Barry O’Farrell’s tenure as Wests Tigers chairman will come under the microscope at a board meeting later this month when the fractured Holman Barnes Group, the majority owners of the NRL franchise, will be asked to endorse the former NSW premier and put an end to the political turmoil crippling the club.
As former NSW premier O’Farrell considers his future after essentially being asked to reapply for his position, the HBG is poised for a crucial meeting at which it is expected a section of the board will lobby for O’Farrell to be given a 12-month extension.
O’Farrell was parachuted into the chairmanship on a temporary basis after a governance review instigated by the HBG last year resulted in the entire Wests Tigers board being dissolved.
But directors of the Balmain Tigers, which owns 10 per cent of the NRL club, hinted in emails obtained by this masthead the HBG was divided and was now hesitant about adopting all the recommendations of the Crawford-Barnier report, leaving O’Farrell’s position in doubt.
O’Farrell was asked to take on the Tigers’ chairmanship after the review also considered former Australian Rugby League Commission director Catherine Harris, the Harris Farm Markets chair, and legendary rugby league administrator John Quayle for the role.
It was expected the appointment of four independent directors to the new Tigers board would have been completed by now, but O’Farrell still heads a temporary board featuring one representative each of the HBG, Wests Magpies and Balmain Tigers – and with no certainty about his own future.
Wests Tigers chairman Barry O’Farrell, coach Benji Marshall and CEO Shane Richardson.Credit: Getty
Elevate Talent, the external recruitment firm tasked with filling the positions, has been asked to suspend the process.
According to sources not authorised to discuss the matter publicly because of the confidential dealings, a Wests Tigers board meeting was cancelled two months ago when HBG chair Julie Romero sent an email in the days leading up to it stipulating strict conditions attached to the gathering.
The email caused angst among other Tigers directors and senior management, and the meeting was subsequently abandoned.
O’Farrell and Romero could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
After Balmain Tigers director Garry Leo last week urged his fellow directors to cut ties with the Western Suburbs side of the joint venture, there are fears over the funding model for Balmain’s junior nursery, which is reliant on payments from the HBG. The long-standing agreement is due to expire later this year.
Balmain directors described the HBG as “incompetent”, “Machiavellian” and a “bunch of tin pots” in a series of private emails earlier this week, which has soured relations between the two sides of the Wests Tigers.
In an attempt to calm tensions within the joint venture, the Balmain Tigers released a statement last week in which it said it was “fully supportive of the ongoing relationship with our joint venture partners, the Holman Barnes Group, and Wests Magpies”.
But the HBG has been involved in its own political turmoil after Romero ascended to the chairmanship earlier this year, ousting Tony Andreacchio only months after the review which delivered sweeping changes to Wests Tigers’ governance.
Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson, who was brought in on a temporary basis after the review, has signed a four-year extension as he begins to turn around the club, but doubts remain over whether O’Farrell will stay alongside him long-term.
On the field, Benji Marshall’s side will be trying to avoid a third straight wooden spoon with a win against the Eels at Campbelltown Stadium on Friday night before new signings Jarome Luai, Sunia Turuva and Jeral Skelton arrive for the 2025 season.
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