Helmes wasn’t surprised by the number of signatures on the online petition. If anything,he was slightly disappointed more fans didn’t sign it.

“I was probably,if anything,a little underwhelmed with the numbers,” he said. “I thought there would be a larger groundswell because there is a lot of frustration out there. I think a lot of my fellow Wests Tigers fans thought that it wasn’t going to go anywhere.”

The petition went to the club’s major shareholder,the Holman Barnes Group,which then ordered an external review to be conducted by former NRL chief financial officer Tony Crawford and businessman Gary Barnier. Their recommendations resulted in the dissolution of the Wests Tigers administration.

Helmes and his fellow podcasters will have a busy schedule as they digest how their simple online petition helped bring about such seismic change at the club they love.

“I described it on the pod as being a Christmas miracle,” Helmes said. “I think it’s definitely a great Christmas present for us all because it gives us that new start,that new hope,and it looks like all the right decisions have been made.”

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