Wests Tigers players defend Leichhardt Oval as home ground despite fan behaviour and crumbling state

Wests Tigers players have come to the defence of keeping Leichhardt Oval as their home, following threats of a walkout due to anti-social fan behaviour and the crumbling state of the ground.

Fans watch on as the Wests Tigers took on the Cronulla Sharks at Leichhardt Oval, last weekend. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

Wests Tigers players have weighed in on the fight to play NRL games at Leichhardt Oval, saying it would be a shame to lose the historic venue as a home ground next year.

On Thursday, Isaiah Papali’i and Jayden Sullivan gushed about the unique atmosphere of the ground after winning their first game of the season there on Saturday night.

“Running out at the start of the game it’s pretty crazy, I didn’t realise how full the hill would be and see the fans turns up in large numbers was cool. It gave me energy and we really appreciate it,” Papali’i said.

The crumbling facilities, which are the centre of a funding fight for the local government, aren’t even an issue for him.

The New Zealand international says he prefers it that way.

“I don’t even really fuss about that stuff, I like it like that, I grew up training in a garage gym,” he said of the tiny space he trained in back home.

Isaiah Papali‘i has defended Leichhardt oval as a home ground. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“[Leichhardt is] raw, and you make do with what you’ve got.

“[The garage gym] was pretty small, maybe six people max in there, but we made it work. I trained about four or five years out of it.

“We were a little family, just a few mats and squat racks.

“It was fun, I enjoyed the workouts we did there.”

Debate has raged for years about the state of the Lilyfield ground, but it was kicked into overdrive this week with the club promising to abandon it as a home venue next year unless its upgraded.

Inner West Council has pleaded for funding to bring it up to standard, but the NSW government has already denied the public request, saying the coffers are bare.

Accor Stadium in Homebush and CommBank Stadium in Parramatta have both been floated as replacement options for the five games the Tigers play at Leichhardt each season.

When asked what players prefer, Papali’i said: “[players are] easy. we have a big catchment and two home grounds now, wherever we play we’re excited and it feels like home.

The Tigers picked up their first win of the season when they defeated the Sharks at Leichhardt Oval. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“I just enjoy playing footy and you get lost in playing and forget where you are.”

Community members and fans with a close emotional ties to the ground have already devised plans to save the ground from demolition, with petitions and GoFundMe accounts set up over the past few days.

Sullivan, who has played just two games for the Tigers as a brand new recruit in 2024, doesn’t have a tie to Leichhardt Oval – yet.

He sees the predicament with fresh eyes.

“My opinion probably doesn’t matter. It’ll be interesting to see what they do,” he said.

“Our job’s to go out there and play footy no matter where we’re playing, if we’re playing out here in Concord or in New Zealand. It’s all the same thing.

“It’s an 80-minute game and we just want to win. It obviously helps having a home-ground advantage but that’s sort of out of our control.

Jayden Sullivan is new to the Leichhardt Oval experience. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

“Whatever the club chooses is going to be best for the club.”

He admits it was easier to interact with fans at Leichhardt, but that could be put down to a rousing win over Cronulla.

“Going out to warm-up, it was a bit surreal. I sort of got a rude shock, I was not expecting that [atmosphere],” he said.

“They definitely got us home. After the game was pretty cool, I sat on the field for about 20, 25 minutes and interacted with the fans.

“They were so warm-hearted and easygoing. It was easy to have a conversation with everyone.”

With one win up their sleeve for the season, the Tigers will face Parramatta in a traditional clash at CommBank Stadium on Easter Monday.

TIGERS THREATEN TO WALK OUT ON LEICHHARDT

Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson says the club needs to stamp out anti-social behaviour at NRL games, but that’s impossible without an urgent upgrade to Leichhardt Oval facilities.

In the aftermath of a spirited 32-6 victory over Cronulla at the run down ground on Saturday night, claims of racist, sexist, homophobic and misogynistic abuse by fans on the famous Wayne Pearce Hill have emerged, which have deeply upset the club.

In a press conference alongside Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne on Monday, Richardson said he would take the Tigers away from Leichhardt Oval next year unless the state government commit funding for health and safety upgrades.

“We want to encourage families, kids and wives to come here, we need better toilet facilities, we want to encourage correct RSA management, we want to encourage corporates to be involved with the club,” he said in the dressing sheds of the historic Lilyfield stadium.

“Our team did a great job on Saturday night but you can’t control this environment the way the ground is.

“For all the good things the journalists are writing about it [in The Daily Telegraph], I’ll show you some things from the same paper, some of their staff sat on the hill on Saturday night and [the behaviour they described] is just wrong on every level.

“We need to fix it and one of the ways we do that is by not playing games here.”

Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson says Leichhardt Oval isn’t up to “standard”. Picture: David Swift

Igniting a new battle of the west, Byrne has asked the NSW government to redirected 10 per cent of the $309 million allocated to renovate Penrith Stadium to bring the spiritual home of the Wests Tigers up to scratch.

“We had 83 separate sporting events at Leichhardt Oval last year. Penrith’s stadium only has 11 games a year. and only men’s rugby league is played at Penrith Stadium,” Clr Byrne said.

“They’re receiving $309 million from the NSW government for a rolled gold renovation that they don’t really need.

“If you think about it, Leichhardt Oval hasn’t received any funding from the NSW government since Benji Marshall was in nappies. We’re the only suburban ground alongside Campbelltown that are yet to receive any funding at all from the NSW government and there’s no good reason that Penrith Stadium should have gold urinals while famous Leichhardt Oval is forced to close through demolition by neglect.”

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne has also voiced his concern about the state of Leichhardt Oval. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

Inner West Council has developed a masterplan with tiered plan for each level of funding they could receive from the NSW government.

They range from increased seating around the ground, improvements to the grandstand, women’s change rooms, and increased parking around the ground as well as turning the caretaker’s cottage on Mary Street into a rugby league museum.

Highlighting the decaying standard of the historic ground, Richardson spoke about having to hose players down in the dressing sheds after NRL games on two occasions because the water system was not working.

To commit to games at Leichhardt beyond the end of this year he needs to see confirmed funding for a worthwhile improvement.

Other options are taking games to Accor Stadium or CommBank Stadium in Parramatta as a long-term solution.

“The reality is this, I’m just being honest, it’s a great ground but Saturday night was really an example of how people get carried away with the hysteria of the crowd and the atmosphere and forget all about the conditions,” Richardson said.

“The conditions on Saturday night were terrible.

“If you brought your family along and kids and everything else, it’s a very difficult ground to police and secure, the toilets, the dressing rooms, the corporate facilities are nowhere near the standard of what an NRL club should be.

“My job is about getting wins and making this club great again for the long term future, and if something isn’t done very quickly about securing Leichhardt Oval, we simply won’t be playing here.

In the modern game, if you don’t have a ground you can grow with, you can’t grow, and we want to be one of the big clubs in Sydney. “

Originally published as Wests Tigers players defend Leichhardt Oval as home ground despite fan behaviour and crumbling state