Balmain Tigers
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| Full name | Balmain Tigers |
| Colours | Gold and Black |
| Entered 1st grade | 1908 (foundation club) |
| Departed 1st grade | 1999 |
| Sport | rugby league |
| League | NSWRL/ARL, NRL |
| 1999 | 15th of 17 |
| Premierships | 11 - 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1924, 1939, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1969 |
| Runners-up | 9 - 1909, 1936, 1945, 1948, 1956, 1964, 1966, 1988, 1989 |
| Minor premiers | 7 - 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1924, 1939, |
| Wooden spoons | 4 - 1911, 1974, 1981, 1994 |
| Biggest win | 64 - 2 vs. Wests, July 29, 1944 |
| Worst defeat | 5 - 62 vs. Wests, March 31, 1974 |
The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1994-98) were one of the founding clubs of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership and one of the most successful in the history of that competition with eleven premierships. Only South Sydney and St George had won more by the time the tigers merged with neighbouring club Western Suburbs Magpies to form the Wests Tigers in 1999. The emblem of the tiger (Balmain's logo) is one that is instantly recognised by all Australian rugby league followers.
The club's home ground was Leichhardt Oval, in Sydney's inner west. They were also known as The Watersiders.
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[edit] History
[edit] Foundation Club
In 1908 the first season of Rugby League began in Australia and Balmain were one of nine foundation clubs to compete. Balmain reached their first Grand Final in only the second year in the competition but would protest as the match was scheduled as a warm up for a Kangaroos vs. Wallabies game. South Sydney Rabbitohs were officially awarded the Premiership when at they kicked off to an empty half of the field.
After a string of poor years the Tigers managed a strong turn-around to become a dominant force in the Australian Rugby League with the club's first, second and third Premierships coming in successive years dominating the 1915, 1916 and 1917 seasons. Tigers dominance continued winning the 1919 & 1920 seasons comfortably. When they won the 1924 premiership this would be the last success for Balmain for over a decade to come.
[edit] Golden Era
It wouldn't be until 1939 the Tigers won back the Premiership smashing Souths 33-4. The weekend of the Final will also be remembered for the invasion of Poland by Germany which led to England and Australia going to War.
Post-WWII marked a golden era for Balmain with the Tigers reaching five consecutive Grand Finals winning three of them. In the 1944 Grand Final the Tigers beat the strong favourites Newtown 19-16. Balmain reached the Grand Final again in 1945 but fell at the last hurdle against Easts 22-18. The loss was not long remembered as the Tigers went on to take out the next two seasons, beating St George 14-12 in 1947, and Canterbury 13-9 in 1947. On the hunt for a third successive title, they lost to Wests in 1948.
[edit] 1960's-70's
The Tigers would appear in several Grand Final matches throughout the 1950’s & 1960’s but were just another victim to the mighty St. George Dragons eleven year streak of Premiership wins in this period, losing in 1956, 1964 and 1966. When the Tigers did take out the competition in 1969 it was a classy 11-2 defeat of favourites Souths who boasted 11 internationals, this would signal the last time Balmain would ever win a Grand Final. The side was captained by Peter Provan, brother of Norm, and coached by Leo Nosworthy.
The 70’s weren’t a great era for the Tigers. The wooden spoon had not been in Balmain since 1911, but it returned for the second time in club history when the Tigers won only 4 games and had 2 draws in 1974 following a number of poor years. In 1976 things looked more hopeful Balmain began the year with an undefeated run through the pre-season "Wills Cup" competition. The side also won the Amco Cup knockout in front of a record at the time crowd of 21,600, beating North Sydney. The Tigers won eight straight games and led the competition but a mid season slump left the Tigers in the same position as in 1975 and they failed to make the finals.
[edit] 1980's-90's
The Tigers consistently made the final series in the 1980’s reaching the finals series in 1983,1985,1986,1987,1988 and 1989 They wouldn’t reach the Grand Final until 1988, the first time since the 1969 success, winning a lot of fans along the way with a number of ‘backs to the wall’ performances winning 3 sudden death matches. In 1988 the Tigers were deemed certain to miss the finals with 8 games left in the regular season. The Tigers remarkably only lost a single game from that point onwards reaching the Grand Final against Canterbury, only to be denied the trophy in a 24-12 loss.
The side would again make the Grand Final in 1989 but this time were the obvious favourites. The ’89 Final is regarded by many as one of the best ever in the history of Rugby League. In a controversial affair the side lost in extra time against the Canberra Raiders after being ahead 12-2 at half time.
After the heartbreak of the 1989 Grand Final, the Tigers never regained their dominating form and went through a rebuilding phase following the retirement of star players Wayne Pearce, Garry Jack, Steve Roach and David Brooks who had all played over 100 games for the club over a period of 10 years or more. The stars were missed as Balmain finished second-last in 1993 and got the wooden spoon in 1994.
In drastic action Balmain released 31 players at the end of 1994 and moved to Parramatta Stadium as the Sydney Tigers. The Tigers stayed at Parramatta Stadium for 2 seasons before heading back to Leichhardt Oval. The Tigers only averaged 6,565 people attending home games at Parramatta Stadium in what was regarded as a failed experiment.
[edit] The Merger
Although things picked up for the club in following years. The Australian Rugby League/Super League (Australia) war would spell trouble for the club. 1999 was a tumultuous year for the Balmain Tigers. The season began with a dark cloud hanging over the 16 clubs. The Super League/ARL compromise had left 1999 as the last season before the 14 team NRL competition began and with it came the much talked about criteria. On-field Balmain was stuggling with a savage injury toll that forced the Tigers to use over 40 players throughout the season.
In July the option of forming a joint venture with fellow foundation club, the Western Suburbs Magpies was put to the Football Club members. The members ultimately voted in favour of a joint venture. The decision to enter a joint venture saw a crowd of 15,240 turn out in atrocious conditions to watch the Tigers play their last home game in first grade at Leichhardt Oval as the Balmain Tigers.
1999 was not the end of an era. Instead it was the dawn of a new era in the evolution of the Tigers. In 2000, the Tigers were still there in the black and gold as Wests Tigers whilst the NSWRL First Division and junior grades carry on the fine tradition that is the heart and soul of Balmain and the Mighty Balmain Tigers.
Although now known as Wests Tigers the side made it to the 2005 Grand Final and defeated the North Queensland Cowboys 30 -16. Many old Balmain supporters have stuck with the club through the merger and regard the Tigers Grand Final win as one for Balmain also.
[edit] Players of note
- Keith Barnes
- Arthur Beetson
- Tim Brasher
- Ben Elias
- Charles "chook" Fraser
- Arthur Holloway
- Garry Jack
- Wayne Pearce
- Steve Roach
- Paul Sironen
- Kevin Yow Yeh
- Ellery Hanley
[edit] Major Sponsors
- Camperford (1977)
- Avis (1978-1980)
- Sharp (1981-1982)
- Saxonvale Wines (1983-1985)
- Alpha Micro Computers (1986-1987)
- Philips (1988-1993)
- MLC mobiles (1994-1995)
- Meriton Apartments (1997-1999)
[edit] References
[1] RL1908 history of Balmain Tigers [www.tigers.org.au] History of Balmain
