Ousted Wests Tigers chair Barry O’Farrell has slammed the club’s owners’ decision to remove him and three other independent directors, labelling it a “brain fart”.
On another turbulent Tuesday at the Tigers, O’Farrell warned the NRL could be forced to step in at Concord if things continued to go to “hell in a handbasket”.
Veteran administrator Shane Richardson was also understood to be considering his next move as CEO, after long being a proponent of independents on the board and working in lockstep with O’Farrell.
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And former Tigers chair Lee Hagipantelis warned of a push to remove Balmain from the joint-venture, if majority-owners Holman Barnes Group (HBG) take control of the board as expected.
After a period in which the Tigers have secured funding for their two suburban grounds and finally climbed off the bottom of the ladder, they again find themselves in turmoil.
It was only in January that HBG, who own Wests Ashfield and the majority share of Western Suburbs, implemented a new Tigers board.
At the time it comprised four independents, two of their own HBG representatives and one from Balmain.
But on Monday night all four independents were sacked, with HBG saying they had been “left in the dark” on decisions despite having a 90 per cent stake in the NRL club.
The NRL are monitoring the situation, while O’Farrell on Tuesday rejected the claim that the club’s owners had been left out of decisions.
“For reasons I suspect lie within the antics of the Holman Barnes Group and the desire for people to get to the top there, we have yet another brain fart affecting the club,” the former NSW premier said on ABC radio.
“We have done well. We have achieved our first profit in more than a decade.
“At that moment the owners, as they are able to, have decided to take this action.”
It’s understood frustrations over the club’s jersey for next year form part of HBG’s issues, given it is predominantly orange like Balmain.
An alleged lack of say on stadium policy is another concern, with the Tigers to play at least seven games a year at Western Suburbs’ old Campbelltown base from 2029 and four at Leichhardt
The situation prompted Inner West Council mayor Darcy Byrne to label the situation as “self sabotage”.
With both Leichhardt and the former Wests base of Ashfield in his region, Byrne also called for NRL and state government intervention.
“Pratten Park is home of so many Wests Magpies legends. Some of them would be rolling in their grave,” Byrne said.
“Somehow the same people who oversaw 15 years of failure have decided to drag the club back down again.”
The drama comes at a crucial time for the club, with fullback Jahream Bula negotiating a new deal and Jarome Luai holding an option to look elsewhere.
On SEN radio on Tuesday, Hagipantelis predicted the situation would impact player contract negotiations.
Hagipantelis also said he was aware of recent plans to remove Balmain from the joint-venture, having himself been sacked by the owners in 2023.
“It was admitted to me directly by a fella, who is now a director of the Wests Magpies, that the ultimate aim is to return the Magpies to the NRL,” Hagipantelis said.
“The licence is in Wests Tigers’ name, so they would have to move on NRL headquarters to bring back the Magpies.
“It wouldn’t be easy to do. It’s maybe a 50-50 proposition.”
In a statement on Monday, Holman Barnes Group CEO Daniel Paton insisted Balmain’s role in the merger was not under threat.
He also backed Richardson, and said his organisation would not intervene on football matters.
“Balmain are very much a part of this joint venture,” Paton said.
“They maintain their 10 per cent share and their seat on the Wests Tigers board.”
