coaching, opportunities, superstars etc for the last 12-15 years it means we should have won more competitions in the last 50? That's interesting logic.

Yes, we should have won at least 1 more premiership since 2018. That's about it.

 

[Canard]

All time worst win % for current NRL teams (bottom 10 only)

1. Titans
2. Tigpies
3. Cowboys
4. Warriors
5. Penriff
6.Newy
7.Parra
8.Sharkies
9.Steel Dragons
10.Dogs

Rugby League Tables / Win-Loss Records

Rugby League Tables - NRL Stats & Tables

afltables.com

What sticks out is how shit the Penny Panthers were for a long time, still be all time 5th on the list.

 

[MKCS]

So, your argument is because Souths have had money, coaching, opportunities, superstars etc for the last 12-15 years it means we should have won more competitions in the last 50? That's interesting logic.

Yes, we should have won at least 1 more premiership since 2018. That's about it.

My argument is that Souths should have had much more success in the NRL era with everything they have had especially when teams that don't have anything like that have accomplished just as much.

In comparison the Roosters who also have plenty of money and everything else Souths has (And more) have won 4 competitions in the NRL era, Melbourne who are also in the same boat have won 3...

 

[Valheru]

The answer is actually Titans for me.

They are a complete failure as a club. I can't imagine the day they are a consistent top 4 side and the entry of the Dolphins is only going to make things worse.

 

[simmo1]

It is the hope that kills you. The last few years for Tigers fans have been better for our mental health as the expectations are so low that it barely hurts when they lose anymore. The "9th years" were much more frustrating.

If the question is 'which club is the biggest basketcase' then it certainly is the Tigers, with Knights a distant second.

 

[King-Gutho94]

The answer is actually Titans for me.

They are a complete failure as a club. I can't imagine the day they are a consistent top 4 side and the entry of the Dolphins is only going to make things worse.

Sammy Perrett broke any hope of them ever making a GF back in 2010.

Hard to see them getting that close again.

2010 NRL Telstra Premiership - Prelim Final - Gold Coast Titans 6 lost to Sydney Roosters 32 - RLP

Match info page for the Gold Coast Titans vs. Sydney Roosters game in the Prelim Final of the 2010 NRL season. Roosters won 32 to 6 at Suncorp Stadium.

www.rugbyleagueproject.org

 

[Vic Mackey]

Raiders for mine. Every one of their games is completely insane. They either lead 18-0 and get run down or are beind 20-6 and win. Either way you know its going down to the last 5 minutes with the most whacky plays youve ever seen.

Every 3-4 years they make the top 4, look like they're about to open the Premiership window then the next year come 15th.

With the Tigers we've been a basketcase for that long failure is expected. I used to get devaststed over losses now i shrug and move on. Last year We lost 4 games which we lead with less then 5 minutes to go (including 2 after the bell) and I just laughed.

 

[Wb1234]

I grew up in Wollongong and lived the majority of my life there, I've since moved to Sydney but feel that I have enough knowledge to comment on why a Wollongong exclusive team would be pretty bad.

Wollongong is really nice aesthetically and to someone that hasn't lived there (Not saying you, just in general) it might seem like the perfect spot for a national sports team but to be quite honest the people there don't really have much hometown pride and they don't get behind locals having a go unless it's someone they know personally. Since moving to the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA I've seen a lot of examples where the local community will get behind a local person giving it a go or they'll back an event simply because it's local, I very rarely saw that in Wollongong which is why no events really go to Wollongong and if they do they quickly stop because the people won't get behind it.

Sporting team wise the entire Illawarra region has a population of over 300,000 people which is serviced by just one sporting team that is exclusively from the Illawarra which is the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL, the average attendance for an NBL team (According to Dr. Google) is 6000 or so whilst the Illawarra Hawks averaged around 2000-3000 this season. Even teams like Cairns (161,000 population) are getting better attendances than the Hawks.

Wollongong recently hosted the Wellington Phoenix A-League team and whilst not a team that was exclusively Wollongong it was a national sports team in our own backyard. The team similar to the Hawks had about 2000-3000 at the start and then it started to die down, the last game the Wellington Phoenix played there had to be played in front of nobody due to lack of support, the game before that had just under 600 people in attendance...

Wollongong sucks for anything that involves getting people to support anything and always has.

I was at Steelers when they made the semi finals and the whole crowd was going off for them

indeed gong crowds are way better than kogarah

with ownership by win a team based in Illawarra would be a massive sucess

Since Cronulla took over the Sydney bits the dragons have little future in Sydney

all my friends who are dragons fans have zero problem going to gong games