HBG really are a law unto themselves. These docs show just how they run their own race without any outside intervention. Anyone questioning their power is removed.
Totally correct ✅
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HBg enforcing the burnt orange humiliation ritual for the HM Balmain jersey it seems. Whilst the magpies get the classic Victa
To this day I cannot understand why we do this to ourselves...
If we were just solely Wests Tigers we would have stronger squads in HM & SGB... instead of diluting the talent pools.
To this day I cannot understand why we do this to ourselves...
If we were just solely Wests Tigers we would have stronger squads in HM & SGB... instead of diluting the talent pools.
I agree, but the fossils want division, and they argue that more spots open more opportunities for our young players to develop.
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@joel The club is like a mad dog just chases it’s tail around has been for 26 yrs . The only reason that the organisation still has seperate teams and identities throughout is a few persons that can never be challenged won’t one thing and one thing only . Just listened to the CEO waxing lyrical about how the he wants to stop the divisions well that can be corrected with a knock on his bosses door and be told it’s my way or the highway ! The CEO will find in the not to distant future that working for an organisation that has no interest in the club he is running is just a total lost cause , seems like a good fella with good intentions but will fail like all before him and by not his doing .
@snake I watched Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day last week and that movie epitomises Wests Tigers. However the movie had a happy enough ending. Not sure about this club though.
@snake I watched Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day last week and that movie epitomises Wests Tigers. However the movie had a happy enough ending. Not sure about this club though.
Unless everyone from the Chairman to the ball boy lives and breathes the club, we are always at a significant disadvantage.
There are people in senior positions here who have disdain for the club.
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@joel And this raises the point of just SELL the club and be done with it … a deal could be worked out with PVL to keep the Magpies in reserve grade then nothing is lost as the every other weekend piss up at Lidcombe oval can continue! It makes no sense to me what the motivation is to continue with this disruptive behaviour when what you want is never going to happen and have been advised to that .
Time to SELL the club !
@joel And this raises the point of just SELL the club and be done with it … a deal could be worked out with PVL to keep the Magpies in reserve grade then nothing is lost as the every other weekend piss up at Lidcombe oval can continue! It makes no sense to me what the motivation is to continue with this disruptive behaviour when what you want is never going to happen and have been advised to that .
Time to SELL the club !
100%
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@snake I watched Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day last week and that movie epitomises Wests Tigers. However the movie had a happy enough ending. Not sure about this club though.
Unless everyone from the Chairman to the ball boy lives and breathes the club, we are always at a significant disadvantage.
There are people in senior positions here who have disdain for the club.
The above is why we are a weak club. Wests, Balmain and Wests Tigers have filled positions within the club with people who "live and breath" the club and it breeds mediocrity. Our entire coaching staff is people who "live and breathe" the club and they are all there ONLY for that reason and because they are cheaper because of it.
The club needs the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you are talking about. We need the MOST PROFESSIONAL and MOST CAPABLE people in every single position.
@tiger5150 Exactly right , the boys club will only take you so far ..I was disappointed that Marshall did not employ another more experienced assistant coach for this season . I think that this will be telling as the season progresses as the team itself could certainly make the top 8 .Marshall has to be receptive to that fact you have to surround yourself with high quality people it’s just not about money but that helps …
I was watching NRL trials over the weekend and I thought one of the best performers was Justin Matamua.
18 runs
161 m gained
9 tackle breaks
100% tackle efficiency
I have defended Richo over the past 2 years and think that by and large he made a positive contribution to the club. Nevertheless, some of the recruitment decisions he made are really worth examining on reflection.
Matamua is the first example. Last pre-season, Richo was interviewed in January and singled out JM for his training efforts. JM then started the first NSW Cup game and played out the year with Ryde Eastwood. Meantime Charlie Murray joined on a Cup contract in Jan 2025. He played the first game of Cup off the bench and then started the remaining matches in NSW Cup at lock (bar the odd NRL game).
Tim Johannnsen was developing nicely at Cup level in 2024 and was set to move to top 30 or WT dev contract in 2026. He played 5 games with Wests Magpies NSW to start 2025. He then departed for Souths where for 2026 he will play on a NSW Cup contract (less than what he would have earned at WT) He was denied a starting spot by Charlie Murray and when he left his bench spot was taken by another in the Richo clique - Luke Jack.
Bailey Hodges has been in and out of NSW Cup for the last 18 months. He played 10 Cup games in 2024 and this dropped to 5 games last year when the club signed Tristan Hope to back up Api. Hodges was only selected for NSW Cup when Hope played NRL towards the back end. Hope is another player who is part of Richo's son's player agency Enrichd.
The last bad call Richo made was offering Max Lehmann from Easts Tigers a train and trial deal last November. Lehmann was actually employed part time by Enrichd group and is another player close to Richo. Meantime, one of our better NSW Cup from 2025 players Izaac Thompson was shown the door. Lehmann didnt cut it and left the WT before Xmas.
In almost all of my other posts on this topic I have defended Richo but the longer you look at some of the recent decisions, the more you have to scratch your head. He was abusing his power it honestly must be said.
@mickb the Matamua situation is one of the great mysteries of the last couple of seasons! A few of us on here have regularly bemoaned the lack of success for him - especially considering our obvious failings in the #13 position...
I'm sure his season is something we'll watch with interest. Time will tell if that turns to envy but surely it was more than just a Richo thing?
I agree to a point, but Matamua also was given heaps of time to shine and rarely did (albeit, he’s probably coming of age now).
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