Incorrect.
And people like yourself are continuing to muddy the waters.
The message is clear;
Return the club to a structure of independent governance.
If HBG cannot return the Wests Tigers Football Club to an independently governed entity, then either sell, replace the current board or have the NRL step in to ensure this outcome (administrator appointment, licensee regulations, etc).
No one involved in the rally is looking for a name change. In fact, the messaging has been crystal clear, it's the literal opposite.
You're just another in a long-line of meddlers trying to undermine fans doing what they can to rescue a club being held to ransom.
Not trying to nitpick, but the fact that HBG could still remove independent board people means that there was no independent governace to begin with.
The other thing is that we need money. Sponsorships, memberships and the NRL grants are clearly not enough. Brisbane, Melb, Cowboys etc put down a lot more money than we do. Don't quote me but I believe Broncos put down $80m into Broncos in 2024 whereas Wests Tigers had around $27m (including NRL grants) HBG is still putting money into WT, even if it's less than any other club.
If there is complete indpendency and HBG cannot profit off WT which is the case right now, why would they continue to invest in it? Now forget HBG, any other company, why would they as well?
There is a cap I believe for the Top 30 in terms of playing staff and coaching staff but someone with more knowledge than I can confirm whether your JF, Andrew Johns, Laurie Daley cup etc has a cap?
We have one of the largest junior bases but have the least amount of money going into the club. Imagine how little money is spent per team/ per player if that's the case?
I have no idea what the solution is or what the governace structures are in other clubs. But trying to think out loud.
Richo has said that we were profitable for the first time this year. Now, was that because the costs were slashed further or we went out and got new sponsorships? Didn't we actually lose Brydens as a sponsor this year? Maybe the new sponsor paid more.
We have teams in almost every single men's, women's, youths, boys comp. Is that too many teams for what we can actually afford? Let's say our operating budget is $30m for all the teams combined, should we cut down on teams?
I feel like we don't even know 10% of what's actually happening TBH. I may have misunderstood a lot of this, so happy for someone to correct me and discuss further.