After a solid start last term – including an early win over eventual premiers that produced some of our favourite commentary ever from Rabs and Gus – the wheels eventually came off for the Tigers, with an alleged spat between captain Robbie Farrah and coach Michael Potter making headlines for the wrong reasons.
Still, with one of the youngest teams in the competition offering plenty of exciting potential, backed by a few senior campaigners, it seems all that the Tigers need is to tighten a few screws to hit the heights of 2005. The same could be said for their home shirt that has only a few slight adjustments from the 2014 jersey, which we really liked.
A mix of the black and white of the Western Suburbs and orange of Balmain Tigers, the classy fat double chevron on black from our favourite league provider ISC, has now been updated with a cleaner design.
Gone are the orange and white side panels to give a much sleeker finish; the trim on the sleeves is thinner; and the collar has dispensed with the solid orange block in favour of a slim vein of trim and the “16 years proud” statement at the back.
While the home jersey has merely been tweaked, the away jersey is a big departure. Critics have rightly questioned what the grey has to do with either of the foundation clubs that form the Wests, but in terms of aesthetic value we’re always happy to see this often polarising colour making such a positive impact.
It’d be easy to dismiss it as a shirt of two halves, with the two tones grey stripes of the bottom clashing with the solitary orange band on a white background.
But despite the slight overlapping as the grey veers away on the side, it’s a combination that fits together nicely, and given the same dulcet touches of the home jersey this is an interesting, bold departure but still holds its own among the best shirts in this year’s NRL.
SHIT/GOOD RATING: Grrrreeaaaa… sorry, that’s too far even for us!
Rugby Shirt Watch 