Who loves a footy bus trip? West Tigers coach Tim Sheens does and it's not just because his bus trip to Bathurst was a winning one.
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On Saturday evening after his side posted its first win of the season and ended a 273-day losing streak with a 12-8 result against Penrith, Sheens spoke about the importance of bringing the NRL to regional centres.
He saw the smiles on the faces of league fans - both Tigers and Panthers supporters - as they interacted with the players at Carrington Park.
"You've got to remember you do come back to the very basic roots when you come back to country football," he said.
"In real terms it's great to see the kids up here get a chance to touch the players, get an autograph, well it's always a selfie these days.
As Sheens pointed out, it certainly was "a good roll" up on Saturday night. In spite of the cold and wet conditions, 11,055 fans turned out to watch the Tigers upset the Panthers 12-8.
It was a bigger crowd than those that attended the Sydney based games between the Cronulla Sharks and North Queensland Cowboys (8,148) and Manly Sea Eagles and Gold Coast Titans (10,107).
The crowd at Carrington Park was also bigger than the Canberra Raiders versus Dolphins game played in Wagga Wagga on Saturday.
However, it was a record crowd that streamed through the gates at Wagga Wagga's Equex Centre, the fixture standing at 10,445.
While Orange council has engaged NRL clubs with the view of inking a long term deal when the Orange Sporting Precinct comes to life. Orange has never hosted a NRL competition game. The last time NRL clubs played in Orange was in 2016 at Wade Park, when the Knights hosted Canberra in a trial.
The Tigers, though, will take one of their own homes games to Tamworth later this year - their round 22 clash with South Sydney - and Sheens is happy to do so.
"We'll be going to Tamworth later in the year, we've been there the last two years, and I think the game is doing the best thing it can in that respect," Sheens said.
"I've been involved with country rugby league over the years and it's very good value to keep the game alive in the bush.
"The City-Country games are long gone from what they used to be, so taking games to those areas is a brilliant idea."
While it's good for the fans, the trip to Bathurst was good for Sheens and his Tigers.
It was their first win since Sheens' return to the coaching role and shows his side can match competition heavyweights when they execute their plans.
"It's amazing what a good ole bus trip up the mountains can do for a bunch of players, they didn't shut up the whole time coming up," he said.
"It was a good little bonding time to come together."
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