@mike Richo might give them the ultimatum.. it’s been 12 months and zip , if he left it would be scorched earth make no mistake ! That’s one road I would not like to take .
100% he’ll burn the place down.
We cannot lose him.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Darcy Byrne can see it:
Sorry to be political on New Year's but there's been an extraordinary and concerning development at Wests Tigers today that I want to update you about.
There's 7 members of Wests Ashfield (Holman Barnes Group) Board. They are the majority shareholder of Wests Tigers.
I've just discovered that last night, on New Year's Eve, 4 of the 7 board members issued directions to suspended the other 3 directors from the club from their roles, for periods of up to 8 years.
This is bizarre and out of keeping with basic corporate governance standards.
Loyal and long suffering Wests Tigers fans deserve better than this.
Our team is competing in the most professional rugby league competition on earth.
But our head office continually operates like a volunteer committee for a park footy team.
Petty and short sighted governance of Wests Tigers has been holding our Club back for far too long.
I'm calling for the NSW Government to intervene to fix the undemocratic and seemingly improper governance of the Holman Barnes Group.
That's what the fans want, and that is what's needed for Wests Tigers to survive and thrive.
The current system, in which tens of thousands of members of Wests Ashfield have no real democratic say at all, is improper and unjustifiableh.
We've finally got things moving in the right direction on the football field.
Tigers fans can't afford for backroom brawling to undermine our football team's long-awaited recovery in 2025.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
That is actually great from Darcy, he is an elected politician whose electorate includes West Ashfield. It would be great if he gets more involved in the governance discussion
Architects of Wests Tigers review banned for a combined 15 years
By Michael Chammas
The three Holman Barnes Group (HBG) directors who were the driving force behind the independent review that forced significant change at the Wests Tigers have been banned by the club’s majority owner for almost 15 years combined.
Tony Andreacchio, Rick Wayde and David Gilbert were all hit with significant bans on New Year’s Eve for a range of alleged misdemeanours dating back several years.
Holman Barnes Group directors Tony Andreacchio and Dennis Burgess.CREDIT: SMH
The news prompted Inner West Council mayor Darcy Byrne to call on the NSW government to intervene in the boardroom stoush at the HBG, which runs the rich and powerful Wests Ashfield club and is also the majority owner of the Wests Tigers.
“That’s what the fans want, and that is what’s needed for Wests Tigers to survive and thrive,” Byrne said.
He added: “We’ve finally got things moving in the right direction on the football field. Tigers fans can’t afford for backroom brawling to undermine our team’s long-awaited recovery in 2025.”
Of the suspensions of the three directors, Byrne said: “I’m flabbergasted. This is extraordinary and concerning news for Wests Tigers fans. For four of the seven board members [of the HBG] to suspend the other three directors from the club from their roles for periods of up to eight years is beyond belief.”
Board members at the HBG have been at loggerheads since an external review of Wests Tigers operations was conducted last year after the side’s second successive last-placed finish.
Andreacchio, Wayde and Gilbert were the chief instigators of the review, which was conducted by businessman Gary Barnier and former NRL chief financial officer Tony Crawford.
Their banishment throws into doubt whether the recommendations of the Barnier-Crawford report will be implemented in their entirety.
Rick Wayde sitting to the right of former Wests Tigers chair Lee Hagipantelis.
“The tragedy is the club is in great shape through the work of the CEO and the executive team. The remaining directors are only worried about self-interest and winding back the review which is a problem for the Wests Tigers,” Wayde said.
“In the short term, Shane Richardson and Barry O’Farrell are doing remarkable despite the interruptions. If the Gang of Four get away with this movement, they’ll be intruding even more. That’s the major concern for the Tigers.
“I fear that already they will be interfering with the appointment of the independent directors.”
Wests Tigers fans at Leichhardt Oval.CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES
“How can 18 people in a 30,000 membership have this much power? Rick Wayde and I are the only two elected by the membership and we’ve been discarded by the star chamber.”
Some of the recommendations of the review have already been adopted, including that Shane Richardson should replace Justin Pascoe as Wests Tigers CEO and Barry O’Farrell should replace Lee Hagipantelis as Wests Tigers chairman.
O’Farrell was subsequently asked by the HBG to reapply for his position although sources with knowledge of the situation talking on the condition of anonymity due to confidentiality said he was on the verge of being reappointed.
Barry O’Farrell and Shane Richardson continue in their roles at the Wests Tigers.CREDIT: FAIRFAX MEDIA
“We are launching this action because we do not have faith in the current governance of the majority shareholder of the Wests Tigers, the Holman Barnes Group (HBG),” the petition statement said.
“This action commenced after the HBG board continued to drag its feet over introducing and adopting the full recommendations from the 2023 external review into the governance of the Wests Tigers.”
The banning of Andreacchio, Wayde and Gilbert related to a range of alleged misdemeanours dating back several years, including “a number of whistle-blower disclosures and complaints”, according to the disciplinary committee findings obtained by this masthead.
Wests Tigers fans will be hoping for a better year in 2025.CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES
Former HBG chairman Andreacchio, who also previously served on the Wests Tigers board, has been hit with a six-year ban. Gilbert has been issued a six-month ban.
While a number of allegations against Wayde were unsubstantiated, the disciplinary committee found that:
- He engaged in unreasonable conduct towards a fellow director at a board meeting, including personal attacks against the person resulting in requests by other attendees for him to “back off”;
- He engaged in intimidatory, threatening and/or otherwise unreasonable conduct towards other board members, both alone and acting in concert with Andreacchio and Gilbert, in an attempt to coerce the board members into supporting Andreacchio to continue as chair;
- He made comments to a fellow director to suggest he was personally responsible for Andreacchio’s defeat in the board election. Wayde is alleged to have said: “You’ve got to be joking. You don’t know how bad your name is at Wests Tigers” after learning of a fellow HBG director’s appointment onto the Wests Tigers board.
Allegations against Andreacchio, who has also been asked to undertake an anger management course, include:
- That he allegedly became red in the face and made abusive comments to a fellow director in a threatening tone;
- That while waiting for a taxi after a function for the West Tigers launch of the 2024 NRL season he approached a fellow director and stood close to him and made a comment to the effect: “You f----- softie”;
- That at an HBG board meeting last September he engaged in aggressive behaviour towards a fellow director, calling him a “parrot” in a raised voice.
RELATED ARTICLE
The allegation against Gilbert was in relation to comments and actions made to a fellow director concerning his allegiances on the board.
The banned trio fell out of favour after current HBG chair Julie Romero led a coup in March which overthrew Andreacchio at the helm of the HBG board. Documents recently obtained by this masthead show that Romero had previously expressed “grave concerns” about the review.
The documents and emails also showed that Romero threatened legal action against Tigers chairman O’Farrell should he hold a Tigers board meeting without her blessing
Than you to all the roughly 500 people who have signed the Wests Tigers Unite petition in the past 24 hours or so. We now sit at over 1050 signatures!!
As we know, the Mayor of Inner West Council, Darcy Byrne has now said he is also concerned about the governance of Holman Barnes Group (HBG) and will take those concerns to the minister, David Harris MP.
The Mayor’s comments came after it was revealed three HBG board members (two of which were the only two member-elected directors on the board) were suspended on charges as thin as a SAO biscuit.
The trio all supported the adoption in full of the recommendations of our fan-initiated review into Wests Tigers Management & Culture.
Now, all three are gone and perhaps there goes our chance to have skilled independent directors appointed to the Wests Tigers board to help support Shane Richardson and his team do their job of making Wests Tigers a competitive and leading NRL team.
Here’s a selection of comments from people supporting our action asking for a review of the governance of the Holman Barnes Group:
I’m sick and tired of my club being a ******* joke. The West Tigers have been around almost 3 decades. Half the first grade team have never seen Balmain or wests in their life times you absolute idiots. We have our best roster maybe ever and you drongos are destroying the club from the top. Wake up you clowns West Tigers are 1 club. - Ryan
I support the Wests Tigers. I have no faith in the current ownership and governance of the club.
I like all other fans only want this club to have success on and off the field. - Graeme
I want a united West Tigers team. - Phil
Tired of the constant back stabbing and fighting, the members want the West's Tigers to continue and not this silly nonsense of trying to split the sides apart. - Greg
If you haven’t already, please support our petition so we can be heard.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
@tigertownsfs would this be considered ‘intimidation’ of an employee preventing them from completed their stated duties
The documents and emails also showed that Romero threatened legal action against Tigers chairman O’Farrell should he hold a Tigers board meeting without her blessing
@tigertownsfs would this be considered ‘intimidation’ of an employee preventing them from completed their stated duties
The documents and emails also showed that Romero threatened legal action against Tigers chairman O’Farrell should he hold a Tigers board meeting without her blessing
romero clearly wanted to prevent the old board from voting on the new constitution that had a majority of WT being independent directors rather than Magpie stooges. This is probably within her rights as a duly elected chair of HBG which illustrates how important reform at HBG is needed.
Wests Tigers Unite
For ALL Wests Tigers Fans
Press Release
2nd January 2025
Wests Tigers Unite wants to know where the opposing HBG debenture holders are.
As public support grows for a review of the Holman Barnes Group's (HBG) governance, the Wests Tigers Unite group is asking disaffected HBG debenture holders to consider breaking their silence.
Wests Tigers Unite has come together as a united group of Wests Tigers social media platforms and fan groups and has launched a petition calling for a review of the governance of the HBG.
Those calls have been met with support from the influential Inner West Mayor, Darcy Byrne, who has publicly called on the NSW Government to intervene to fix what he says is the “undemocratic and seemingly improper governance of the Holman Barnes Group.”.
The Wests Tigers Unite petition has now garnered more than 1100 signatures. With momentum for a review now gathering pace, the group is asking those inside the HBG to stand up and be heard.
At present, the HBG debenture holders number a total of eighteen individuals. There is a cap of twenty debenture holders in the organization, with two vacancies, and another, David Gilbert, suspended for six months.
Wests Tigers Unite spokesperson, Joel Helmes, says the debenture holders who don’t agree with the way the HBG board is performing should come forward.
“We are aware of the names of all of the HBG debenture holders, and to respect their privacy we won’t name them at this point, however, I believe now is the time for those who don’t like what they are seeing to step forward.
“In the past couple of days, we have seen the only two member elected board members of the HBG suspended for 14 years in total.
“It is fair to assume that these directors were removed primarily because they supported the implementation of the recommendations of an independent review into the Wests Tigers.
“One of those recommendations was that three non-executive directors be added to the Wests Tigers board through an exhaustive external process.
“When push comes to shove, the people who have control of the HBG board are unwilling to relinquish their power over the Wests Tigers, that’s despite years of poor performance in the boardroom from the very same individuals.”
Mr. Helmes says HBG debenture holders who don’t like the pressure that is being placed on the organization, including a potential state government probe into the group’s processes and transparency, should come forward to explain how we got here.
“This is a chance to help both the HBG and the Wests Tigers grow and evolve, I hope they don’t miss it.
Ends
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Good. Let’s get this crap sorted.Breaking News! SMH reporting Liquor and Gaming NSW has launched an investigation into the running of the Holman Barnes Group.
Good. Let’s get this crap sorted.Breaking News! SMH reporting Liquor and Gaming NSW has launched an investigation into the running of the Holman Barnes Group.
I think we will get this done guys.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
Here’s the link to the SMH article
Julie, Dennis and their family members might be having a few sleepless nights coming up.
Nowhere to hide now.
Let’s keep the pressure up.
Great work again boys.
This is coming to a head quickly. If the regulator says there is nothing that warrants an intervention then the incumbents will be in a very strong position. Or it could prompt the whole house of cards to implode. It would be fantastic for a caretaker board to be announced for HBG. The average age of the debenture holders is probably north of 70. It would be fantastic to get fresh blood into the place.
