Tamworth open for business after Tigers call time on bush deal

Tamworth has opened its doors to any NRL club looking to take rugby league to the bush in 2025 after Wests Tigers confirmed they will not be sending games to the region next year.

Wests Tigers will mark six years since their first trip to Scully Park when they host the Knights on Saturday as part of the Telstra Country Series, but said this week that their fifth venture to the region would be their last as part of a new stadium strategy focused on growing their supporter base in Sydney from 2025. 

A record crowd of more than 10,000 people attended last year’s clash with the Rabbitohs in Tamworth – a city with a population over 65,000 – prompting owner and operator of Scully Park, Wests Entertainment Group, to call on any clubs willing to take home games to the bush next season.

“For the past four Wests Tigers home games have been such an integral part of the calendar of major event’s in Tamworth,” Wests Entertainment Group spokesperson Paddy Donnelly said.

“We are 100 percent keen to see other teams at Scully Park and we’re going to do our best to get NRL here in some shape or form.

“We have spoken to the Knights, we’ve spoken to the Rabbitohs and the Sharks through their time in Tamworth playing the Tigers but there’s been no official meetings yet. We'll certainly lean on those numbers we have in our phonebook to spark some interest from another club.

“We do have to fight very hard each year to extend that contract. It’s not easy, we don’t get the game on a silver platter so we will continue that hard work and do our best to form a relationship with another club to make sure Tamworth gets that NRL game."

The annual fixture in the New England region brings the town somewhat to a standstill, with the local Group 4 competition scheduling a general bye and many businesses closing early so locals can get an opportunity to see some of the NRL's best talent take centre stage in their own backyard.

Having had a long-standing relationship with the NRL, local MP Kevin Anderson said keeping an elite presence in the regional city is vital to inspiring the next generation of bush stars and keeping Tamworth on the map.

“The NRL does a lot of good work in and around regional NSW at a community level and to maintain that presence with the teams that do come to regional NSW – it really does cement the fact that they care about the community and country rugby league,” Anderson told pan66.com.

“It doesn’t matter who, it’s just about maintaining that presence of first-grade NRL in regional NSW and in particular Tamworth that’s so important, and we’re looking forward to discussions for 2025.

“It costs a lot of money to take clubs to regional NSW and that’s why everyone needs to be at the table to say ‘okay, the economic benefit that the region gets and the exposure on television for a regional game like Tamworth is very, very beneficial’.

“Rugby league is a major part of our community and when teams do come to town for a game like this Saturday, there’ll be 10,000 people at Scully Park because people just love their rugby league and it’s great to have them in town.”