By Michael Chammas and Adam Pengilly
Barry O’Farrell’s second coming as Wests Tigers chairman is on shaky ground with the board refusing to reappoint him and asking the former NSW premier to reapply for his job if he wants to remain at the helm.
Sources with knowledge of the situation talking under the condition of anonymity due to confidentiality told this masthead that O’Farrell is considering walking away from the club if the majority owner, the Holman Barnes Group (HBG), does not follow through on some of the key recommendations from last year’s Crawford-Barnier report.
O’Farrell was appointed as interim chairman at the end of last year on a six-month term as part of a major overhaul of the club’s board following an external review that led to the ousting of former chairman Lee Hagipantelis and ex-Tigers chief executive Justin Pascoe.
O’Farrell was meant to oversee the introduction of four new independent directors to the Wests Tigers board, however, a change of leadership at the Holman Barnes Group is now threatening to descend into a messy split.
When contacted by this masthead, O’Farrell declined to comment.
The four new directors were meant to be appointed by May and join the three representatives (Balmain, Wests Magpies and HBG) on the Wests Tigers board.
Wests Tigers chairman Barry O’Farrell.Credit: Oscar Colman
However, the ascension of Julie Romero to chairman of the Holman Barnes Group in February has resulted in Geoff Squires (Magpies) and Dave Gilbert (HBG) being replaced by former Tigers director Dennis Burgess and Steve Montgomery respectively. Romero did not respond to calls.
The appointment of four new independent directors has been delayed and O’Farrell is no guarantee to earn a reappointment after being told he would have to apply to an external recruitment company.
O’Farrell is now contemplating his future at the club and could relinquish the role if the Holman Barnes Group does not follow through on its pledge to restructure the Wests Tigers board.
New chief executive Shane Richardson has signed a four-year deal with the Tigers, which commenced in July, despite only being appointed as the interim boss.
O’Farrell and Richardson have been in regular contact with billionaire property developer Harry Triguboff about him taking over from Hagipantelis as the club’s major sponsor from next season as part of a plan to involve the 91-year-old in a community and lifestyle project in south-west Sydney.
On the field, the Tigers are seeking to avoid a third straight wooden spoon when they clash with Parramatta next week.
Marshall has led the Tigers to six wins from 23 games this year, registering a slight improvement on the four wins they managed to rack up in each of the last two years.
The Tigers are in the market for Canberra forward Corey Horsburgh and Sharks prop Royce Hunt as well St George Illawarra utility Jack Bird.
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