Balmain steamrolled by NRL

[cktiger]

What most of you fail to realise is that Wests are powerless as well.
They can get outvoted on ANY issue by the NRL's blow-ins.
If the NRL want to send us to Perth or New Guinea and are prepared to fund it…..goodbye.

 

[the_third]

2 points

1\. Even the nrl doesn't realise its a new club not wests and the tigers. We have no hope
2\. Even the nrl doesn't realise half in Perth and half somewhere doesn't work

Wtf hope does the game have if these basics are not understood. It's not a 5 yr plan, the game needs. It's a defibrillator.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. My kids gone to afl despite all my trying and even worse when he follows nrl it's with souths because "they don't know what they are doing"he says. He's 8\. FML

Something here tells me a 8 yr old mind is winning over a 40 yr old's heart and maybe he's right. The end is coming and STILL no one sees it. The new board certainty doesn't. This forum doesn't. The media don't.

Perth is a pipe dream to boost the next tv rights deal. It's pretty clear someone will go there due to timezones and I hope to hell that it's not us. You can merge history once but after that it's gone. Perth is a new club for whoever goes there.

Whatever animal ends up on the sleeve or logo will share it with a new club name and character, and they will forever try to claim 106 yrs of history as their own. Never happen. Claim 106 yrs of rivalries as their own. Never happen. 106 yrs of fans as their own. Never happen.

They must think we are all front rowers or something?

I don't have an MBA, but by Crikey I can see this coming.

Generations of fans are at stake in this whole thing. we have a massive (disillusioned) fan base at stake. The NRL is losing and it breaks my heart.

Given the changing media landscape predicted with the NBN. Foxtel's falling subscriber base and the NRL's need for more tv money, what will happen. Imagine what happens if the tv and digital rights sell for less next time. Do we reduce grants? How many clubs are at stake then. It's a high risk game we have now. Lose a supporter (re:subscriber) base at what cost?

Rant over and I hope a new director is smart enough to read this and understand what I'm trying to say.

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[bp_tiger]

we are wests tigers but it seems that so many wests supporters want to see them take over. they all forget at the start wests were gone just like my tigers were, if we did not merger, if this fails and the tiger names goes I will never watch another game of football, and I hope 2-3 years down the track wests fall on there back stabbing sword. remember united we stand divided we will both fall.

 

[Benjirific]

When will you old hacks move on. I don't understand why you care about this club if you don't accept the present. I'm sick of this Wests v Balmain business. Balmain put themselves in this mess.

I get that you're sick and tired about infighting, but in all seriousness you have no right to question why people care about a foundation club. This club, much like Wests, was a life for so many people for the whole of their lives, and to expect them just to drop it because you (I'm assuming in your early 20s) never experienced anything different and don't like the fighting, it's down right offensive to those who do care.

You should also probably get your facts right on this one - the 'mess' in regard to the board structure is not Balmain's doing. When the NRL proposed the loan and repayment model with the new board structure, there was no strict timeline on the repayment. It was Wests who demanded this timeline be put on it, knowing that they had first rights to purchase the shares when Balmain couldn't repay.

I'm a Balmain Football Club member, have been since the day of my 18th birthday, and I plan to be until the day I die. Do I want Balmain to return to the NRL? No - I've moved beyond that and I support Wests Tigers. But if the NRL and/or Wests decide that a foundation club don't deserve a place in the game over a couple of million dollars (which is nothing to them), I would seriously reconsider investing any money in the game. Some people need to show some respect to the clubs and the people who made the game what it is today, rather than simply throwing them to the wayside because of power struggles.

 

[quintus]

I haven't laughed so much in a million years. Who is going to support a team called the western suburbs magpies? Oh I forgot….all those magpie supporters I used to see at lidcombe oval....gosh there must have been nearly a thousand of them.

 

[Abraham]

Balmain's only hope it seems is a private buyer. Even if they raise the funds to pay back the NRL, they still need to contribute to the WT thereafter, and a fighting fund won't allow for that.

The magpie dinosaurs gloating about this fiasco should realise that their two board members are effectively as powerless as the Balmain board members.

Three NRL votes always beats two magpies votes.

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[tigerbalm]

Balmain's only hope it seems is a private buyer. Even if they raise the funds to pay back the NRL, they still need to contribute to the WT thereafter, and a fighting fund won't allow for that.

The magpie dinosaurs gloating about this fiasco should realise that their two board members are effectively as powerless as the Balmain board members.

Three NRL votes always beats two magpies votes.

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Nah…wests vote count, you know, cause they actually have voting power...unlike balmain
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What makes you think wests want something different to the NRL? They obviously have some business smarts unlike balmain who vested their future in a old hooker. I'm happy with the representation on the board now.

I'd imagine this fighting fund (which will raise 78 bucks) will be given to Gary jack to invest in magic beans.

Ideally I'd prefer balmain to go silently into the night so we can focus on the more important things like wests and the future of wests. The less beat up articles on how the club is ripping apart the better

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[Tigermama]

Lets say Balmain pays back the NRL loan and they are allowed to have voting rights again on the WT board. What happens then?The infighting starts again? Will we go backwards once again? :frowning: Hope not.

 

[Abraham]

Balmain's only hope it seems is a private buyer. Even if they raise the funds to pay back the NRL, they still need to contribute to the WT thereafter, and a fighting fund won't allow for that.

The magpie dinosaurs gloating about this fiasco should realise that their two board members are effectively as powerless as the Balmain board members.

Three NRL votes always beats two magpies votes.

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Nah…wests vote count, you know, cause they actually have voting power...unlike balmain
\
\
What makes you think wests want something different to the NRL? They obviously have some business smarts unlike balmain who vested their future in a old hooker. I'm happy with the representation on the board now.

I'd imagine this fighting fund (which will raise 78 bucks) will be given to Gary jack to invest in magic beans.

Ideally I'd prefer balmain to go silently into the night so we can focus on the more important things like wests and the future of wests. The less beat up articles on how the club is ripping apart the better

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Keep talking sh*t champ, it's what you do best.

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[MFFM]

Balmain have had many opportunities from Wests Ashfield for funding but refused. Wests Ashfield have also been funding the junior rep side for Balmain. Next year Western Suburbs have gained control back from Wests Tigers of the Juniors from U13's all the way to Ron Massey Cup. Wests Ashfield will be funding their own teams who will pick up the running cost for the Balmain juniors? Will they be forced to fold or will there be a helping hand from someone else to carry the burden. Amazing how much emphasis has been put on Foundations clubs when you think about it North Sydney Bears and Newtown didn't get that preferred treatment of being a foundation club as their sole reason to be in the comp.

Both clubs had 15 years to turn their financial messes into success. Western Suburbs managed to pull through and get back on top and the only real merchandise they had was the Victa remake that was put out by classic. Western Suburbs Magpies RMC team are the only team that have a following that actually goto the games home and away. Over 2100 members in the fanatics group, and numbers growing daily, western Suburbs already are getting financial members from the Junior rep sides imagine what will happen when they get NSW Cup back. The magpies can be back in the NRL the current license is coming up soon with the NRL, won't take much to get the Magpies back as the Southwest need to have their own team for the region and the region is growing at a rapid rate. Campbelltown Council have offered a stadium upgrade if they have more games at CSS. Makes perfect sense to have a team in Campbelltown and all home games played there.

 

[MFFM]

Lets say Balmain pays back the NRL loan and they are allowed to have voting rights again on the WT board. What happens then?The infighting starts again? Will we go backwards once again? :frowning: Hope not.

Then with what will Balmain pay for the following year and the running cost then? They are broke, that can't afford it. Paying back the NRL is only one thing. they still need to back pay the JV as well. Not to mention the developer in Rozelle and the 21K a month for Benny Elias. Funny how he is referred to as a great but has been ripping off Balmain for years and continues to do so today.

 

[bonstonker]

what is this bs about no voting rights.
this was known all along,yet apparently they feel cheated.
i've watched balmain screw up for the last 20 years and counting.

tired of the bs coming from the club and how they were stupid enough to trust the nrl.
they are as amateur as balmain.

i don't get the celebrating of the new board either.
pretty sure next season will be my last year following rugby league the way things are going.

 

[Red_Rugby]

I think there are a few people jumping at shadows at the moment.

There's time to pay the bill from the Balmain side of the joint venture, providing they can sought out the fiasco with the Leagues Club re-development.

From a perverse point of view I don't think that the wake-up call that Balmain is getting at the moment is such a bad thing, it might spark a few old Balmain fans (like me) out of their apathy. There'll need to be some heavy lifting in the short to medium term to get things back on the straight and narrow.

Before anybody starts prescribing the last rites to Balmain, I'm very confident that a few of Tigers well heeled supporters might get on board. It might be wortwhile remembering that Harry and Meriton were supporters of Balmain before he started following the Wests Tigers and the main reason he ddin't support the Wests Tigers initially was he wanted Balmain to be maintained.

 

[tig_prmz]

We still keep the juniors right?

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[tigertye]

I was born into a Balmain family. I went to games with my uncles all the time. By the time the merger happened I was still in primary school. I didn't know what was going on I just knew that I still supported the Tigers and all they had done was change their name. I barely knew who Wests was, I just knew I supported them too because they were also the Tigers now. The name didn't matter.

I guess I'll always sit on the 'Tigers' side of the fence in terms of history, but that's all it is, history!

I grew up watching Marshall, Hodgo, Skando rip teams apart. I played footy because of these guys, not Balmain or Wests. I read this on-going hatred now at 23 years old and it's pathetic. 15 years ago Wests and Balmain were as good as gone. We saved each other long term. That's a team. A team backs each other til the death.

I don't care who owes what and that some Balmain development hit the wall. I don't care that Wests have a fancy smancy RSL that collects cash off the pokies and is in a better financial state. We started together we should finish together, AS ONE.

I would sell the last shirt I had to help keep OUR CLUB going. I would walk the streets of Balmain with a Milo tin collecting money for the club to stay apart of Wests Tigers if it came to that.

As I've grown older, yes I respect what both teams have done in the past. I love watching the old games but why is it now so damn hard to realise that it is in fact the past for so many? You would think a premiership as a JV is a success!!!

Many will want to forget the season of 2014! Why can't we forget (while respecting) Balmain and the Magpies history? Why can't we just be Wests Tigers.

Deep down I wish there was no more Balmain or Wests members on the board. No more rubbish. A solely NRL-run type business structure with the hope of producing a strong brand for kids to follow. Purely Wests Tigers. Screw the past, move on, let's start a new generation of die hard supporters.

My favourite part of being at a game is seeing a young kid chanting "TIGERS." They don't know all the players, they repeat words they hear in the crowd (not always appropriate) because they have next to no idea what is actually happening, they have no idea about Balmain or Wests. They are just there to have a good time with their family, and that's what Rugby league is all about.

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[Black_n_White]

What a joke…. they manouvered themselves into a ridiculous position, a loan with a short term instead of the open termed loan from Wests. No pity for these muppets, just the fans.

At the time it was initially on the table most on here were lauding it as a masterstroke. I saw this coming a mile off. Seems many are only just beginning to comprehend the repercussions.

Balmain are already in a pretty dire position with the current loan, which is a result of not meeting previous payments to the WT... there will be more of these payments to be met before the term of the loan is up as well.

 

[goldcoast_tiger]

Pretty simple if you can't pay you have no say! Hopefully there will be more recognition for the magpie side of the JV now

I don't know what they are squealing for . It was known to all that Balmain was not going to have a vote while they are unfinancial. That's nothing new, I don't know how the hell they didn't know that.
It was well publicised.
Balmain should have taken Wests Ashfields offer instead of taking any notice of Elias . They made the decision.
A lot of people thought that now we could concentrate on the new board getting the club on the rails again , but it looks like we are going to be subjected to two years of continued destabilisation from the disgruntled Balmain side .
All the drama that we can expect from now will probably continue the difficulties in attracting the sort of people to the club.
Thanks .
Oh well, at least we had 24 hours of optimism for this mess!!!
Lots of luck to the new board , you are going to need it with this mob!

 

[DonnyBrasco]

Hopefully it will be the best thing that happens to the club.

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[NT_Tiger]

I'm sure Benny Elias loves Balmain and will do everything in his power to see that it gets back on the Board. I'm sure he has deep pockets. Will we see a backdoor benefactor?

 

[alexaki]

Lets say Balmain pays back the NRL loan and they are allowed to have voting rights again on the WT board. What happens then?The infighting starts again? Will we go backwards once again? :frowning: Hope not.

Not it won't both the Wests and Balmain side will have onlt 2 votes each…the 3 NRL appointed independents hold the balance of power