City turns orange and black for Wests Tigers visit

Daily Advertiser - Monday 14/2/2011 - By Pamela Whaley

THOUSANDS of NRL fans in Wagga were given the unique opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the game's brightest stars over the weekend as West Tigers mania hit the city. In a whirlwind of orange and black, West Tigers supporters young and old gathered at various points around the city to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

Former Temora boy and veteran West Tigers prop Todd Payton lead the starstudded troupe which included Tim Moltzen, Bryce Gibbs, Blake Ayshford and Geoff Daniela. The friendly five posed for photographs and signed merchandise for swarms of fans at the Kooringal Hotel on Saturday night and yesterday morning at Southcity Shopping Centre.

WESTS Tigers fans in Wagga will have something to cheer about over the weekend, as four of the NRL's favourite sons converge on the city for a two-day fan frenzy. Todd Payten, Tim Moltzen, Blake Ayshford and Geoff Daniela will be in town to pay their former Tigers teammate a visit, Southcity captain-coach Daniel Fitzhenry. As part of the informal visit, the Tigers have kindly put their hand up to help out their mate Fitzhenry, offering their star power and support to the Bulls.

Speaking yesterday, Fitzhenry admitted he was "like a kid at Christmas" waiting for his friends to arrive. "It'll be good to have them here, they just want to check out the place a bit I think," he said. "They're always happy to help though, it's really good of them to give up their time to help out." The Tigers will be appearing at the Kooringal Hotel signing autographs and meeting fans tonight, and then on Sunday morning they'll be meeting fans at the South City Shopping Centre as part of the Wagga Magpies and Turvey Park junior registration day.

Southcity president Gary Crawford said that although the Tigers' visit is of an unofficial nature, he is thrilled the boys will be helping out. "It's just great for us to show that Daniel Fitzhenry is a part of our club and he can do great things for us and he can certainly help us through," he said. Despite the obvious ties with Southcity, Crawford is hopeful the visit will be the start of a lucrative relationship between Wagga Rugby League and the Tigers. "It's not only us but for rugby league in Wagga as well, there could be Kangaroos and Brothers Tigers fans out there and it's as much for them as well," he said. "It's warming up a lot, there's plenty of interest out there. "If we can show our support we might be able to organise a trial match with the Tigers in the future. "Everyone is more than welcome to come along and get their jumpers signed and meet the players."