NRL 2023: Wests Tigers bosses Lee Hagipantelis and Justin Pascoe face nervous wait amid review
Defiant Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis has no plans on standing down after completing his interview as part of the club’s independent review.
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Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis has no plans on standing down with the outcome of an independent review at least another two months from being resolved.
Hagipantelis was interviewed for two hours by former NRL chief financial officer Tony Crawford, who is leading the review, on Friday morning.
It’s understood Hagipantelis maintained his commitment to leading the Wests Tigers, alongside CEO Justin Pascoe.
The Tigers’ majority owners, the Holman Barnes Group, ordered an independent review into the club last month following yet another season of bitter disappointment, which culminated in a second successive wooden spoon.
The respective roles of Hagipantelis and Pascoe were expected to be central to the review, which the Holman Barnes Group ordered after a group of fans secured more than 2,000 signatures on a petition calling for change.
The review was designed to focus on the club’s corporate governance, its challenges and how the club could be best-served moving forward.
The review will also take into account interviews from fans and social media podcasters, a framework that has flummoxed many within the game.
There has been speculation that the review would bring about the downfall of Hagipantelis and Pascoe, the latter of which is expected to be interviewed early next week, upon his return from a family holiday.
A Wests Tigers director has inferred to this masthead that any outcome of the review may not be known until early December.
Speculation over the future of Hagipantelis comes only weeks after he told this masthead that his tenure as chair had been extended for a further three years.
The extension was endorsed by both the Balmain and Wests Magpies directors of the joint-venture club.
However, it’s believed some members of the Holman Barnes Group, who are leading the review, felt betrayed by news of Hagipantelis’ extension being made public, before the review was complete.
MEETINGS TO DECIDE TIGERS DUO’S FATE
An explosive meeting on Friday morning is set to determine the fate of Wests Tigers chair Lee Hagipantelis as the club’s most influential figure fights to retain his job along with his right-hand man, chief executive Justin Pascoe.
In a major development that has created renewed instability for rookie coach Benji Marshall as he prepares to launch his head coaching career, Hagipantelis will take part in an independent review meeting on Friday.
Pascoe will follow in coming days as their positions at the helm of the embattled club hang by the barest of threads amid fresh talk of internal bickering.
The Tigers’ majority owners the Holman Barnes Group ordered an independent review into the club last month following yet another season of bitter disappointment, which culminated in a second successive wooden spoon.
There was speculation at the time that the review would bring about the downfall of Pascoe and Hagipantelis, the latter having ploughed more than $10 million into the club through sponsorship.
Those fears appear to be coming to fruition despite the review still in the throes of completion. The respective roles of Hagipantelis and Pascoe were expected to be central to the review, which was ordered by the Holman Barnes Group after a group of fans secured more than 2,000 signatures on a petition calling for change.
Remarkably, speculation over the future of Hagipantelis comes only weeks after he told this masthead that his tenure as chair had been extended for a further three years.
It is believed some other members of the board are now disputing those claims. Their argument is that his board position was extended, not necessarily his role as chair.
Hagipantelis will speak to the former NRL chief financial officer Tony Crawford – one of the two men chosen to conduct the independent review – on Friday morning.
He is unlikely to hold back given the sense that the review was a witch-hunt designed to claim the scalps of the chair and the chief executive, who are closely aligned.
The review was expected to speak to more than 40 figures from across the game about the Tigers as the club sought answers for nearly a decade of mediocrity. Change has already taken place on the coaching level – Tim Sheens parted ways with the club at the end of the season, with Marshall stepping into the head coaching role a year ahead of schedule.
Sheens’ loyal lieutenant David Furner also left the club while they are exploring the appointment of a head of football, having sought out former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika and Parramatta’s Mark O’Neill.
Talks with Cheika are yet to advance given his World Cup commitments and the ongoing review, which is due to be completed as early as next week. The board of the Holman Barnes Group will then digest the findings before deciding on the best way forward.
The sense is that Hagipantelis and Pascoe may not be part of the new guard. Pascoe has been chief executive for nearly a decade, a time when the club has made strides off the field but gone backwards on it.
Hagipantelis has been happy to take the bullets for his chief executive while pouring millions of dollars into the Tigers. Money, however, is not an issue for the club given the financial might of the Holman Barnes Group.
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Originally published as NRL 2023: Wests Tigers bosses Lee Hagipantelis and Justin Pascoe face nervous wait amid review
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