It's time to take the fight back to HBG

[Chunk]

Pathways - Its clear the Bulldogs have a more far reaching and better pathways program. It costs money

Key Operational Differences with Bulldogs and Wests Tigers

1. Geographic Scouting Footprint -The Bulldogs look beyond geographical constraints. Under Phil Gould's direction, recruitment officer Fifita Hala manages scouting structures that capture elite talent as young as 15 across New Zealand, country NSW, and Queensland. Promising young players are brought into centralized "Pups" elite training camps to assimilate into the Belmore culture early.

The Wests Tigers possess one of the largest natural junior rugby league footprints in the world. Led by Shannon Gallant, their TID relies on capitalizing on their local joint-venture regions: the Inner West (Balmain Tigers) and the exploding South-West population boom (Western Suburbs Magpies).

2. Roster Implementation & Retention Realities - The Bulldogs focus heavily on elite polish and target specific player profiles. They aggressively pursue or sign top-tier young playmakers and forwards from other systems, backed by corporate resources and the developmental blueprint laid out by Ciraldo. They focus on a low error rate when moving elite talent into their top-30 roster.

The Wests Tigers consistently unearth generational junior squads—such as their dominant Harold Matthews Cup representative lines—featuring elite prospects like Christian Taupau-Moors and Heamasi Makasini. However, their primary hurdle is the "departure lounge" phenomenon. Rival powerhouse clubs (like Penrith) frequently identify and poach the Tigers' top-performing pathway stars right as they edge toward first-grade readiness

So for me, the only way the Wests Tigers will have a successful period is if we have 5/6 local young guns to make it in first grade at the same time. A little like 2005

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Sinead O'Connor sang a song about this. "What's in your head?" "Zombie"

You might want to check that again

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

You might want to check that again

The Cranberries, really like that song great voice.

 

[wstigers11]

Pathways - Its clear the Bulldogs have a more far reaching and better pathways program. It costs money

Key Operational Differences with Bulldogs and Wests Tigers

1. Geographic Scouting Footprint -The Bulldogs look beyond geographical constraints. Under Phil Gould's direction, recruitment officer Fifita Hala manages scouting structures that capture elite talent as young as 15 across New Zealand, country NSW, and Queensland. Promising young players are brought into centralized "Pups" elite training camps to assimilate into the Belmore culture early.

The Wests Tigers possess one of the largest natural junior rugby league footprints in the world. Led by Shannon Gallant, their TID relies on capitalizing on their local joint-venture regions: the Inner West (Balmain Tigers) and the exploding South-West population boom (Western Suburbs Magpies).

2. Roster Implementation & Retention Realities - The Bulldogs focus heavily on elite polish and target specific player profiles. They aggressively pursue or sign top-tier young playmakers and forwards from other systems, backed by corporate resources and the developmental blueprint laid out by Ciraldo. They focus on a low error rate when moving elite talent into their top-30 roster.

The Wests Tigers consistently unearth generational junior squads—such as their dominant Harold Matthews Cup representative lines—featuring elite prospects like Christian Taupau-Moors and Heamasi Makasini. However, their primary hurdle is the "departure lounge" phenomenon. Rival powerhouse clubs (like Penrith) frequently identify and poach the Tigers' top-performing pathway stars right as they edge toward first-grade readiness

So for me, the only way the Wests Tigers will have a successful period is if we have 5/6 local young guns to make it in first grade at the same time. A little like 2005

Broncos spend $1.5m annually on just pathways alone. That’s the amount HBG provide to us to run the entire club period.

 

[NT_Tiger]

You might want to check that again

Yep My bad. Still a good point though

 

[Papacito]

Broncos spend $1.5m annually on just pathways alone. That’s the amount HBG provide to us to run the entire club period.

The Broncos can spend on things like that because they make a fortune from membership, merch and sponsorship and are close to a one city team. They're commercially so strong that they stand on their own two feet without a leagues club propping them up.

While we may never be the Broncos, but that's the direction we need to be heading, not asking a leagues club for a blank cheque to fill a financial black hole (which according to reports has exceeded $2 million in recent years).

As fans, we'd love to see HBG put serious money into the footy team. But this is fairy tale stuff.

In the real world, once you're sitting on a board, you can't simply keep tipping members funds into a football operation that runs significant losses year after year. Directors have legal duties to act in the best interests of the organisation and to manage its finances responsibly. Once you stop doing that you're on a fast track to getting banned as a director or worse.

If the Wests Tigers business model requires an ever-increasing subsidy just to stand still, our days in the comp are numbered.

It's unpopular, but for the club to be strong, we need to get a lot stronger commercially. That probably means saying goodbye to a beer on the hill with your mates at LO or Campbelltown and embracing the big end of town with decent facilities. Some of this is on management. Some of this is also on the board and owners.

Otherwise we're heading the way of someone like the Newtown Jets.

 

[weststigers]

The Broncos can spend on things like that because they make a fortune from membership, merch and sponsorship and are close to a one city team. They're commercially so strong that they stand on their own two feet without a leagues club propping them up.

While we may never be the Broncos, but that's the direction we need to be heading, not asking a leagues club for a blank cheque to fill a financial black hole (which according to reports has exceeded $2 million in recent years).

As fans, we'd love to see HBG put serious money into the footy team. But this is fairy tale stuff.

In the real world, once you're sitting on a board, you can't simply keep tipping members funds into a football operation that runs significant losses year after year. Directors have legal duties to act in the best interests of the organisation and to manage its finances responsibly. Once you stop doing that you're on a fast track to getting banned as a director or worse.

If the Wests Tigers business model requires an ever-increasing subsidy just to stand still, our days in the comp are numbered.

It's unpopular, but for the club to be strong, we need to get a lot stronger commercially. That probably means saying goodbye to a beer on the hill with your mates at LO or Campbelltown and embracing the big end of town with decent facilities. Some of this is on management. Some of this is also on the board and owners.

Otherwise we're heading the way of someone like the Newtown Jets.

No other organisation allows people to keep their jobs with a track record looking like ours...that's a major problem. 12 or so years is a pretty good stint to get it right but it's been failure and drama, year after year.

I don't hold out any hope these guys will suddenly work out how to achieve success.

 

[tig_prmz]

Yeah, thats a fair pickup. I actually didn't know that. But with HBG as a controlling interest on both, they can still make the same call. I don't think all clubs are setup like the dogs.

I still think that they must be getting something out of it.

Financially, you have a group that is worth around $50-60m and the directors/ owners of the group cannot sell it, cannot borrow against it but hold all the power in it. Kickbacks, jobs for the boys etc. they must be getting something from it. Maybe a renovation that should cost $100k is billed at $1m going to a company a director owns.

Something... To me, it doesn't make any sense.

Usually creditors and debentures would just get their loan and interest back which is what's happening here.

This is more about HBG than WT though.

 

[tig_prmz]

Its not just the voting. Its their level of involvement and guidance to the strategy, their connections to improve sponsor revenue, impact our media image, provide life after footy options for players etc... but its also the culture they bring > One of unearned entitlement does not set the right top down standard and will impact our team on the field.

All these things we know from their profiles and actions.

I agree with that but it should be Wests Tigers responsibility to separate the owners/ Board from the players.

Let's see if independent Board comes back.. don't think it will though.

 

[tig_prmz]

Pathways - Its clear the Bulldogs have a more far reaching and better pathways program. It costs money

Key Operational Differences with Bulldogs and Wests Tigers

1. Geographic Scouting Footprint -The Bulldogs look beyond geographical constraints. Under Phil Gould's direction, recruitment officer Fifita Hala manages scouting structures that capture elite talent as young as 15 across New Zealand, country NSW, and Queensland. Promising young players are brought into centralized "Pups" elite training camps to assimilate into the Belmore culture early.

The Wests Tigers possess one of the largest natural junior rugby league footprints in the world. Led by Shannon Gallant, their TID relies on capitalizing on their local joint-venture regions: the Inner West (Balmain Tigers) and the exploding South-West population boom (Western Suburbs Magpies).

2. Roster Implementation & Retention Realities - The Bulldogs focus heavily on elite polish and target specific player profiles. They aggressively pursue or sign top-tier young playmakers and forwards from other systems, backed by corporate resources and the developmental blueprint laid out by Ciraldo. They focus on a low error rate when moving elite talent into their top-30 roster.

The Wests Tigers consistently unearth generational junior squads—such as their dominant Harold Matthews Cup representative lines—featuring elite prospects like Christian Taupau-Moors and Heamasi Makasini. However, their primary hurdle is the "departure lounge" phenomenon. Rival powerhouse clubs (like Penrith) frequently identify and poach the Tigers' top-performing pathway stars right as they edge toward first-grade readiness

So for me, the only way the Wests Tigers will have a successful period is if we have 5/6 local young guns to make it in first grade at the same time. A little like 2005

This is why I keep saying that it's not just about McArthur area of Inner west etc.

Storm do this too. The young guys from all different parts of the country live in shared housing as early as 17 years of age. The Club provides them with schooling, outside support, apprenticeships etc.

Let's say from SG to NRL, they are in charge of 200 players. They look after their 200 players very well. They give them the attributes to become good people, hence hopefully good players.

Maybe we do something like that and don't advertise it.

We need money for sure, but we need someone to have that vision too. Maybe we don't have the money to do that for 200 players, but at least 50 players in the lower grades, hopefully we can give them the support elite athletes need.

 

[jirskyr]

Are there any other clubs that are known for losing/getting rid of its talent like the Wests Tigers?

It all started with Tedesco.. how many players have we let go/pushed out since then?

Our spine for the last 10 years could have included

1. Tedesco
7. Moses

2 origin players.

It happens a lot to other clubs, just Tigers seem to rebound less effectively than most other clubs.

E.g. Cowboys lost Ponga, Jahrome Hughes and the Hammer (first two 2016-2017, Hammer in 2022). Kikau, Felise Kaufusi and The Cheese were all Cowboys juniors.

It has hurt them pretty badly in some ways, but they have done OK with Drinkwater at FB recently, and obviously when Hughes left they still had career-end Thurston. After Hammer left they ran with Val Holmes and Peta Hiku in centres.