| Club information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Balmain & District Rugby League Football Club | ||
| Founded | 1908 (foundation club) | ||
| Departed | 1999 (merged to form Wests Tigers) | ||
| Former details | |||
| Competition | NSWRL, ARL, NRL | ||
| 1999 | 15th of 17 | ||
Team colours |
|||
| Records | |||
| 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 premiership | 7 - 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1924, 1939, | ||
| Wooden spoons | 4 - 1911, 1974, 1981, 1994 | ||
The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles. In 1999 they merged with the neighbouring Western Suburbs Magpies club to form the Wests Tigers for competition in the National Rugby League (NRL). They still field independent teams in the lower divisions. At the time of the merger only South Sydney Rabbitohs and the St George Dragons had won more titles than the Tigers.
The club's home ground was Leichhardt Oval, in Sydney's inner west. They were also known as The Watersiders in their earlier days.
Contents |
In 1908 Australia's first season of rugby league began in Sydney and the Balmain club were one of nine foundation clubs to compete. Their home ground was Birchgrove Park. Balmain reached their first Grand Final in only the second year in the competition against the previous year's champions, South Sydney, but would protest as the match was scheduled as a warm up for a Kangaroos vs. Wallabies game at Souths' home ground.[1] Souths were officially awarded the Premiership when 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 and 1920 seasons comfortably. When they won the 1924 premiership this would be the last success for Balmain for over a decade to come.
It would not 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-World War II 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 1946, and Canterbury 13-9 in 1947. On the hunt for a third successive title, they lost to Wests in 1948.
The Tigers would appear in several Grand Final matches throughout the 1950s and 1960s 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 1970s were not 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. That period of time between 1911 and 1974 remains the longest wooden spoon drought for any team. In 1976 things looked more hopeful when Balmain began the year with an undefeated run through the pre-season "Wills Cup" competition. The side also won the 1976 Amco Cup knockout tournament in front of a then-record 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.
The Tigers consistently made the finals series in the 1980s reaching the play-offs in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989.
On 4 August 1985 a crowd of 21,707 set a new ground record for Leichhardt Oval.[2]
In 1986, one of Balmain's players, Great Britain captain Garry Schofield topped the try-scorers list for the season.
The Tigers would not 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 four consecutive sudden death matches in just 3 weeks. The top five teams out of the premiership table went on to the final series, and this was the first time that a team in fifth position had progressed to the Grand Final. 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 controversial 24-12 loss. Canterbury player, Terry Lamb, is still remembered by fans for knocking out the legendary Ellery Hanley with a high shot in back play midway through the first half. The Tigers were leading the game at the time.
The side would again make the Grand Final in 1989 but this time as 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 (although they did make the finals again in 1990) 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.
The departure of coach Warren Ryan at the end of 1990 was a key turning point for the club. Balmain hired the famous former Wallabies coach-cum-radio announcer Alan Jones as coach in 1991. As Paul Sironen admitted years later in his autobiography, the 'running rugby' style of Jones was too simplistic for the structured defensive patterns which had developed in rugby league during the 1980s. Jones also began a controversial clear-out of some of the other Tigers stars who had not retired, notably the Kiwi international Gary Freeman, and often replaced them with inexperienced juniors who were not yet really ready for first grade football. By the time Jones was sacked as coach at the end of 1993, incoming coach Wayne Pearce inherited a massive problem which was only getting worse.
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.
At the end of the season, 1996 ARL season the League's chief executive John Quayle resigned and was replaced by Balmain president (and former hooker) Neil Whittaker.[3]
Although things picked up for the club in following years, the Australian Rugby League/Super League 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 17 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 struggling 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. As it turned out Balmain was in the top 14 clubs under the criteria (ahead of current NRL teams Penrith and South Sydney) but would have continued to struggle to be financially competitive with bigger clubs. 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.
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.
The club currently competes in all of the New South Wales Rugby League competitions. In the Premier League they are merged with the Ryde-Eastwood Hawks. They still enjoy their rival match against the Western Suburbs Magpies.
| Name | Years | W | D | L | % | Finals | Grand Finals | Premierships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Graves | 1908–1913 | 33 | 2 | 41 | 43% | 1909 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Kelly | 1914-1915 & 1938-1943 | 73 | 11 | 35 | 61% | 1938, '39, '41, '42, '43 | 1 | 2 |
| Arthur Halloway | 1916–1920 | 55 | 3 | 12 | 79% | 1916 | 1 | 4 |
| Charles Fraser | 1921-1924 & 1932 | 36 | 5 | 22 | 57% | 1924, '32 | 1 | 1 |
| Alf Fraser | 1925–1929 | 27 | 4 | 42 | 37% | - | 0 | 0 |
| Norm Robinson | 1930, 1944-1947 & 1954-1956 | 84 | 9 | 49 | 59% | 1944, '45, '46, '47, '56 | 5 | 3 |
| Reg Latta | 1931 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 36% | - | 0 | 0 |
| George Robinson | 1933–1934 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 32% | - | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Busch | 1935–1936 | 18 | 1 | 11 | 60% | 1936 | 1 | 0 |
| Harold Matthews | 1937 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 50% | - | 0 | 0 |
| Athol Smith | 1948–1950 | 37 | 6 | 17 | 62% | 1948, '49, '50 | 1 | 0 |
| Jim Duckworth | 1951 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 33% | - | 0 | 0 |
| Arthur Patton | 1952–1953 | 15 | 0 | 21 | 42% | - | 0 | 0 |
| Sid Ryan | 1957 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 50% | - | 0 | 0 |
| John O'Toole | 1958–1960 | 29 | 1 | 29 | 49% | 1958, '60 | 0 | 0 |
| Harry Bath | 1961–1966 | 65 | 3 | 48 | 56% | 1961, '63, '64, '66 | 2 | 0 |
| Keith Barnes | 1967–1968 | 26 | 2 | 16 | 59% | - | 0 | 0 |
| Leo Nosworthy | 1969–1973 | 55 | 2 | 56 | 49% | 1969 | 1 | 1 |
| Alan Mason | 1974 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 18% | - | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Broughton | 1975–1976 | 22 | 2 | 21 | 49% | 1975 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Willey | 1977–1979 | 35 | 4 | 29 | 51% | 1977 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Tutty | 1980 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 32% | - | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Stanton | 1981–1986 | 79 | 2 | 72 | 52% | 1983,85,86 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Anderson | 1987 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 56% | 1987 | 0 | 0 |
| Warren Ryan | 1988–1990 | 49 | 1 | 25 | 65% | 1988,89,90 | 2 | 0 |
| Alan Jones | 1991–1993 | 24 | 3 | 39 | 36% | - | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Pearce | 1994–1999 | 40 | 1 | 71 | 36% | - | 0 | 0 |
In May 2003 the Balmain Tigers Team of the Century was named:[4]
|
2005 the members of the Team of the Century became the inaugural inductees to the Balmain Tigers Hall of Fame. In addition to those inductees a further five were inducted at the inaugural Hall of Fame dinner on 17 March 2005. These were:
|
A further five were inducted at the Hall of Fame dinner on 29 March 2006. These were:
|
|
A further five were inducted at the Hall of Fame dinner on 20 March 2007. These were:
|
A further six were inducted at the Hall of Fame dinner in 2008. These were:
|
|
A further four were inducted in 2009:[5]
|
|
Biggest win
Worst defeat
Most appearances
Most tries in a match
Most tries in a season
Most tries for club
Most goals in a match
Most goals in a season
Most Goals For Club
Most points in a match
Most points in a season
Most points for club
Award winners
The Balmain Tigers District Junior Rugby League is one of the oldest Junior Rugby League Competitions in Australia. It administers an affiliation of junior rugby league clubs in the inner west and inner north west of Sydney.
The league caters for age groups from under 6's to A Grade (opens). The Senior competition (Under 13's - A Grade) is a combined competition with the St. George District Junior Rugby League. The Under 6's to Under 8's is a non-competitive competition. The Under 9's to Under 12's play in a modified competition.
As of 2009 there were ten clubs in the Balmain Tigers Junior Rugby League, with over 120 teams. These clubs are;
Some extinct clubs that once played in the Balmain District junior competition include;
Some notable Balmain juniors include;
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||