National Rugby League club Wests Tigers players are "worried their days playing at one of the most historic and intimidating home grounds in rugby league, Leichhardt Oval, are numbered," according to Christian Nicolussi of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. The Tigers will host Canberra on Sunday afternoon. But the future of the ground as an NRL venue has "become murky since Leichhardt Council took over the lease from Balmain Tigers Leagues Club on April 1." Council and Wests Tigers have engaged in "spirited debate about conditions in the new lease, including a demand from council for the club to play a minimum number of NRL games at the ground each season." The Tigers board will meet on April 30 to address this matter. Tigers captain Robbie Farah said that the Leichhardt issue was a "huge concern, and hoped everything was done to ensure its future." He said, "When you have 20,000 people at an 80,000-seat ANZ Stadium, it's still a good atmosphere, but it's different compared to a full house at Leichhardt, where the fans are so close you can hear every word they say" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 4/15).
