Balmain Tigers’ future secured with funding agreement with NRL and Western Suburbs

[andrew 474]

I'm an old Balmain fan and I thank the Wests magpies for keeping Balmain involved , I just hope it all pans out and Balmain can get back on their feet with this development and keep there side of the cash paid up , the Balmain Club should be stronger once they get there new venue built
Again thanks to the Magpies group

 

[diedpretty]

Well we agree to disagree.
I just don't see a better alternative. A Tinkler or Penn?? No thanks.
The current board set up with 3 independents and 2 from WA was forced upon WA. But if they're pouring in all the money than they have a right to govern in my mind.

It is a fallacy to say they are pouring in all the money.Most of the money comes from the NRL in grants and if memory serves me correct(which it may not)covers our salary cap each year.Additional money does come from wests ashfield but not even close to all of it

That's the same for all clubs. Using your argument even the successful clubs are poorly run because the majority of their funds come from the NRL.

 

[Basil_Tiger]

I'm an old Balmain fan and I thank the Wests magpies for keeping Balmain involved , I just hope it all pans out and Balmain can get back on their feet with this development and keep there side of the cash paid up , the Balmain Club should be stronger once they get there new venue built
Again thanks to the Magpies group

My thoughts as well although the NRL had a big say in things,i prefer Wests to be running the show rather than a bunch of 'índependant' wannabees that are more concerned about how the WT Directorship looks on their CV than the future of the Club.

 

[hammertime]

I'm an old Balmain fan and I thank the Wests magpies for keeping Balmain involved , I just hope it all pans out and Balmain can get back on their feet with this development and keep there side of the cash paid up , the Balmain Club should be stronger once they get there new venue built
Again thanks to the Magpies group

My thoughts as well although the NRL had a big say in things,i prefer Wests to be running the show rather than a bunch of 'índependant' wannabees that are more concerned about how the WT Directorship looks on their CV than the future of the Club.

Load of codswallop. It's factual that the NRL had little to no say, not based some feeling. And do you think the directorship will look good on the independents CVs if the club goes backwards?

Balmain is dead and buried. Even if they get this development to go ahead, they'll have little to no money for a long time. I wish they had got in the Jaycar or Brydens bloke and be done with it. Would have been the perfect setup to take us forward.

It's extremely hard to run a non-profit into the ground, but the balmain mob managed it. You really want them putting directors into WT? Yet, you have a dig at guys who have a track record of success.

This blind support of mediocrity is exactly what is wrong with our club. Screw Lovett or buchannan in the run on side, this goes to the core of what is wrong with us. We drag down success because we're afraid of strong people who have the ability to make tough decisions.

I don't think I'm going to change any minds here… I've said my peace now.

 

[Basil_Tiger]

Load of codswallop. It's factual that the NRL had little to no say, not based some feeling. And do you think the directorship will look good on the independents CVs if the club goes backwards?

Balmain is dead and buried. Even if they get this development to go ahead, they'll have little to no money for a long time. I wish they had got in the Jaycar or Brydens bloke and be done with it. Would have been the perfect setup to take us forward.

In your rush to have a 'go' your've completely missed the point buts thats OK,you should have added IMIO to your post,"ïn my ignorant opinion".

 

[Curaeus]

Bottom line is Wests could have sat back and watched Balmain die as a JV partner and they ddn't which was the decent-and right-thing to do. I started following the Magpies in 1963\. Personally very happy Balmain remain part of the family and have some chance of recovering their full half share in the JV down the track.

 

[balmain boy]

I just hope some neutral board members remain, to provide some stability and business acumen.

Also that WA start throwing more cash into the WT. If they want to me majority stakeholder then they better start putting up more capital into the facilities, coaching structure etc. They've got the cash and are the majority owners so there's nothing to stop them increasing their investment but their own decision making.

 

[hammertime]

Load of codswallop. It's factual that the NRL had little to no say, not based some feeling. And do you think the directorship will look good on the independents CVs if the club goes backwards?

Balmain is dead and buried. Even if they get this development to go ahead, they'll have little to no money for a long time. I wish they had got in the Jaycar or Brydens bloke and be done with it. Would have been the perfect setup to take us forward.

In your rush to have a 'go' your've completely missed the point buts thats OK,you should have added IMIO to your post,"ïn my ignorant opinion".

ha… and what was your point?

b.t.w. You missed a comma, at least one full stop, it's 'you've' and 'that's'... I wonder how people miss your 'point'.

 

[Abraham]

Load of codswallop. It's factual that the NRL had little to no say, not based some feeling. And do you think the directorship will look good on the independents CVs if the club goes backwards?

Balmain is dead and buried. Even if they get this development to go ahead, they'll have little to no money for a long time. I wish they had got in the Jaycar or Brydens bloke and be done with it. Would have been the perfect setup to take us forward.

It's extremely hard to run a non-profit into the ground, but the balmain mob managed it. You really want them putting directors into WT? Yet, you have a dig at guys who have a track record of success.

This blind support of mediocrity is exactly what is wrong with our club. Screw Lovett or buchannan in the run on side, this goes to the core of what is wrong with us. We drag down success because we're afraid of strong people who have the ability to make tough decisions.

I don't think I'm going to change any minds here… I've said my peace now.

Balmain were retained because they can still bring substantial cash, support, and membership to the club. The JV is better off with these assets than without them. Wests Ashfield obviously realised this too.

As for them running a non-profit into the ground, well not sure how much you know about the Leagues Club situation, but in all fairness they are a victim of circumstances and incompetent government beauracracy more than anything else. Had the original development not been impeded by the GFC and the Greens/Labor Government, Balmain would be a financial powerhouse at present.

I get your concerns about the direction of the club, but reality dictates that the owners of the club make the decisions. No point in sticking the boot in before we see how this actually transpires.

 

[innsaneink]

Well we agree to disagree.
I just don't see a better alternative. A Tinkler or Penn?? No thanks.
The current board set up with 3 independents and 2 from WA was forced upon WA. But if they're pouring in all the money than they have a right to govern in my mind.

It is a fallacy to say they are pouring in all the money.Most of the money comes from the NRL in grants and if memory serves me correct(which it may not)covers our salary cap each year.Additional money does come from wests ashfield but not even close to all of it

Out of the two owners, they ARE pouring in all the money. The best part of two million each year. Let's not make out like Wests Ashfield contributions are not substantial. Actually, if Wests Ashfield was in the same position as Balmain there's a good chance the Wests Tigers would have been gone from the NRL by now.

a fair chunk of TPA comes from a generous old Balmain supporter …

Wrong
Wests Tigers supporter vlad

 

[hammertime]

Balmain were retained because they can still bring substantial cash, support, and membership to the club. The JV is better off with these assets than without them. Wests Ashfield obviously realised this too.

As for them running a non-profit into the ground, well not sure how much you know about the Leagues Club situation, but in all fairness they are a victim of circumstances and incompetent government beauracracy more than anything else. Had the original development not been impeded by the GFC and the Greens/Labor Government, Balmain would be a financial powerhouse at present.

I get your concerns about the direction of the club, but reality dictates that the owners of the club make the decisions. No point in sticking the boot in before we see how this actually transpires.

You make some good points mate.

It would be interesting though how much the sponsorship would have continued without Balmain. They still could have been recognised without ownership. But how much would Jaycar/Bryden pull in also? If they had ownership, they would have been keen to ramp up TPAs as much as possible.

As for the club, yeah, get where you are coming from. They certainly were a victim to some extent. But any good business person wouldn't have put all their eggs in the one basket (or got them into a situation where they needed to). They could have posted a security guard to keep the place in order, got a guarantee from the govt with recourse etc. when moving out. Especially with how unstable the NSW Labor govt were at the time.

 

[Benjirific]

This is the best possible solution for the current situation. Not the perfect final solution, but the best we can have right now. Do people honestly believe we've been running well as a club since the independents came on board?

We're still running at a sizeable loss, we haven't had any major sponsors come on board that weren't involved before, we have lost all available third party sponsors that we previously had, and we're consistently in the running for the wooden spoon with a coach that is despised by a large portion of the fan base.

I think people need to be reminded that the only success we have had as a club was with 'Leagues Club' directors running the show. We won a competition with this structure, we had the best merchandise sales of any Sydney team with this structure, and we came the closest we've ever come to breaking even with this structure. For the first time in memory we have the Wests & Balmain sides of the joint venture at least mildly united and working together in good faith to move the organisation forward. This is something that should be applauded.

The old structure needed to be changed, but as we've found the independent directors they selected have been a failure. It was a failure to not include anyone with some skin in the game (either as a fan of WT or a fan of rugby league) and some passion for the club. We need some independence on our board, but independence should simply be from BLC or Wests Group, not from our club altogether. If they can find two business people who are WT fans (like the head of NSW Chamber of Commerce who is a WT fan & put his hand up before) as the new independent directors, we can really move the club forward to something we can all be proud of.

 

[Benjirific]

Balmain were retained because they can still bring substantial cash, support, and membership to the club. The JV is better off with these assets than without them. Wests Ashfield obviously realised this too.

As for them running a non-profit into the ground, well not sure how much you know about the Leagues Club situation, but in all fairness they are a victim of circumstances and incompetent government beauracracy more than anything else. Had the original development not been impeded by the GFC and the Greens/Labor Government, Balmain would be a financial powerhouse at present.

I get your concerns about the direction of the club, but reality dictates that the owners of the club make the decisions. No point in sticking the boot in before we see how this actually transpires.

You make some good points mate.

It would be interesting though how much the sponsorship would have continued without Balmain. They still could have been recognised without ownership. But how much would Jaycar/Bryden pull in also? If they had ownership, they would have been keen to ramp up TPAs as much as possible.

As for the club, yeah, get where you are coming from. They certainly were a victim to some extent. But any good business person wouldn't have put all their eggs in the one basket (or got them into a situation where they needed to). They could have posted a security guard to keep the place in order, got a guarantee from the govt with recourse etc. when moving out. Especially with how unstable the NSW Labor govt were at the time.

Some of the sponsorship has already dropped off (Meriton), and unfortunately if they were owners they would be unable to be involved with TPAs. It is with TPAs that Balmain actually made their biggest sponsorship contribution. The reason we were able to keep Marshall, Farah, Ellis, Tuqiri, Lawrence etc together for a few years in 2009-2011 was because of TPAs that Balmain would bring in. Unfortunately the new independents make no effort to bring these in themselves because they both A: have no understanding of how football clubs work in the current day, and B: don't have the same passion for the club as BT & WM directors have. As somebody else mentioned before, they're there for a nice bit of diversity on their CV and then can walk away scot free.

 

[Knuckles]

The Independants on the board didn't handle the Taylor/Farah debacle very well …..... I had high hopes but on the whole I think they underperformed. Lets hope the new board is exactly that ...... and we dont go back to the calibre of messrs Bailey, Fraser, Elias and Co.

 

[gallagher]

I just hope some neutral board members remain, to provide some stability and business acumen.

Also that WA start throwing more cash into the WT. If they want to me majority stakeholder then they better start putting up more capital into the facilities, coaching structure etc. They've got the cash and are the majority owners so there's nothing to stop them increasing their investment but their own decision making.

Exactly. Stop asking your members to recruit their family and friends and put some serious cash up.

 

[goldcoast_tiger]

I just hope some neutral board members remain, to provide some stability and business acumen.

Also that WA start throwing more cash into the WT. If they want to me majority stakeholder then they better start putting up more capital into the facilities, coaching structure etc. They've got the cash and are the majority owners so there's nothing to stop them increasing their investment but their own decision making.

Exactly. Stop asking your members to recruit their family and friends and put some serious cash up.

BB, it might be a good idea to ask where Balmain is going to get the money to pay their share( 25% ) of the running costs each year. Rather than telling WA what they should be doing. They will be paying their share, and probably Balmains as well.
I'd be a bit more grateful that WA threw them a lifeline (which I think was a big mistake)and could hold us back in the future.
You'd think that there'd be a bit more gratitude.

 

[851]

I just hope some neutral board members remain, to provide some stability and business acumen.

Also that WA start throwing more cash into the WT. If they want to me majority stakeholder then they better start putting up more capital into the facilities, coaching structure etc. They've got the cash and are the majority owners so there's nothing to stop them increasing their investment but their own decision making.

Exactly. Stop asking your members to recruit their family and friends and put some serious cash up.

BB, it might be a good idea to ask where Balmain is going to get the money to pay their share( 25% ) of the running costs each year. Rather than telling WA what they should be doing. They will be paying their share, and probably Balmains as well.
I'd be a bit more grateful that WA threw them a lifeline (which I think was a big mistake)and could hold us back in the future.
You'd think that there'd be a bit more gratitude.

Exactly, if the boot was on the other foot Balmain would probably of just bought wests outright and took 100% ownership, the fact wests bailed Balmain and wanted them to be involved is a huge stroke of luck for the bankrupt Balmain side.

 

[goldcoast_tiger]

Not leagues "clubs". Leagues Club. I think without the need to compromise at every turn, we will see more direction from the board; then we saw during the 50/50 days.

Because that's worked out so well in the past with the magpies and tigers as solo entities?

The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.

Canterbury, Penrith, Parramatta, etc - nothing wrong with a successful leagues club running a football club

Well you picked 2 clubs with salary caps scandals and one that was saved by phil Gould. Plus, all those have a lot more $s to burn than we do.

It's just not a good model. Just sit back and look at the governance structure and revenue streams. It's open to both financial risk and management corruption/factions.

We were onto a fantastic thing with the perfect balance…now it's gone and we won't get it back.

By "perfect balance" we're you referring to the way it was with the non football independents or the way it was with Balmain and Wests equal shares ? With the
Independents nothing much was done, and we don't have to go into Balmains record of running things
It's better with decisions being able to be made without doing deals, or infighting.
WA seem to be able to do ok with their Leagues club.

 

[balmain boy]

I just hope some neutral board members remain, to provide some stability and business acumen.

Also that WA start throwing more cash into the WT. If they want to me majority stakeholder then they better start putting up more capital into the facilities, coaching structure etc. They've got the cash and are the majority owners so there's nothing to stop them increasing their investment but their own decision making.

Exactly. Stop asking your members to recruit their family and friends and put some serious cash up.

BB, it might be a good idea to ask where Balmain is going to get the money to pay their share( 25% ) of the running costs each year. Rather than telling WA what they should be doing. They will be paying their share, and probably Balmains as well.
I'd be a bit more grateful that WA threw them a lifeline (which I think was a big mistake)and could hold us back in the future.
You'd think that there'd be a bit more gratitude.

I'm under no illusion that Wests will be covering 100% of the running costs. But no my point remains totally valid. Why decide to take majority ownership of an organisation if you're just going to do the bare minimum and not aim to grow the organisation?

They have the means to invest a lot more money in the club if they want to. They took majority ownership so one must assume they want to, either that or they just want to see the club continue to struggle.

 

[cqtiger]

Load of codswallop. It's factual that the NRL had little to no say, not based some feeling. And do you think the directorship will look good on the independents CVs if the club goes backwards?

Balmain is dead and buried. Even if they get this development to go ahead, they'll have little to no money for a long time. I wish they had got in the Jaycar or Brydens bloke and be done with it. Would have been the perfect setup to take us forward.

In your rush to have a 'go' your've completely missed the point buts thats OK,you should have added IMIO to your post,"ïn my ignorant opinion".

ha… and what was your point?

b.t.w. You missed a comma, at least one full stop, it's 'you've' and 'that's'... I wonder how people miss your 'point'.

People who resort to using other people's poor spelling, grammar or punctuation may as well admit to losing the debate.