Recent content by FinestTigers

While other NRL clubs enjoy the security of modern governance that guarantees first priority investment in their football team, the Wests Tigers are the only club with this unique governance who remains on dangerous footing. Pokies Dominated HBG’S Total Revenue until the 2024 financial period...

Agree, It's HBG steps back or the NRL forces the underlying governance structure to be fundamentally changed.

In the past, money from poker machines brought in plenty of cash, but those revenues are now dropping due to tougher rules and people spending less. This means HBG can no longer rely on pokie money to fund the football team like they used to. Instead of putting all their funds into the Wests...

Classical Matches from the past. The Match: May 10, 1992 at Campbelltown Sports Stadium. The Magpies upset the Dragons 16–12 in an absolute mud bath. Rain fell so heavily over Campbelltown that by half-time, numbers on the back of the jerseys were completely obliterated. The referee attempted...

It's actually Nov 3, not 13, merlot. This is when the US midterm elections start. Scientists warned that failing to nominate Trump, who is a convicted Rapist and Felon will trigger a catastrophic event. Not because of cosmic forces, but because if he loses, the sheer volume of his angry late night posts will finally cause the end...

The State Emergency Cabinet Protocols vs. The 3:30 PM Meat Raffle Q: During state crises, Premier O'Farrell could suspend normal parliamentary proceedings to declare a State of Emergency. Can he declare an emergency at Ashfield? A: Tested under Resolution 618. At 3:28 PM, Barry called an...

Looking back 15 years, While many NRL clubs have endured their fair share of public scandals, board warfare, and performance slumps over the years, virtually all of them eventually sorted their houses out through external intervention, board cleanouts, or structural reform. The Wests Tigers...

Ian Hayson was the mastermind who accepted Benny as his business partner and used him as the inside man to get the job done. When Benny Elias spent his footy career as an absolute master of the dummy pass, it’s only fitting that when he moved into property development, he managed to throw the...

Legend has it that back in the mid-2000s, an executive from HBG, rubbed a dusty old pokie machine and summoned a mischievous Genie. The wish? "Make us the undisputed rulers of the Wests Tigers joint venture, and make sure those proud Balmain Tigers fans have nowhere to drink but our place in...

The Great Leichhardt Oval Dressing Room Siege: In 1979, Tommy accidentally walked into the Balmain change rooms after full-time, sat down on Neil "Bing" Pringle’s gear bag, and started wrapping his own ankles with Balmain strapping tape. When Bing pointed out he was in the wrong room, Tommy...

Thanks for posting this mtd2 This really is food for thought regarding NRL interventions. 1. The Perth Bears: Orderly Process & Strict Compliance The Bears' expansion constitution explicitly strips the local board of the power to unilaterally sack the chief executive. Ultimate authority rests...

The Factional Cold War over 2005: The 2005 Premiership remains the ultimate diplomatic battleground at Ashfield. The Balmain faction claims 80% of the credit because of Marshall and Farrah, while the Wests debenture holders maintain it was strictly a Magpie victory because Bryce Gibbs made five...

The Rozelle Debt-Relief Thanksgiving Mass: Every year on the anniversary of the merger, the 20 debenture holders gather in the Ashfield cellar for a solemn candlelit ceremony. They raise a glass of house draft to a framed photo of the abandoned Rozelle site, bow their heads, and recite the...

I think you must have assumed wrong, but, Your wish is granted.

The year is 1998. The setting is the Wests Ashfield Leagues Club. The air smells heavily of stale Carlton Draught, deep fried dim sims, and liniment. Tommy Raudonikis, wearing a tracksuit that looks like it has been through three distinct house fires, is pacing in front of a whiteboard. On the...