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When Shane Richardson caught Penrith napping almost 20 years ago, making an abrupt exit from the reigning premiers a week after his new company car was delivered, Panthers general manager Roger Cowan said it best.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loves a challenge and what better challenge could you have than to go to Souths?\u201d Cowan said of Richardson in June 2004, having learnt his chief executive was on his way to the wooden-spooners at Redfern. <\/p>\n
Wests Tigers, circa 2023, might be a bigger challenge still, what with the dismissal of the entire board on Tuesday, a rookie coach at the helm and their own set of unwanted cutlery picked up in more than a decade of failing to make the finals.<\/p>\n
Richardson, who has been installed as interim Tigers CEO with a long-term appointment surely a good chance to follow, is one of the game\u2019s more polarising figures and also one of its great survivors.<\/p>\n
Having led dramatic rebuilds at Cronulla, Penrith, Hull FC and South Sydney, he has stepped into brand management and consultant roles with the Rabbitohs and an expansion bid by the Brisbane Tigers. There was a brief chat with the Dragons last year, too.<\/p>\n
A 12-month stint as the NRL\u2019s head of strategy and development in 2015 also points to one of Richardson\u2019s great passions.<\/p>\n
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Shane Richardson during his time as Panthers CEO in 2002.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Mike Bowers<\/cite><\/p>\n His comments on James Graham\u2019s The Bye Round <\/i>podcast in September found the Tigers squarely in his crosshairs \u2013 intersecting with his long-held stance on junior development, and strong belief on where the Tigers have gone wrong.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Wests Tigers have got an unbelievable recruitment area,\u201d Richardson said, pointing to the club\u2019s prize-winning junior ranks of recent years.<\/p>\n \u201cBut instead of actually working towards a plan to get that through, they charge off and they chase players that they\u2019re never going to be a chance of picking up.<\/p>\n \u201cThey might say, \u2018Well if you don\u2019t try\u2019 … but instead of looking at the next player down that will come, that will do the job, their recruitment policy is not about getting the middle right and then the specials, they never got this right.<\/p>\n Jahream Bula has emerged as one of the Tigers best young stars in years.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Louise Kennerley\/SMH<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cAnd they\u2019ve not put the pathways through. No kid will leave a club if he thinks he\u2019s going to be the halfback in three years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n \u201c[But] he\u2019ll leave the club when that shuts off to him. So when you bring players in, you\u2019ve got to think what opportunities you\u2019re blocking off for the kids coming through.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if you do that, and you allow for that in your planning, those kids will stay with you and that\u2019s where you\u2019ll get your loyalty. But Wests don\u2019t do that, they want the big hit. That\u2019s why they get beat every week.\u201d<\/p>\n The Tigers, of course, are chasing big hitters in Jarome Luai and Addin Fonua-Blake, with rookie coach Benji Marshall leading those pursuits and several others of late.<\/p>\n Any NRL coach will tell you, the temptation to spin every plate is real, matched only by the likelihood of them coming down when stretched too thin.<\/p>\n Richardson\u2019s previous tenures have been driven by using the best of whichever backyard he\u2019s landed in, while the Tigers own has lain under-used for far too long.<\/p>\n On paper, perfect fit. As the Tigers have proven for more than a decade, and on Tuesday especially, there\u2019s a lot more to it than that.<\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary.<\/i><\/b> Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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