Wests Tigers appoint Shaun Mielekamp as permanent chief executive officer, eye Leichhardt Oval home final
Wests Tigers chief executive Shaun Mielekamp has dropped the phrase “interim” from his title and one of his first acts in charge will be to lobby for an unlikely return to Leichhardt Oval should the club host a home final.
Afterwards Taking over from his predecessor, Shane Richardson, in December Mielekamp’s temporary appointment to the permanent role was announced Friday.
The former CEO of A-League club Central Coast Mariners took the helm during a turbulent period when the club was torn by factionalism.
But Mielekamp has presided over a period of relative stability: Tigers stakeholders agree; Coach Benji Marshall extends his contract; key players Jahream BulaTaylan May, Terrell May, Adam Doueihi, Sione Fainu, Sunia Turuva and Heamasi Makasini were re-nominated; and the team has a chance to break a finals drought that dates back to 2011.
The news of Mielekamp’s full-time appointment was announced to the team and staff on Friday morning.
Mielekamp thanked Tigers’ majority owner Holman Barnes Group for the opportunity to lead the club into the future.
“It’s probably a good time for the club and a recognition that we’re on the right track,” Mielekamp said.
“It’s the most rewarding part because it’s not just about me, it’s actually about the whole team here. [is] We said we would remain stable and united and stick to the plan. “We did that and showed some good results.”
The Tigers still have a chance to break the finals drought if they finish the season strongly. In previous years, the teams finishing first, second, fifth and sixth in the standings would gain home advantage for the opening weekend of the finals and determine where the fixtures would be held.
But, NRL now has the power to decide where all finals games are playedto maximize revenue and ensure fans are not turned away due to the limited capacities of some suburban venues. Given that Leichhardt Oval is slated for construction work, the Tigers’ round 15 victory over Gold Coast was thought to be the last match to be played at the ground until 2028. However, if the Tigers win the right to host week one of the finals, they will be pressing to play at the iconic venue known as the “eighth wonder of the world”.
“This year Leichhardt [would be our preference]yes,” Mielekamp said.
“Our mission is to win and if we’re going to give ourselves the best chance of winning, everyone knows our best chance of winning is here and now in Leichhardt. We’re not going to go into the finals to not give ourselves every chance of winning.”
Asked if he would lobby for the NRL, Mielekamp said: “Of course. They need to do what’s best for the game and I appreciate that bigger venues will attract more fans.”
“It also depends on who the opponent is for us. But we are not talking about the finals yet.”
The Tigers go into Saturday’s clash with St George Illawarra in Kogarah with a 7-8 record and need a win to stay in the mix for a breakthrough berth in the final.
“This is an important match of the season,” Mielekamp said. “We definitely put out an appeal to the fans to do their part.”
Mielekamp claimed that the club, which had previously been torn apart by factionalism, was the most united club it had ever been.
“We had tough defeats but the club couldn’t do what it had done before and started eating itself alive, which is a good indication of where we are going,” he said.
“There hasn’t been any infighting, there hasn’t been a witch hunt or anything like that. OK, how can we improve, make sure we’re focused on the next one and taking a step forward? If we keep that mentality as a club and that real relentless determination for success and performance on the pitch, then we’ll get there.”
