7th Tackle: Tigers faithful sides with Farah
It’s always a curious sight to see fans at matches dressed in jerseys that don’t belong to the two combatants.
That was case last Saturday afternoon in Newcastle, when a group of Wests Tigers – draped in black and gold – travelled up the M1 to watch the Knights-Rabbitohs clash.
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They trekked north to witness Robbie Farah’s 250th NRL match – and even brought a homemade banner to honour the ex-Tiger.
Their dedication says much about where the loyalties of Tigers fans have resided over the past 12 months, as the joint venture lurched from one ugly internal mess to the next.
The sacking of coach Jason Taylor on Monday left a bitter-sweet taste in Farah’s mouth.
After being dumped to NSW Cup and then shown the door, Farah felt an undeniable sense of shadenfreude.
He displayed as much by ‘liking’ Paul Sironen’s edgy Facebook post on Monday afternoon.
But according to close friends, Farah has experienced a greater sense of hollowness.
With Taylor gone, he – like every other Tigers tragic - is entitled to ask: why all the pain, stress and emotion? Other than leaving Wests $750,000 short on their 2017 salary cap, what did it achieve?