‘Absolute disgrace’: Wests Tigers’ ANZAC Round jersey blunder slammed

The Wests Tigers have sparked the ire of fans who have slammed the club over a big issue on its jersey for the NRL’s ANZAC Round.

The Tigers have been trashed over this jersey detail.

When it rains, it pours at the Wests Tigers with fans blasting its commemorative jersey for ANZAC Day which features an image of US soldiers.

The hapless Tigers, who are the reigning wooden spooners and are sitting in 17th place without a win in 2023, revealed its jerseys for the ANZAC round later this month.

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The jersey was revealed on Monday evening and the Tigers posted an explanation of the jersey, revealing it was “paying tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and their loyal service animals.”

The statement added the club had “worked closely with the Holsworthy Army Barracks”.

On the back, it features a serviceman with his service dog, but it was the front fans had an issue with.

The front features two servicemen walking away from a helicopter in “a Middle Eastern landscape, reminding us of the incredible bravery and sacrifice of our troops”.

But the stock image features American soldiers walking away from the USS Lassen helicopter, which is used by the US military.

The image has sparked a furore. Photo: Wests Tigers

And it was soon picked up by fans who swamped the club’s Facebook post.

One called it “very disrespectful”, another called it an “absolute disgrace” and it was also labelled “an absolute joke”.

Another fan said: “Totally understand they are trying to do the right thing and thank soldiers etc. but do it right and put the time and effort into it if you want to thank those who have sacrificed.”

Fox League shared a statement from the Wests Tigers.

“Wests Tigers has collaborated with Holsworthy Army Barracks, who have sighted and approved all collateral relating to the release of this jersey,” it read.

“The soldiers on the jersey simply depict the modern-day soldier serving in a desert environment.

“The image in question, which is a stock image, has been purchased under license by our official apparel partner.

“The final design was approved by NRL Licensing.

“The military camouflage pattern above the chevron on the jersey is an authentic replica of the Australian Army camouflage that has been digitalised and grey-scaled.

“Both the Australian and New Zealand flags are represented on the jersey’s shoulders, again honouring our ANZACs.

“Above all else, this jersey honours all Defence Force personnel who have served in recent conflicts in Middle East wars, who are so often underrepresented.

“The release of this jersey falls three weeks out from our Anzac Round clash against Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Campbelltown Sports Stadium in Round 8.”

The furore saw the issue break into talkback radio with WWOS Radio’s Mark Levy and Paul Gallen blasting the drama after a caller brought it to their attention.

“Dear oh dear oh dear,” Levy said. “That is embarrassing.

Gallen added: “Someone’s in trouble there. Especially ANZAC Day, we live in this beautiful country because of what they did for us, the sacrifices they made. And to stuff that up, that’s a big stuff up.”

After contacting the Tigers, Levy tweeted: “In response to US military on their jersey, Wests Tigers tell me ‘the soldiers simply depict the modern day soldier serving in desert environment.’

“If you expect fans to pay $160 for commemorative jersey, you need to do better than Google image search of ‘soldier in the desert’.”

On NRL 360, Paul Kent said some fans had pointed out that the Tigers ANZAC jersey featured soldiers not wearing Australian uniforms or weaponry.

The front of the jersey. Photo: Wests Tigers

The back of the jersey. Photo: Wests Tigers

But he had also spoken to the Tigers and highlighted the fact the club worked with Holsworthy.

“It’s a stock image the Tigers have used and I’ve spoken to the Tigers tonight and they’ve put out a statement since that they collaborated with Holsworthy Army Barracks that saw this and endorse it,” he said.

“They have got the ANZAC flags, the Australia and New Zealand flags on their shoulders, they’ve got the camouflage, which is the Australian camouflage above the chevron on the jersey. They have rebranded it the commemorative jersey rather than an ANZAC jersey.

“For the people blowing up that they’ve made an oversight and put American soldiers rather than Australian soldiers, that’s not the case. They’ve been through the Holsworthy Army Barracks and got that endorsed.”

But Kent said he felt the Tigers could have found an image of Australians to adorn the jersey.

“I will say that, I am disappointed, and I’m sure a lot of people are disappointed that they couldn’t find Australian soldiers to put on there, but they wanted this kind of evocative image to symbolise the wars that have been going on in Afghanistan and Iraq for so many years.

“It’s an ANZAC game. They could have hopefully found an Australia but it’s not like they’ve deliberately disrespected it either.”