NRL 2025: Wests Tigers owners Holman Barnes Group bans three directors from venues as board war erupts

A dramatic boardroom spat has developed at the majority owners of the Wests Tigers after three Holman Barnes Group board members were sensationally banned from entering venues owned by the corporation.

A dramatic boardroom brawl has developed at the owners of the Wests Tigers after three board members were sensationally banned from entering any venue under the control of the Holman Barnes Group.

Staff were issued a club-wide email obtained by this masthead, which states that long-term board members Tony Andreacchio and Rick Wayde, plus fellow board member and ex-Cricket NSW CEO David Gilbert, were “excluded from entering the club and all club premises”.

The email doesn’t explain why the trio have been banned.

Aside from owning the Wests Tigers, the Holman Barnes Group operates three clubs including Wests Ashfield, Croydon Sports and Markets Club.

The email – sent by Holman Barnes Group’s executive manager of HR and culture, Michelle Nielsen, names the trio and states that they are excluded from entering “the club’s bars, restaurants, gyms, archives and carpark across all three Holman Barnes Group venues”.

“Should any of these gentlemen attempt to access the club or any of its facilities please notify the venue manager who should kindly ask them to leave,” Nielsen wrote.

“The venue manager should then report the incident directly to our CEO Simon Cook.”

Holman Barnes Group director David Gilbert is among those banned.

As is director Tony Andreacchio.

And director Rick Wayde.

Andreacchio and Wayde have previously served on the board.

Gilbert is the Holman Barnes Group’s representative on the Tigers board after sweeping changes to the structure of the club last year which resulted in chief executive Justin Pascoe and chairman Lee Hagipantelis being removed from their respective positions.

Gilbert and Andreacchio were uncontactable on Thursday night while Wayde would not comment.

However, it is understood the trio have taken legal advice over the decision, setting the scene for a legal bunfight involving powerbrokers within the Tigers’ majority owner.

Cook and Holman Barnes chair Julie Romero have also been approached for comment.

Romero replaced Andreacchio as chair in April.

It is understood the trio are on one side of the fractured Holman Barnes Group board, with three other directors aligned with Romero.

The Tigers have been embroiled in boardroom ructions for some time, in part because Holman Barnes Group directors were not on the same page.

Email listing Wests Tigers board members banned from Holman Barnes-operated venues.

The Tigers have been protected — to an extent — from the drama within their ownership, although Gilbert is currently a member of the revised Tigers board after the club underwent governance reform that led to former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell becoming the Tigers’ new chair.

The Tigers are currently in the process of forming a new board with the vast majority of independent directors after a review of the club’s structure recommended that the Holman Barnes Group give up their stranglehold on the club’s board. Only last week did the Tigers advertise for independent non-executive directors.

The fear is that drama within the Holman Barnes Group will filter into the Tigers’ operations, causing instability as second-year coach Benji Marshall and chief executive Shane Richardson attempt to steady a ship that has been sinking for nearly a decade.