Taking a wrecking ball to the club! (Recent Media Reports)

[cochise]

If Denny Burgess never said what he is accused of, he shouldn't need to defend himself.
Gees, one of the people on here has answered my posts in that way on a few occasions with....
'I owe you nothing so why should I defend myself".
If it's ok for this person to say that I don't see why Burgess should have to.
If he does, he's just giving in to the mob and it could then become mob rule.

Correct I owe you nothing, I have no responsibility to you.

 

[cktiger]

Yuh know, I reckon with so much un-necessary anti-Magpies sentiment shown on the WESTS Tigers Forum [which Imo really isn't a Wests Tigers Forum, it's a Balmain Tigers Forum] this could be a perfect example of how the Balmain people on the WT board behave, causing never ending disharmony and disruption which doesn't allow the board to really get on with things.
But in spite of that I feel the board has performed pretty well in getting the services of Richo along with the several new players, plus getting upgrades to C.S.S. and Leichhardt Oval.
I reckon any reasonable, fair and unbiased thinker would have to agree the board has done pretty well.

If you read through this you’ll see plenty of former Magpie supporters completely sick of what’s happening and wanting the club to move on. In fact there’s most probably more first generation WestsTigers supporters on here than former Balmain or Wests supporters…. It’s been 25 years.

 

[cktiger]

If Denny Burgess never said what he is accused of, he shouldn't need to defend himself.
Gees, one of the people on here has answered my posts in that way on a few occasions with....
'I owe you nothing so why should I defend myself".
If it's ok for this person to say that I don't see why Burgess should have to.
If he does, he's just giving in to the mob and it could then become mob rule.

One is on a forum and the other is a director of the leagues club and the football team.
If he didn’t say it then it’s not hard just to come out and say he didn’t
Instead him and Romero stick their heads in the sand to pretend nothing’s happening.
I hate to keep coming back to you but I feel you are so far away from the reality of what they are doing and what their responsibilities are.

 

[BZN]

The board are genuine losers.

The way they carry on you would think they fought an actual war against each other.

A club destroyed by a few old knobs who will die soon anyway.

Legacy of them all - A grade knobness

I like this Tino---A grade knobness 😅.
Maybe a legacy for all old farts like me to strive for, because you have actually achieved something that not too many other people have.
Mods.......just trying to introduce a little bit of LEVITY amongst posts that are typically serious.

 

[WesternSuburbsBoy]

People should stop biting into this troll it’s clear he’s not a Wests Tigers fan… there’s plenty of Magpie groups for him to lurk on Facebook with a loud minority who share the same opinion as him. If you guys stop replying so will he.

 

[cochise]

People should stop biting into this troll it’s clear he’s not a Wests Tigers fan… there’s plenty of Magpie groups for him to lurk on Facebook with a loud minority who share the same opinion as him. If you guys stop replying so will he.

He will just reply to posts from a month ago.

 

[Tom Shines]

People should stop biting into this troll it’s clear he’s not a Wests Tigers fan… there’s plenty of Magpie groups for him to lurk on Facebook with a loud minority who share the same opinion as him. If you guys stop replying so will he.

I could think of a simpler way to solve the problem

 

[TigerJunior4]

I could think of a simpler way to solve the problem

Yeah just boot him and his two braindead mates that openly call for the team to be called the bushrangers.

 

[BZN]

Jesus mate I like your posts but shit like this don't help and is just divisive

Not too many people have liked or disliked this post ink.
By the way...you do realise jrtiger is not Jesus don't you even though you referred to him as Jesus and your mate.

 

[BZN]

If a Balmain backed consortium can go head to head for the NRL licence why wouldn’t they considered emptying their deep pockets at the time Balmain were broke and Wests bought out the BRLFC share? We would have retained a 50 / 50 joint venture and had half the club privately owned.
If anything that’s what Balmain should be pushing now if that option has always remained on the table with HBG.

Welcome to dealing with narcessists. If they go down they're taking everyone else with them.

That's a totally ridiculous thing to say liltiger.
Have you ever dealt with a narcissist?

 

[weststigers]

If a Balmain backed consortium can go head to head for the NRL licence why wouldn’t they considered emptying their deep pockets at the time Balmain were broke and Wests bought out the BRLFC share? We would have retained a 50 / 50 joint venture and had half the club privately owned.
If anything that’s what Balmain should be pushing now if that option has always remained on the table with HBG.

At the time, I think most felt it would put an end to the division because there would be a majority in charge.

This has turned into a Balmain / Wests thing, but the real issue is there is no accountability due to the system in place. Any sort of democratic voting process would have ousted the undesirable factions long ago, but we are stuck with people that can hold the club to ransom for their own agenda.

 

[hank37w]

@BZN/Magpies1963,

We know you never really ever got over the 1963 Grand Final. Here are a few suggestions that might make you feel a little better:

Western Suburbs Magpies | Sydney NSW

Western Suburbs Magpies, Сидней. Отметки "Нравится": 31 497 · Обсуждают: 2 405. Est 1908 - We Fly Higher Together Welcome to the official Western Suburbs Magpies Facebook page. westsmagpies.com.au

www.facebook.com

Match Details

Wests Supporter Forum-Team Draws, Line-ups, Results & Match Reports for NSW Cup, SG Ball & Harold Matthews

www.tapatalk.com

Western Suburbs Magpies

Western Suburbs Magpies are a foundation club of the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), fielding a senior teams in the premier NSWRL competition, the NSW Knock-On Effect Cup. We provide a pathway to success for juniors from the Macarthur, Liverpool and the Southern Highlands to the NRL via...

www.westsmagpies.com.au

Войдите на Facebook

Войдите на Facebook, чтобы общаться с друзьями, родственниками и знакомыми.

www.facebook.com

Hope this is of some help to you.

 

[Pascoes_barber]

you are just stirring shit now …

haven’t you got something better to do ?

Seems that he doesn't. Just endlessly boring, moronic trolling from @BZN recently.

 

[Suzie-Q]

Mods are not online 100% of the time.

Please use the report function (thank you to the few who have). It makes our role much easier.

If you don't want to report, please also either scroll past posts you don't agree with, or find the ignore function and apply it to the users getting up your nose.

Finally, be polite. No name calling, trolling, playing devils advocate.

And, it really is time to move on from this Balmain and Western Suburbs rubbish. It's ridiculous, and boring.

Please stay on topic, in a civilised manner, or you may find threads closed, posts removed, and/or members on posting bans.

Thank you

 

[Tom Shines]

And, it really is time to move on from this Balmain and Western Suburbs rubbish. It's ridiculous, and boring.

A suggestion meant in good faith …perhaps any posts that mention either the Wests Magpies or Balmain Tigers can be moved into another forum ( eg NSW Cup sub forum) for discussion there ..leaving this section solely to discuss the Wests Tigers ?

 

[Kaito]

Wouldn't want 2 see either 1 of them back anyway
we're wests (westersuburbs) tigers lord help me.
Both those clubs are great but they're retro like netwown
& glebe. No need 2 get overly emotional about them.

 

[BZN]

There is a lot of misinformation and confusion on this site about what is going on here. The facts are pretty straightforward. The HBG under the Chairmanship of Andreacchio and with the support of Gilbert and Wayde initiated the review which resulted in the dissolution of the former WT Board and the removal of Hagipantelis as Chair and Pascoe as CEO. Note that this cost these 3 directors their own positions at Wests Tigers but they were happy to support this for the good of the Club). The new CEO, Shane Richardson was appointed and O'Farrell was appointed as Chair. The Review also required the rapid appointment of a high quality Board of independent directors. Then fairly soon after this there I believe that there was a coup at the HBG Board and Romero was appointed Chair and Burgess Deputy. While Romero made statements that she supported implementation of the Review's recommendations, the fact that it has taken all year to appoint the 'high quality independent directors' and it still hasnt happened, does not give you much confidence that she and Burgess are supportive of such quality independent Board appointments. (In fact, I understand that the previous executive search firm put forward several high quality names many months ago, but the process was constantly delayed and deferred. And just recently they started again from scratch on a search process). Andreacchio's comments about 'people who are upset about losing their blazers' is a clear reference to other board members. There have also been some suggestions that Chairman Fedora may somehow be involved in this whole situation behind the scenes in order to get revenge and that Romero and Burgess may be beholden to him - however so far there is no evidence to support this. The whole 'investigation' into misbehaviour by Andreachhio, Wayde and Gilbert appears to clearly be a sham designed to have them removed from the HBG Board, so that the HBG Board can introduce other people who align with certain directors' interests - and that would almost certainly be highly detrimental to the Club's future. The structure of the ownership of the Club is broken - the whole debenture situation is ridiculous, archaic and actually from a legal standpoint highly questionable. The Constitution obviously needs to be rewritten to bring it, and the ownership structure of the Club, into line with 21st century business practices and proper governance.

The losers are the members and fans. We finally have a CEO who is highly professional, works incredibly hard, is highly respected in the NRL community and has achieved more in less than 12 months than previous administrators achieved in 12 years. We have the highest quality Chairman in the NRL. We need to appoint genuinely high quality independent directors with business acumen and intelligence. We are finally getting the recruitment right in terms of talent, structure and terms of the contracts. We are finally attracting very high quality sponsors and treating them with respect. We are finally doing something about capturing our vast junior areas and developing them. And we are finally engaging professionally with the south-west Sydney corridor. All in 12 months!! These are remarkable achievements. In summary, we are no longer a 'basket case' (which is how many very senior NRL officials referred to the club under previous administrations). We are finally earning respect. We finally have an administration and Club set-up that quality players wish to join. We finally have something to look forward to. We finally have hope!

And yet the clear suggestion is that some directors appear to want to tear it all down simply because their egos are bruised. Seriously?!! If these people care about this Club, as they claim to do, they themselves would step aside, let Barry O'Farrell and a professional executive search firm finalise the appointments of high quality genuinely independent directors and let the Club finally move forward.

For the sake of the long-suffering members, the fans, the players and the Club.

"Appears to clearly be a sham"...can you have a situation described that way?
In my mind and I may be wrong, but something that 'appears to be' is by no means a definite and it could well be not correct...while 'clearly' is a very definite and is correct.
I reckon you are having a battle with your own authenticity in this matter, in other words you're not sure if you are talking a lot of 💩 or not.

And I hope you don't mind me mentioning it, but your post is a huge jumble of words.
Try in future to put a few more breaks in if you do another looong post like this as it makes it so much easier for readers to actually read, comprehend and therefore enjoy.

Apart from that, your post is pretty darn good Hargreaves.

 

[Joel Helmes]

Wests Tigers Unite

For ALL Wests Tigers Fans​

Press Release

30th December 2024



A diverse group of leading Wests Tigers social media platforms and supporter groups has unified under the banner ‘Wests Tigers Unite’ and launched a petition calling for a review of the governance of the Holman Barnes Group (HBG)

The group's formation came about following months of negative headlines about the ownership and governance of the Wests Tigers NRL club, and more specifically, recent developments in the administration and governance of the NRL club’s majority stakeholder, HBG.

There is a significant amount of frustration and concern among Wests Tigers fans after the HBG board initially unanimously supported the recommendations of an external review into the governance of the Wests Tigers (conducted in late 2023), however, changes on the HBG board early in 2024 left those recommendations floundering.

In more recent times, three pro-review directors have been sidelined and look set to be entirely removed from their positions (and even banned from entering any HBG-controlled premises) based on allegations that seem to be thin at best.

It appears that those who have control of the HBG board are continuing to resist key review recommendations, and there are also deeper concerns among Wests Tigers fans that those now in charge of the HBG are not working in the best interests of the NRL club.

Further, there are significant concerns among the members of Wests Tigers Unite that the corporate governance, primarily the HBG’s long-established Debenture system, fails to provide fair representation to club members or meet community and regulator expectations.

The Wests Tigers Unite petition is calling for a comprehensive external review of the governance of the Holman Barnes Group and will be presented to the HBG, Liquor and Gaming NSW, and the NSW Minister for Liquor and Gaming, The Hon. David Harris, MP.

Members of Wests Tigers Unite include well-known ‘Wests Tigers Life’ podcast contributor Rob Bechara, ‘The Ambush’ Wests Tigers fan group, the Wests Tigers Forum, Tiger Town Podcast, and the Wests Tigers Podcast & Forum.

The petition has currently received over 500 signed submissions, and it is anticipated that further Wests Tigers fan and media platforms will join us in this action in the coming days.

Mr. Bechara says he supports the petition because he is concerned about the procrastination of the implementation of the full recommendations made by the independent and external review.

“I’m also bothered by the continuous unrest amongst board members of Holman Barnes Group and the embarrassment it not only brings to themselves but also the Wests Tigers.

“A united board at ownership level is vital for the stability and success at the Wests Tigers and all decisions made at board level MUST be in the best interests of the Wests Tigers and its future.

“I hope all Wests Tigers fans support this petition. It’s in the best interests of Wests Tigers future.”

The Ambush co-founder Kelly Hollis says supporting the petition was an easy decision.

“Our group has always been about uniting Wests Tigers fans and creating a strong community, both on and off the field. Supporting the Wests Tigers Unite petition is a natural extension of that mission.

“We stand with fans calling for transparency and accountability in the club’s governance to ensure the future of the Tigers is as strong as the passion of its supporters.

“It’s time for the club we love to thrive, and we’re proud to back this important cause.”

Tiger Town Podcast co-owners Toby Burke and Zac Kelsey say they are right behind the movement.

“We feel obligated to support this petition due to our ongoing concerns with the perceived dysfunction at board level of the majority owners of Wests Tigers, the Holman Barnes Group, and, how this has impacted and will continue to impact, a cohesive and congruent Wests Tigers Board; something that is a necessity for a rugby league club to be successful.

“We are only interested in the success and stability of the football club moving forward and are concerned that the current governance structure is preventing necessary progress from taking place, let alone in a timely and expedited fashion.

“The dysfunction, infighting and agendas need to end, once and for all.'

Wests Tigers Podcast & Forum co-founder Joel Helmes says the current governance structure at HBG appears to consistently be proving problematic.

“The Holman Barnes Group, and by extension the Wests Tigers, has become a plaything for a small group of individuals who are not answerable to anyone.

“Under the current set-up there doesn’t appear to be any feasible or tangible mechanisms to enforce good governance, and certainly no direct democratic process that could be triggered to ensure the people in charge of the HBG are accountable.

“It is in my opinion that the Debenture-controlled HBG board fails to meet one of the five priorities of the Liquor & Gaming NSW Delivery Plan 2024 – 2026, namely, ensuring responsible governance, operator integrity, and financial accountability.”

One of the three elected HBG directors set to be removed from their positions was the long-serving Rick Wayde.

Wayde, along with Tony Andreacchio and David Gilbert, have been suspended for several weeks and are likely to have their club memberships revoked, removing them from being able to hold positions on the HBG board.

Wayde says what has happened to him and his two fellow board members shows the HBG governance is not providing the 27,000 Members of the HBG licensed clubs with representation at Board level.

“Tony and I have been through five elections over the past 13 years, being unopposed in early 2024, for a three-year term. During our time we have helped establish a stable environment for the CEO and his executive team to build a strong, company, resulting in record profits over the past three years.

“We have also been the prime movers in the Wests Tigers review and its implementation. That HBG Boardroom stability has disappeared in the current power grab by debenture holders - Julie Romero, Dennis Burgess, Stephen Montgomery, and Vince Tropiano.

“The debenture system has passed its ‘use by’ date.” Mr. Wayde said.

ENDS

 

[Ecto-1]

Wests Tigers Unite

For ALL Wests Tigers Fans​

Press Release

30th December 2024



A diverse group of leading Wests Tigers social media platforms and supporter groups has unified under the banner ‘Wests Tigers Unite’ and launched a petition calling for a review of the governance of the Holman Barnes Group (HBG)

The group's formation came about following months of negative headlines about the ownership and governance of the Wests Tigers NRL club, and more specifically, recent developments in the administration and governance of the NRL club’s majority stakeholder, HBG.

There is a significant amount of frustration and concern among Wests Tigers fans after the HBG board initially unanimously supported the recommendations of an external review into the governance of the Wests Tigers (conducted in late 2023), however, changes on the HBG board early in 2024 left those recommendations floundering.

In more recent times, three pro-review directors have been sidelined and look set to be entirely removed from their positions (and even banned from entering any HBG-controlled premises) based on allegations that seem to be thin at best.

It appears that those who have control of the HBG board are continuing to resist key review recommendations, and there are also deeper concerns among Wests Tigers fans that those now in charge of the HBG are not working in the best interests of the NRL club.

Further, there are significant concerns among the members of Wests Tigers Unite that the corporate governance, primarily the HBG’s long-established Debenture system, fails to provide fair representation to club members or meet community and regulator expectations.

The Wests Tigers Unite petition is calling for a comprehensive external review of the governance of the Holman Barnes Group and will be presented to the HBG, Liquor and Gaming NSW, and the NSW Minister for Liquor and Gaming, The Hon. David Harris, MP.

Members of Wests Tigers Unite include well-known ‘Wests Tigers Life’ podcast contributor Rob Bechara, ‘The Ambush’ Wests Tigers fan group, the Wests Tigers Forum, Tiger Town Podcast, and the Wests Tigers Podcast & Forum.

The petition has currently received over 500 signed submissions, and it is anticipated that further Wests Tigers fan and media platforms will join us in this action in the coming days.

Mr. Bechara says he supports the petition because he is concerned about the procrastination of the implementation of the full recommendations made by the independent and external review.

“I’m also bothered by the continuous unrest amongst board members of Holman Barnes Group and the embarrassment it not only brings to themselves but also the Wests Tigers.

“A united board at ownership level is vital for the stability and success at the Wests Tigers and all decisions made at board level MUST be in the best interests of the Wests Tigers and its future.

“I hope all Wests Tigers fans support this petition. It’s in the best interests of Wests Tigers future.”

The Ambush co-founder Kelly Hollis says supporting the petition was an easy decision.

“Our group has always been about uniting Wests Tigers fans and creating a strong community, both on and off the field. Supporting the Wests Tigers Unite petition is a natural extension of that mission.

“We stand with fans calling for transparency and accountability in the club’s governance to ensure the future of the Tigers is as strong as the passion of its supporters.

“It’s time for the club we love to thrive, and we’re proud to back this important cause.”

Tiger Town Podcast co-owners Toby Burke and Zac Kelsey say they are right behind the movement.

“We feel obligated to support this petition due to our ongoing concerns with the perceived dysfunction at board level of the majority owners of Wests Tigers, the Holman Barnes Group, and, how this has impacted and will continue to impact, a cohesive and congruent Wests Tigers Board; something that is a necessity for a rugby league club to be successful.

“We are only interested in the success and stability of the football club moving forward and are concerned that the current governance structure is preventing necessary progress from taking place, let alone in a timely and expedited fashion.

“The dysfunction, infighting and agendas need to end, once and for all.'

Wests Tigers Podcast & Forum co-founder Joel Helmes says the current governance structure at HBG appears to consistently be proving problematic.

“The Holman Barnes Group, and by extension the Wests Tigers, has become a plaything for a small group of individuals who are not answerable to anyone.

“Under the current set-up there doesn’t appear to be any feasible or tangible mechanisms to enforce good governance, and certainly no direct democratic process that could be triggered to ensure the people in charge of the HBG are accountable.

“It is in my opinion that the Debenture-controlled HBG board fails to meet one of the five priorities of the Liquor & Gaming NSW Delivery Plan 2024 – 2026, namely, ensuring responsible governance, operator integrity, and financial accountability.”

One of the three elected HBG directors set to be removed from their positions was the long-serving Rick Wayde.

Wayde, along with Tony Andreacchio and David Gilbert, have been suspended for several weeks and are likely to have their club memberships revoked, removing them from being able to hold positions on the HBG board.

Wayde says what has happened to him and his two fellow board members shows the HBG governance is not providing the 27,000 Members of the HBG licensed clubs with representation at Board level.

“Tony and I have been through five elections over the past 13 years, being unopposed in early 2024, for a three-year term. During our time we have helped establish a stable environment for the CEO and his executive team to build a strong, company, resulting in record profits over the past three years.

“We have also been the prime movers in the Wests Tigers review and its implementation. That HBG Boardroom stability has disappeared in the current power grab by debenture holders - Julie Romero, Dennis Burgess, Stephen Montgomery, and Vince Tropiano.

“The debenture system has passed its ‘use by’ date.” Mr. Wayde said.

ENDS

Wests Tigers Unite🫡

 

[WestsEffTheRest]

So TS...you don't care about the dramas "beyond how it affects the Tigers". I can only assume that you mean Balmain Tigers as you haven't added the WESTS in front of Tigers.
Then, just 2 posts later @cochise responds with a "spot on" meaning he is in total agreement with you, as he hasn't included the word WESTS either.
Did it just slip your memory that we are called Wests Tigers Cochise, OR did your real feelings of your allegiance to Balmain Tigers show?

Don't forget folks, if you are talking about Wests Tigers on here, please include the WESTS name in your post. That way there is no misinterpretation.

I reckon for someone like Cochise who considers himself to be a V.I.P. in all things Wests Tigers, it's pretty darn disrespectful of him not to use our full name, particularly at a time of heightened tension that exist at the moment.
Don't forget Cochise...write for your reader.
Just tryin to help Mate.

There’s only a misinterpretation if you’re still stuck in 1990 & this is coming from someone with a Magpie as his profile pic Lol.