The sign that things have changed at the Wests Tigers, according to chief executive Shane Richardson on a quick greet of the media, was that none of them knew what was coming next.
“It’s a first for the Wests Tigers, we’ve kept something secret,” Richardson said.
The “secret” was soon announced, in the shape of the names of four new independent directors recruited to a new seven-person Wests Tigers board.
And though the keeping of a rugby league secret in the summer holidays sits in the same category as results in a trial game – dangerous to hang your hat on – it was still a win at the leaky Tigers, whose dirty laundry has routinely been hung out on Parramatta Road for all to inspect.
But if things go to plan, the appointment of the new directors could also end up being a win for the long-suffering fans of an embattled club that has seemingly lurched from one crisis to another since the halycon days of its 2005 premiership.
Three of the Wests Tigers four new independent board members: (from left), Barry O’Farrell, Charlie Viola and Michelle McDowell.Credit: Steven Siewert
The four independent directors – former NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, former Paralympic athlete Annabelle Williams and western Sydney-raised business figures Charlie Viola and Michelle McDowell – will join the club’s existing three directors, who represent the Balmain Tigers, the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Tigers’ majority owner, the Holman Barnes Group.
In effect, the quartet’s independence should mean the Wests Tigers board can now run the club free of pressure from the many groups attached to the merged club, who’ve long had a history of bickering, suspicion and infighting.
The Herald revealed last year aggrieved members of the Balmain Tigers board were even keen on dissolving the joint venture, worried the Wests side of the marriage was secretly planning to revive the Magpies.
A majority independent board was a key recommendation of a Wests Tigers review conducted by Tony Crawford and Gary Barnier, commissioned by the Holman Barnes Group board at the end of 2023, following another wooden-spoon season. The review’s recommendations saw then CEO Justin Pascoe and chairman Lee Hagipantelis depart, and Richardson and O’Farrell enter; the latter on an interim basis.
“This is the last piece of the puzzle, and it was always going to be probably the most difficult and the most important,” Richardson said at a press conference at the Wests Tigers’ Concord Oval headquarters.
Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson (left) talking at the press conference.Credit: Steven Siewert
“Because it really is a matter of that we have a truly independent board with true governance, which has all been sponsored by the Holman Barnes group. And I don’t say that lightly in any way, shape or form. And we’re working close with them to come to this resolution today.”
They may have been working closely with the Holman Barnes Group but no-one was much interested in talking about the club’s majority owner at Tigers HQ on Wednesday.
The governance of the Holman Barnes Group is currently under investigation by Liquor and Gaming NSW, following complaints about bans imposed on three directors on New Year’s Eve. Those directors – Tony Andreacchio, Rick Wayde and David Gilbert were the trio who commissioned the Crawford-Barnier review, prompting concerns about the Holman Barnes Group’s support for its recommendations.
But Richardson stressed there was no “drama about infighting” at the Wests Tigers.
“That’s a drama that’s created about the Holman Barnes board. It’s nothing to do with the West Tigers board, which I’ve pointed out enormous amounts of times,” Richardson said.
“Anything regarding Holman Barnes is not to be discussed today because it’s got nothing to do with this board. It’s a separate situation altogether. If you want comments on that, talk to the Holman Barnes board. I couldn’t be more strong of it.
“The reality, we’ve changed dramatically over the last 12 months. The noise externally has been nothing about our board.”
Holman Barnes Group chair Julie Romero had been listed by the Tigers as attending a five-person press conference, but did not participate, instead standing at the back of the room.
Asked if the investigation into the club’s majority owner could still serve as a distraction, O’Farrell said: “None. It’s not an issue for us.”
“It’s not been an issue for us this year. I’m not denying that there are issues there – I understand, I’ve read the paper that liquor and gaming is having a look at it, but that’s something that will be resolved over there,” O’Farrell said.
Does the installation of an independent board finally spell the end of in-fighting at the Wests Tigers?
The Tigers ins and outs: Luke Brooks, Benji Marshall, Lachlan Galvin and Jarome Luai.Credit: Monique Westermann
“The board at West Tigers hasn’t had any infighting at least for the last 12 months. And I can say that hand on heart. All the decisions have been unanimous. There’s been no disputes,” O’Farrell said.
O’Farrell conceded there was a huge cultural change at board level compared to his first stint in 2018-19.
“It’s light years away from the way in which we used to operate,” O’Farrell said. “It’s a new chapter for West Tigers. It’s the first time since the club was put together that the board will have more independent members on it than the owners’ members. And that’s clearly a significant bonus.”
The selection criteria for the independent directors, as applied by recruitment company Elevate Talent, was “skills-based” and sought candidates with “rugby league sensitivity” and profile in Sydney’s south-west, inner-west and western Sydney. The criteria did not stretch as far as a prohibition on connection to either the Balmain Tigers or Wests Magpies, however.
O’Farrell was asked to reapply, and was one of 200 applicants for the four roles.
Richardson said while the Tigers were still rebuilding their on-field roster, they held ambitions of becoming a side consistently in the top four, starting as early as next season.
Concord Oval was otherwise quiet on Wednesday, with the laundry put away and the Tigers players also absent.
Richardson said the NRL squad was all on a plane, headed for a pre-season camp “of pain and all sorts of things”.
