CEO - Shane Richardson

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Jolls said:
Richo has focused on addressing structural issues, rebuilding the club’s culture, and supporting the development of a competitive roster. Key aspects include:
  1. Stabilisation and Strategic Vision: The first thing he accomplished was the development of a strategic plan to guide the club into the future. He established some lofty goals and from this developed and commenced execution of an operational plan to achieve the goals. He emphasised the importance of stability in coaching, roster management, and governance. This approach aligns with his proven model at other clubs; particularly Souths, where he contributed to their 2014 premiership
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Yes he released a Strategic Plan and it has some bold statements within it. I think it is light on for specifics and does invovle a lot of jargon but essentially, it presented a pathway of
  1. Innovate
    • Revenue Streams
    • Brand and Awareness
    • Community Impact
  2. Grow
    • Membership
    • Commercial Partnerships
    • Fan Experience
    • Community Reach
  3. Deliver
    • Success across all divisions of the club
    • For the members
    • Improved financial results
All very generic but if we didnt already have something similar, then this is a decent beginning.
He also set up a second office in Cambpelltown to help engagement with the South West Corridor.
Importantly, it strives to establish the club as development, not recruitment focused.
We targetted 10,000 members @ $1.6M in revenue, $6.5M in corporate sponsorships, 9,300 registered juniors, put no ceilings on the success of the NRL and NRLW squads and he wanted 140 school visits.

Have to do some digging to see how these targets faired, but the success of the two squads was a failure.

Jolls said:
  1. Partnership with Benji Marshall: He did not appoint Benji as the coach; however, has strongly backed him. He has worked to ensure that Benji has the resources needed to rebuild the team, focusing on strengthening the roster. The appointment of Hodgo as an assistant coach has raised questions about the quality of the recruiting process and the panel interviewed; in some circles this has reflected poorly on Richo’s judgement. The performance of the NRL team in 2025 will make or break the coaching staff. However, as Benji was appointed by the previous administration Richo is in a win/win situation. Success will favour his judgement and failure will enable him to rectify the poor judgement of the previous administration for appointing an inexperienced coach on such a long-term contract.
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He has had enough time to evaluate if the Marshal appointment was worthwhile.
Categorically backing a young, inexperienced coach with 2 spoons collected in his first 2 years of contract cannot continue without considerable improvement.
Jolls said:
  1. Cultural Reset: He, along with Benji, are addressing the longstanding cultural and structural issues within the club. Early indications suggest progress, with renewed optimism among stakeholders and increased engagement with fans and sponsors.
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Whatever culture we have, Benji was instrumental in its early construction as a player.
He has now thrown his weight behind family first. Lets see how it goes....
Up until now, I dont see a positive cultural reset.
Jolls said:
  1. Challenges Ahead: Despite efforts, our competitive struggles persist. Achieving tangible on-field success remains a critical goal. Achieving the strategic intent of dragging West Tigers from the bottom of the NRL to a high performing organisation both on and off the field will take some time. On balance the club appears to be heading in the right direction.
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He has stated we will become the largest Rugby League Nursery in the world and will be a consistent top 4 club. No schedule has been added to these targets and no depth to the ooperational plans.
How long should he be given to see results..3 years?, 5?..10? indefinite?
Jolls said:
Overall, Richo’s tenure, has brought a sense of direction and professionalism that I don’t think the club has seen previously. While his efforts to instil stability and support Benji have been widely praised in the media, the true measure of his impact will lie in the club’s ability to translate these changes into sustained on-field success. With significant challenges still ahead, Richo’s leadership has so far only laid the foundation. Significant work is still required to build the Club; however, for the first time in over a decade there is hope of a brighter future.

I think he's the right man for the job.
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At the moment I also think he is the right man for the job, but he has had some hiccups in his first year that raised my eyebrow once or twice.
I liked how he shut down team Galvin mid season and killed that news story. I like how he is bringing good players such as Luai in.
I am undecided about how he has handled Bateman and Miller. and what occurred on his jaunt to the mother country.
I dont like his attitude towards non-membered supporters, the Crocodile Roll, boasting in the media or The Outlaws nonsense.
I also think he underestimated the project he was undertaking.
Happy for now, but another bottom 4 finish will put some pressure on as he has put himself out there recently without really needing to.
 
Tucker said:
Yes he released a Strategic Plan and it has some bold statements within it. I think it is light on for specifics
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Pretty normal for the strategic plan to be light on for specifics. The detail is usually in the operational plan, which as far as I am aware, hasn't been released.

Tucker said:
He has had enough time to evaluate if the Marshal appointment was worthwhile.
Categorically backing a young, inexperienced coach with 2 spoons collected in his first 2 years of contract cannot continue without considerable improvement.
Click to expand...
100%, 2025 will make or break Benji and the coaching staff. I think Richo is across it and knows he will look good either way.
Tucker said:
Whatever culture we have, Benji was instrumental in its early construction as a player.
He has now thrown his weight behind family first. Lets see how it goes....
Up until now, I dont see a positive cultural reset.
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I'm giving them a bit of leeway as the change in recruitung has to be linked to a change in the culture of the joint. There has been a significant recruiting upturn - Family first? May have something to do with it. The way Benji deflects and then gets to the talking point he has to cover (ie, I won't talk about recruiting as thats internal but whai I can tell you is .... "Family First") is media training 101 - whatever the question get to your talking points. I'm pretty sure Benji and Richo are lock step in this one. Maybe wrong; let's see how it pans out.
Tucker said:
At the moment I also think he is the right man for the job, but he has had some hiccups in his first year that raised my eyebrow once or twice.
I liked how he shut down team Galvin mid season and killed that news story. I like how he is bringing good players such as Luai in.
I am undecided about how he has handled Bateman and Miller. and what occurred on his jaunt to the mother country.
I dont like his attitude towards non-membered supporters, the Crocodile Roll, boasting in the media or The Outlaws nonsense.
I also think he underestimated the project he was undertaking.
Happy for now, but another bottom 4 finish will put some pressure on as he has put himself out there recently without really needing to.
Click to expand...
I'm sure there have been trategic plans and operational plans before but they appear to have been plans built and executed by a committee. Nothing good ever come from that. Pin the responsibility on someone and make them accountable is the only way it will work. I think for the first time in Wests Tigers History that is happening.

I think Benji will find out the hard way if he doesn't turn the football department around in 2025.

I somewhat agree with the way Richo is handling players and player managers - I think the message to Bateman, Miller and Galvin has been clear. There is so much to the Bateman and Miller story that we don't know; but what I like is that the detail is not being played out in the media as it would have been under the two previous clowns.

I'm not one for over the top media crap either, but the way I look at it - if he achieves no problem If we fail to live up to it - he has to answer for his calls. He is a big boy with experience - I'm happy to let it roll as long as he achieves an outcome; even though I don't agree with the method.
 
Tucker said:
Yes he released a Strategic Plan and it has some bold statements within it. I think it is light on for specifics and does invovle a lot of jargon but essentially, it presented a pathway of
  1. Innovate
    • Revenue Streams
    • Brand and Awareness
    • Community Impact
  2. Grow
    • Membership
    • Commercial Partnerships
    • Fan Experience
    • Community Reach
  3. Deliver
    • Success across all divisions of the club
    • For the members
    • Improved financial results
All very generic but if we didnt already have something similar, then this is a decent beginning.
He also set up a second office in Cambpelltown to help engagement with the South West Corridor.
Importantly, it strives to establish the club as development, not recruitment focused.
We targetted 10,000 members @ $1.6M in revenue, $6.5M in corporate sponsorships, 9,300 registered juniors, put no ceilings on the success of the NRL and NRLW squads and he wanted 140 school visits.

Have to do some digging to see how these targets faired, but the success of the two squads was a failure.


He has had enough time to evaluate if the Marshal appointment was worthwhile.
Categorically backing a young, inexperienced coach with 2 spoons collected in his first 2 years of contract cannot continue without considerable improvement.

Whatever culture we have, Benji was instrumental in its early construction as a player.
He has now thrown his weight behind family first. Lets see how it goes....
Up until now, I dont see a positive cultural reset.

He has stated we will become the largest Rugby League Nursery in the world and will be a consistent top 4 club. No schedule has been added to these targets and no depth to the ooperational plans.
How long should he be given to see results..3 years?, 5?..10? indefinite?

At the moment I also think he is the right man for the job, but he has had some hiccups in his first year that raised my eyebrow once or twice.
I liked how he shut down team Galvin mid season and killed that news story. I like how he is bringing good players such as Luai in.
I am undecided about how he has handled Bateman and Miller. and what occurred on his jaunt to the mother country.
I dont like his attitude towards non-membered supporters, the Crocodile Roll, boasting in the media or The Outlaws nonsense.
I also think he underestimated the project he was undertaking.
Happy for now, but another bottom 4 finish will put some pressure on as he has put himself out there recently without really needing to.
Click to expand...
I like how people won’t agree with every decision he makes, and that doesn’t bother him in the slightest.

He’s unapologetically going to do what he thinks is best for the club. No more spin.
 
BAGNF05 said:
I like how people won’t agree with every decision he makes, and that doesn’t bother him in the slightest.

He’s unapologetically going to do what he thinks is best for the club. No more spin.
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No more spin?
Everything he’s said about Luai’s signature is spin.
Whatever leverage he is getting out of that signature to lock in other players is also spin.
We better have a very solid first 3 months next year….
 
Tucker said:
No more spin?
Everything he’s said about Luai’s signature is spin.
Whatever leverage he is getting out of that signature to lock in other players is also spin.
We better have a very solid first 3 months next year….
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We needed to get that deal over the line to change the club. Period.
 
Every player on a two year deal from now on is in the same position!!
He is an elite player in his prime in a key position - the first one we have ever signed - as if he wasn't going to exercise a level of control going from a 4yr premiership winning team to 3yr wooden spoon club.
 
BAGNF05 said:
Spin. Learn a new word?

The three time spooners (brought to you by your mate JP) had all the aces up their sleeve negotiating with the bloke whose done nothing but win his whole career.
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Don’t change the subject. YOU just stated that Richo doesn’t use it.
Not only does he, but it could be worse than any we’ve seen here before.
 
Telltails said:
Every player on a two year deal from now on is in the same position!!
He is an elite player in his prime in a key position - the first one we have ever signed - as if he wasn't going to exercise a level of control going from a 4yr premiership winning team to 3yr wooden spoon club.
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Irrelevant!
The main draw card the club has been using to sign members, sponsors, players and engage the fanbase is that Jarome has bought into the dream sold to him by Richo and Benji…signing for 5 years! If a successful guy like him commits for 5 years, we are doing something right.
That may not be true and it’s a big deal.
 
BAGNF05 said:
Spin. Learn a new word?

The three time spooners (brought to you by your mate JP) had all the aces up their sleeve negotiating with the bloke who’s done nothing but win his whole career.
Click to expand...
My mate? I couldn’t give a toss about Pascoe.
 
Tucker said:
Irrelevant!
The main draw card the club has been using to sign members, sponsors, players and engage the fanbase is that Jarome has bought into the dream sold to him by Richo and Benji…signing for 5 years! If a successful guy like him commits for 5 years, we are doing something right.
That may not be true and it’s a big deal.
Click to expand...
Memberships are a year to proposition for most fans he is here next year and if they are unhappy about the length of the deal then they can demonstrate that by not signing the following year. There is far more positive for the club in having him in any capacity than not.
 
Tucker said:
Yes, he is ignorant, however there remains other ways to succeed. For starters, mentorship. Swallow your pride and bring someone of substance with appropriate experience in to help him.
Faking anything is not a long term solution.
Do it correctly the first time and set building blocks that will remain well after you leave.
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It’s the club’s cultural issue. It’s not a good idea to employ people based on personality rather than skills. I always employed people I could train to do my job in a reasonably short time, while I trained for my next promotion. When an opening for promotion presented itself I put my hand up and had my replacement ready as I promised him, do this and I will reward you. I made a few enemies racing to the top but only from those overprotective of their position.
At WT the board members hire people with less experience because they think they’re easier to control.
Hire skills, both qualifications training and experience, but also variety skills.
 
Telltails said:
Memberships are a year to proposition for most fans he is here next year and if they are unhappy about the length of the deal then they can demonstrate that by not signing the following year. There is far more positive for the club in having him in any capacity than not.
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It’s the intentionally misleading nature of it all from an admin who bollocked the previous guys only to turn around and do the same.
 
Tucker said:
It’s the intentionally misleading nature of it all from an admin who bollocked the previous guys only to turn around and do the same.
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Stefano is not in the same league as Jarome Luai - vastly different scenario. An elite player with options, in his prime, in a key position ,4 time premiership winner.
Stefano - achieved little at this point. Totally different situations.
If that's what it took to secure him then so be it because there has definitely been a role on because of it.
 
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