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I've put off mentioning what happened with my Tigers last weekend until now because it was so disappointing. Playing at home at Leichhardt Oval (one of rugby league's oldest active grounds) in front of a capacity crowd of 22,000 on Sunday afternoon the Tigers laid an absolute bomb, losing 37-12 to the Rabbitohs.
As I've mentioned in the past, the Wests Tigers are a joint venture, coming into being in 2000 when the Balmain Tigers and Wests Magpies merged to avoid extinction. Leichhardt Oval had been the Tigers home ground since the 1940s and since they merged with the Magpies the team still plays three or four games there each season. It's considered one of the best grounds to play at as far as atmosphere and watching the game is concerned, because of its intimacy. The game last weekend was the first time since the joint venture came into being that they've sold out a home game. Many Tigers legends were in attendance, with a parade of former greats around the field happening before the game. The crowd turned up and the legends turned out, making a great atmosphere. It was just an absolute shame that the Tigers players didn't turn up.
To be fair, the South Sydney Rabbitohs have hit a purple patch at the right time of the season, defeating the 2nd placed Sea Eagles the week before. They were on fire once again against the Tigers and led 18-0 late in the first half. The Tigers had a number of chances to score but kept on turning the ball over at crucial moments, leading to frustration creeping in. It affected their defense and the Rabbits' bigger players more or less ran over the top of them.
Anyway, the Tigers lost and are now 11-12. Tonight they play the last placed Newcastle Knights and have to win to have any chance of making the playoffs. They also need the Eels to defeat the Broncos on Sunday, so depending on what happens tonight it's going to be a tense weekend for me and all the other Tigers fans.
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