Shane Richardson

hammertime said:
Wonder if they have weaseled their way back into team selections? Is this the stuff that they complained about not being consulted on?
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I remember when Mick Potter had to go cap in hand and beg the board to sign Marty Taupau from the dogs reserve grade side the board didn't want him and Mick had to fight to get him just crazy stuff


And Kevin Walters after having a interview with the board and later said he didn't want the coaching job because the board had no idea Nathan Brown also said the same thing


Brown was offered the job and said no the guy who owned Little Zac's child care worked over at the dragons in the football department dropped off and pickup up Brown from his job interview at the Tigers and I used to hang out at the same places he did and we use to talk football alot the stories about the Tigers board looking not like fables but actually being true
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...n/news-story/9a1dbd75518954e3a0331f80719bf7fa

Ex-Tigers boss Shane Richardson opens up on club chaos and Benji Marshall’s mission

Ex-CEO Shane Richardson believes Benji Marshall is the man to return his former club to glory as the Tigers sit equal-first on the ladder heading into Round 7.

Peter Badel
April 18, 2026 - 5:00AM

Shane Richardson has opened up about the pain of leaving Wests Tigers as he declared Benji Marshall is the coach to break the embattled joint-venture club’s 21-year premiership drought.

The former Wests Tigers CEO lifted the lid on the toxic dysfunction at the club and how Marshall has overcome political turmoil to steer the long-time basket case back to premiership credibility.

Absent from the finals for 15 years, the resurgent Tigers have an equal share of the premiership lead with Penrith heading into Saturday night’s blockbuster against the Broncos at Campbelltown.

“I am glad they are getting the rewards for a hard couple of years … and it’s been f***ing hard,” he said.

Victory over the reigning NRL premiers would rubberstamp the Tigers as a genuine finals contender and vindicate Richardson’s belief that Marshall can preside over a golden dynasty at Concord.

Last week, Richardson officially received a major payout. It represented the financial exclamation mark on his turbulent 18-month tenure as Wests Tigers CEO in which Richardson butted heads with the board, ripped apart the roster, recalibrated Wests’ salary cap and showed faith in rookie coach Marshall to revive the club.

The veteran administrator accepts premierships aren’t won in April but he says Marshall is the real deal, armed with the drive, intellect and roster to deliver Wests Tigers’ first title since 2005.

MARSHALL’S MISSION

“I’m ecstatic to see where the Tigers are, I really am,” said Richardson, who severed ties with the Tigers last December.

“First and foremost, I’m ecstatic for Benji.

“There is no-one more committed to the Wests Tigers than Benji Marshall.

“Benji can win a comp with this group, I have no doubt.

“I said before I left we would be a top-eight side this year and top four next year.

“There were many dark moments over the last couple of years, but Benji saw his way through it and showed a lot of character and hard work. It was shit when people questioned his work ethic. I was there every day at the same time he was from morning to night and I could see his work ethos.

“I have seen other coaches with a lot less work ethos than him.

“I’m really happy for Benji and I’m really happy for the young players who were in a system that wasn’t a good system and now is a good system.

“They have been able to grow into the players we have seen over the last six weeks.”

BENJI THE BRAINIAC

Marshall’s magical flick pass that inspired the Tigers’ maiden premiership in the 2005 grand final is arguably the greatest singular play in the joint-venture club’s history.

But, according to Richardson, his finest contribution could be as coach. When he arrived as Tigers CEO in April 2024, ‘Richo’ admits he didn’t always see eye-to-eye with Marshall. He soon learned the 346-game NRL champion is not a man who fails.

“Benji was thrown in the deep end with no real training,” Richardson says. “He walked through a real firestorm. People wanted to sack him. The critics said his work ethic was crap, that Richo is a f***wit.

“We had some run-ins at the start but as I got to know him, I watched him closely every day and then I knew he would succeed in the job.

“Benji is not only a winner, he is a very decent human being. When people asked me why he will be a good coach, the first thing I said is he is the smartest person I’ve ever had coach. I mean that. I’m not saying footy smart, I’m saying generally smart. He is a great listener. He doesn’t have to do this (coaching). He has money. He is financially well off. He could probably earn more money as a commentator than coaching, but he just loves it. It’s not about the money, it’s about his love for the club and being able to do the job properly.

“We won the wooden spoon in the first year. We had a massive clean-out. Look at the number of players we cleaned out. Now Benji has the team that he wants and he is showing what he can do with it.”

CLUB IN CHAOS

Marshall and Richardson tweaked and shaped the Tigers into a competitive roster amid a backdrop of political backstabbing and bloodletting. In the end, Richardson walked away on ethical grounds after majority owners the Holman Barnes Group failed to deliver the board independence he was seeking.

Richardson provided an insight into the internal upheaval Marshall, one of the youngest coaches in the league at age 41, has had to navigate.

“It was completely dysfunctional,” he said.

“There was no rapport at all between the board and the staff. The board were interfering on a daily basis in the office. They had a selection panel to pick the team which was embarrassing.

“When I went in there, I said to everyone – and they didn’t believe me – this is not going to be as hard as you make it out to be.

“For a start, they had money. They had good facilities. They have a great junior league. What they didn’t have was the basic structure of a football department. Who is answerable to who? I went through every single person in the club and we gave them position descriptions. Everyone became answerable to someone and it sounds simple, but that’s where it starts.

“You need to have systems in place and a loyalty built on trust. No-one trusted anybody in the club. The coach didn’t trust the CEO. The CEO didn’t trust the board. The board didn’t trust the CEO. The staff didn’t trust their managers. I didn’t believe massive change was needed. I just looked at it and said, ‘Does this club have a system in place that makes people work to the best of their ability?’

“No there wasn’t.

“The system was put in place. Benji wanted it. The players wanted it. The staff wanted it. A lot of unpopular decisions had to be made. We turned the club around, made a profit off the field, and I felt we have turned the corner on the field.”

RICHO’S REGRETS

The two-time premiership-winning CEO admits he was gutted to walk away just as green shoots were appearing at Concord.

“Yes, I am sad,” he says. “I never wanted to leave. I left because I signed on with certain conditions.

“For the future of Wests Tigers long term, I believe an independent board is the only way forward, so it would have been pathetic of me to say, ‘Yeah I will go on’ when we don’t have an independent board. I signed on that basis.

“They reneged on the independence and that was the most crucial thing. I would be there tomorrow if I could be. I am still great mates with a lot of people there.

“Is there a tinge (of sadness) sometimes when the guys are singing the song in the dressing room and I’m not there … of course there is.

“I do get a pang sometimes. But that’s what I do. I get shit clubs and I make them better.”

DYNAMIC DUO

Richardson agreed to insert a get-out clause into Jarome Luai’s five-year deal which gives the star playmaker the power to quit the Tigers at season’s end.

Meanwhile, classy fullback Jahream Bula remains in limbo as the Tigers vacillate on an option for 2027. Richardson appealed for the dynamic duo to have faith in Marshall’s regime.

“I would hope that Bula and Luai see that Benji will be an excellent coach. They would be far worse going somewhere else than staying at a club that loves them,” he said.

“Jahream is a replica of David Peachey (legendary Sharks fullback). He is a smooth-flowing, quick, smart thinking, clever, decent human being.

“And Luai coming to the Tigers reminds me of Greg Inglis joining Souths. The reality is when you are at the bottom of the table and you attract a player like Luai, he is putting enormous faith in the administration. He wanted to come to the Tigers for Benji and I had no qualms saying to him, sign on, but after two years, if you aren’t happy, we will look at an escape clause. I think he will stay. He is a leader of the club. The players love him.”

THE FUTURE

Marshall has coached the Tigers to four wins from their first five games, but Richardson genuinely believes a finals campaign this season can be the springboard to a golden age for 2027 and beyond.

“There is as much talent at that club as I’ve ever seen in my career,” he says. “Bula is a freak. Luai is a proven premiership winner. (Sunia) Turuva has been an absolute revelation. Samuela Fainu is an Origin player and Kai Pearce-Paul gives us two strike second-rowers.

“(Heamasi) Makasini is a superstar. Alex Twal bleeds black-and-gold and his form is outstanding. The world was supposedly going to collapse when Stefano (Utoikamanu) left but we got Terrell May and he’s been excellent.

“Watch the next crop of kids come through. The club now just has to be patient and Benji can make the Tigers successful for a long time. The players love Benji’s system. Some players at the beginning didn’t like Benji, but we got rid of the whingers.

“I’m really proud of that group. They have fronted up every day. Now we can see a real team. I am happy for all those players and all the war stories that go with them.”
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Best thing to happen to this club. Hope Miekekamp is a strong enough personality to continue cutting out the rot that sets in when HBG get out of their lane.
 
Odessa said:
I remember when Mick Potter had to go cap in hand and beg the board to sign Marty Taupau from the dogs reserve grade side the board didn't want him and Mick had to fight to get him just crazy stuff


And Kevin Walters after having a interview with the board and later said he didn't want the coaching job because the board had no idea Nathan Brown also said the same thing


Brown was offered the job and said no the guy who owned Little Zac's child care worked over at the dragons in the football department dropped off and pickup up Brown from his job interview at the Tigers and I used to hang out at the same places he did and we use to talk football alot the stories about the Tigers board looking not like fables but actually being true
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Ciraldo too
 
“Watch the next crop of kids come through. The club now just has to be patient and Benji can make the Tigers successful for a long time. The players love Benji’s system. Some players at the beginning didn’t like Benji, but we got rid of the whingers.

I wonder who those players were. 🤔
 
diedpretty said:
All i was saying was he wasn't pushed out as another poster said- he chose to leave - doesn't matter what the circumstances were it was his choice.
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And all we’re saying is hope you have a bib to catch all the residual spit from you slobbering over HBG and carrying their water.

Richo literally had a clause in his contract about there being an independent board or he walks. And the HBG knew that and sacked the board anyway. I know you Magpies aren’t the brightest lot but I’m sure even you can understand that.
 
Last year Shane Richardson flew to Brisbane to meet with Adam Reynolds at his home and pitch a 2 year move to the Tigers, ultimately Reynolds didn’t want to move his family.

Who is fulfilling that role at WT right now, and are they the right person for the job?
 
EllisFan said:
Last year Shane Richardson flew to Brisbane to meet with Adam Reynolds at his home and pitch a 2 year move to the Tigers, ultimately Reynolds didn’t want to move his family.

Who is fulfilling that role at WT right now, and are they the right person for the job?
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I would assume it’s Shannon Gallant …

Couldn’t comment on whether he is the right man for the job though
 
I think we could settle down a bit in here.

Richo has recruited Mielekamp twice. Once to Souths and then to Tigers. He practically invented a role so Shaun could have a job and then promoted him within a year. That says it all about Richo's respect for the guy.

Shaun has resigned a handful of players in the past three months and engaged the media like never before. People are complaining about how many stories are written about us. Campbo is sold out. Full team signing afterwards. Leichhardt has increased capacity. Ease up on the guy.

Shannon Gallant is head of recruitment. He recruited Jock and KPP. He's on top of it atm.

All of the above is a shitload better than the Pascoe era. We've had a nice shiny new toy for just five weeks. Enjoy it.
 
rihannafan1 said:
I think we could settle down a bit in here.

Richo has recruited Mielekamp twice. Once to Souths and then to Tigers. He practically invented a role so Shaun could have a job and then promoted him within a year. That says it all about Richo's respect for the guy.

Shaun has resigned a handful of players in the past three months and engaged the media like never before. People are complaining about how many stories are written about us. Campbo is sold out. Full team signing afterwards. Leichhardt has increased capacity. Ease up on the guy.

Shannon Gallant is head of recruitment. He recruited Jock and KPP. He's on top of it atm.

All of the above is a shitload better than the Pascoe era. We've had a nice shiny new toy for just five weeks. Enjoy it.
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Not criticising Shaun. The club is on the up.

The challenge faced now is that two new clubs (on top of the usual suspects) are chasing players and we need to keep the momentum going.

History tells us it can come crashing down quickly.
 
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