1990 - 1999
Steve Roach - retires 1992
Wayne Pearce, Balmain Tigers Coach 1994-2000
Paul Sironen's lap of honour 1998

Tigers Tradition Continues

1990
Balmain beat Newcastle in a playoff for fifth place in 1990 but were beaten in the first semi final by Manly 16-0. This ended the Tigers relationship with coach Warren Ryan who left to join Wests. The club appointed Alan Jones as the new coach in a very bold change to the system. 1990 also marked the retirement of Balmain legend Wayne "Junior" Pearce.

1991
Balmain won 8 games and had 1 draw for 17 points in 1991 under the coaching of Jones. The side were very inconsistent and in a phase of rebuilding but some good wins were registered and Jones remained confident.

1992
1992 was a replay of 1991 with injuries and inconsistency disrupting some promising aspects of the season. The team finished in 10th with 21 points from 10 wins and a draw. Crowds began to drop at Leichhardt Oval with the team's disappointing performances. The season also marked the end of 3 great Tiger careers in Garry Jack, Steve Roach and David Brooks who all played over 100 games for the club over a period of 10 years or more.

1993
1993 was a disappointing year for Balmain who slumped to second last position just ahead of Gold Coast. The side had no problem scoring tries and attacking but defence and high mistake rates cost the Tigers dearly in 1993. Despite the poor record, Jones' coaching had value that could not be measured on field. He had saved the club money by coaching for free, used his contacts to attract sponsorship and arranged functions for the players such as a black tie function at a Kerry Packer farm. Keith Barnes once said "Alan did a lot for this club. He did a lot more than just coach this side. He helped the players through problems they might have been having away from the football field."

1994
Tiger legend Wayne Pearce too over as coach in 1994. Benny Elias would retire at the end of 1994 with the Tigers running last with only 4 wins. Benny played 233 games for the Tigers and was a Tiger favourite for many years. His outstanding achievements will never be lost on those that played with Benny who was a genius in the dummy half position. It is sad that in the late 1990's the hooker position has seen a significant change in role, and it is doubtful that another Benny Elias style hooker will ever grace the rugby league field. One memorable moment regarding Benny was in the 1993 State of Origin when NSW skipper Laurie Daley was knocked out. Benny took over as skipper and with a bloodied head, led the side to victory. His bandaged bloodied head is an image of Origin football that is constantly replayed and displays the essence of Origin football.

1995
Balmain released 31 players at the end of 1994 and moved to Parramatta Stadium as the Sydney Tigers. The Tigers stayed at Parramatta Stadium for 2 seasons before heading back toLeichhardt. 1995 saw the Tigers go from wooden spooners to 15th place in a 20 team competition. The Tigers averaged 6565 people attending home games at Parramatta Stadium in what was regarded as a failed experiment. However some would say that had the side stayed at Leichhardt Oval, then the club would still have struggled to gain crowds and the absence did stimulate a new resurrection when the side finally returned in 1997 to good crowds.

34 year old Garry Jack returned to the club to regain his club record from Benny Elias by playing 13 more games for the black and gold. Off the field the Super League momentum was building.

1996
1996 was a season of further improvement with the side finishing 12th of 20. Tim Brasher was an important member of the Australian side and for most of the season the side were a chance of making the top 8. Losses to the lesser placed teams would begin a trend that would haunt the club for the next 3 years and inevitably cost them an appearance in the finals of 1996 and 1997.

1997
Balmain returned home to Leichhardt Oval in 1997 and the fans welcomed them back. Super League broke away from the ARL and an 11 team ARL competition contested the Optus Cup. The return to Leichhardt saw 18,247 watch the galant Tigers defeated by 1996 Premiers Manly by 14-10 in a thriller. The Spirit was back and the Tigers were alive again. Brasher would again represent the ARL Australian side but the Tigers would miss the 7 teams Finals by finishing 8th by 1 point.

Crowds were up from 6,000 to 10,355 (a 63% improvement) and there was a buzz around the club again. 2nd Grade made the Grand Final but were defeated 26-16 by Parramatta, whilst the President's Cup side beat Sydney City 13-12 to win the Under 20's Premiership.

1998
The Tigers entered 1998 without the services of star fullback Tim Brasher and young forward Glen Morrison. The Super League/ARL compromise brought the 20 teams back together again and rugby league was on a course of re-growth. The Tigers began 1998 with a bang by winning 5 from the first 6 matches. Unfortunately losing 6 of the next 7 placed the Tigers in a bad position with the harder teams yet to be played. The low point of the season came with a 52-0 loss top Adelaide who were later axed from the competition whilst the high point came with a 10all draw to premiers Brisbane.

The retirement of Paul Sironen brought the crowds back to Leichhardt in the last 2 rounds. In the second last home game the Tigers hero became the most capped Tiger after beating Garry Jack's record of 244. In the final game against Sydney City the home crowd saw the Tigers go down convincingly to a classy outfit led by Brad Fittler but it mattered little as all they had come to see was the big fella do his lap of honour.

1999
1999 was a tumultuous year for the Balmain Tigers. The season began with a dark cloud hanging over the 16 clubs. The Super League/ARL compromise had left 1999 as the last season before the 14 team NRL competition began and with it came the much talked about criteria. 

On field the Balmain Tigers were struggling with a savage injury toll to key players forcing Wayne Pearce to use 40 players in first grade. Jason Lowrie and Craig Field were two new signings who performed admirably along with captain Darren Senter and Shane Walker. 

In July the option of forming a joint venture with fellow foundation club, the Western Suburbs Magpies was put to the Football Club members. The members ultimately voted in favour of a joint venture after independent analysts warned that the club would not make the criteria set by the NRL.

The decision to enter a joint venture saw a crowd of 15,240 turn out in atrocious conditions to watch the Tigers play their last home game in first grade at Leichhardt Oval as the Balmain Tigers. The players were given an inspirational history lesson by Wayne Pearce and came out and beat a highly fancied Parramatta Eels side 20-10. 

This match is one that will never be forgotten by those who were present. Darren Senter and James Webster suffered hypothermia but played on in inspirational circumstances. 

"That was a tremendous experience for everyone involved. There were 15,000 diehards there in appalling conditions and they witnessed a performance based on spirit and determination against the then title favourites. They did the club proud." beamed coach Wayne Pearce. 

Two weeks later the side travelled to Bruce Stadium, Canberra for the club's last game in the NRL, and once again the fans followed. Unfortunately the fairy tale of the Parramatta game was not repeated as the Raiders won 42-14. However, as the tears flowed, it was apparent that winning did not matter. The fans were here to farewell a club and the end result was of little consequence.

1999 was not the end of an era. Instead it was the dawn of a new era in the evolution of the Tigers. In 2000, the Tigers are still there in the black and gold as Wests Tigers whilst the NSWRL First Division and junior grades carry on the fine tradition that is the heart and soul of Balmain and the Mighty Balmain Tigers.