liltiger
Well-known member
Beaut, an assistant with Grand Final experience would be great.
OFFICIAL Q&A Club discussion with Shaun Mielekamp
- Thread starter ShaunMielekamp
- Start date
Tito Santana
Well-known member
Shaun,
Tell me what you’re going to do to bring this club success?
Why are you any better than the previous CEOs?
Tell me what you’re going to do to bring this club success?
Why are you any better than the previous CEOs?
Halbrowne61
Well-known member
Hi Shaun, one of your teal old Tigers fans here.
If revenue is the driver then why not Homebush, it provides massive extra capacity but takes away any perceived. “ Parra” home ground advantage .
Plus it will be good experience for our finals appearances next year ! (🤞🤞🤞)
After all , if Newy can do it then so can we.
Keep up your good work and all the best for a cracking 2027. Please remind the boys it all starts in Vegas. Storm are due to lose their first game of à new season, and what a boost for us to start the year !
Some further questions on the football department for you @ShaunMielekamp
I understand Pat Richards, in his new role as General Manager is conducting a season review. Will a summary of the review findings be released publicly at all?
In 2027, will Benji Marshall report directly to Pat Richards in his role as General Manager of the football department, the new Coaching Director position or you as CEO?
You've mentioned in a few different interviews and posts here that the club standards dropped off as the year progressed, how did you & Benji Marshall allow that to happen—and why did neither of you realise they were dropping at the time?
You've indicated that investment in pathways is a key focus moving forward. In terms of financial investment across coaches, talent scouts and other off-field staff, where do we currently rank across the 18 clubs and where will we be in 12 months?
I understand Pat Richards, in his new role as General Manager is conducting a season review. Will a summary of the review findings be released publicly at all?
In 2027, will Benji Marshall report directly to Pat Richards in his role as General Manager of the football department, the new Coaching Director position or you as CEO?
You've mentioned in a few different interviews and posts here that the club standards dropped off as the year progressed, how did you & Benji Marshall allow that to happen—and why did neither of you realise they were dropping at the time?
You've indicated that investment in pathways is a key focus moving forward. In terms of financial investment across coaches, talent scouts and other off-field staff, where do we currently rank across the 18 clubs and where will we be in 12 months?
wstigers11
Well-known member
Hi Shaun is it true we have signed David Bryenton?
& if so will that be T&T, Dev or Top 30 thanks
& if so will that be T&T, Dev or Top 30 thanks
I have a question:
What is the clubs fascination with surrounding our coach with former teammates in key roles where they seemingly appear to be lacking in qualification as much Benji was when he was appointed? Is this down to lack of interest in coming to the club (can't say I would blame any potential employees from steering clear,) or has Benji been given sole say in whom surrounds him?
I would think that a young coach who has done an 8 month apprenticeship before being handed the keys would need some experienced heads surrounding him to help him develop in the role and provide insights that only years within systems will give you. I know that neither Shaun, nor Shane, was responsible for the appointment of Benji and early release of Sheens, but learning on the fly as a head coach without any stewardship from an experienced mentor, while very much something I am not surprised that the WT has decided to partake in, very much smacks of desperation and/or lack of planning.
I fear that a "boys club" will create conflicts of interest in regard to providing what should be an unbiased assessment of performance by the coaching staff. If the right external candidate becomes available in an assistant coach/coaching director/director of football role, will the club make the tough decision to improve upon the talent/experience we already have.
What is the clubs fascination with surrounding our coach with former teammates in key roles where they seemingly appear to be lacking in qualification as much Benji was when he was appointed? Is this down to lack of interest in coming to the club (can't say I would blame any potential employees from steering clear,) or has Benji been given sole say in whom surrounds him?
I would think that a young coach who has done an 8 month apprenticeship before being handed the keys would need some experienced heads surrounding him to help him develop in the role and provide insights that only years within systems will give you. I know that neither Shaun, nor Shane, was responsible for the appointment of Benji and early release of Sheens, but learning on the fly as a head coach without any stewardship from an experienced mentor, while very much something I am not surprised that the WT has decided to partake in, very much smacks of desperation and/or lack of planning.
I fear that a "boys club" will create conflicts of interest in regard to providing what should be an unbiased assessment of performance by the coaching staff. If the right external candidate becomes available in an assistant coach/coaching director/director of football role, will the club make the tough decision to improve upon the talent/experience we already have.
Surfers Paradise WT Fan
Member
Hey Shaun,
Just wanted to throw a few points your way as a frustrated but loyal fan. It’s been 16 long years without finals and our last game was over a month ago now. With the World Cup, a massive trip to Vegas, and the upcoming season, the club needs to be preparing and building momentum right now. Here are four immediate, low-cost things that would make a massive difference to the culture and the matchday experience:
1. Fix the dead air on gameday
From the second the gates open until kickoff, the atmosphere at the ground should be pumping! We should be using the big screens and the P.A. to play classic wests tigers games, feature focus of ex-player, and music clips. It doesn't have to be deafeningly loud, but it beats sitting there in silence and it actually honors our history while getting early-arriving fans into the mood. Maybe even work with tigers fan base to introduce something similar to raiders horn/viking clap or souths bell ring.
2. Introduce milestone jersey rewards
Look at what the Roosters do with their gold and silver club logos for career milestones. We should do something similar to reward longevity. When a player hits a milestone like 100+ NRL games for the Tigers, put a specialized gold Magpie on one sleeve and a gold Tiger on the other (or a gold club emblem on the chest). In an era where players change clubs constantly, give them something unique to fight for and show the fans who is actually loyal.
3. Give us some actual updates
Why are we seemingly the only club that hasn't officially announced player departures, squad updates, or who our new assistant coaches are? I get that it’s still early in the off-season, but keeping the fans completely in the dark after the last few years just breeds frustration. Give us some regular updates so we actually have some transparency and hope to cling to while we wait for pre-season.
4. Get rid of the Luai mural
Look, nothing against Jarome personally, but keeping that massive mural up at our home base right now just looks cheap and out-of-date. Honestly, a plain, blank wall would look more professional than what's there now. Better yet, get some local school kids, members, or community artists to paint over it for free. It costs the club next to nothing, fixes the look of our facility, and creates great local PR.
We've been patient for over a decade, but we want to see the club acting like a professional, powerhouse unit starting from today.
5. Finally, dont stop engaging with us fans. We love your work.
Cheers.
Biggest fan from Surfers Paradise
───
Just wanted to throw a few points your way as a frustrated but loyal fan. It’s been 16 long years without finals and our last game was over a month ago now. With the World Cup, a massive trip to Vegas, and the upcoming season, the club needs to be preparing and building momentum right now. Here are four immediate, low-cost things that would make a massive difference to the culture and the matchday experience:
1. Fix the dead air on gameday
From the second the gates open until kickoff, the atmosphere at the ground should be pumping! We should be using the big screens and the P.A. to play classic wests tigers games, feature focus of ex-player, and music clips. It doesn't have to be deafeningly loud, but it beats sitting there in silence and it actually honors our history while getting early-arriving fans into the mood. Maybe even work with tigers fan base to introduce something similar to raiders horn/viking clap or souths bell ring.
2. Introduce milestone jersey rewards
Look at what the Roosters do with their gold and silver club logos for career milestones. We should do something similar to reward longevity. When a player hits a milestone like 100+ NRL games for the Tigers, put a specialized gold Magpie on one sleeve and a gold Tiger on the other (or a gold club emblem on the chest). In an era where players change clubs constantly, give them something unique to fight for and show the fans who is actually loyal.
3. Give us some actual updates
Why are we seemingly the only club that hasn't officially announced player departures, squad updates, or who our new assistant coaches are? I get that it’s still early in the off-season, but keeping the fans completely in the dark after the last few years just breeds frustration. Give us some regular updates so we actually have some transparency and hope to cling to while we wait for pre-season.
4. Get rid of the Luai mural
Look, nothing against Jarome personally, but keeping that massive mural up at our home base right now just looks cheap and out-of-date. Honestly, a plain, blank wall would look more professional than what's there now. Better yet, get some local school kids, members, or community artists to paint over it for free. It costs the club next to nothing, fixes the look of our facility, and creates great local PR.
We've been patient for over a decade, but we want to see the club acting like a professional, powerhouse unit starting from today.
5. Finally, dont stop engaging with us fans. We love your work.
Cheers.
Biggest fan from Surfers Paradise
───
Good ideas SP.
Id give the gold magpies valmain logos a miss tho and maybe a gold jersey number...but their jumpers are usually emroidered with the occasion on the chest.
Im sure the mural will be gone.
Some locals at Cambo were doing some good stuff in the canal near CSS this season...this was before the Knights game
Maybe something like this?
cochise
Well-known member
You wouldn't fill it if it was free in my opinion but I shouldn't derail Shaun's thread. Sorry mate.
wstigers11
Well-known member
Could we leave this thread to just questions for Shaun? Otherwise it gets confusing for everyone
Hi Shaun, sharing a podcast with the Warrios CEO.
Around 1 hour, 3 minutes, he talks about how they are empowering their fan base 'Warriors Nation' which is basically run by a third party. I know the club has started to do similiar things but thought you might be interested. Many years ago, there was a group called Wests Tigers fanatics that would be active at most games from memory. No idea if they are still active but there could be potential.
Also not sure if it's feasible but potentially offsetting the cost of away game tickets for members could be a cool idea to ensure we always have strong support. The costs could be embedded into memberships if required and maybe they are raffled out or members could express interest in specific away games.
Around 1 hour, 3 minutes, he talks about how they are empowering their fan base 'Warriors Nation' which is basically run by a third party. I know the club has started to do similiar things but thought you might be interested. Many years ago, there was a group called Wests Tigers fanatics that would be active at most games from memory. No idea if they are still active but there could be potential.
Also not sure if it's feasible but potentially offsetting the cost of away game tickets for members could be a cool idea to ensure we always have strong support. The costs could be embedded into memberships if required and maybe they are raffled out or members could express interest in specific away games.
Please guys, can we just keep to questions for Shaun.
Deleting pages of posts that are not direct questions or are just unrelated nonsense just turns the whole thread into chaos and makes extra work for mods that is totally unnecessary, sorry Demps.
In order to give Shaun the opportunity to address & answer the questions he has to be able to find them amongst the unnecessary posts, so please keep to just questions to the CEO.
Thanks guys.
Deleting pages of posts that are not direct questions or are just unrelated nonsense just turns the whole thread into chaos and makes extra work for mods that is totally unnecessary, sorry Demps.
In order to give Shaun the opportunity to address & answer the questions he has to be able to find them amongst the unnecessary posts, so please keep to just questions to the CEO.
Thanks guys.
Shaun
Please never go with Ticketmaster...
Such a punish
Please never go with Ticketmaster...
Such a punish
liltiger
Well-known member
Hey Shaun Another 2 quick questions.
Can you please explain to me why we are considering taking a home game to N.Z next year. If we understand and you yourself understand that the macarthur corridor is our future, why are we taking a home game from campbelltown to N.Z. At what point do we as a club start to mature and 1.start focusing on our footprint in our junior corridor instead of the N.R.Ls footprint in N.Z. 2 when will we mature and start making the tough decisions that mean realising although taking a game to N.Z might be a quick injection of cash which is just akin to a sugar fix, we do so at the expense of time we could be using to invest in the clubs longevity where these stupid sugar fixes are no longer needed. We are the Wests Tigers over the past 25 years we have become the nomads of the league. Can you give us a timeframe when we will have 2 permanent home grounds and when us fans are prioritised in these deals over anything else.
Can you please explain to me why we are considering taking a home game to N.Z next year. If we understand and you yourself understand that the macarthur corridor is our future, why are we taking a home game from campbelltown to N.Z. At what point do we as a club start to mature and 1.start focusing on our footprint in our junior corridor instead of the N.R.Ls footprint in N.Z. 2 when will we mature and start making the tough decisions that mean realising although taking a game to N.Z might be a quick injection of cash which is just akin to a sugar fix, we do so at the expense of time we could be using to invest in the clubs longevity where these stupid sugar fixes are no longer needed. We are the Wests Tigers over the past 25 years we have become the nomads of the league. Can you give us a timeframe when we will have 2 permanent home grounds and when us fans are prioritised in these deals over anything else.
LeichhardtTiger
Well-known member
Shaun, why would you gift the Warriors an extra Home Game by playing our Home Game in NZ? I get the Revenue argument, but surely the cost of travelling, time, physical disruption, accommodation, etc., eats into those revenue rewards? The Club can't be so tight for a $ that you'd give up the home-game advantage that makes the Warriors travel across the ditch instead? In other words, is the money more important than a Win? In the end, it's just another piece of perceived Club dysfunction that feeds the Media - Tigers Nomads etc.
westielife
Member
Hey Shaun what about Sydney showground stadium? (Engie stadium)
westielife
Member
Could the wests tigers ask for a big wests tigers logo to be placed alongside the eels and wanders logo on-top of the box office B? of CommBank stadium so it feels more like wests tigers territory?
westielife
Member
Could we rename the wests tigers to the South west tigers?
Hardly fair for ticket holding members to dudded yet another home game.
Is this NZ home game an initiative driven by the club or the NRL?
Is this NZ home game an initiative driven by the club or the NRL?
Can't be rooted sifting through this thread to see if the question has been asked already, but what is the ramifications of a poor 2027? Will coaching staff lose their positions if the bare minimum of a top eight finish is not met?
