Article in the Australian - WT Salary Cap Problems

[hammertime]

Holy s**…aarrrgghhh. I thought 2 years. Hopefully there is a bit of embellishment. The new team has really been left in a tricky spot. I really fear if the League Club board members were to wrestle control again. I really hope that Balmain pull a rabbit out of the hat and keep their votes so that an experienced business person (and the 3 NRL board members) remain in power at the Tigers. The Balmain and Wests board members have a hell of a lot to answer for!!

Maybe uncovering some of this was the catalyst for Mayer's sacking?

 

[Tigermama]

Can the whingeing regarding buying players and Salary Cap dramas NOW be put to bed?

Seriously. That's fantastic work by Marina Go to be that transparent without being unprofessional and laying the books open for our competition to see.

Underdog, totally agree about Marina's honesty and professionalism. I like our new board. Puts the old one to shame. They had their dirty little hands in everything they shouldn't have, and this is the result of it. How this mess was left to fester all this years is baffling.
I'm confident in time this mess will be sorted out by Go and Co.
Being patient is the hard bit for us WT fans.

 

[hammertime]

Underdog, totally agree about Marina's honesty and professionalism. I like our new board. Puts the old one to shame. They had their dirty little hands in everything they shouldn't have, and this is the result of it. How this mess was left to fester all this years is baffling.
I'm confident in time this mess will be sorted out by Go and Co.
Being patient is the hard bit for us WT fans.

I'm really scared what might happen if Balmain don't make their payment Tigermama. Leagues club elected gumby's will be back in absolute power! We can probably kiss Wests Tigers goodbye if that happens.

 

[Jerry_Seinfeld]

Holy s**…aarrrgghhh. I thought 2 years. Hopefully there is a bit of embellishment. The new team has really been left in a tricky spot. I really fear if the League Club board members were to wrestle control again. I really hope that Balmain pull a rabbit out of the hat and keep their votes so that an experienced business person (and the 3 NRL board members) remain in power at the Tigers. The Balmain and Wests board members have a hell of a lot to answer for!!

Maybe uncovering some of this was the catalyst for Mayer's sacking?

Problem was already here when Mayer got here.The real problem was Stephen Humphreys.
Totally stuffed this joint up.

 

[Pokies]

To be honest I'm tired of the continual blame shifting and pointing of fingers at people no longer here. You should have known what you were signing up for when you took the job.
Also coming out and saying later in the article "things are going well". Sorry that's BS we are equal last and the team is regressing. We need to start winning games otherwise memberships next year will be an all time low. If these players are getting paid so handsomely that we can't afford new ones then someone get in there and read them the riot act.

_Posted using RoarFEED 4.2.0_

 

[Tiger_In_The_Gong]

How easy is it for current management to sit back and blame everything on previous administration?

While I have no doubt they've left us in a mess, putting their hands up and saying everything is to blame on previous admin is too convenient.

I agree mate, it just doesn't make any sense. Our cap situation just doesn't add up on any level.

As fans we've already endured recent garbage for 3 seasons '2012-2014 (don't get me started on the johnny cronk era 2007-2009)

So now we have to bend over for an additional 3 years??? 6 years in total!!! What happened to the re-building 2015, make the top 8 in 2016 and top 4 in 2017? Thanks Wests Tigers for continuing to move the goal posts year in, year out. Whats the bet that next year all of a sudden 2018 starts to drop into these statements, it just keeps stretching out. 2017 was only ever mentioned as success now all of a sudden it too will be a re building year, and then 2018 but hold on fans keep buying those memberships because we will be successful by the 2020's…..maybe closer to 2030....

I don't care what meaningless fluff pieces they want to put out there, this statement doesn't give any answers just stuff we already knew. We are over the cap! We support the coach, The last board is to blame, yada yada yada. The only thing fresh is that Harry T is freed up to do other things with the club, he can finally become a TPA so maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel due to this point alone.

The whole situation just doesn't add up and they still come across as inept as the last government we had. i.e you seriously cant negotiate release contracts better then what they obviously are. You cant release 10-20 players sign Kevie and still whinge about cap issues. Why are we still paying so much of other players contracts that we have cut. We are jamming 40 players into our top 25 why the hell not keep a few of them. It just doesn't add up. Even with back ended contracts it still doesn't make sense with the amount of players let go. If we are now in such dire straits thus we had to release so many to alleviate the situation they are essentially saying in those lean years of 2012-2014 we were well over the cap?? I hate comparing us to Parra but geez, if you are rorting the system you'd expect results.

The deck chairs have been cleared for next year, a few wont be re-signed on top of whats already gone this year and with no signings we are still having cap issues for another 2 years?? WTF!! I just cant believe it. Farah must be on 2mill a year, Woods on 1mill, Rowdy on 1mill and the dynamic dud...I mean dynamic duo halves must be taking up 750K each, ahhh ok, it all makes sense now.

Its good to see a few more posts looking at this a little deeper.

Unfortunately Fairdinkum look around, the punters have swallowed it hook line and sinker. even to the point of declaring their undying support.

Reality is there is only one thing keeping this club from being more successful, its not previous administration or our limitations its accountability.

Nothing will change until that does.

Going by Marina's words here she doesnt understand that either.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Reading through,

I remember the howling and the Pain that the Penrith Panthers went through 3 years back when they released Luke Lewis and Jennings.

We have a good crop of youngsters and they need time to grow and mature into seasoned 1st graders.

I'm going to echo True Tiger and Stick Solid because I don't just love the Wests Tigers, I Live, Breath and Bread My Wests Tigers.

Except the Panthers replaced them with seasoned first graders who got then to a pre lim final. There's no comparison

 

[greatodensraven]

Reading through,

I remember the howling and the Pain that the Penrith Panthers went through 3 years back when they released Luke Lewis and Jennings.

We have a good crop of youngsters and they need time to grow and mature into seasoned 1st graders.

I'm going to echo True Tiger and Stick Solid because I don't just love the Wests Tigers, I Live, Breath and Bread My Wests Tigers.

I hear you mate. Its times like these that make the good times even sweeter

 

[fairdinkum]

Reading through,

I remember the howling and the Pain that the Penrith Panthers went through 3 years back when they released Luke Lewis and Jennings.

We have a good crop of youngsters and they need time to grow and mature into seasoned 1st graders.

I'm going to echo True Tiger and Stick Solid because I don't just love the Wests Tigers, I Live, Breath and Bread My Wests Tigers.

I hear you mate. Its times like these that make the good times even sweeter

what good times?

 

[Tiger_Watto]

It's a long bow for sure…

Sheens left in 2012
Humpty left mid 2013

And there saying we will have problems until the end of 2017???

Surely Sheens & Humpty couldn't of stuffed us that far ahead? How many players are on 4-5 year contracts?

 

[TrueTiger]

I was reading the Blair thread,he spoke about the Broncos being such a Proffessional outfit and they all want to be there to train and play for each other….

Complete opposite to us I presume...even much earlier on there was a thread about our players not putting in and are more interested in partying than turning up to train and play..

It seems this is where our cap has been wasted..paying them on reputation alone doesn't cut it...if you want into the NRL then work hard and professionally ....reasonable good results come on the back of hard work.....

Once again over the years we have placed people in positions in this club that they are not experienced in,hence the mess we are in now,Humpty left I reckon because he would not be able to handle the pressure about to be released...

The old board was more interested in the boys club than the total operation of the club as a whole......there maybe a light at the end of the tunnel,but it is a fair way off,we must let Go and this new board rectify the situation we are in by allowing them the time to get through this mess....I will support the club once again by renewing my membership next year,I was paying and being clouded by poor management for years,at least Go has been honest and open so far.....

 

[Eddie]

To be honest I think the comments are pathetic. All she does is shift blame the whole time. Its like the political parties blaming the others but no ideas of their own. Easy way to win votes maybe.

Now she is asking for 3 years just to clear the mess. Even though the strategic plan says in 2017 we want to make the Top 4\. The baord spent a lot fo money on beefing up the football department in the off season and Taylor was bullish about some improvements. Has that all of a sudden gone out the window given the putrid form of the past 2 months? Sounds like a lot of spin to me. Then she has the hide to say things are going well even though we are last?

Comments don't wash with me. They sound like she has no idea. Members can see through the spin though and i assume will vote with their wallets.

 

[Guest]

How easy is it for current management to sit back and blame everything on previous administration?

While I have no doubt they've left us in a mess, putting their hands up and saying everything is to blame on previous admin is too convenient.

I disagree. The way the previous board operated was almost criminal. To say they were inept is being kind.

 

[Abraham]

People need to calm down with the hysteria for a moment.

There is no earthshaking news in this article that we haven't been told before.

- We knew there were salary cap issues
- We were told point blank that we wouldn't be entering the player market until 2017
- We were told that back ended contracts were hurting us

Some people refused to believe it and have spent the past few months thinking that despite the above, we would be entering the player market and still buying up players for next year. Well this article just backs up what JT and the club have said all along.

Marina has said it will take 3 years to fix, but that doesn't necessarily mean we wont be buying players for three years, just that we will have to tread carefully until the mess is fixed.

Also, it is an age old business ploy to under promise and over deliver. Make it seem like a meteor is hurtling towards earth and then come out looking like gold when the impact isn't as bad as everyone had thought. Marina has prepared us for the worst, now she just has to make sure it doesn't get to that point.

 

[balmain boy]

I think the comments regarding 3 years is simply in reference to existing contracts made before the new board were created, which don't expire until 2017\. There could be a few of our juniors on heavily back ended contracts because the management couldn't pay them a fair and market value amount in the cap each year due to other pre-existing back ended deals. So the vicious cycle just kept repeating as we desperately tried to keep those players.

Only after all pre-existing back-ended deals have expired would the club have an entirely clear slate to work with each season, hence could take a few years to fully rectify. We'll lose some players as a result in the short term but it will enable us to operate professionally from then on. But the situation should be getting better year on year as these deals expire (eg Lawrence and Galloway next season)

A line had to be drawn and it has been.

Just speculating but existing contracts could be the likes of Brooks, Moses and Teddy.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Marina may want to update our "strategic plan" in line with her comments today: http://www.weststigers.com.au/conten…an_FINALv2.pdf

It states the Performance Measure in 2017 is to make the NRL TOP FOUR.

2017 is only two years away, yet today she says it will take three years to fix the mess.

You have to laugh.

 

[Guest]

It's a long bow for sure…

Sheens left in 2012
Humpty left mid 2013

And there saying we will have problems until the end of 2017???

Surely Sheens & Humpty couldn't of stuffed us that far ahead? How many players are on 4-5 year contracts?

The board who appointed those people were still there Watto, and presumably missing a y-chromosome along with any sense of financial management ability.

 

[old_man_tiger]

In reference to the strategic plan, I'm reading this as though the books will take 3 years to fix, not that the club expects to compete as poorly as we have this year until 2017.

The two don't always equate. Manly has been a mess for many years off the the field and consistently made the finals.

Personally I'm not getting the hate for Marina. When has anyone ever come out and publicly been that black and white about our cap situation I know a lot of us are like sponges that have taken in all the water we can, but spilling over also doesn't help.

My advice, do what I'm doing, take a little holiday from caring too much about results, make a SuperCoach team to occupy your winter and come back in a year or two! At the end of the day, by saying this I'm not trying to insult or flame anyone, in all honesty. I'm only trying to save people some money on cardiology bills. Things just won't change quickly and realising this over the last few weeks has let me enjoy the flickers of promise in our team without staying awake be,owning our lack of success.

In the words of the greatest newsreader ever, stay classy WTF! :sign:

 

[cunno]

The 'mess' can't purely be left in the hands of the current Board as if the current statement is accurate then the club could well face the wooden spoon for the next couple of years resulting in loss of membership and supporters, particularly making the effort to get to games, buy merchandise, keep TV ratings going, buying memberships, attracting players of note etc interest will wane with the possibility of the club having to relocate into the future. The positives look to be a new major sponsor and possibly Meriton tipping in money in a way dissimilar to the present which could halt the nose dive. The Board has the job ahead of them but so does the nrl who also have some responsibility in terms of keeping the club going and at least competitive unless the long term goal is for the Western Tigers or the Sunshine Coast Magpies??

 

[magpiecol]

How easy is it for current management to sit back and blame everything on previous administration?

While I have no doubt they've left us in a mess, putting their hands up and saying everything is to blame on previous admin is too convenient.

Even though it is true? Grow up.