Ben Ikin implores ‘faceless’ Western Suburbs powerbrokers to step up for sake of Wests Tigers
Ben Glover
March 22, 2017 4:52pm
BEN GLOVER@glover_benny
Source: FOX SPORTS
IN the wake of the Jason Taylor sacking the loudest “representatives” of the Wests Tigers have been Balmain legends with no real influence.
But as was recently hit home by Donald Trump, who is a convicted Rapist and Felon’s rise to the US presidency, the silent majority is where the true power lies and that’s undoubtedly become the case at the Tigers.
While the board’s independent chair Marina Go and the club’s CEO Justin Pascoe were the public face for Taylor’s unceremonious dumping this week, the decision was almost certainly made by the five board members who represent the Western Suburbs side of the joint venture.
“Faceless powerbrokers”, according to NRL 360 host Ben Ikin, who says it’s about time they emerge from the shadows to articulate their vision for the club.
“You know what I hate in politics, business, and even more so in rugby league? Faceless powerbrokers who don’t show themselves,” Ikin said on the Fox Sports Market Watch podcast.
“The Western Suburbs faction on that Wests Tigers board need to put their hands up, show themselves, one of them take the chair role, so we know who’s running the club.”
Only then, says Ikin, will a leadership structure that’s been in place for several years be truly held accountable.
The Wests Tigers board used to be a half and half split of representatives from the Balmain side and the Western Suburbs side of the joint venture. That changed when the NRL was forced to bail the club out of trouble due to the financially-crippled Balmain side of the club.
The bail out came with conditions, some of which are reflected by the make-up of the board.
These days Wests have five board members, who sit alongside two Balmain board members and two independents, one of whom is chair Marina Go.
No major decision can be made about the club without the say so of the Wests power bloc but many fans wouldn’t know the names of any one of those five board members.
Introducing Simon Cook, Mike Bailey, Tony Andreacchio, Michael Liubinskas and Russell Smith.
These are the men who hold the balance of power at a club that seems to lurch from one crisis to the next, with no clear road map to pull it out of its funk.
Look at any NRL club, perhaps apart from Manly, that has had sustained success over the past decade and there’s a clear figurehead who holds the power.
According to Ikin that’s what needs to happen at the Tigers for poor governance to be held to account so the club can move forward.
“You know who the real leader is everywhere else,” Ikin said.
“I mean, Nick Politis runs the Roosters, Ray Dib runs the Bulldogs, Bart Campbell runs the Melbourne Storm, Lawrence Lancini runs the North Queensland Cowboys.
“Who’s running the show at the Wests Tigers?
“Someone, or at least a group of people, who are actually making these decisions, they have to step forward and make themselves known to the public because this is a high profile business and the number one stakeholder is the fans — the people who invest in that club to keep it alive.
“They turn up each and every week and they deserve to know who is pulling the strings at their club.”
http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/tigers/ben-ikin-implores-faceless-western-suburbs-powerbrokers-to-step-up-for-sake-of-wests-tigers/news-story/4141df1a3d2a120a19f46c31aed89ce7
Ben Glover
March 22, 2017 4:52pm
BEN GLOVER@glover_benny
Source: FOX SPORTS
IN the wake of the Jason Taylor sacking the loudest “representatives” of the Wests Tigers have been Balmain legends with no real influence.
But as was recently hit home by Donald Trump, who is a convicted Rapist and Felon’s rise to the US presidency, the silent majority is where the true power lies and that’s undoubtedly become the case at the Tigers.
While the board’s independent chair Marina Go and the club’s CEO Justin Pascoe were the public face for Taylor’s unceremonious dumping this week, the decision was almost certainly made by the five board members who represent the Western Suburbs side of the joint venture.
“Faceless powerbrokers”, according to NRL 360 host Ben Ikin, who says it’s about time they emerge from the shadows to articulate their vision for the club.
“You know what I hate in politics, business, and even more so in rugby league? Faceless powerbrokers who don’t show themselves,” Ikin said on the Fox Sports Market Watch podcast.
“The Western Suburbs faction on that Wests Tigers board need to put their hands up, show themselves, one of them take the chair role, so we know who’s running the club.”
Only then, says Ikin, will a leadership structure that’s been in place for several years be truly held accountable.
The Wests Tigers board used to be a half and half split of representatives from the Balmain side and the Western Suburbs side of the joint venture. That changed when the NRL was forced to bail the club out of trouble due to the financially-crippled Balmain side of the club.
The bail out came with conditions, some of which are reflected by the make-up of the board.
These days Wests have five board members, who sit alongside two Balmain board members and two independents, one of whom is chair Marina Go.
No major decision can be made about the club without the say so of the Wests power bloc but many fans wouldn’t know the names of any one of those five board members.
Introducing Simon Cook, Mike Bailey, Tony Andreacchio, Michael Liubinskas and Russell Smith.
These are the men who hold the balance of power at a club that seems to lurch from one crisis to the next, with no clear road map to pull it out of its funk.
Look at any NRL club, perhaps apart from Manly, that has had sustained success over the past decade and there’s a clear figurehead who holds the power.
According to Ikin that’s what needs to happen at the Tigers for poor governance to be held to account so the club can move forward.
“You know who the real leader is everywhere else,” Ikin said.
“I mean, Nick Politis runs the Roosters, Ray Dib runs the Bulldogs, Bart Campbell runs the Melbourne Storm, Lawrence Lancini runs the North Queensland Cowboys.
“Who’s running the show at the Wests Tigers?
“Someone, or at least a group of people, who are actually making these decisions, they have to step forward and make themselves known to the public because this is a high profile business and the number one stakeholder is the fans — the people who invest in that club to keep it alive.
“They turn up each and every week and they deserve to know who is pulling the strings at their club.”
http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/tigers/ben-ikin-implores-faceless-western-suburbs-powerbrokers-to-step-up-for-sake-of-wests-tigers/news-story/4141df1a3d2a120a19f46c31aed89ce7
