Tigers welcome Shaun Mielekamp

Tom Shines said:
Tigers pushing to play their home finals game at Leichhardt 👍😎

Good to have some optimism
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They can say it now because the chances of it happening are slim to none.

Probably setting themselves up for 2027 when we play finals and to take a game to Campbelltown.. would prefer play at CommBank
 
mtd#2 said:
They can say it now because the chances of it happening are slim to none.

Probably setting themselves up for 2027 when we play finals and to take a game to Campbelltown.. would prefer play at CommBank
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when it happens it will probably involve us giving up our home advantage to play Parra at Commbank… just like we did for the Roosters game in 2010
 
mtd#2 said:
6 posts is nothing. Plus, he brought them up again, not us.

It took them 3 minutes to sack the board.
It took them 10 days to backflip on their decision.
It took them 7 months to appoint him.

We still have no explanation around any of it.

Strong leaders tackle issues head on. They lurk in shadows and have directors taking potshots at fans on socials..

Fans don't forget... At least I don't.
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"Congrats to Shawn, seems like a really positive step forward & hopefully settles a few of the fan concerns from earlier in the year". That would have been an appropriate type of response I'd have thought.

But....we can't just have nice things here. No, it's all about unfounded reports of other CEO's & the like & not at all about Shawn & the positive steps forward.

And fans forget. All the time. When it suits them. There was a pocket of the fan base that absolutely were not going to accept Taylan May in the club based on his history.

One of the HBG aligned board members was quoted. Won't be long before we are made to understand how terrible he is.
 
The Chad said:
"Congrats to Shawn, seems like a really positive step forward & hopefully settles a few of the fan concerns from earlier in the year". That would have been an appropriate type of response I'd have thought.

But....we can't just have nice things here. No, it's all about unfounded reports of other CEO's & the like & not at all about Shawn & the positive steps forward.

And fans forget. All the time. When it suits them. There was a pocket of the fan base that absolutely were not going to accept Taylan May in the club based on his history.

One of the HBG aligned board members was quoted. Won't be long before we are made to understand how terrible he is.
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Who Is Shawn? I’ve already sent him my congratulations. I just don't bother posting personal messages to a CEO on a fan forum, thinking he's actually reading them.

You can tell us to forget the past until you're blue in the face, but the owners are the exact same group who have repeatedly blown this place up without explanation or accountability. It's just a never-ending game of musical chairs on the board. History shows this current phase won't last, so you can't blame fans for being skeptical.

As the saying goes: you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
 
mtd#2 said:
Who Is Shawn? I’ve already sent him my congratulations. I just don't bother posting personal messages to a CEO on a fan forum, thinking he's actually reading them.

You can tell us to forget the past until you're blue in the face, but the owners are the exact same group who have repeatedly blown this place up without explanation or accountability. It's just a never-ending game of musical chairs on the board. History shows this current phase won't last, so you can't blame fans for being skeptical.

As the saying goes: you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
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Lipstick on a pig doesn't make it look pretty, damn ugly animal, only time you appreciate it is when it turns up on your plate as ham/pork.

Edit: yeah Jad forgot bacon lol.
 
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BlackWhiteGold said:
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/ti...ll-will-get-fans-excited-20260703-p60c9m.html

Tigers appoint full-time club boss. His first big call will get fans excited
Adrian Proszenko
Jul 3, 2026

Wests Tigers chief executive Shaun Mielekamp has had the “interim” tag taken out of his title, and one of his first acts in charge will be to lobby for the club to make an unexpected return to Leichhardt Oval this season if they host a home final.

After taking over from predecessor Shane Richardson in December on an interim basis, Mielekamp’s appointment to the position on a permanent basis was announced on Friday.

Shaun Mielekamp has been appointed full-time chief executive of Wests Tigers.Wolter Peeters
The former CEO of A-League club Central Coast Mariners took the helm at a tumultuous time as the club was riven by factionalism.

But Mielekamp has presided over a period of relative stability: the stakeholders in charge of the Tigers are on the same page; head coach Benji Marshall has extended his contract; key players Jahream Bula, Taylan May, Terrell May, Adam Doueihi, Sione Fainu, Sunia Turuva and Heamasi Makasini have recommitted; and the team is a chance of breaking a finals drought that stretches back to 2011.

The news of Mielekamp’s full-time appointment was broken to the playing squad and staff on Friday morning.

Mielekamp thanked the Tigers’ majority owners, the Holman Barnes Group, for the opportunity to lead the club into the future.

“It is a good time for the club, and to be acknowledged that we are on the right track is probably what this is,” Mielekamp said.

“The most rewarding part, because this isn’t just about me, it’s really about the entire team here, [is] that we said we would remain stable and unified and stick to the plan. We’ve done that and shown some good outcomes from that.”

The Tigers remain a chance of breaking their finals drought if they finish the season strongly. In previous years, teams finishing first, second, fifth and sixth on the ladder would earn home-ground advantage for the opening weekend of the finals and nominate where the fixture is held.

However, the NRL now has the discretion to decide where all finals games are played, to maximise revenue and ensure fans aren’t turned away due to the limited capacities of some suburban grounds. Given Leichhardt Oval is scheduled for construction work, it was thought the Tigers’ round 15 victory over the Gold Coast would be the last match staged at the venue until 2028. However, if the Tigers earn hosting rights in week one of the finals, they will be pushing to play at the iconic ground that is known as the “Eighth wonder of the world”.

“This year, Leichhardt [would be our preference], yes,” Mielekamp said.

“Our mission is winning, and if we’re going to give ourselves the best chance to win, everyone knows our best chance to win is at Leichhardt here and now. We’re not going to go to the finals to not give ourselves every chance to win.”

Asked if he would lobby the NRL, Mielekamp said: “Of course. They’ve got to do what’s best for the game and I appreciate that bigger venues will attract more fans.

“It also depends on who the opposition is for us. But we’re not talking finals yet.”

The Tigers go into Saturday’s clash with St George Illawarra at Kogarah with a 7-8 record, needing a win to remain in the mix for a breakthrough finals berth.

“This is a key match in the season,” Mielekamp said. “We’ve definitely done a callout to the fans to play their part.”

Mielekamp claimed the club, which has previously been riven by factionalism, is the most unified it has been.

“We’ve taken tough defeats, but the club has not done what it’s done previously and started to eat itself alive, which is a good indicator of where we’re headed,” he said.

“There hasn’t been any infighting, there hasn’t been a witch hunt or anything like that. It’s been, OK, how do we improve and make sure we focus on the next one and take a step forward? If we keep that mentality as a club and that real relentless determination for on-field success and performance, then we will get there.”
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Look I think it’s a positive he’s been appointed and I think Shaun is steady but it’s pretty embarrassing to be talking about playing finals games at LO when we likely won’t make the 8.

I don’t know. Maybe the club should focus on winning games instead of talking about far-fetched hypotheticals?
 
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