Spoon Bowl result won’t define us, says Wests Tigers CEO

Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson insists the club’s season – and its future – won’t be defined by the outcome of the Spoon Bowl against Parramatta on Friday night.

Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson is hoping to beat Parramatta but says a loss won’t stop the club from continuing to improve next season. Picture: Getty Images

Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson insists the club’s season – and its future – will not be defined by the outcome of the so-called Spoon Bowl on Friday night.

The Tigers sit in 17th spot at the moment but whether they stay there will be determined by the outcome of their game against Parramatta at a sold-out Campbelltown Stadium.

The loser of the clash will finish with the wooden spoon.

Richardson wants to win but insists that a third successive last-placed finish won’t be the end of the world, given the progress the club has made this season under coach Benji Marshall, who has blooded some of the game’s most promising young players.

“Of course there’s been progress,” Richardson said.

“There’s another 20-year-old in the side on Friday night in Tony Sukkar. We have debuted 12 kids this year – more than anyone else.

“I don’t say that to deflect; I’m just saying there are some obstacles we have had to overcome and we knew at the start of the year we would have to overcome them.

“So we’ve come to the end of the season, we stuck together as a group and we’ve come on in leaps and bounds.”

That hasn’t always been reflected in the scoreboard, but Richardson believes the green shoots will begin to bear fruit as early as next year.

“I am looking forward to it,” he said. “Actually, it’s very reminiscent of the way we finished with Penrith the year before we won it (in 2003).

“We sort of had a pretty average season, and then we came on with a big rush at the end. I think we ended up smashing Manly by 50 in the last round. I’m not saying we are going to do that, but it’s a big game which allows us to keep the momentum going.”

The entire club and their loyal supporters would get a lift by avoiding the dreaded wooden spoon. The club has languished at the foot of the ladder in recent seasons but this year in particular there has been a groundswell of support behind Marshall and his team.

“Really, it’s about the fact that we’ve developed the sort of glue to keep this team together and get to the end of the season and still have some credibility,” Richardson said.

“It’s a good step if we can beat Parramatta because they are local rivals. There’s no doubt it’s an important game; we have a sellout crowd and it would be great for the club.

“The world doesn’t end if we don’t win it but we would certainly love to win it.

“We haven’t had a sellout at Campbelltown since 2005, when we won the premiership.”

“We’re miles ahead of our budget on gates. We have sold out corporately virtually for every game. We can’t sell any more than we have sold.

“We want to win and we’ll be going out there to win it. If we could win it in front of all those people, there’s no doubt that would be great momentum.”