Behind The Roar

This week we chat to teenage hooker, Tallyn Da Silva who is preparing for his first full season of NRL after making his first-grade debut in 2023. It was a meteoric rise for the Campbelltown junior who went from playing park footy with his father, to playing NRL with Wests Tigers in the space of 12 months. With five NRL games under his belt the East Campbelltown Eagles junior is now part of Wests...

Wests Tigers official podcast  Behind The Roar  is shining the light on some of the club’s younger players over the summer, as preparations continue ahead of the 2024 NRL season.     The 10-episode pre-season series includes five players who are on NRL Development contract and five who are part of the club’s top-30 roster. Six of these players are yet to make their NRL debut, and all but one has p...

The final episode of Behind The Roar for 2023 features this year’s Kelly-Barnes Medallist, Jahream Bula. We cover plenty of ground and reflect on a remarkable debut season which saw the 21-year-old collect the Player of the Year, Players’ Player, and Rookie of the Year awards. He talks openly about his strong Christian faith, the influence of Benji Marshall, and his desire to remain at Wests Tiger...

This week’s guest on Behind The Roar is Darren Flindell, a diehard Wests Tigers fan who also happens to be the ‘voice of racing’ in Sydney. Yes, something a little different on this week’s edition of Behind The Roar. Whether you’re into horse racing or not, there’s a good chance you’ll find Darren Flindell’s journey a captivating one. It’s a story about an ardent Tigers’ fan who as a kid dreamed o...

This week’s guest on Behind The Roar is former Wests Tigers utility back Tim Moltzen. Moltzen played 90 NRL games across six seasons at the club before his career was cruelly cut short by a chronic knee injury. We chat about a range of topics including the new coaching set-up at the club next season, the problems he faced when injury forced him out of the game as a 26-year-old, the talents of his...

This week’s guest on Behind The Roar is two times premiership winner and Kiwi international, Paul Whatuira. We catch up with the former Wests Tigers centre at the team hotel in Hamilton ahead of last Saturday’s Round 24 match against the Warriors.   He talks about the highs and lows in his football career, and in life.  He recalls the ‘key ingredients’ that took Wests Tigers all the way in 2005 an...

This week’s episode of Behind the Roar has a New Zealand flavour ahead of this weekend’s home game against the Warriors in Hamilton. We chat to two proud New Zealanders, Isaiah Papali’i and Starford To’a, who are both now carving their NRL careers in Australia, here at the Wests Tigers. Wests Tigers are the first NRL club to take a home game to New Zealand following the Covid pandemic, as a gestur...

In this week’s episode of Behind the Roar we chat to Wests Tigers NRLW Co-captain, Kezie Apps. One of the game’s highest profile female players, Apps tells her story of how a young girl from a dairy farm on the NSW South Coast, grows into a rugby league icon.   The 32-year-old forward also recounts the day she decided to turn a dream into reality.  Sitting on her couch in Bega at the age of 22, Ap...

This week’s episode of Behind the Roar features former NRL star Feleti Mateo who these days is doing a terrific job with Wests Tigers in wellbeing and education. We talk about his stellar career, his struggles with depression, his unique playing style, his brief dash to London, and his willingness to help Polynesian players feel more connected with their culture. All that and a whole lot more on t...

This week’s episode of Behind the Roar celebrates Wests Tigers entry into the NRLW, ahead of Sunday’s very first against the Eels. We talk to three of our NRLW team’s key recruits ahead of Sunday’s season-opener - Sarah Togatuki, Rikeya Horne and Jakiya Whitfeld. We hear some truly inspiring stories from these ladies who somehow manage to juggle work, life and football. All that and plenty more on...

In Episode 21 of Behind The Roar, we speak to Wests Tigers player #264 David Klemmer.

This week’s episode of Behind the Roar gives us a glimpse into the future, with Wests Tigers General Manager - Women’s and Pathways, Matthew Betsey. We take a deep dive into the strategic importance of pathways and development, and the unique opportunities we have as a club with three strong catchment areas. All that and more on this week’s edition of Behind The Roar.

This week’s guest on Behind the Roar is Wests Tigers try scoring hero Alex Twal ahead of this weekend’s trip to Townsville. He’s been one of our team’s most consistent forwards for many years, but until Round 16 against Melbourne Storm, Twal was still chasing that elusive first NRL try.  After waiting seven seasons and 116 first-grade games in the NRL, he finally crossed for his ‘maiden meat pie’...

In this episode of Behind The Roar podcast we speak to NRL assistant coach Wayne "Chops" Lambkin, who is also the NSW Knock On Effect head coach for the Western Suburbs Magpies. We speak to Chops about his playing career and his transition into coaching.

This week’s guest on episode 17 of Behind The Roar is one of our premiership heroes from 2005 and Wests Tigers Player #68 Dene Halatau. After hanging up the boots at the end of the 2016 NRL season, he has forged a successful career at NRL HQ in varying roles, both in player wellbeing, and these days in the injury assessment space. He has also adapted well to life in the media as a regular on ABC R...

On Episode 16 of Behind the Roar podcast, we speak to inaugural NRLW coach Brett Kimmorley.

On episode 15 of Behind The Roar we chat with English international John Bateman ahead of Friday’s match against Canberra Raiders. We cover plenty of ground over 40 minutes, as we get to know what makes this proud Englishman tick. He tells us how much rugby league has helped him grow as a person, and how the greatest game of all helped put a ‘difficult young boy’ on the 'straight and narrow&#3...

On episode 14 of Behind The Roar we chat with Luke Brooks, following a night to remember against the Cowboys last weekend. It’s an inciteful chat about his past, his present and his future.  We cover plenty of topics including the team’s turnaround in form, his better understanding of how best to work with Api, his dreams as a kid watching his beloved Wests Tigers, what needs to be done to beat th...

On episode 13 of Behind The Roar we chat with Brent Naden leading into Wests Tigers Indigenous Round match against the Cowboys at Leichhardt Oval. Naden covers a range of topics, some serious, some not so.  He talks about fatherhood, about self-development, about his proud Indigenous heritage, and that of his teammates.  Hear about that and much more in this week’s edition of Behind The Roar.

On episode 12 of Behind The Roar we talk to rugby league’s longest serving strength and conditioning coach, Ronnie Palmer. A Balmain junior who would later play for the Tigers in the 70’s, Ronnie has seen it all, having given more than 50 years of service to the game.  That includes twenty-odd years with the Roosters, about 25 years with the NSW Origin team, and working with 23 different coaches i...

On episode 11 of Behind The Roar we talk to Wests Tigers captain Api Koroisau following the team’s first win of the season, against his former club. Api talks about the team’s brilliant win over the Panthers in Bathurst, what the team learnt after suffering seven straight losses, why captaincy is so important to him, the influence his mother has had on him as a player and a person, his penchant fo...

This week’s podcast has a focus on the women’s game and coincides with the launch of the 2023 NRLW fixtures. Joining us for episode 10 is Wests Tigers NRLW star, Botille Vette-Welsh. The New Zealand born fullback is well placed to talk all things footy, having played five seasons at Wests Tigers in the NSWRL Women’s Premiership, NRLW with the Roosters, Dragons and Eels, State of Origin for NSW, as...

In Episode 9 of Behind the Roar podcast, We talk to former Wests Tigers fullback, Shannon Gallant, who these days is an integral part of Wests Tigers' pathways programs in the south-west and Macarthur regions. Shannon Gallant might not be a household name in rugby league, but if you want insight into how a young boy’s dreams became reality, about how a passion for rugby league became a way of life...

This week’s episode of Behind The Roar was recorded live at Accor Stadium before Easter Monday’s match against Parramatta Eels, featuring former Wests Tigers players Chris Lawrence and Pat Richards. Just as they did in their respective careers, the boys cover plenty of ground. With almost 600 first-grade games between them, they’ve seen a lot, learned a lot, and hurt a lot.  Now retired but still...

On this week's episode of Behind the Roar we are paying tribute to Western Suburbs great Tommy Raudonikis, two years after his passing. Roy Master's joins Chris to reflect on our club legend. Roy and Tommy were not just coach and player, they were the best of mates.  In Episode 7 of BTR, Roy tells a few tales about the mighty number 7, who passed away on April 7 two years ago.