Barry O’Farrell says NRL will look into mass sackings at Wests Tigers board

Sacked West Tigers chair Barry O’Farrell says he expects the NRL to get involved after the former NSW Premier and three other independent board members were given the boot by the club’s owners Holman Barnes Group in a move O’Farrell derided as a “brain fart.”

The shock move by the company which owns the Wests Ashfield Leagues Club, which may have hinged on something as pedantic as the colour of the Tigers’ jersey for 2026, could also affect the future of CEO Shane Richardson, who is close to O’Farrell.

Along with O’Farrell, independent members Annabelle Williams, Charlie Viola and Michelle McDowell were also axed, giving the Holman Barnes Group total control of the embattled club.

The quartet only joined the board at the start of this year in the aftermath of the sackings of Lee Hagipantelis (the former chair) and Justin Pascoe (former CEO).

According to Holman Barnes chief executive Daniel Paton, part of the problem has been communication between the board and the owners.

It has also been reported that the owners are not happy with some recent decisions, including issues with the Tigers’ 2026 jersey (it is “too gold”) and there are concerns over the club’s stadium policy.

“The Holman Barnes board has been left in the dark on some commercially sensitive announcements,” Holman Barnes chief executive Daniel Paton said in a statement on Monday night.

“The Holman Barnes board does not believe communication between the boards has been satisfactory.

“We don’t want to micromanage the football operations. We do have to be consulted on decisions. Balmain isn’t going anywhere. We are proud and committed supporters of Balmain.

“Balmain are very much a part of the joint venture. (We want a Leagues) club back in Rozelle.

“The changes are at the governance level.”

If it continues to go to hell in a hand basket, I have no doubt that the NRL will do what the NRL would always do, which is seek to protect the image of rugby league.

On Tuesday O’Farrell did not hold back when he spoke for the first time about his demise.

“For reasons I suspect relate to antics within the Holman Barnes Group and the desire for people to get to the top there, we’ve had yet another brain fart affecting the club,” O’Farrell told ABC Radio in Sydney.

“A year ago, they replaced their chair (Julia Romero) after the best returns Holman Barnes had ever received. And here we are a year later, they’re replacing the board of West Tigers at a time when, on all the indices for the first time in many years, we’ve done well.

“We’ve achieved our first profit, I think, in more than a decade. And at that moment, the owners, as they’re able to, have decided to take this action.”

O’Farrell, who famously quit as NSW Premier in 2014 after receiving a $300 bottle of Grange from a water company with links to the infamous Obeid family, predicted the NRL would not stand by idly as the crisis-plagued club again found itself in turmoil.

“If it continues to go to hell in a hand basket, I have no doubt that the NRL will do what the NRL would always do, which is seek to protect the image of rugby league,” O’Farrell said.

Paton said the owners “have full faith” in Richardson and coach Benji Marshall.

“We do, however, need to be consulted on decisions that will impact the club’s financial future,” he said.

“Yes, the club recently turned a profit, but we’re looking at the next 15 years, not just year to year.”

It continues the infighting at the merged club that has been going on for years.

Hagipantelis said on Tuesday that the Magpies faction (the club is a merger of the Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies) still wanted to “extract” Balmain from the club.

“It was admitted to me directly by a fella who is now a director of the West Magpies that the ultimate aim was to return the Wests Magpies to the NRL,” Hagipantelis said on SEN.

“I know there were some quiet discussions not too long ago about extracting Balmain from the Wests Tigers and returning to the State Cup.

“I can recall an instance where I was there where (former chief executive Justin) Pascoe tried to introduce a bit of orange into the State Cup team.

“When the Wests boys saw the orange in the jumper they had a conniption and the jumpers had to be withdrawn. They are very sensitive about this type of thing.”

Hagipantelis claimed it was still not a happy partnership between Balmain and Western Suburbs, and Holman Barnes Group should not have a hands-on role.

“They should have no engagement in the running of a football club,” he said.

“They should confine themselves to the fishing club, or the sewing club or tennis club whatever that may be.

“They run leagues clubs very well. They do food and beverage and gaming very well. But the football club itself they struggle with, they really do.”

The Tigers will play at least seven games a year at Campbelltown from 2029 and four at Leichhardt, with Richardson telling AAP last week the club was putting its DNA over finances.

Paton insisted the move would have no bearing on the football department, but the drama comes with fullback Jahream Bula negotiating a new deal and Jarome Luai holding an option to look elsewhere.

“Balmain isn’t going anywhere,” Paton said.

“We are proud and committed supporters of Balmain and we have shown this through the funding of the Balmain football club and Balmain district juniors.

“Balmain are very much a part of this joint venture. They maintain their 10 per cent share and their seat on the Wests Tigers board.”

With 7NEWS/AAP