CEO - Shane Richardson

To hear someone that is running Wests Tigers talk in specific terms about metrics - playing ability/attributes versus market value - is like porn to me.

The only thing that would make this a true Wests Tigers situation is if he had to resign and leave the club for health reasons. Please excuse me as I go and bang my head against a wooden surface non stop for 20 minutes.
 
New Tigers boss scraps $4.5m offer for Test star – but hasn’t officially started the job


ByChristian Nicolussi
Updated December 13, 2023

www.smh.com.au

New Tigers boss scraps $4.5m offer for Test star – but hasn’t officially started the job

After a day of bloodletting at the joint venture club, the man tasked with rebuilding the back-to-back wooden spooners fronted the cameras for the first time.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au


Shane Richardson won’t officially start work as the Wests Tigers’ interim chief executive until next month but has already scrapped a lucrative offer for in-demand Warriors prop Addin Fonua-Blake.

Richardson had barely stepped inside the club’s centre of excellence on Wednesday when it emerged he had put an end to plans to pursue the homesick front-rower – with the blessing of rookie coach

The Wests Tigers have undergone significant change with the club's entire board removed effective immediately.

“Our forward pack is really strong, and we can add to that with our young players coming through,” Richardson told SEN.

“We need flexibility in our cap to be able to do things we need to do to make us stronger now.

“From that point of view, it’s my opinion and also Benji’s [Marshall] – because I wouldn’t do it without Benji – it’s not anything to do with that it’s got everything to do with where we need to focus our attention on.”

One of the first promises Richardson made to Marshall was to say he would not recruit any player to the club that the rookie coach did not want.


“And it’s because Benji’s career is on the line, so you don’t want to give him players he doesn’t want when he is the one who has to front up every weekend,” Richardson told this masthead.

“If Benji doesn’t want a player, he won’t be coming to the Tigers. I’ve always been heavily involved in recruitment, but I’ve never signed a player a coach didn’t want.”

Richardson’s simple recruitment philosophy will be welcome news for Marshall, whose predecessors, Tim Sheens and Michael Maguire, were not always in agreeance with club management when it came to roster changes.

Sheens could not hide his frustrations last year when he had differing views about keeping Luke Brooks, saying: “You’d like to hope the coach gets what he wants.”

‘It took two years with Penrith and 10 years with Souths. The reality is that every day we have to work towards achieving that.’

Shane Richardson
Richardson, 67, has been appointed to the top job for six months, but good judges are convinced he will then move into a director of football role – opening up a vacancy for a full-time chief executive. He has long been known to enjoy the challenge of building squads.

Richardson will not start until January 2, but he is sure to keep tabs on negotiations with Penrith’s Jarome Luai, who is free to speak to other clubs about 2025 and beyond. The Tigers have tabled a four-year deal worth about $4.5 million for Luai, which was put together by Marshall and former CEO Justin Pascoe.

Recruitment chief Scott Fulton, whose relationship with Marshall was reportedly strained since he was brought to the club by former chairman Lee Hagipantelis, has been kept away from the Luai deal but was overseeing Fonua-Blake negotiations.

Addressing a media scrum at Concord on Wednesday, Richardson declared: “This is not a rebuild. I hate that word. This is a build again.”


Tigers great hails club's 'big broom' move

Tigers great Benny Elias has hailed the move to sack the entire board - which also forced the resignation of CEO Justin Pascoe - as a 'good, positive move' for the embattled club.

Richardson also admitted the job of turning around the Tigers would be a big challenge, but nothing compared to what he faced when he took over at South Sydney two decades ago.

One of the game’s most experienced administrators spoke for 22 minutes and what became clear was his excitement to help Marshall and his admiration for Luai.

Richardson first pursued Luai when he was at the helm of South Sydney and the playmaker was stranded behind James Maloney at Penrith.

When asked why Luai would want to come to a struggling club such as the Tigers, Richardson said: “Why did a player want to come to Penrith when we had won the wooden spoon and all the senior players had wooden spoons put in their letterboxes?”

“Why would they want to come to a club where we had to get changed outside of the ground because of the abuse they copped when they went into the ground?

“At Souths when we lost every weekend and the abuse … both those clubs went on to win premierships.

“At the end of the day, they [recruits] want to be part of building of a club to greatness again.


Why Tigers’ boardroom turmoil might actually help their pursuit of Luai
“It took two years with Penrith and 10 years with Souths. The reality is that every day of our lives we have to work towards achieving that.

“I’ve made my feelings on Luai well-known for a long time. In my opinion, he was the best young half coming through, he’s proven at the highest level, and not only that, he’s a great team leader – that Penrith side revolves around Luai.

“He’s a great person off the field, and you couldn’t meet a better person than him.”

Richardson avoided being dragged into a public slanging match with Hagipantelis, who continued his attack on the board’s decision to dissolve the board on morning radio.

Richardson will take the reins alongside interim chairman Barry O’Farrell.

While admitting to being guilty of the “occasional blow-up”, Richardson backed his track record of getting the best out of his staff, players and coaches
 
BAGNF05 said:
Around 44:45 is the quote that sticks out to me.

“If you haven’t got the players, you can’t win”

Interesting couple of months ahead.
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Tbh, that isn’t a revolutionary quote. Pascoe and Co recognised that. The difference is the credibility of the person/people trying to get the players. I think our success rate of landing marquee players will increase significantly with a guy like Richo around.
 
Might be a few on here a little worried about this quote from Richo -

" “I’ve always loved a Reschs and a hot dog at Leichhardt, but at the end of the day the growth of the club is in that [Campbelltown and Macarthur] area. It’s as simple as that.”
 
diedpretty said:
Might be a few on here a little worried about this quote from Richo -

" “I’ve always loved a Reschs and a hot dog at Leichhardt, but at the end of the day the growth of the club is in that [Campbelltown and Macarthur] area. It’s as simple as that.”
Click to expand...

really?

I doubt it … it ain’t 2002 anymore
 
diedpretty said:
Really - SMH a posting it as a direct quote from him - so who said it if he didn't
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Sorry i get you now - i have seen quite a few posters on here say they wouldn't be interested if the club moved more games to cambelltown at the expense of leichhardt
 
diedpretty said:
Really - SMH a posting it as a direct quote from him - so who said it if he didn't
Click to expand...
man … how hard is it …

I am saying your comment is wrong

“Might be a few in hear that are a little bit worried “..

Like who ? And why would they be ?
 
diedpretty said:
not getting in to a pissing match - there have been heaps on here over time say they wouldn't travel to campbelltown - you want to know who they are find them yourself - i'm not prepared to wade through hundreds o pages to please you.
Click to expand...

mate .. its your assertion ….. not mine…

So you back it up!
 
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