OFFICIAL Q&A Club discussion with Shaun Mielekamp

innsaneink said:
I dont see whats embarrasing about it.

I dont see a difference from him being interviewed and taking Q's at pre-game functions, doing pod casts...or trying to answer supporter/members questions on an online forum

Its just another form of media

Maybe he thougt we'd all be a bit more mature than hes found, hes already had his words taken out of context and twisted to suit some here pov that were offended by something he said despite him admitting and apologizing it wasnt what he meant, yet some wouldnt let it go.

Hes having a go and trying ...no one in the history of the clubs done this before so kudos to him imo...though despite this I think we all know the road blocks hes facing from HB
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I agree, it's something novel at a time when Tigers need to be embracing new ideas to pull the club out of the shitter.

Remember Richo said members could phone or email him any time, and I consider this an extension of that philosophy.

Not entirely Shaun's fault that there's a peanut gallery that would love nothing more than to take pot shots at real Tigers staff.
 
GNR4LIFE said:
I think if this thread is to continue, the best thing is to lock it straight after a loss and maybe till the next morning. Every loss so far, the usual suspects have come in here and hurled abuse. Whether it’s warranted or not, it’s not going do this thread any good. He’s not here to cop abuse, whether you think he deserves it or not.
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Yep...its already been discussed
 
jirskyr said:
I agree, it's something novel at a time when Tigers need to be embracing new ideas to pull the club out of the shitter.

Remember Richo said members could phone or email him any time, and I consider this an extension of that philosophy.

Not entirely Shaun's fault that there's a peanut gallery that would love nothing more than to take pot shots at real Tigers staff.
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Here’s a new idea. Why doesn’t the club focus on making decisions that correlate with on-field success instead of pr stunts?

The club embraced a new idea when they appointed Sheens and Marshall to take over and look where that’s led us.

In all honesty are you happy with the way the club and Shaun have handled this season?

Because the way I see it we’re once again missing finals and yet again the laughing stock of the NRL.
 
Pringle Gold said:
Here’s a new idea. Why doesn’t the club focus on making decisions that correlate with on-field success instead of pr stunts?

The club embraced a new idea when they appointed Sheens and Marshall to take over and look where that’s led us.

In all honesty are you happy with the way the club and Shaun have handled this season?

Because the way I see it we’re once again missing finals and yet again the laughing stock of the NRL.
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I find your comments tiresome so I don't have anything else to say.
 
Pringle Gold said:
Here’s a new idea. Why doesn’t the club focus on making decisions that correlate with on-field success instead of pr stunts?

The club embraced a new idea when they appointed Sheens and Marshall to take over and look where that’s led us.

In all honesty are you happy with the way the club and Shaun have handled this season?

Because the way I see it we’re once again missing finals and yet again the laughing stock of the NRL.
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For one, certain actions are not mutually exclusive, and keeping members onside for revenue and team motivation is one of Shaun's jobs.

Shaun has engaged respectfully. Maybe try to do the same. No one is happy where we are.
 
I think it was a rookie error for Shaun to engage with fans on an anonymous forum when the general consensus around the club is dissatisfaction with the people he represents - just puts him on the defence.

What is even more concerning is if he didn't realise that before he reached out.
 
-_- the-flip-side -_- said:
Hi Shaun,

Check out this clip of Shane Flanagan discussing what it’s like preparing to play the Wests Tigers across their home venues:


It's surprising that the club is shifting to 8 games at Campbelltown and only 3 at Leichhardt when opposition coaches clearly view Leichhardt as the far more intimidating venue.

In my view, Campbelltown needs to earn that right. They give away free tickets there and still fall well short of capacity, whereas Leichhardt sells out almost every game with fans scrambling for tickets.

Win/Loss last 20 games
Campbelltown, 3 wins, 17 losses
Leichardt, 11 wins, 9 losses

We need success on the field.
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Hi @ShaunMielekamp

Not sure if you missed this one. As a Leichardt member I will need to get some clarity on what the future looks like if I am to renew my family membership moving forward.

You and I have a mutual connection (ill DM you). If you're open to a coffee I'd be happy to come by concord for a chat next week.
 
Telltails said:
I think it was a rookie error for Shaun to engage with fans on an anonymous forum when the general consensus around the club is dissatisfaction with the people he represents - just puts him on the defence.

What is even more concerning is if he didn't realise that before he reached out.
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From his initial post:


......I do have thick skin so I get that I will get some frank feedback at times,.....
 
Demps said:
1. No.
Shaun Mielekamp is the General Manager of Football for the Wests Tigers

2. Senior Manager NRL: Works closely with head coach Benji Marshall and first-team squad members.

3.
View attachment 42838
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@Demps mate, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret...

I knew the answers to all these questions, I just wanted to hear Shaun explain the reasoning behind them.

How he can possible cover both the CEO *and* General Manager position when he's never worked in an NRL football department and still achieve excellence across both jobs.

How we recently created a new Senior Manager position and the best candidate just happened to be another former player from 2005.

How there can be no justification for not changing assistant coaches next year if they are not contracted beyond this season.
 
Jedi_Tiger said:
HBG has 20 Debenture holders roughly ?

Every tigers game at the 20 minute mark the supporters should turn there back on the game as a protest to HBG for 1 minute.

This would generate coverage, stupid Voss would be like "what are they doing ?"
it might gain some attention.
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Count me in.
 
weststigers said:
Shaun,

I think I speak for many supporters, although obviously not all, when I say that the problems fans have with this club are too often misdiagnosed as some ongoing Balmain v Wests war.

Personally, I am sick of seeing the issue reduced to something so petty, because it avoids the much bigger issue: our largest shareholder, Holman Barnes Group, and the influence it has over Wests Tigers.

Balmain is a 10% shareholder with one board seat. It has not had meaningful power on the board for well over a decade. Yes, Balmain and Wests butted heads when the joint venture was 50/50, and there is plenty of history there, but that is no longer the structure we have. Balmain simply does not have the power to dictate the direction of Wests Tigers.

So, to be absolutely clear, this is not a Balmain/Wests argument.

The club is called Wests Tigers. That is the club we should be building, strengthening and growing.

What many supporters cannot understand are decisions that seem completely counterintuitive to that objective.

For example:
  • Why does a club called Wests Tigers have more Magpies appearing on its NRL jersey than its own Wests Tigers logo? Would it make sense to put three Tigers logos on the Western Suburbs Magpies reserve-grade jersey? From a branding and marketing perspective, how does this make sense? The Balmain and Wests emblems already appear on the neck of the jersey and appropriately recognise where Wests Tigers came from. That should be enough. We are Wests Tigers.
  • Why do underperforming HBG administrators continually seem to be recycled through positions of influence? We keep seeing essentially the same small group of people who have presided over years of failure. From the outside, it feels as though Wests Tigers is permanently held hostage by an administrative structure that is never genuinely accountable for results.
  • Why are we so willing to abandon a home ground where the team is winning? In professional sport, surely winning should be the priority. When decisions appear to work against that, supporters naturally start wondering whether other agendas are being prioritised ahead of football success.
  • Why did we rush into a five-year extension for Benji? I love Benji and desperately want him to succeed, but what was the competitive pressure requiring a five-year commitment? No other NRL club was trying to sign him as head coach. Was committing for that length of time really the smartest decision available to us at that moment?
  • Why does Wests Tigers appear to receive such poor financial support from its so-called owners, while those same organisations are prepared to invest significant money elsewhere, including soccer? If Wests Tigers is supposedly such an important asset, why doesn't the level of investment reflect that?
  • Why is the answer to failure always the coach and the players? At what point do the owners and administrators accept responsibility for the disgraceful way this club has been run for so many years, and for the reputational damage that has followed?
  • Why does it increasingly feel as though our owners are pushing a Magpies agenda rather than a Wests Tigers agenda? When you say, "What's good for HBG is good for Wests Tigers," supporters are entitled to ask what that actually means. Does it mean we should expect Wests Tigers to gradually become more and more aligned with the Magpies identity? Because if we keep adding birds to the jersey, eventually we're going to run out of sponsorship space.
Wests Tigers supporters do not need more Magpies branding. Nor do we need more Balmain Tigers branding. We need Wests Tigers branding.

The two foundation clubs should absolutely be respected and celebrated as part of our history, but the whole purpose of the joint venture was to create something new. More than 25 years later, surely our objective should be to strengthen the identity of Wests Tigers, not continually drag the club backwards into arguments about which foundation club has greater ownership of it.

And if people believe those raising these issues simply have some sort of anti-Wests or pro-Balmain agenda, I would ask a very simple question:

Why does virtually every major rugby league media outlet eventually arrive at the same criticism of our administration?

This club has been an absolute disgrace administratively for far too long and, frankly, it has disrespected its supporters for far too long as well.

Unfortunately, Shaun, you have arrived at a time when a large portion of the supporter base has finally stopped accepting the spin. I don't envy the position you've walked into, and this post isn't directed at you personally. In fact, I genuinely hope you succeed.

But supporters have seen this movie before.

A new CEO arrives enthusiastic, intelligent and determined to change things. Eventually they run into the same brick wall: an ownership and governance structure that appears to be the one constant through over a decade failure.

That is the concern. Even when V'Landys got involved - he reduced everything to Balmain/Wests, but it was never about that. It was about governance and independence that allowed Wests Tigers to make decisions in the interests of Wests Tigers, not Balmain or Wests.

For the most part, Wests Tigers fans actually get along remarkably well. Of course there will always be the occasional 70-year-old Balmain or Wests supporter who never accepted the merger and never will. That is inevitable. But they are not representative of the core problem facing this club today.

Please don't reduce the current anger to Balmain supporters fighting Wests supporters, because that completely misunderstands what many of us are saying.

This is about Wests Tigers supporters wanting Wests Tigers to finally be governed, funded, branded and operated in the best interests of Wests Tigers.

It is not Balmain versus Wests.

It is about whether the people controlling the club are genuinely prepared to put Wests Tigers first.
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Great post.

I didn't realised there were 3 magpies on the jersey. Is that legit? That MUST change next season. Are we the magpies or the wests tigers?
 
weststigers said:
Shaun,

I think I speak for many supporters, although obviously not all, when I say that the problems fans have with this club are too often misdiagnosed as some ongoing Balmain v Wests war.

Personally, I am sick of seeing the issue reduced to something so petty, because it avoids the much bigger issue: our largest shareholder, Holman Barnes Group, and the influence it has over Wests Tigers.

Balmain is a 10% shareholder with one board seat. It has not had meaningful power on the board for well over a decade. Yes, Balmain and Wests butted heads when the joint venture was 50/50, and there is plenty of history there, but that is no longer the structure we have. Balmain simply does not have the power to dictate the direction of Wests Tigers.

So, to be absolutely clear, this is not a Balmain/Wests argument.

The club is called Wests Tigers. That is the club we should be building, strengthening and growing.

What many supporters cannot understand are decisions that seem completely counterintuitive to that objective.

For example:
  • Why does a club called Wests Tigers have more Magpies appearing on its NRL jersey than its own Wests Tigers logo? Would it make sense to put three Tigers logos on the Western Suburbs Magpies reserve-grade jersey? From a branding and marketing perspective, how does this make sense? The Balmain and Wests emblems already appear on the neck of the jersey and appropriately recognise where Wests Tigers came from. That should be enough. We are Wests Tigers.
  • Why do underperforming HBG administrators continually seem to be recycled through positions of influence? We keep seeing essentially the same small group of people who have presided over years of failure. From the outside, it feels as though Wests Tigers is permanently held hostage by an administrative structure that is never genuinely accountable for results.
  • Why are we so willing to abandon a home ground where the team is winning? In professional sport, surely winning should be the priority. When decisions appear to work against that, supporters naturally start wondering whether other agendas are being prioritised ahead of football success.
  • Why did we rush into a five-year extension for Benji? I love Benji and desperately want him to succeed, but what was the competitive pressure requiring a five-year commitment? No other NRL club was trying to sign him as head coach. Was committing for that length of time really the smartest decision available to us at that moment?
  • Why does Wests Tigers appear to receive such poor financial support from its so-called owners, while those same organisations are prepared to invest significant money elsewhere, including soccer? If Wests Tigers is supposedly such an important asset, why doesn't the level of investment reflect that?
  • Why is the answer to failure always the coach and the players? At what point do the owners and administrators accept responsibility for the disgraceful way this club has been run for so many years, and for the reputational damage that has followed?
  • Why does it increasingly feel as though our owners are pushing a Magpies agenda rather than a Wests Tigers agenda? When you say, "What's good for HBG is good for Wests Tigers," supporters are entitled to ask what that actually means. Does it mean we should expect Wests Tigers to gradually become more and more aligned with the Magpies identity? Because if we keep adding birds to the jersey, eventually we're going to run out of sponsorship space.
Wests Tigers supporters do not need more Magpies branding. Nor do we need more Balmain Tigers branding. We need Wests Tigers branding.

The two foundation clubs should absolutely be respected and celebrated as part of our history, but the whole purpose of the joint venture was to create something new. More than 25 years later, surely our objective should be to strengthen the identity of Wests Tigers, not continually drag the club backwards into arguments about which foundation club has greater ownership of it.

And if people believe those raising these issues simply have some sort of anti-Wests or pro-Balmain agenda, I would ask a very simple question:

Why does virtually every major rugby league media outlet eventually arrive at the same criticism of our administration?

This club has been an absolute disgrace administratively for far too long and, frankly, it has disrespected its supporters for far too long as well.

Unfortunately, Shaun, you have arrived at a time when a large portion of the supporter base has finally stopped accepting the spin. I don't envy the position you've walked into, and this post isn't directed at you personally. In fact, I genuinely hope you succeed.

But supporters have seen this movie before.

A new CEO arrives enthusiastic, intelligent and determined to change things. Eventually they run into the same brick wall: an ownership and governance structure that appears to be the one constant through over a decade failure.

That is the concern. Even when V'Landys got involved - he reduced everything to Balmain/Wests, but it was never about that. It was about governance and independence that allowed Wests Tigers to make decisions in the interests of Wests Tigers, not Balmain or Wests.

For the most part, Wests Tigers fans actually get along remarkably well. Of course there will always be the occasional 70-year-old Balmain or Wests supporter who never accepted the merger and never will. That is inevitable. But they are not representative of the core problem facing this club today.

Please don't reduce the current anger to Balmain supporters fighting Wests supporters, because that completely misunderstands what many of us are saying.

This is about Wests Tigers supporters wanting Wests Tigers to finally be governed, funded, branded and operated in the best interests of Wests Tigers.

It is not Balmain versus Wests.

It is about whether the people controlling the club are genuinely prepared to put Wests Tigers first.
Click to expand...
Excellent post WT
 
tiger05premier said:
It was

He should've realised that b4 he went ahead and did it
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I think it is a great initiative.

The message should become clear for him.

We (on the forum) all want the same thing.

The problem is, the people who pay his salary.

See the predicament?

Unless he has plans of going all Machiavelli on his employers, we are stuck in the same cycle for the rest of his tenure here. Then it'll be onto the next CEO who has hopes and dreams of making real change..

The cycle will never end as long as they own the club and the Wests Tigers are not the #1 priority.

I am thinking of telling my kids and young family members to follow a different team next year, its the unspeakable, but how can I hand on heart think its the best thing for them. They deserve to see their team win an NRL grand final, not a sausage sizzle at lidcombe oval
 
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