It may be the Eighth Wonder of the World but the Wests Tigers have warned that Leichhardt Oval won’t be a factor when their NRL season goes on the line against Cronulla on Sunday.
In a concerted effort to ward off complacency, the Tigers’ senior players have put their team on notice as they seek to end eight years without finals.
With anticipation at fever pitch, the game at the suburban ground in Sydney’s inner west sold out nearly a week in advance.
But the Tigers say they can’t expect the partisan, bumper crowd to get them over the line.
Utility Josh Reynolds admitted he’d fallen into similar traps throughout his career and wanted to avoid a repeat.
“I know in the past, myself, you go to a ground like that, the crowd is rolling in, you can just think ‘we’ve got this’,” Reynolds said.
“But that’s far from it this week. Leichhardt can draw you into that feeling: there’s ten Sharks fans there and however many Tigers fans.
“It’s an awesome feeling, you don’t need to create the energy, the energy is already there. But the energy isn’t going to win you the game. You’ve got to go out and take the game.
“The Sharks aren’t just going to roll over.”
Coach Michael Maguire and senior players Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah have been vocal about the need to make things happen, rather than just expecting them to materialise.
In 2016, the club was in an almost identical situation heading into the last round, needing only a win at Leichhardt against Canberra to move into the top eight.
Instead they were embarrassed 52-10 and the Gold Coast scraped into the finals one point ahead of them.
The Tigers’ finals drought is the longest in the league and Marshall said there was a palatable determination to win back some pride.
“What I have noticed is that the energy around the group this week is really buzzy,” Marshall said.
“The excitement around the possibility of playing semi-final football for this club, our fans haven’t had this for a long time.
“The excitement of that has fed into us wanting to put in a good performance, to give our club that opportunity again.”
Retiring hooker Farah is racing the clock to recover from a broken leg suffered just four weeks ago.
He ran strongly with the side on Wednesday but is facing further fitness tests on Thursday before a final decision is likely to be made on Friday.
“If I was a betting man, I reckon he’s going to play … He’s a pretty tough hombre. I reckon he’ll play,” Reynolds said.
“A lot of blokes just would have hung the boots up but that’s not what he’s about.”
