CEO Forum 20 Jan 26 - Hotwash Part 1

Red88_Tiger said:

Thanks for the update jolls
Did you have any questions you deemed important that haven’t been answered yet

Click to expand...

Jolls said:

Hi Team,

This is a long read so strap yourself in for the ride.

I drove up to the Interim CEO’s forum yesterday. It was a worthwhile event despite the fact that there were some attendees that thought it was more about them and their issues than an opportunity for constructive discussion. I’m sure from Shaun and his team’s point of view it was a first-hand opportunity to get a feel for the angst in the fan base.

Barry O’Farrell was in attendance for most of the session; but, unfortunately he ducked out early so I didn’t get a chance to catch him over the bite to eat we had post the event. The vocal minority also dominated Shaun’s time post the event so it was difficult to get much out of him there. Single issue zealots just don’t drop their wheelbarrow unfortunately!

So what did I get out of it?

The Bottom line up front is that there is nothing, from a governance perspective, to stop the owners (HBG) throwing their toys out of the cot in the future. However; Barry O’Farrell stated very clearly that Peter V’landys has given HBG clear guidance on the future of Wests Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies and also provided a stern warning on the consequences of any actions similar to those that occurred in December. BOF does not expect a repeat performance as the consequences would be dire. He did not expand on what that meant but did state the PVL sends shivers down the spines of Premiers and Prime Ministers, so you can imagine the effect on HBG’s board. He also advised that he is still as confused as everyone else at what happened in December. His only reason for returning is PVL, he is confident that HBG will toe the line.

Shaun went on to discuss the us and them dynamic that occurred as a result of the independence of the sacked Wests Tigers Board. The future, yet to be presented to the WT Board, is a move from independence to “Collective Strength”. So what does this “Collective Strength” mean? Shaun told us the Penrith Story: when he arrived at the Club the owners were upset about spending $2M per year on the Football Department, they wanted to see the Football side of the house generating revenue not “bleeding the club dry”. He did not elaborate on the how, but did say that the team, under Gus Gould, turned this around and by the time Shaun left the owners were happily tipping in $9M per year. He went to say that working under Mike Charlesworth at the Central Coast Mariners makes working with the Wests Tigers and HBG boards feel like child’s play; so if they could turn the Mariners around, he and his team can turn Wests Tigers around. He is confident that the collective strength of WT and HBG boards is the way to go – and if that battle is won HBG will “self regulate” its board membership.

He also advised that Benji and the team are professional and focused on results; however, did acknowledge the effect it has had, and will continue to have on recruiting and retention. But he had outlined earlier in the meeting the approach to overcoming this and it relates to the collective strength referred to above. I will get to the "how" later in the washup. He also advised, although he couldn’t release information, that the next Wests Tigers Board has some very experienced business personnel on it that he is really looking forward to working with. (Not sure if this is true or not; but what else could he say?).

That opened a can of worms in relation to makeup of the board and particularly the unhelpful statements by Leo Epifania. It was a “rowdy” discussion led by a few “upset” individuals. The end result is that Shaun advised that he is the one responsible for getting Leo on board and he will be personally having the hard discussions with him. Although I expect BOF will have a bit to do with it as well. The continuing theme was developing the collective strength so that HBG self regulates its members.

Other tid bits:

• MAIN POINT. Internally to WT what has changed? Less Richo moving on – nothing.
• BOF expanded a little on the Authur Laundy news reports. Apparently BOF and Laundy are mates and Laundy has offered to help WT as he is a supporter of the club. He did not offer to buy the club at all – that was never on the table and never discussed.
• The team is well ahead on its performance metrics at this time last yea, and last year was big step up from the year prior. So all he can say at this time is that our baseline fitness and strength has improved. In addition:
  • Bunty Afoa has surprised everyone with his attitude and performance and is a great fit for the club. Shaun is of the opinion that he may do enough over the off season to have a starting spot come round 1.
  • Bula wants to stay. Disregard the noise from the Drag Queens and Bulldogs. He wouldn’t be drawn on the hold up to signing; however, you can expect it is linked to how he performs in the early rounds to try and justify a pay rise. There was discussion about simply paying overs to keep him with many in the audience believing he will be the next superstar. There was some heated discussion in the audience about previous losses of Papenhuyzen and Tedesco etc. It was shut down: WT are not dwelling on the past as they can only control our future.
• Vegas. We are pushing to be the last team to go to Vegas in 29 along with PNG or the Bears. PVL is keen for us to go sooner; the discussion is scheduled for today I believe. I picked up at the post event gathering from Shaun that he expects PVL to be using the resolution of the December fiasco as leverage to have us attend to play Parra in 27. The counter to PVL is that we have been “disadvantaged” (Shaun used more colourful words) by the round 1 draw twice and we need to win games. He thinks that having the Tigers back playing finals footy earlier may be enough to win the day. Wait Out – watch the news for updates.
• Stadium Policy. This raised significant debate: Allianz v Commbank, who to play at Commbank (ie not Parra), seating arrangements, ticket pricing, and of course the Eighth Wonder v Cambo “debate”. The end result is about $ in the coffers. The Allianz experiment did not bring in the expected number or $ but Commbank does. The example offered: Sold out Leichardt at the end of 25 bought in $385K in ticket sales and $60K in corporate $, a not sold out Commbank bought us in $860K in ticket sales and $120K in corporate $. Having said that the plan is not to abandon our spiritual homes. The planned breakdown (all less 26 yet to be finalised) is as follows:
  • 26: Cambo 4, Leichardt 3, Commbank 4, Magic Round 1.
  • 27: Cambo 7, Commbank 4, Magic Round 1.
  • 28: Cambo 8, Commbank 4 with a Magic Round contract decision yet to be made. My gut feel is that Magic Round will continue but the home teams will change – but how knows.
  • 29: Leichardt/Cambo split with Commbank 1, same deal for Magic Round.
  • The final point on stadiums is that WT job is to fill them and that is based on performance and membership.
• Wests Macarthur. Wests Macarthur have reached out asking to be part of the Wests Tigers and will be incorporated into the Clubs's system. They will be a separate entity but perform a role similar to St Marys Leagues Club does as the preferred destination for developing players for Penrith.
• Post game engagement with the fans. This was raised as a negative and Shaun picked up on it quickly. There are four disparate forces pulling on the players. There are some that want to run up into the crowd and thank every supporter, there is one Captain that wants to be off the paddock and commencing rehab ASAP post-game, there is a coach that wants to conduct a hotwash for the game and NRL demanding interviews as part of the media deal. He could not guarantee a change in post-match engagement due to the competing forces but noted the desire for it to be “improved”, he also noted that other teams seem to do it well. Interesting to see what comes of this.
• NRLW. The NRLW were training at the end of the session so there was a small discussion on the balcony with Shaun about the NRLW team. Basically, we scrapped the NRLW program as it was underperforming and have rebuilt it from the foundation up under Charmain Steventon and Craig Sandercock. Charmain was out on the paddock while the girls were going though their paces under Craig and his team. Shaun was full of praise for her and Craig and thinks they have their fingers on the pulse. Interesting to see what 2026 brings for our girls after two consecutive spoons.

Click to expand...

Vicious said:

Great read Jolls thank you.
It would be great if someone like yourself who is very fair minded could have regular catch ups with Shaun and Barry to relay information back to the fans.

Click to expand...

BlackWhiteGold said:

“Collective Strength” a bit of PR jargon there obviously to excuse moving away from a majority independent board.

I wonder if collective will ultimately refer to HBG (Magpies & Balmain), Wests Macarthur & 2 or 3 independents with corporate capability that meets the skills matrix.

Click to expand...

Jolls said:

Hi Team,

This is a long read so strap yourself in for the ride.

I drove up to the Interim CEO’s forum yesterday. It was a worthwhile event despite the fact that there were some attendees that thought it was more about them and their issues than an opportunity for constructive discussion. I’m sure from Shaun and his team’s point of view it was a first-hand opportunity to get a feel for the angst in the fan base.

Barry O’Farrell was in attendance for most of the session; but, unfortunately he ducked out early so I didn’t get a chance to catch him over the bite to eat we had post the event. The vocal minority also dominated Shaun’s time post the event so it was difficult to get much out of him there. Single issue zealots just don’t drop their wheelbarrow unfortunately!

So what did I get out of it?

The Bottom line up front is that there is nothing, from a governance perspective, to stop the owners (HBG) throwing their toys out of the cot in the future. However; Barry O’Farrell stated very clearly that Peter V’landys has given HBG clear guidance on the future of Wests Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies and also provided a stern warning on the consequences of any actions similar to those that occurred in December. BOF does not expect a repeat performance as the consequences would be dire. He did not expand on what that meant but did state the PVL sends shivers down the spines of Premiers and Prime Ministers, so you can imagine the effect on HBG’s board. He also advised that he is still as confused as everyone else at what happened in December. His only reason for returning is PVL, he is confident that HBG will toe the line.

Shaun went on to discuss the us and them dynamic that occurred as a result of the independence of the sacked Wests Tigers Board. The future, yet to be presented to the WT Board, is a move from independence to “Collective Strength”. So what does this “Collective Strength” mean? Shaun told us the Penrith Story: when he arrived at the Club the owners were upset about spending $2M per year on the Football Department, they wanted to see the Football side of the house generating revenue not “bleeding the club dry”. He did not elaborate on the how, but did say that the team, under Gus Gould, turned this around and by the time Shaun left the owners were happily tipping in $9M per year. He went to say that working under Mike Charlesworth at the Central Coast Mariners makes working with the Wests Tigers and HBG boards feel like child’s play; so if they could turn the Mariners around, he and his team can turn Wests Tigers around. He is confident that the collective strength of WT and HBG boards is the way to go – and if that battle is won HBG will “self regulate” its board membership.

He also advised that Benji and the team are professional and focused on results; however, did acknowledge the effect it has had, and will continue to have on recruiting and retention. But he had outlined earlier in the meeting the approach to overcoming this and it relates to the collective strength referred to above. I will get to the "how" later in the washup. He also advised, although he couldn’t release information, that the next Wests Tigers Board has some very experienced business personnel on it that he is really looking forward to working with. (Not sure if this is true or not; but what else could he say?).

That opened a can of worms in relation to makeup of the board and particularly the unhelpful statements by Leo Epifania. It was a “rowdy” discussion led by a few “upset” individuals. The end result is that Shaun advised that he is the one responsible for getting Leo on board and he will be personally having the hard discussions with him. Although I expect BOF will have a bit to do with it as well. The continuing theme was developing the collective strength so that HBG self regulates its members.

Other tid bits:

• MAIN POINT. Internally to WT what has changed? Less Richo moving on – nothing.
• BOF expanded a little on the Authur Laundy news reports. Apparently BOF and Laundy are mates and Laundy has offered to help WT as he is a supporter of the club. He did not offer to buy the club at all – that was never on the table and never discussed.
• The team is well ahead on its performance metrics at this time last yea, and last year was big step up from the year prior. So all he can say at this time is that our baseline fitness and strength has improved. In addition:
  • Bunty Afoa has surprised everyone with his attitude and performance and is a great fit for the club. Shaun is of the opinion that he may do enough over the off season to have a starting spot come round 1.
  • Bula wants to stay. Disregard the noise from the Drag Queens and Bulldogs. He wouldn’t be drawn on the hold up to signing; however, you can expect it is linked to how he performs in the early rounds to try and justify a pay rise. There was discussion about simply paying overs to keep him with many in the audience believing he will be the next superstar. There was some heated discussion in the audience about previous losses of Papenhuyzen and Tedesco etc. It was shut down: WT are not dwelling on the past as they can only control our future.
• Vegas. We are pushing to be the last team to go to Vegas in 29 along with PNG or the Bears. PVL is keen for us to go sooner; the discussion is scheduled for today I believe. I picked up at the post event gathering from Shaun that he expects PVL to be using the resolution of the December fiasco as leverage to have us attend to play Parra in 27. The counter to PVL is that we have been “disadvantaged” (Shaun used more colourful words) by the round 1 draw twice and we need to win games. He thinks that having the Tigers back playing finals footy earlier may be enough to win the day. Wait Out – watch the news for updates.
• Stadium Policy. This raised significant debate: Allianz v Commbank, who to play at Commbank (ie not Parra), seating arrangements, ticket pricing, and of course the Eighth Wonder v Cambo “debate”. The end result is about $ in the coffers. The Allianz experiment did not bring in the expected number or $ but Commbank does. The example offered: Sold out Leichardt at the end of 25 bought in $385K in ticket sales and $60K in corporate $, a not sold out Commbank bought us in $860K in ticket sales and $120K in corporate $. Having said that the plan is not to abandon our spiritual homes. The planned breakdown (all less 26 yet to be finalised) is as follows:
  • 26: Cambo 4, Leichardt 3, Commbank 4, Magic Round 1.
  • 27: Cambo 7, Commbank 4, Magic Round 1.
  • 28: Cambo 8, Commbank 4 with a Magic Round contract decision yet to be made. My gut feel is that Magic Round will continue but the home teams will change – but how knows.
  • 29: Leichardt/Cambo split with Commbank 1, same deal for Magic Round.
  • The final point on stadiums is that WT job is to fill them and that is based on performance and membership.
• Wests Macarthur. Wests Macarthur have reached out asking to be part of the Wests Tigers and will be incorporated into the Clubs's system. They will be a separate entity but perform a role similar to St Marys Leagues Club does as the preferred destination for developing players for Penrith.
• Post game engagement with the fans. This was raised as a negative and Shaun picked up on it quickly. There are four disparate forces pulling on the players. There are some that want to run up into the crowd and thank every supporter, there is one Captain that wants to be off the paddock and commencing rehab ASAP post-game, there is a coach that wants to conduct a hotwash for the game and NRL demanding interviews as part of the media deal. He could not guarantee a change in post-match engagement due to the competing forces but noted the desire for it to be “improved”, he also noted that other teams seem to do it well. Interesting to see what comes of this.
• NRLW. The NRLW were training at the end of the session so there was a small discussion on the balcony with Shaun about the NRLW team. Basically, we scrapped the NRLW program as it was underperforming and have rebuilt it from the foundation up under Charmain Steventon and Craig Sandercock. Charmain was out on the paddock while the girls were going though their paces under Craig and his team. Shaun was full of praise for her and Craig and thinks they have their fingers on the pulse. Interesting to see what 2026 brings for our girls after two consecutive spoons.

Click to expand...

BlackWhiteGold said:

I wonder if collective will ultimately refer to HBG (Magpies & Balmain), Wests Macarthur & 2 or 3 independents with corporate capability that meets the skills matrix.

Click to expand...

Jolls said:

Definitey PR jargon, but I think it is actually a useful description of what Shaun is trying to achieve. If PVL has set the conditions correctly post the December incident there shoudlbe an opportunity for us to harness HBG to our advantage. Fro example: Shaul advised us that there were $ earmarked to establish a pathways branch in QLD. This money is now being redirected into the expansion of the local pathways team to include more scouts, more people etc. Shaun has ambitions that require funding - to get that funding he either needs to raise it himself or have HBG give it to us. He knows how hard it is to raise the capital he needs, and will push that, but he sees our future very much linked to our pathways program. HBG has a charter to support the local community and will find it hard not to fund something that is giving back directly to the community. Could the result be that HBG funds this as part of their community obligations?

I think the independent board created some animosity in HBG that resulted in the meltdown. We are probably at the right place in time, with the right circumstances, and the right conditions to turn this around. It is a shame Richo was removed- but perhaps he was too abrasive for HBG to handle. We probably won't know - but I got the fell last night that WT isn't a bad place to work and that Shaun has the expereince we need to fix the HBG relationship and turn them from woners to fans.

Click to expand...

Jolls said:

Definitey PR jargon, but I think it is actually a useful description of what Shaun is trying to achieve. If PVL has set the conditions correctly post the December incident there shoudlbe an opportunity for us to harness HBG to our advantage. Fro example: Shaul advised us that there were $ earmarked to establish a pathways branch in QLD. This money is now being redirected into the expansion of the local pathways team to include more scouts, more people etc. Shaun has ambitions that require funding - to get that funding he either needs to raise it himself or have HBG give it to us. He knows how hard it is to raise the capital he needs, and will push that, but he sees our future very much linked to our pathways program. HBG has a charter to support the local community and will find it hard not to fund something that is giving back directly to the community. Could the result be that HBG funds this as part of their community obligations?

I think the independent board created some animosity in HBG that resulted in the meltdown. We are probably at the right place in time, with the right circumstances, and the right conditions to turn this around. It is a shame Richo was removed- but perhaps he was too abrasive for HBG to handle. We probably won't know - but I got the fell last night that WT isn't a bad place to work and that Shaun has the expereince we need to fix the HBG relationship and turn them from woners to fans.

Click to expand...

wstigers11 said:

Did you find most there were on board by the end of the meeting? Even the disgruntled ones

Click to expand...

Jolls said:

Definitey PR jargon, but I think it is actually a useful description of what Shaun is trying to achieve. If PVL has set the conditions correctly post the December incident there shoudlbe an opportunity for us to harness HBG to our advantage. Fro example: Shaul advised us that there were $ earmarked to establish a pathways branch in QLD. This money is now being redirected into the expansion of the local pathways team to include more scouts, more people etc. Shaun has ambitions that require funding - to get that funding he either needs to raise it himself or have HBG give it to us. He knows how hard it is to raise the capital he needs, and will push that, but he sees our future very much linked to our pathways program. HBG has a charter to support the local community and will find it hard not to fund something that is giving back directly to the community. Could the result be that HBG funds this as part of their community obligations?

I think the independent board created some animosity in HBG that resulted in the meltdown. We are probably at the right place in time, with the right circumstances, and the right conditions to turn this around. It is a shame Richo was removed- but perhaps he was too abrasive for HBG to handle. We probably won't know - but I got the fell last night that WT isn't a bad place to work and that Shaun has the expereince we need to fix the HBG relationship and turn them from woners to fans.

Click to expand...

BlackWhiteGold said:

Interesting comment from Shaun about there being $ earmarked to establish a pathways branch in QLD.

Makes you wonder if this was Richo trying to establish a pathways relationship with the Brisbane Tigers (which the Perth Bears have now struck) haha

Click to expand...

Jolls said:

Yes, the disgruntled ones were yelling out that HBG must keep you, you are the one we want etc. Everone I spoke to over a bite to eat in the canteen was positive. I mean it briefs well; but there is a lot of work to be done and Shaun made it clear that he was aware of how hard it would be to move the wheel. I think that once the wheel starts moving and more people start pushing it the momentum will keep it going. Getting the flywheel in motion will be the hard part; especially since HBG have been pushing against it until recently.

Click to expand...

Jolls said:

PART 2

The forum started with a presentation by Shaun. I have left this to last as it sort of ties everything outlined above together and probably answers some of the questions you have if you have read this far. There are some lofty goals but Shaun has advised his team that they are to be laser focused on what fits into the centre of the Venn Diagram below and not to be distracted by butterflies and rainbows that exist in the peripheries.
View attachment 32758


The focus is to become a top 4 club and to combat all of the recent turmoil (recruiting and retention elated issues). The immediate focus is to resource and develop the best pathways system in the world. I pushed on this one and the pathways is just not player related it is also about coaches and other staff. Shaun advised that most clubs focus on developing a pathway to the NRL. Wests Tigers plan to build a system similar to a volcano. Where the pathway is all to way to the top, with some being ejected (cut) on the journey but everyone being supported back to the bottom i.e. post football career no matter where you are cut. He knows there is a long way to go and a lot of work to do – but intends to resource and focus on this area.

He also stated that the club and staff were working to a different set of values to Benji and the football department. These have now been aligned and are prominently displayed in the COE. The values and alignment are:
View attachment 32759
Every staff member, in their role, has to understand how what they do results in performance on the paddock. The assessment of their performance reflects how they deliver on this requirement, from receptionist at the COE to the CEO.

There was in interesting comment about Benji and the coaching staff at the end of the discussion on values. Shaun commented that Benji has created an environment that everyone wants to be part of and that the standards he is setting is what is drawing players to our club. His behaviour and demeanour are held up as an example by the club and it was pretty clear that there was no appetite for a ranting coach that goes off in the box or post game (a direct dig at Bellyache). It came across that there is real belief in him and the systems he has introduced and that patience will be rewarded.

Happy to answer any questions

Click to expand...

Jolls said:

No, not really. I would have liked to go into more depth in places - particularly the football program and how that is developing. I think that Shaun is focussed on the governance and the support structure though and keeps his nose out of what Benji and his team do. Of course he is involved but it came across very clearly that Benji (and Craig) are responsible for delivering success on the paddock - he is responsible for everything that enables that. The alignment appears to be there - the acknowledgement that there were two sets of values in the club and neither knew about the other's values was a bit of a pants down moment that he didn't need to air; but he did because he thought it was important for us to know that deficiance had been identified and are in the process of being rectified.

I guess the question that is still hanging is how we get HBG to willingly give us more $ to be competitive. It is clear that the adversarial / independent approach was unsuccessful. So from that the question that is unanswreed, and is unanswerable at this time, is: Has PVL scared HBG enough to set the conditions for a collaborative approach to deliveing success for Wests Tigers?

Click to expand...

Rock Hopper Steve said:

I suppose if HBG don't pull their heads in and don't work for the positive way forward we have Barry to go running to PVL and dob them in, what happened to the board won't be forgotten in a hurry.

Click to expand...

Jolls said:

Hi Team,

This is a long read so strap yourself in for the ride.

I drove up to the Interim CEO’s forum yesterday. It was a worthwhile event despite the fact that there were some attendees that thought it was more about them and their issues than an opportunity for constructive discussion. I’m sure from Shaun and his team’s point of view it was a first-hand opportunity to get a feel for the angst in the fan base.

Barry O’Farrell was in attendance for most of the session; but, unfortunately he ducked out early so I didn’t get a chance to catch him over the bite to eat we had post the event. The vocal minority also dominated Shaun’s time post the event so it was difficult to get much out of him there. Single issue zealots just don’t drop their wheelbarrow unfortunately!

So what did I get out of it?

The Bottom line up front is that there is nothing, from a governance perspective, to stop the owners (HBG) throwing their toys out of the cot in the future. However; Barry O’Farrell stated very clearly that Peter V’landys has given HBG clear guidance on the future of Wests Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies and also provided a stern warning on the consequences of any actions similar to those that occurred in December. BOF does not expect a repeat performance as the consequences would be dire. He did not expand on what that meant but did state the PVL sends shivers down the spines of Premiers and Prime Ministers, so you can imagine the effect on HBG’s board. He also advised that he is still as confused as everyone else at what happened in December. His only reason for returning is PVL, he is confident that HBG will toe the line.

Shaun went on to discuss the us and them dynamic that occurred as a result of the independence of the sacked Wests Tigers Board. The future, yet to be presented to the WT Board, is a move from independence to “Collective Strength”. So what does this “Collective Strength” mean? Shaun told us the Penrith Story: when he arrived at the Club the owners were upset about spending $2M per year on the Football Department, they wanted to see the Football side of the house generating revenue not “bleeding the club dry”. He did not elaborate on the how, but did say that the team, under Gus Gould, turned this around and by the time Shaun left the owners were happily tipping in $9M per year. He went to say that working under Mike Charlesworth at the Central Coast Mariners makes working with the Wests Tigers and HBG boards feel like child’s play; so if they could turn the Mariners around, he and his team can turn Wests Tigers around. He is confident that the collective strength of WT and HBG boards is the way to go – and if that battle is won HBG will “self regulate” its board membership.

He also advised that Benji and the team are professional and focused on results; however, did acknowledge the effect it has had, and will continue to have on recruiting and retention. But he had outlined earlier in the meeting the approach to overcoming this and it relates to the collective strength referred to above. I will get to the "how" later in the washup. He also advised, although he couldn’t release information, that the next Wests Tigers Board has some very experienced business personnel on it that he is really looking forward to working with. (Not sure if this is true or not; but what else could he say?).

That opened a can of worms in relation to makeup of the board and particularly the unhelpful statements by Leo Epifania. It was a “rowdy” discussion led by a few “upset” individuals. The end result is that Shaun advised that he is the one responsible for getting Leo on board and he will be personally having the hard discussions with him. Although I expect BOF will have a bit to do with it as well. The continuing theme was developing the collective strength so that HBG self regulates its members.

Other tid bits:

• MAIN POINT. Internally to WT what has changed? Less Richo moving on – nothing.
• BOF expanded a little on the Authur Laundy news reports. Apparently BOF and Laundy are mates and Laundy has offered to help WT as he is a supporter of the club. He did not offer to buy the club at all – that was never on the table and never discussed.
• The team is well ahead on its performance metrics at this time last yea, and last year was big step up from the year prior. So all he can say at this time is that our baseline fitness and strength has improved. In addition:
  • Bunty Afoa has surprised everyone with his attitude and performance and is a great fit for the club. Shaun is of the opinion that he may do enough over the off season to have a starting spot come round 1.
  • Bula wants to stay. Disregard the noise from the Drag Queens and Bulldogs. He wouldn’t be drawn on the hold up to signing; however, you can expect it is linked to how he performs in the early rounds to try and justify a pay rise. There was discussion about simply paying overs to keep him with many in the audience believing he will be the next superstar. There was some heated discussion in the audience about previous losses of Papenhuyzen and Tedesco etc. It was shut down: WT are not dwelling on the past as they can only control our future.
• Vegas. We are pushing to be the last team to go to Vegas in 29 along with PNG or the Bears. PVL is keen for us to go sooner; the discussion is scheduled for today I believe. I picked up at the post event gathering from Shaun that he expects PVL to be using the resolution of the December fiasco as leverage to have us attend to play Parra in 27. The counter to PVL is that we have been “disadvantaged” (Shaun used more colourful words) by the round 1 draw twice and we need to win games. He thinks that having the Tigers back playing finals footy earlier may be enough to win the day. Wait Out – watch the news for updates.
• Stadium Policy. This raised significant debate: Allianz v Commbank, who to play at Commbank (ie not Parra), seating arrangements, ticket pricing, and of course the Eighth Wonder v Cambo “debate”. The end result is about $ in the coffers. The Allianz experiment did not bring in the expected number or $ but Commbank does. The example offered: Sold out Leichardt at the end of 25 bought in $385K in ticket sales and $60K in corporate $, a not sold out Commbank bought us in $860K in ticket sales and $120K in corporate $. Having said that the plan is not to abandon our spiritual homes. The planned breakdown (all less 26 yet to be finalised) is as follows:
  • 26: Cambo 4, Leichardt 3, Commbank 4, Magic Round 1.
  • 27: Cambo 7, Commbank 4, Magic Round 1.
  • 28: Cambo 8, Commbank 4 with a Magic Round contract decision yet to be made. My gut feel is that Magic Round will continue but the home teams will change – but how knows.
  • 29: Leichardt/Cambo split with Commbank 1, same deal for Magic Round.
  • The final point on stadiums is that WT job is to fill them and that is based on performance and membership.
• Wests Macarthur. Wests Macarthur have reached out asking to be part of the Wests Tigers and will be incorporated into the Clubs's system. They will be a separate entity but perform a role similar to St Marys Leagues Club does as the preferred destination for developing players for Penrith.
• Post game engagement with the fans. This was raised as a negative and Shaun picked up on it quickly. There are four disparate forces pulling on the players. There are some that want to run up into the crowd and thank every supporter, there is one Captain that wants to be off the paddock and commencing rehab ASAP post-game, there is a coach that wants to conduct a hotwash for the game and NRL demanding interviews as part of the media deal. He could not guarantee a change in post-match engagement due to the competing forces but noted the desire for it to be “improved”, he also noted that other teams seem to do it well. Interesting to see what comes of this.
• NRLW. The NRLW were training at the end of the session so there was a small discussion on the balcony with Shaun about the NRLW team. Basically, we scrapped the NRLW program as it was underperforming and have rebuilt it from the foundation up under Charmain Steventon and Craig Sandercock. Charmain was out on the paddock while the girls were going though their paces under Craig and his team. Shaun was full of praise for her and Craig and thinks they have their fingers on the pulse. Interesting to see what 2026 brings for our girls after two consecutive spoons.

Click to expand...