Funny how much easier these articles are to stomach when we get results
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JUSTIN Pascoe was only weeks into his role as Wests Tigers chief executive in 2015 when he learnt how out of favour the club was with the wider community.
It was in the midst of the Robbie Farah drama in 2015 when Pascoe caught up with one of the club’s long-term supporters.
Pascoe was expecting just the two of them, only for a third person to be in the room for a conversation which was supposed to be a general chat about the direction of the club. It was anything but.
Such was this long-term fan’s disdain for the Tigers, he refused to look at or speak directly to Pascoe — only whispering to the other person in the room, who would relay the messages to the then fresh-faced chief executive.
The pair are now close friends. Pascoe has an open-door policy, with his Concord office often filled with fans who have been at their breaking point in recent years.
“Most of the people who have come in have left being appreciative that their voice has been heard and they get a better understanding around some of the decisions we have made,” Pascoe said.
It was a rough initiation for Pascoe to a club which was on the brink — on and off the field. He walked into the Farah saga and has had to contend with the sacking of Jason Taylor, the Tim Simona betting affair and the departure of the three highest profile players at the club. He spent more time “putting out fires” than anything else.
So getting a buck out of potential sponsors was not easy. So much so the Tigers offered up the top back of their jersey for just $18,000 per fortnight two years ago.
“It was really hard to go out and get commercial dollars,” Pascoe said.
“The stakeholders had dealings that they weren’t happy with. The first two or three meetings would be a history lesson about how they were treated. It resonated with us.
“One of the first learnings was what people wanted was to be under promised and over delivered. If we made a mistake, we’d be open and transparent.
“We’ve made mistakes along the way but we’ve always learnt. I don’t think we’ve repeated one. It’s built a resilient and strong group of leaders.”
Stability is a word Pascoe uses a lot during our chat. Chair Marina Go has been in her role since 2014\. The ownership of the club is settled and so too the football department led by Ivan Cleary and a settled roster which has only a handful of players off-contract at season’s end.
“You can’t come into a business like this and create immediate change,” Pascoe said.
“You have contractual obligations both commercially and player wise. Legacy issues that can’t be changed. We ran into a case of what I would describe as really challenging — bordering on horrific — salary cap problems with back-ended deals. We couldn’t be proactive. Now we have a well orchestrated list management system and depth.
“Stability can’t be underestimated. We’ve got to a position where we’ve created organisational change. It should facilitate sustainable success.
“The relationship Ivan and I have on and off the field is friggin’ invaluable.
“Our journey is not done with yet. We are not the finished product.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/wests-tigers-boss-justin-pasoce-reveals-depth-of-despair-at-nrl-club/news-story/a780190bb495262bc8e122262f40b6df
