1. No.
Shaun Mielekamp is the General Manager of Football for the Wests Tigers
2. Senior Manager NRL: Works closely with head coach Benji Marshall and first-team squad members.
3.
OFFICIAL Q&A Club discussion with Shaun Mielekamp
- Thread starter ShaunMielekamp
- Start date
Shaun Mielekamp is the General Manager of Football for the Wests Tigers
2. Senior Manager NRL: Works closely with head coach Benji Marshall and first-team squad members.
3.
Buttface
Well-known member
Good luck Shaun, I hope you succeed.
I was closing in on ten years of membership for this season, I was looking forward to saying “ I’ve been a member of my club for 10 years”. But our membership team botched up the auto renewal, (seriously that is free money?), anyway, that made me think what’s the point, the club couldn’t even care enough to “take my money!”, so why should I?
So for the second time in the last 20 years I’m a non-member, and to go with that I’ve bought no merch, gone to no games and now half the time I don’t even bother watching the game. It’s in my blood so I will always have an eye on the Tigers, but how are we bringing in new fans, there is nothing about this club that a young fan wants to support, even ones born into it are resisting.
BTW, I was not offended by anything you posted, but you got a fan base that’s got open wounds.
May the footy gods be with you.
T4L
Buttface
Well-known member
Bloody hell! Demps is on the hammer 🔨, Bang, nailed it.
You a chippy?
Jesus was a carpenter? You related?
Jedi_Tiger
Well-known member
Hi Shaun
if we talk about united fan base we have HBG who at the start of the year the "Home" jersey was the orange one and the white the away. We then get fed this rubbish that it is not the casr and the club "chooses" which jersey they wear for each game, yet on roar store and rebel and peter wynns it is clear home jersey is orange away is white.
HBG has a fit about the orange jersey so it never gets worn. The jersey practically walks off the shelves however in HBG wisdom they decide not to play in it.
Then we get on to the club home games, tigers are set to play 7 at campbletown when redeveloped, and only 3 at LO and probably one at magic round.
The club has effectively sold itself to campbletown council to get a redevelopment done for 7 games yet Leichardt oval sells out for the three games.
1. How water tight is the agreement with the council to play 7 games at Campbelltown?
2. Can the club at any point elect to go to a scenario of
5 LO
6 Campbelltown
1 magic round
3. Is it true wests tigers jerseys next year will be getting
Magpies Heritage Jersey ?
Balmain Heritage jersey ?
4. Will the club look at Wests Tigers in all grades ?
if we talk about united fan base we have HBG who at the start of the year the "Home" jersey was the orange one and the white the away. We then get fed this rubbish that it is not the casr and the club "chooses" which jersey they wear for each game, yet on roar store and rebel and peter wynns it is clear home jersey is orange away is white.
HBG has a fit about the orange jersey so it never gets worn. The jersey practically walks off the shelves however in HBG wisdom they decide not to play in it.
Then we get on to the club home games, tigers are set to play 7 at campbletown when redeveloped, and only 3 at LO and probably one at magic round.
The club has effectively sold itself to campbletown council to get a redevelopment done for 7 games yet Leichardt oval sells out for the three games.
1. How water tight is the agreement with the council to play 7 games at Campbelltown?
2. Can the club at any point elect to go to a scenario of
5 LO
6 Campbelltown
1 magic round
3. Is it true wests tigers jerseys next year will be getting
Magpies Heritage Jersey ?
Balmain Heritage jersey ?
4. Will the club look at Wests Tigers in all grades ?
TigerBurnsy
Well-known member
Jedi I may be wrong but I thought we have the same jersey design next year with the only changes being minor ones for sponsors or a new logo etc. as the nrl makes clubs wear the same one for 2 years. We could get out of the 2025 kit because our contract with whoever ran out so we got Canterbury and could make a new kit
And i thought Demps was Barry O'Farrell got that wrong
5. Can we see Koe and Flegg all played at the same ground once in a while.
liltiger
Well-known member
There is a way through this. New ownership. No more 4 boards to keep happy, no more boards with control whos members are not accountable. Just one owner who is a Wests Tiger.
The sooner we drop the Western Suburbs and Balmain history the sooner we can all move on. I always hoped we could move forward and remain loyal to both histories of the joint venture. Though as times gone on it appears imo its the histories causing the contentions in the joint venture. Now i firmly believe that it must be one or the other. Its either we remain loyel to our history or we move on and remain loyal to Wests Tigers. Imo the sooner we drop Wests and Balmain and all this history talk the sooner we can all move on, its whats holding us back. Wests and Balmain had their chance it led to them merging. Wests Tigers have never been given that same opportunity. Thats why i say we need new owners. An owner with no connection to the past and only cares about our future.
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king_sirro
Well-known member
The fans are together. They have proved that by staying loyal despite how the club has performed. The only talk of fans being divided comes from HBG showing divide. Thats where the conversation starts. It wasnt even a discussion when the independent board was in place because there was no conjecture that the Wests Tigers are the focus. Various things have occurred that give fans no faith at all that HBG have Wests Tigers best interest at heart. They have the Magpies interest at heart it would seem. Reinstate an independent board or get private ownership. That is the only way for fans to believe the club has Wests Tiges as numher 1 priority over any dinosaur theories about Magpies or balmain.
tig_prmz
Well-known member
I think every team has its supporter base, especially loyal ones.
The reason we haven't folded is because NRL keeps us running. Turns out that them giving us $20-$30m every year funds millions of dollars worth of advertisements, podcasts, TV shows and clickbait articles.
I don't think we pay the Club much, but we click on enough stories and talk about it enough that the IP carries it forward.
Let's face it. Shaun is the new whipping boy for the HBG. If he doesn't play by their rules and act as a shield for their gross incompetence, then they will swap him out with another whipping boy.
hammertime
Well-known member
I just asked Gemini for a ranking on our board vs some of our main local competitors. Here's its summary, which should not be a surprise to anyone. We are not #1 on the field, because we are not #1 at the top.
The challenge @ShaunMielekamp is that all of us can clearly see the problem, including richo, but no one has the power to change it, even you. We understand you're not at fault.
Our frustration squarely lies at the feet of these "owners". These guys are members' representatives who should be custodians of this club, not swinging around a sense of entitlement because of some incestuous debenture system. Essentially, we're all at the mercy of 20 people to do the right thing for the club, rather than themselves.
We need the best possible people on an independent board (even with HBG ownership still), and until we get that, you're unfortunately left to play the unification angle which, i feel, just papers over the cracks.
Until that circuit breaker happens, their culture of entitlement will continue to plague the organisation.
The challenge @ShaunMielekamp is that all of us can clearly see the problem, including richo, but no one has the power to change it, even you. We understand you're not at fault.
Our frustration squarely lies at the feet of these "owners". These guys are members' representatives who should be custodians of this club, not swinging around a sense of entitlement because of some incestuous debenture system. Essentially, we're all at the mercy of 20 people to do the right thing for the club, rather than themselves.
We need the best possible people on an independent board (even with HBG ownership still), and until we get that, you're unfortunately left to play the unification angle which, i feel, just papers over the cracks.
Until that circuit breaker happens, their culture of entitlement will continue to plague the organisation.
| nk | Club | Football Nous & Elite Governance Rating | Football Experience & Capability | Corporate & High-Level Connections | Key Governance Strength |
| 1 | Sydney Roosters | Elite (9.5/10) | High: Directors like Luke Ricketson bring premiership-winning, elite-level player experience, complemented by decades of sports administration under Nick Politis. | Unmatched: Direct lines to Australia's top corporate circles, media executives, and ASX-level billionaires. | Exceptional stability; perfect integration of elite football ops and massive corporate backing. |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers | Strong / Elite Ops (8.5/10) | Elite: Led on the football side by Greg Alexander (Deputy Chair, premiership captain, Origin/Kangaroo representative). Deep understanding of elite pathways and football culture. | Moderate-High: Solid Western Sydney commercial networks, corporate health/tech figures (ex-Visa/Mastercard), and local civil enterprise. | Clear separation between football operations and group assets; unmatched junior pathway governance. |
| 3 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Strong (8.0/10) | High: Features premiership winners like Peter Mortimer and Joe Thomas, combining historic club culture with modern high-performance alignment. | High: Led by Adam Driussi (Quantium co-founder/CEO), bringing top-tier data analytics, corporate strategy, and tech networks. | Sharp pivot toward analytical corporate governance paired with authentic club legends. |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | Moderate-High (7.0/10) | Moderate: Relies heavily on executive sports administrators and committee setups rather than direct elite former-player voices on the board. | Moderate-High: Strong modern corporate governance, risk strategy, and executive management credentials. | Restructured constitutional framework that prevents factional gridlock, though lower in elite football pedigree. |
| 5 | Cronulla Sharks | Moderate (6.5/10) | Moderate-Low: Strong on general club administration, but lacks top-tier, former elite-level football champions embedded directly on the board. | Moderate: Heavily weighted toward property development and local commercial networks. | Excellent financial asset managers, but lower direct football IQ at the board table compared to Roosters or Panthers. |
| 6 | Wests Tigers | Developing / Low (4.5/10) | Low-Moderate: Michael Liubinskas brings local Wests Magpies coaching and team admin background, but the board lacks proven elite (NRL/Test level) football credentials. | Low: Dominated by suburban licensed club directors (Holman Barnes Group) and local SMB owners; limited top-tier ASX or national corporate networks. | Historically hindered by constitutional factionalism between Balmain/Wests, ongoing restructures, and a lack of corporate power. |
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Don’t think we are allowed to play NRL games at Lidcombe
Halbrowne61
Well-known member
So a huge opportunity for you Shawn to take it by the scruff of the neck and make it viable again ! Think laterally and be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
We’re searching for a hero mate,
are you it !!!!
Youre obviously not in some WTs facebook groups
clontarfkid
Well-known member
Hes an experienced and proven GM...certain he understands what he walked into
Dont think HBG can throw him out in a hurry
Joel Helmes
Well-known member
What HBG doesn’t understand is that the WT fan base in 2026 isn’t the old Magpies fan base of the 80s and 90s. For them, they were proud battlers who were just happy to see their side knock off the “silver tails” (or at least bash them) every now and then, but otherwise just be proud being the perennial underdog.
Today, the fan base is a totally different one with much higher expectations. What we have currently in terms of ownership and governance is no longer appropriate for the times and remains the number one impediment to success.
The fans have spoken and this genie isn’t going back in the bottle.
You want change? Cancel your membership auto renewal and stop going to games. There’s no other way of forcing change.
Today, the fan base is a totally different one with much higher expectations. What we have currently in terms of ownership and governance is no longer appropriate for the times and remains the number one impediment to success.
The fans have spoken and this genie isn’t going back in the bottle.
You want change? Cancel your membership auto renewal and stop going to games. There’s no other way of forcing change.
king_sirro
Well-known member
No im not. What is the fans divide there? And was the divide evident when the independent board was in place or has it been much more prevalent once HBG blew the place up?
Halbrowne61
Well-known member
Yes, I am totally against auto renewal. That should be an annual decision made by the badge holder. Why put the onus on the member to have to cancel, when it should be a request for ongoing support.
