Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Vicious]

The club is called Wests Ashfield.
There is a Magpie on the building.
They play all KOE games at Lidcombe, none at Leichardt or Commbank. There is no regular alignment to the NRL side on game day.
They had the chance to put the Wests Tigers first with an independent board - then sacked the lot of them the first chance they got.
These are not the action of united club.
These are actions of a club looking out for their own interests - Wests Ashfield.

View attachment 40125

The fact they dont have a fulltime coach re-inforces their lack of commitment to the Wests Tigers. If the Wests Tigers are to succeed, they need successful pathways. This starts with reserve grade. How can we bring juniors through at 14 or 15 years old if the club cant even invest in a coach for the reserve grade side?

All this stuff you talk about - recruitment, retention, juniors and pathways, its all irelevant, because we have no money being put toward them. Yet its all Richos fault?

So you wa t more money invested which I do agree with, but keep in mind Benji via Richo and via the Scott Fulton saga has previously stated he does not want t a recruitment manager, he wants full control himself. Since that time Shannon Gallant has stepped into the role, so we do now have a recruitment manager that Benji approves of.
Richo once stated we do not need a Football Manager as he was capable of doing that job.
We now have a football manager in Pat Richard’s.
These are just 2 examples of positions that were not being filled by choice, nothing to do with lack of funding.
Our decision to put all our eggs into Benji’s basket and let him have pretty much full control of our rugby leave operation is looking very shaky at the moment, but it is not at the stage where we can say it is a complete failure just yet.
I am not overly confident he will turn it all around, but I am not jumping to conclusions just yet either.
I am not sure what your solution is ?
I know you want private ownership, but does that include getting rid of Benji and starting all over again or are you wanting to give the Benji experiment more time ?
Every NRL club that is not well entrenched in the top 8 is making bad decisions, so we are not on our own and fixing it without improving the playing roster is very unlikely.
I am now refusing to go to our games where we do not have our NSW Cup playing before our NRL team, so I am in total agreeamce that should be happening, but it has been established that this is more to do with NSWRL scheduling as every NRL team is having this same problem, not just us.

 

[mtd#2]

So you wa t more money invested which I do agree with, but keep in mind Benji via Richo and via the Scott Fulton saga has previously stated he does not want t a recruitment manager, he wants full control himself. Since that time Shannon Gallant has stepped into the role, so we do now have a recruitment manager that Benji approves of.
Richo once stated we do not need a Football Manager as he was capable of doing that job.
We now have a football manager in Pat Richard’s.
These are just 2 examples of positions that were not being filled by choice, nothing to do with lack of funding.
Our decision to put all our eggs into Benji’s basket and let him have pretty much full control of our rugby leave operation is looking very shaky at the moment, but it is not at the stage where we can say it is a complete failure just yet.
I am not overly confident he will turn it all around, but I am not jumping to conclusions just yet either.
I am not sure what your solution is ?
I know you want private ownership, but does that include getting rid of Benji and starting all over again or are you wanting to give the Benji experiment more time ?
Every NRL club that is not well entrenched in the top 8 is making bad decisions, so we are not on our own and fixing it without improving the playing roster is very unlikely.

I think we need to look at why both richo and benji wanted autonomy.... its because for years it's reported there was a selection committee as to which team would be running out. They had no control as to what their coaching/management team looked like, so they wanted autonomy so they could atleast start to get what they wanted.
this strategy doesnt work if we want to scale.

 

[Vicious]

I think we need to look at why both richo and benji wanted autonomy.... its because for years it's reported there was a selection committee as to which team would be running out. They had no control as to what their coaching/management team looked like, so they wanted autonomy so they could atleast start to get what they wanted.
this strategy doesnt work if we want to scale.

Well it has been established Benji now has full control, so not dismissing other factors, but surely he is the main contributor as to whether our NRL team is successful or not ?

 

[Chunk]

Extra resources if directed to the right areas can obviously only be a good thing, but it is not the be all and end all.
The Bulldogs are supposedly much better resourced than us and supposedly get 5 to 10 times the money put in than what we do, yet they have been behind us all season.
It shows it does not matter how much money you put in, making smart recruitment and retention decisions is still the number 1 factor towards an NRL clubs onfield success and closely followed by the coaching and how the coach manages the playing squad. Ciraldo is supposed to be an emerging super coach, but it seems like he is prone to plenty of fractured relationships with his players.

No you're right it's not the only thing but in general, I would say that players would prefer to go to clubs with better support systems

Also, the Bulldogs do not pay overs for players, like we do, so our recruitment and retention decisions are made harder.

 

[You Know Who]

I think we need to look at why both richo and benji wanted autonomy.... its because for years it's reported there was a selection committee as to which team would be running out. They had no control as to what their coaching/management team looked like, so they wanted autonomy so they could atleast start to get what they wanted.
this strategy doesnt work if we want to scale.

You're a patient man. I don't know why you bother with that imbecile after the sewage he poured directly from his brain into the HBG thread. He can't keep track of his own lies and just pivots anytime his idiocy and hypocrisy is exposed. It's like playing chess with an intellectually challenged widgeon

 

[mtd#2]

Well it has been established Benji now has full control, so not dismissing other factors, but surely he is the main contributor as to whether our NRL team is successful or not ?

At this point in time, Benji is responsible for the results on the field.

I am thinking bigger picture though, I dont want glimpses of brilliance for us to fall back to the trash heap.

This is why I keep coming back to Richo being an astute operator. He gave Benji enough rope so that if it didnt work, he could pull the trigger and replace him. Benji would have accepted Richo's decision (he has said this openly before) and would have rallied the boys together to stick around, whilst Richo found Benji another role somewhere in the club, just not as head coach.

There is no world in which such an amicable split can happen now.
If Benji is given the punt, we lose buy in from half the playing squad.

I am not bashing the owners for the sake of it. I've said often I'd wear their merchandise if they did all the right things for us.. But they have put the rugby league club in a really crap position if Benji is to continue to deliver lack luster results.

 

[Vicious]

At this point in time, Benji is responsible for the results on the field.

I am thinking bigger picture though, I dont want glimpses of brilliance for us to fall back to the trash heap.

This is why I keep coming back to Richo being an astute operator. He gave Benji enough rope so that if it didnt work, he could pull the trigger and replace him. Benji would have accepted Richo's decision (he has said this openly before) and would have rallied the boys together to stick around, whilst Richo found Benji another role somewhere in the club, just not as head coach.

There is no world in which such an amicable split can happen now.
If Benji is given the punt, we lose buy in from half the playing squad.

I am not bashing the owners for the sake of it. I've said often I'd wear their merchandise if they did all the right things for us.. But they have put the rugby league club in a really crap position if Benji is to continue to deliver lack luster results.

I like Shaun Mielekamp, but will he have the right personality to restrict Benji’s control if we continue to decline ?
Hopefully we do not continue to decline, but our roster is not yet strong enough to guarantee we will not continue to decline when we get injuries ti a couple of key players.
There is only a couple of NRL quality or fringe BRL quality players left to recruit for 2027, so we better act fast if we are wanting to improve our top 30.

 

[mtd#2]

I like Shaun Mielekamp, but will he have the right personality to restrict Benji’s control if we continue to decline ?
Hopefully we do not continue to decline, but our roster is not yet strong enough to guarantee we will not continue to decline when we get injuries ti a couple of key players.
There is only a couple of NRL quality or fringe BRL quality players left to recruit for 2027, so we better act fast if we are wanting to improve our top 30.

The dynamics between CEO and Coach look to have changed from the outside looking in. Richo was a true authorative CEO. Love or hate him, ppl knew where they stood. Shaun seems too nice, and we don't need nice. We need brutal . We need results.

 

[Flippedy]

Knights signed Dylan Brown on massive overs and have made it work.

Its not about the players, something in the club is rotten. Development, systems, coaching, funding god knows what without actually being there, but something is fundamentally wrong with our club.

Remove the first 2 months of the comp and we are yet again arguably the worst side.

I would love to know what the players who came over from Penrith really think of this club. Barring Luai, most of them seem committed and have signed on long term because they see a good future here yadda yadda, but surely they can see the difference between the Penrith system and ours? They would have to be thinking this place is crap compared to what I was in before? Yet they’re happy to stay on! I don’t get it.

 

[mtd#2]

I would love to know what the players who came over from Penrith really think of this club. Barring Luai, most of them seem committed and have signed on long term because they see a good future here yadda yadda, but surely they can see the difference between the Penrith system and ours? They would have to be thinking this place is crap compared to what I was in before? Yet they’re happy to stay on! I don’t get it.

$$$$$ talks

 

[Dr_Ice]

It was only a matter of time before a few of you started rearing your heads again.

For the record, the HBG convo hasnt just reared its head because we were losing - it's because the original thread was shut down. We would have been having the same conversation 3 months ago when we were winning if we were allowed to.

You could have brought them up in this thread just as you are now 3 months ago.

 

[batboy]

Except for, like, that bit where he was benched, then not offered a contract extension and quit for rugby? And then again in 2021 where he was not renewed and he took up the deal with Souths?

The extension 1st he wanted 2 years before his contract was up when he was over weight and playing shite?
Then the second where he was waiting until late on the season to decide weather he wanted to play on thinking the club would keep a roster spot and money there for him while he made up his mind?

From memory, he took his bat and ball and sulked off both times…

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

I don't entirely agree with this, though I agree with Dylan Brown thing may yet work out more negative than the first year.

The primary advantage for the Knights is they have Ponga who is a clear-cut elite club-level footballer. He's one of a small number of match-turning talents in the competition. Tigers do not have this, there is no Ponga equivalent for Luai to work with.

Granted Ponga has been injured on/off, but it makes Knights a totally different proposition when he plays. Tigers do not have a match-winner like that.

They are also doing well with a crop of young players that are coming good - Lucas, Sharpe, Hunt, McEwen. Dom Young back in form despite an ordinary go at Easts. There's no reason why Tigers can't replicate this, we also have some promising young players but none have really kicked on 2026.

"Coached better" - I mean, Holbrook can obviously coach but he also had a fairly ordinary run with a decent Titans side, so there is more to it than just coaching.

Personally I think the wheels are going to fall off for Knights. I could be wrong, but when the season starts to taper towards finals I think that's when the big-name players usually come good and Knights are a little short on experienced strike power. A bit flat up front as well.

Considering we beat the Knights fairly handsomely first time and then they pipped us second time, yet we are the worse form team of the two.

I also want people to look at the actual results of the Knights - they surprised a few teams early in the year - Cowboys Rd 1, Manly Rd 2, both of whom are much improved since. In the last 5 weeks they've beaten Eels, Tigers, Dragons and Dolphins by 6 pts or less. So they are obviously good at winning tight ones but those are pretty unimpressive opponents.

They lost by 2 to Storm which is OK but not the Storm of old (currently 11th). In the past 7 weeks they've only played 1 side in the Top 8 - Dolphins during Origin. Any Top 4 opposition they've faced (Panthers, Warriors, Roosters) were substantial defeats. So I'm a bit of a sceptic, I think Knights have done well with a favourable draw.

The next run will test them - Souths, Sharks, Roosters. But then Broncos, Raiders, Titans which are all fairly cosy. Manly and Warriors to finish the season, another test.

good point with newcastle they have beaten some ordinary teams (Dolphins without 7 players)

 

[weststigers]

I like Shaun Mielekamp, but will he have the right personality to restrict Benji’s control if we continue to decline ?
Hopefully we do not continue to decline, but our roster is not yet strong enough to guarantee we will not continue to decline when we get injuries ti a couple of key players.
There is only a couple of NRL quality or fringe BRL quality players left to recruit for 2027, so we better act fast if we are wanting to improve our top 30.

Why bring someone in to do a job, expect full accountability, then restrict them?

If you impose restrictions, then the person imposing restrictions is complicit and bears responsibility for results too.

This is the problem with the joint. The need to stick their noses in.

 

[mtd#2]

You could have brought them up in this thread just as you are now 3 months ago.

Ive brought it up multiple times in this thread mate 🙂.. we get told off every time too.

 

[Flippedy]

$$$$$ talks

Yeah I was thinking that but didn’t want to say it. I was hoping they might actually want to play in a competitive team with a tilt at winning the comp. Silly me 🤪

 

[Halbrowne61]

The club is called Wests Ashfield.
There is a Magpie on the building.
They play all KOE games at Lidcombe, none at Leichardt or Commbank. There is no regular alignment to the NRL side on game day.
They had the chance to put the Wests Tigers first with an independent board - then sacked the lot of them the first chance they got.
These are not the action of united club.
These are actions of a club looking out for their own interests - Wests Ashfield.

View attachment 40125

The fact they dont have a fulltime coach re-inforces their lack of commitment to the Wests Tigers. If the Wests Tigers are to succeed, they need successful pathways. This starts with reserve grade. How can we bring juniors through at 14 or 15 years old if the club cant even invest in a coach for the reserve grade side?

All this stuff you talk about - recruitment, retention, juniors and pathways, its all irelevant, because we have no money being put toward them. Yet its all Richos fault?

We have the most screwed up organisational structure of any club I know.

 

[Vicious]

Why bring someone in to do a job, expect full accountability, then restrict them?

If you impose restrictions, then the person imposing restrictions is complicit and bears responsibility for results too.

This is the problem with the joint. The need to stick their noses in.

I wouldn’t inpose any restrictions if it was up to me, but there are already calls for Benji to focus on the coaching and not be heavily involved in the recruitment. You can imagine that noise will only get louder if we continue to struggle between now the end of the season.

 

[TigerNeddyK]

I wouldn’t inpose any restrictions if it was up to me, but there are already calls for Benji to focus on the coaching and not be heavily involved in the recruitment. You can imagine that noise will only get louder if we continue to struggle between now the end of the season.

My first choice would be Shane Richardson, his experience and contacts and track record of success make him the best possible candidate for the job..

 

[crazycat]

Geeez... you on the schooeys? Roaming is in attack not defence

Why does a Shooey feel really tempting...


"...you on teh Schooeys", yea that's probably a safe assumption with me.

I still think our structure is Crap.
I don't think roving center is the solution here, even if just in attack.
Our play makers need weapons, i.e. options that they can goto. Knowing

Centres use to swap sides often. But certainly these days it’s a left and right handed debate. Doobs is terrible at centre he refuses to use a shoulder and his winger communication and decisions are average. Personally I think Doobs was correct a few years back when he requested to play 5/8 in cup. That’s his level, Mon of Steel written all over him. You need good centres and 2rf’s since we lost them we been loosing.

100%

Sure when we start winning we can try some experimentation.
Our team experiments before getting the basics down pat.