twentyforty
Well-known member
Riccio and Read in the DT saying board member has taken 6 months leave. Anyone know who and why?
WT Ownership, The Board & Senior Management - MEGA Thread
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cochise
Well-known member
Rick wayde, sent an email in 2016 that offended other board members
Kaito
Well-known member
NRL news 2023: IOC vice-president John Coates rejects Wests Tigers plea for help
The Wests Tigers civil war has taken a dramatic twist with revelations of a high-profile rejection and a board member taking six months leave after sending a provocative email.David Riccio and Brent Read
4 min read
October 21, 2023 - 4:00PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
https://archive.is/Oy7qe#share-tools
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John Coates, one of Australian sport’s most powerful administrators, has rejected any notion of stepping in to help the embattled Wests Tigers.
Coates has been mentioned among a raft of high-profile figures to assist a club that has been mired in mediocrity for over a decade.
Coates’ call to distance his name from being linked to an administrative role with the club has emerged amid revelations that long-time director Rick Wayde took a six-month sabbatical from the Wests Tigers board after offending some of his fellow directors with a provocative email.
Wayde, who has since returned to the board, is up for re-election early next year along with fellow board member Tony Andreacchio.
Asked about the email, which led to him taking a break from his place on the board in 2016 but has remained a secret to this day, Wayde said: “I will stand by my record. I think I have acted with proprietary with everything I have done since the 80s.
“Maybe I sent an email at some point with some home truths in it. I have always been direct and honest. There’s a few people at the moment who are looking to save themselves.”
Andreacchio, who was also a director at the time, confirmed he was aware of email but insisted Wayde had stepped aside rather than been pushed.
Revelations of the historical boardroom drama at the Tigers comes as Wayde and Andreacchio find themselves under pressure to retain their positions as directors amid an external review of the club and impending elections for the Holman Barnes Group, which owns the Tigers.
This is all playing out ahead of club legend Benji Marshall officially taking over the reigns as head coach in his rookie 2024 season.
The ructions at the Tigers have prompted some to suggest long-time Western Suburbs supporter Coates could come in and play a Mr Fix-It role at the besieged club.
However, the IOC heavy hitter has shot down any interest in being dragged into the club’s ugly civil war.
“The answer is no, not interested,” Coates told this masthead.
“It’s (joining the Wests Tigers administration) been raised informally with me over the years, but it’s not something I want to do and I’m far too busy.
“I’ve never given them any indication I would do it. They know that.
“The club is my pleasure and I don’t want to mix my team with business.’’
Coates is the President of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport and Court of Arbitration for Sport and vice president of the Brisbane 2032 organising committee.
“I get to their games when I can get to games,” Coates said.
“I’ve got Brisbane 2032 to focus on, among other things. I’m just a supporter.’’
The Tigers continue to deal with the fallout from a turgid season which culminated in them finishing with another wooden spoon and prompted the Holman Barnes Group – which has a majority on the board – to order a review at the behest of frustrated fans.
The decision to orchestrate a review has led to suggestions that chair Lee Hagipantelis is under pressure, a belief that was magnified when Andreacchio asked him to stand aside last month after this masthead revealed that his tenure had been extended for a further three years.
“I asked him (whether) he would step aside as chair while the review was on,” Andreacchio said.
“I didn’t ask him to stand aside from the board. It was never stand down, it was step aside as chair during the review.”
Lee Hagipantelis
Hagipantelis has been chair of the Tigers since 2019, a period in which he has become one of the most recognisable club officials in the game and a spokesman for the club during their times of need.
Tony Andreacchio
Andreacchio is the principal of Raine and Horne Real Estate and wields enormous influence as the chair of the Holman Barnes Group. He became a director of Wests Tigers in 2012.
Dennis Burgess
Burgess is a professional musician and managing director of Burgess Ventures. He has been a director of Wests Ashfield for 19 years and a long-time Tigers board member.
Danny Stapleton
Stapleton is the lone Balmain representative on the Wests Tigers board. A former player for Balmain, he continues to wield influence as chair of the Wests Tigers football committee.
Rick Wayde
Wayde has been involved with the Wests Magpies for more than 40 years and was initially elected as a director of Wests Ashfield Leagues Club in 1984. An active member of the Tigers Football Committee.
Simon Cook
Holman Barnes Group chief executive and former board member who stepped away earlier this year, saying the Tigers needed change, regeneration and new people with the right skill set.
Justin Pascoe
Wests Tigers chief executive for the best part of a decade who has been under immense pressure in recent years given the club’s troubles.
John Coates
One of the most powerful men in world sport, Coates is the International Olympic Committee vice-president and a Tigers fan. Has ruled out joining the board.
Barry O’Farrell
Former NSW premier was the chair of the Tigers for less than a year, leaving to pursue other interests. Has been linked with a return to the club.
Dave Gilbert
Former Test cricketer, Gilbert was chief executive of Cricket NSW for more than a decade. Recently joined the board of the Holman Barnes Group.
Mark O’Neill
The Parramatta head of football has been linked with a return to his former club, where he played and was involved in administration. Close to coach Benji Marshall.
Benji Marshall
One of the greatest players in Tigers history, Marshall will step into the hot seat when he takes over as head coach in coming weeks.
Michael Cheika
Former Wallabies coach has led Argentina into the finals of the rugby union World Cup. Has strong relationships at the Tigers and been mooted as a possible head of football.
Scott Fulton
Recently appointed as the Tigers head of recruitment, Fulton has had a caustic relationship with Marshall and his future may be tied to the outcome of the independent review.
Hagipantelis was due to chair a meeting on Monday night where he would have come face-to-face with his fellow directors, however, it was postponed because chief executive Justin Pascoe is overseas with some of the club’s corporate backers.
Andreacchio’s involvement in the boardroom manoeuvring hints at the growing influence he has over the running of the club as chair of the Holman Barnes Group.
A real estate agent with strong ties to the community in the west, Andreacchio has seemingly mastered the art of pulling strings in the background while avoiding the sort of scrutiny that has been placed on others within the organisation.
He is not alone. Wayde has been a long-time board member. So has Dennis Burgess, whose background is in the music industry. So too Danny Stapleton, the lone Balmain representative on the board who is chair of their football committee.
All have presided over years of failure at the club, highlighted by a churn of coaches and players. In some cases, their involvement stretches back more than a decade.
A day of reckoning seems imminent. The results of the independent review is due to be handed down next month and is expected to recommend change to the board.
If Andreacchio and Wayde walk way from the review with their positions safe, they will be at the mercy of the Holman Barnes members early next year.
Both insist their record speaks for itself.
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“It’s never been about preservation for me,” Andreacchio said.
“I started supporting Wests Magpies in 1958. I grew up in Summer Hill. I have great friends at Balmain. I think that is what life is about.
“I do lots of thing but it isn’t about preservation. Life will go on.”
Kaito
Well-known member
Don't want too see Andreacchio or Wayde on
the board regardless of the reviews' findings
Chieka needs to come on board, great man
manager,
he would take a lot of heat off Benji too who the
media doesn't see as a coach just yet anyway
the board regardless of the reviews' findings
Chieka needs to come on board, great man
manager,
he would take a lot of heat off Benji too who the
media doesn't see as a coach just yet anyway
tigertragic
Well-known member
7 year email has nothing to do with anything, but as usual creates a non story/headline by David R and Brent R to collect their cheques
some how got someone in a knot- its bizarre mentioning something that happened 7 years ago,there4 it must/seems like some dirt/sticking point that is being used
Kaito
Well-known member
That Wayde guy is the only one with quotes on
the record there. I think he knows he won't be
serving on the board much longer in any event
Edit,: I could be highly mistaken mind you
Kaito
Well-known member
Congratulations on the marriage Merlot 🤝
upthetigers
Well-known member
Poor girl, only joking all the best buddy
Tom Shines
Well-known member
He sent a naughty email in 2016?
I hear he got detention in school one time as well….
I hear he got detention in school one time as well….
twentyforty
Well-known member
This news about the email has only just surfaced? After 7 years?
If it got produced during the review, then that raises a few questions.
How did it fall in the laps of Riccio and Read?
Did the email contain harsh demands, such as “sober up and do your job”?
Was it Wayde’s “get out of gaol free card”? Will it work?😂
If it got produced during the review, then that raises a few questions.
How did it fall in the laps of Riccio and Read?
Did the email contain harsh demands, such as “sober up and do your job”?
Was it Wayde’s “get out of gaol free card”? Will it work?😂
Tito Santana
Well-known member
I’d be going with Cheika.
innsaneink
Well-known member
Was the email to Hagipentali?
Who was around back then... Too many of them
Do these guys get paid out just in it for the perks?
Who was around back then... Too many of them
Do these guys get paid out just in it for the perks?
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Eternal Tiger
Well-known member
Not sure why this email business has surfaced now, but Wayde and his mates can't hide behind their pathetic record at governing our Club.
426Tlgerland
Well-known member
Well I hope I major change Is min 3/ 4 existing directors get punted , Lee also to go , he has become the face of wests tigers for all the wrong reasons
twentyforty
Well-known member
John Coates would not have intended the remark as advice, but Tony Andreacchio and other decision makers at WT should accept it as sound advice.
ROZELLE.O.G
Well-known member
He loves the limelight. You never see Nick Politis Roosters or Matt Tripp Strom in the media non stop blowing their own trumpets. I actually didnt mind him for a while but when he started threatening legal action for the last second loss he lost me. There are bigger fish to fry than carrying on like that when we are running last.
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