If the HBG board structure is replaced - my question is with what?
If it's 100% member voting - do we get the political games and lack of uncertainty that bulldogs have had?
Is there a structure that guarantees high performance? I.e 100% independent merit selected?
Or is it a case of appointing an administrator to oversee full implementation of the review including proper separation and constitutional change - after which the HBG board becomes largely irrelevant to the WT board
Top 8 2023
Long-term debenture holder calls for Wests Tigers’ ownership structure system to be blown up
The infighting between the owners of the Wests Tigers has exploded with one-long time debenture holder calling for the system to be scrapped immediately.
Michael CarayannisMichael Carayannis
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January 2, 2025 - 6:19PM
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One of the longest serving debenture holders at the Holman Barnes Group – the owners of the Wests Tigers – has sensationally called for the ownership structure to be changed immediately in the wake of three board members being banned.
John Hardgrove – who has been a debenture holder for more than three decades – said it is time for a major revamp of the Holman Barnes Group governance structure.
The debenture agreement was launched in 1955 as part of the formation of Wests Ashfield Leagues Club to assist with the running of the Western Suburbs Magpies. The debenture system has remained even through the many changes which have occurred in the past 70 years including a merger with Balmain.
The debenture system consisting of 20 people appoints from within five people to sit on the Holman Barnes Group board.
It costs just $100 to join the elite group.
Two other board members are elected via a membership vote by the membership of the Holmans Group clubs which includes Wests Ashfield.
“The debenture system has served its purpose,” Hardgrove said. “I supported the system up until now because it served its original purpose of protecting the assets of the club and the support of rugby league.
“What’s happening now is outside the original intent of the group. We need to look at another system that will protect the interests of the club, its assets and the long history of a foundation rugby league club as well as the Wests Tigers.
“The debenture system is no longer fit for purpose. A new system needs to be developed and this could require an administrator to be appointed while this is being done.
What has been done to these three people is grossly unfair and lacks procedural fairness.”
Recently banned duo Rick Wayde and Tony Andreacchio were elected by the members while fellow exiled board member David Gilbert was one of five debenture board members.
While there are a maximum of 20 debenture holders there are just 16 active debenture members.
They include; Hardgrove, Gilbert and current Holman Barnes board of directors Julie Romero, Dennis Burgess, Stephen Montgomery and Vince Tropiano.
Other debenture holders include Kevin Hammond, Daniel Lane, Clare Burgess, Fiona Shand, Russell Smith, Brian Cook, Mick Liubinskas, Scott Beynon and Peter DiMichiel (chairman).
Paul Marsh – who acted for Gilbert, Wayde and Andreacchio in their dealings against Holman Barnes – is also a debenture holder.
Wayde was banned for eight years, Andreacchio (six) and Gilbert (six months) for a range of alleged misdemeanours.
“The penalties are a joke,” Hardgrove said. “I’ve seen what they were charged with and the penalty they were given. The penalty does not fit the alleged crime even if you believe they deserved some sort of penalty.
“What they have been given is a joke and seems to be ploy for other people to gain even more control.”
The debenture holders meet six times a year but because of the ongoing conflict there has not been a formal meeting since October.
“The meeting was called off in December but the Christmas dinner went ahead,” Hardgrove said. “It was fairly tense.”
Two debenture holders are to be appointed to the Holman Barnes Group next month.
Gilbert and Dennis Burgess are up for re-election.
Meanwhile, a fan led petition calling for a review into the Holman Barnes Group has attracted more than 1000 signatures. The Wests Tigers Unite fan-base are calling for change.
“The Wests Tigers need to stand on its own two feet and have the best possible representation at board level,” said Wests Tigers United spokesman Joel Helmes. “We have been a fan base who have been divided foes 25 years, this is the moment the club comes together once and for all.”
Top 8 2023
Investigator quizzes banned directors of Wests Tigers owners
By Michael Chammas and Michael McGowan
Liquor and Gaming NSW has opened an investigation into the running of the Holman Barnes Group, conducting interviews with the three directors who have been banned for a combined 15 years.
As reported by this masthead last month, the Independent Liqour and Gaming Authority was recently made aware of the disharmony on the HBG board, the majority shareholder of the Wests Tigers and the owners of the rich and powerful Wests Ashfield club.
Former Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis and suspended HBG director Rick Wayde.
That disharmony on Wednesday led to the banning of three HBG directors – Tony Andreacchio, Rick Wayde and David Gilbert – for alleged misdemeanours dating back up to five years.
Before the disciplinary actions of the HBG, ILGA forwarded concerns to L&GNSW, the agency responsible for overseeing the legislation that governs registered clubs in NSW. The regulator has since opened its own investigation to determine the severity of the situation and whether ILGA needs to concern itself with the running of the HBG.
The regulator did not respond to detailed questions about the nature of its probe, but in a statement a spokesman confirmed it was “aware of allegations recently raised concerning the Holman Barnes Group”.
“As those allegations are currently under assessment, no further comment can be made at this stage,” the L&GNSW spokesman said.
‘That’s what the fans want, and that is what’s needed for Wests Tigers to survive and thrive.’
Inner West Council mayor Darcy Byrne
Sources with knowledge of the situation talking under the condition of anonymity due to confidentiality told this masthead L&GNSW had conducted interviews with banished trio Andreacchio (six-year ban), Wayde (eight-year ban) and Gilbert (six-month ban).
The interviews began before Christmas and concluded in the days before the trio being banned for a combined 15 years.
This masthead has obtained a copy of the letter that was sent to ILGA by a concerned and unnamed HBG member, urging the ILGA to appoint an administrator to look into the workings of the HBG and raising concerns over the debenture system that provides just 18 club members with key voting rights over five of the seven directors.
Section 41A of the Registered Clubs Act 1976 states: “Where the governing body of a registered club has, in the opinion of the Authority, ceased to be effective as a governing body, the Authority may appoint a person to administer the affairs of the club.”
A packed Leichhardt Oval at a Wests Tigers home game.Credit: Getty Images
The news of Wayde, Andreacchio and Gilbert’s exile prompted Inner West Council mayor Darcy Byrne to call on the NSW government to intervene in the boardroom stoush at the HBG.
“That’s what the fans want, and that is what’s needed for Wests Tigers to survive and thrive,” Byrne said.
“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.”
Board members at the HBG have been at loggerheads since an external review of Wests Tigers operations was conducted in late 2023 after the side’s second successive last-placed finish.
Andreacchio, Wayde and Gilbert were 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.
On Wednesday, Wayde and Andreacchio both expressed dismay at their predicament.
“The tragedy is the club is in great shape through the work of the CEO and the executive team,” Wayde said.
“In the short term, [Wests Tigers CEO] Shane Richardson and [Wests Tigers chairman] Barry O’Farrell are doing remarkably 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.”
Andreacchio said: “This is clearly a star chamber decision. 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.”
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 yelled at a fellow HBG director, calling him a “f---ing suck” approximately 10 times in front of other board members in an aggressive manner. Andreacchio repeated the comments later on despite being told words to the effect, “You can’t do this”, “Enough’s enough, we’re one team. Calm down”;
- 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.
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.
Extraordinary. John Hardgrove looks to be the brother of Peter Hardgrove who was the former chair of Wests Ashfield and of Wests Tigers who died in 2023 and was married to Julie Romero! So much for the debenture holders being a merit based appointment. Being related to the chairman seemed to get you a debenture. Chuck them all out and start again. Julie and Dennis might be starting to regret their recent coup. It might get uncomfortable for them when they are standing on the hill with the rest of the nobodies
Extraordinary. John Hardgrove looks to be the brother of Peter Hardgrove who was the former chair of Wests Ashfield and of Wests Tigers who died in 2023 and was married to Julie Romero! So much for the debenture holders being a merit based appointment. Being related to the chairman seemed to get you a debenture. Chuck them all out and start again. Julie and Dennis might be starting to regret their recent coup. It might get uncomfortable for them when they are standing on the hill with the rest of the nobodies
Wont stop Dennis swanning into the Chairmans Lounge @ LO.
http://www.prattenparkmagpies.info/?page_id=17019
several debenture holders and current chair and deputy chair at the 2024 magpies reunion.
http://www.prattenparkmagpies.info/?page_id=17019
several debenture holders and current chair and deputy chair at the 2024 magpies reunion.
FWIW both of my antivirus programs blocked that link.
Just an FYI that we have recorded a Wests Tigers Unite podcast tonight that features Rob Bechara (Wests Tigers Life), Zac Kelsey (Tiger Town), Will (Spartan 117 on the WTF) and Garry and I. It will be released individually by each pod over the next day.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
It’s funny how the Magpie faction thinks this is Wests vs Balmain. They completely don’t understand the third faction, which is the biggest, and that is the Wests Tigers.
@mike So true. But to be fair,Im not certain it would be any different if it was the other way around. Some things are worth more than family, religion or money!
A Blazer, A Designated Car Spot at the game, Lunch in the Lounge with Prawns and Mango Salad, Being in the Shed Before During and After the Game and Access to the Field, is well worth blowing the joint up for.
Our issue is that our club is owned by a faction. They are all magpies diehards. That’s all well and good if they are acting in a benevolent way to the actual Wests Tigers supporter base. Wr will let them have their VIP seats at our games, we will let them force our reserve grade team play in black and white at Lidcolme oval even though we have a NRL home game. But if their incompetence and small mindedness means that our NRL team is jeopardised then they will be exposed and turfed out.
Our issue is that our club is owned by a faction. They are all magpies diehards. That’s all well and good if they are acting in a benevolent way to the actual Wests Tigers supporter base. Wr will let them have their VIP seats at our games, we will let them force our reserve grade team play in black and white at Lidcolme oval even though we have a NRL home game. But if their incompetence and small mindedness means that our NRL team is jeopardised then they will be exposed and turfed out.
Not any more! F*#% them. We'll be doing everything possible to ensure these geriatric fools don't get spoon fed another prawn in their lives. So sick of the self serving morons. No more. They are done
Our issue is that our club is owned by a faction. They are all magpies diehards. That’s all well and good if they are acting in a benevolent way to the actual Wests Tigers supporter base. Wr will let them have their VIP seats at our games, we will let them force our reserve grade team play in black and white at Lidcolme oval even though we have a NRL home game. But if their incompetence and small mindedness means that our NRL team is jeopardised then they will be exposed and turfed out.
Not any more! F*#% them. We'll be doing everything possible to ensure these geriatric fools don't get spoon fed another prawn in their lives. So sick of the self serving morons. No more. They are done
A good barometer is if you’ve got Steve upset you’ve probably gone too far! 🙂
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Romero speaks. Nothing changes until there are 4 truly independent directors on the WT board.
https://holmanbarnesgroup.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Information-for-Members-1.pdf
