NRL clubs, particularly those near the bottom of the table, often suffer from either too much democracy or a lack thereof.
Wests Tigers are an example of the latter.
Unlike western Sydney counterparts Parramatta and Canterbury, whose dissatisfied members have churned and burned through countless board members in recent decades, the directors running the embattled joint-venture outfit are almost impossible to remove.
“That is right, there is no lever as such for members of the Wests Tigers to be able to engage, or in any way initiate change, at board level directly,” Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis concedes.
“I perfectly understand the frustration of supporters and members in that respect, but given that is the corporate structure, there is nothing that can be done insofar as accountability that is answering by way of an election. There are no elections, as such, held by Wests Tigers.”
It is another reason card-carrying Tigers members and fans are becoming disenchanted. The side hasn’t played finals football since 2011, the longest drought of all NRL clubs. There was a feeling they’d hit rock bottom last season when they claimed the wooden spoon for the first time after finishing 16th.
No matter how bad things get on the pitch, Wests Tigers fans have little power to change things off it.Credit: NRL Photos
However, the introduction of the Dolphins, coupled with a 0-5 start to Tim Sheens’ second stint as coach, resulted in the club dropping to 17th.
Poor performances on the field have coincided with a string of incidents off it recently: the commemorative Anzac jersey debacle, where a picture of American soldiers was used; out-of-favour fullback Daine Laurie “liking” clips on social media of opposition players scoring tries; chief executive Justin Pascoe playing with his phone in the dressing room as Sheens tried to rally his troops at half-time against Brisbane, and sporting track pants while kicking the Steeden before games; or the ham-fisted approach to ageing halfback Mitchell Pearce in a desperate attempt to fix deficiencies in their spine.
And that’s just the past week.
“At the end of the day, I get it; there is a perception that we lurch from one inept decision to another,” Hagipantelis says. “But that’s just not the case.
“Everyone in that club is absolutely committed and qualified to fulfil their roles. Unfortunately, we haven’t enjoyed any semblance of success over the last few years and it manifests itself where a certain perception is created. But perception is not reality.”
As a Tigers fan or member, if you disagree with Hagipantelis, there’s little you can do about it.
Under the corporate structure of the club – which is 90 per cent owned by Wests Magpies and 10 per cent by Balmain – ousting Hagipantelis and his board is nigh impossible. That is, unless you are a debenture holder of the Holman Barnes Group, formerly known as the Wests Ashfield Leagues Club Group, one of the few ways anyone can affect meaningful change.
It effectively means Wests Tigers are a closed shop, with their directors unlikely to be challenged regardless of how poorly the team performs.
After finishing 16th last season, Wests Tigers are already 17th this year.Credit: NRL Photos
It could be argued that at Parramatta and Canterbury members have historically had too much say. Only two years ago, Bulldogs chair Lynne Anderson and several of her staunchest supporters stepped down to avoid an extraordinary general meeting called to oust them. All it took to trigger the move was a petition with 116 signatures.
Small cliques of Parramatta Leagues Club members have also had huge influence on the composition of the football club board. The result was a period of damaging factionalism, most notably when Denis Fitzgerald, Roy Spagnolo and Steve Sharp jockeyed for power.
Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis.Credit: Getty
“The other extreme, when it’s entirely determined by vote, it becomes a popularity contest,” Hagipantelis says. “I don’t think that’s necessarily in the interests of the club either.”
In Parramatta’s case, the salary cap scandal was the circuit breaker the club desperately needed. The NSW government stepped in, sacked the board and appointed Max Donnelly as an administrator. The move brought a period of relative stability to the Eels, culminating in last year’s grand final appearance.
“If there’s a need to change the board, and you want to upgrade the constitution, that’s great,” Donnelly says.
“If you want to bring in a skills matrix [requirement], I would suggest the problem for every club will be that some of the incumbent board won’t meet the criteria. Therefore, they would be sacking themselves and a lot of boards don’t want to do that.”
Plans were afoot for the Wests Tigers Action Group – a supporter group formed on Facebook – to allow fans to vent frustrations during Monday’s game. Those plans have been aborted after the group’s administrator decided not to proceed. It will save Tigers officials from the embarrassment of having a section of their fans turn their backs in the 11th and 12th minutes to symbolise the number of years it has been since they tasted finals football.
While the action won’t go ahead, many of the concerns the group raised are shared by other long-suffering supporters.
‘There is a perception that we lurch from one inept decision to another. But that’s just not the case.’
Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis
Whether the Tigers board has the football nous required to dig itself out of its predicament remains to be seen.
Some of the same directors who presided over the sackings of Sheens, Benji Marshall, Robbie Farah and recruiter Warren McDonnell have also rubber-stamped their return. In Marshall’s case, he is being groomed to take over as head coach from Sheens from 2025, although the pressure on the veteran premiership-winning mentor is increasing after a disastrous start to the current campaign.
“We have got to fix this, we have got to turn this around,” says Hagipantelis, whose law firm, Brydens, is also the club’s major sponsor.
“We have made enormous organisational and structural changes over the last 12 months, we’ve committed to a particular pathway forwards and there’s no turning back now.
“What’s happening at the moment is not acceptable to the club or our members and supporters.
“At the moment, things appear dire, I agree with that. But we’re not giving in, we’re not giving up on our coaching structure, the players or the roster we have. We have arguably the most talented roster we’ve had since 2005, so no one is giving up. We are going to persevere and see this through.”
But what if things don’t get better?
There’s every chance that will be the case given the Tigers face the Eels at Accor Stadium on Monday. There will be a brief respite courtesy of the bye the following week, followed by difficult assignments against Manly and Penrith. There is every chance the winless streak will continue.
“The only alternative is for someone to fall on their own sword,” Hagipantelis says.
“If someone was able to convince me that on-field performance would improve with the termination of Justin Pascoe, for example, I would recommend it to the board of directors.
“People should not diminish the responsibility of the board in determining these things. Recommendations as to recruitment and retention, for example, are elevated to the board to sign off on.
“There are things the CEO has autonomy over, there are others he has to elevate to the board for approval. We are all accountable.”
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