By Caitlin Arnold
It is true of champion football players that when they get knocked down, they get back up again. As a club with an entrenched history in local Sydney AFL, the Balmain Tigers have this year proved to be a champion club.
Finding themselves relegated from Premier Division at the end of 2013, the then ‘Balmain Dockers’ saw the beginning of a new season as a chance to rebuild the club-prepping it for their hopeful return to the highest level of the local game.
Reverting to their heritage name and colours of black and yellow, the now – and again-‘Balmain Tigers’ are now looking to rally the community behind their local club.
“It’s great to have the ‘Tigers’ name back as the club wasin 1903 under the yellow and black.
“All of our former players associate very strongly with the Tigers name and it also helps us engage the local community. I’ve had nothing but positive feedback about the name change,” says club Vice President Brendan Cann.
In further efforts to strike a chord with the Balmain area, Cann says that the Tigers are devoted to their relationships with junior clubs Drummoyne and Glebe, even hosting Drummoyne’s Under 17s side at a recent training session.
With the Tigers looking to birth an Under 19s team the coming years, the club is excited by the talent pool being nurtured in the inner west.
“There is fantastic talent coming out of the junior clubs. Most of our players would have graduated from Glebe or Drummoyne.
“Our Captain Brad Plug and superstar Chris Bolt are examples of the junior talent coming from Glebe.”
With the club and its supporters currently forced to travel over the Anzac Bridge for their home games, the Tigers are hoping to relocate to a local ground in an effort to boost their home ground advantage.
“We will try and find a new home ground in the local area.
“Henson Park is one of the best venues in Sydney with the lights and surface, but it is not local to us. It makes it hard to get the community to watch our game.”
Though the relegation of the Balmain Premier Division side saw some players leave the club to continue playing at a first grade level, the Tigers have continued to make their mark on the competition.
With four of their players- Brad Plug,O’Dea, Chris Bolt and Jaydan Donato -announced in the initial AFL Sydney Representative Senior and Under 23 teams, the club could not be more proud.
Being the only non-Premier Division player selected in the final side, Captain Brad Plug represents a club currently on top of the Division One ladder, and looking to gain a Premier Division place once again.
“Brad Plug, Alex O'Dea and Chris Bolt provide very exciting footy week in, week out.
“Adam Middleton is like a brick wall in defense-nothing gets past him.
“We also have some up and coming stars like Mitch Soames and Jordan Moore pushing hard for a first grade spot. They will be big names for us in the future.”
From their season launch at sponsors Wentworth Park Greyhounds at the beginning of the year to their positioning mid-way through the season, both club stalwart Andrew Kyprianou Brendan Cann are overwhelmed by the support received from other clubs and the wider Sydney AFL community during their rebuild.
With hopes to knock down the Premier Division door in the coming years, the Balmain Tigers are excited to be bringing their history back to the future.
Last Modified on 27/06/2014 21:48
