There’s a good chance Lachlan McShane will be the only Wests Tigers fan at Mount Smart Stadium on Sunday, and that would suit him very well.
The Warriors, and fans of the Kiwi league in general, will come out in force when their team returns home for the first time since August 2019 with a guaranteed electric environment while nine-year-old Lachlan prepares to watch the faithful of the Warriors.
After committing to watching every Wests Tigers game, at home and away, this year the West Sydney super fan will cross Tasman this weekend for the first time as he follows his beloved Wests Tigers to Auckland.
“I’m excited, I think I’ll be around all the Warriors fans because the ground is exhausted,” Lachlan told NRL.com. “Achieving all the matches was my goal and so far we have reached them all, so this weekend we are going to New Zealand
“My dad goes for the Wests Tigers, so I started looking for them. I can’t stand people changing teams: I’m a Tigers man.”
Tigers super fan Lachlan McShane will fly to Auckland to see his team play on Sunday. © Supplied
After his team in Gold Coast, Wollongong, Newcastle and through Sydney a year ago, Lachlan said he travels the distance to “feel part of the game”.
“Watching matches on the ground is much better than watching TV. You can see the game much more clearly,” he said.
“I feel involved in the game, I can always meet the players at the end.”
Lachlan with Tigers midfielder, Jackson Hastings, © Supplied
As the owner of the St George Illawarra Dragons, following the Tigers every weekend is an unexpected adventure for Lachlan’s mother, Courtney McShane, but “the smile on her face” makes it worth it.
“It’s an adventure. And a win sometimes is the cherry on top, but just seeing the smile on his face just by being in the game and seeing how he likes to be a part of it is well worth it,” Courtney told NRL .how. .
Lachlan and Courtney McShane in the crowd during a Tigers game. © Supplied
“At the end of the match, regardless of the result, Lachlan will wait on the fence or in the tunnel and cheer on all the tiger boys off the field.
“He won’t leave the stadium until everyone has entered the locker rooms.”
And what about the outcome?
“I think they’re going to do well this weekend, they’re really going to want to do it for Kimmorley, to give him his first win as an NRL coach,” Lachlan said.
Lachlan with the Wests Tigers utility that will start from the exchange this weekend in his second game after a knee reconstruction. © Supplied
“I think Brooksy could try it, maybe Doueihi and Jacko too.
“Adam Doueihi is my favorite, I love the stitches in the air. I call them Doueihi bombs. “