Breaking news: HBG takeover

[BAGNF05]

‘We’re going to protect Wests Tigers fans’: NRL to launch probe into boardroom bloodbath​

The NRL has vowed to launch an investigation into the events that resulted in four independent Wests Tigers directors including chairman Barry O’Farrell being axed from the board and left the future of chief executive Shane Richardson under a cloud.

O’Farrell had called on the NRL to intervene after describing the sackings – which were announced by the Holman Barnes Group, the club’s 90 per cent shareholder – as a “brain fart”.
“We have been approached by a number of parties to look into the situation and we will,” Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys said. “We will look into it. I’m not saying they have done anything wrong, but naturally we are concerned.

“A number of parties have expressed concerns and we want to safeguard the Wests Tigers fans. That’s my prime aim. We are looking at it at the moment. I’m not saying we will do anything, but we’re reviewing what’s gone on.”

Under the club’s convoluted ownership structure, Wests Tigers fans have no mechanism to affect change at board or management level.

“We are there for the fan, and we’re going to protect Wests Tigers fans,” V’landys said. “The people making these decisions must understand Wests Tigers fans are paramount - not politics.”
The views of O’Farrell were echoed on Tuesday morning by Gary Barnier, the co-author of a 2023 report on the Wests Tigers’ governance which led the Holman Barnes Group to recruit the four independent board members in January this year.

Barnier called on the game to put in place an administrator “to protect the NRL’s ambition to be a global game”.

Keep the pressure on the NRL people. We are stakeholders who pay their bills. The crooks running our club need to be booted.

 

[BZN]

Just don’t stand on any perches then

Great reply TS, thanks 😀.

 

[BZN]

I will pay that one. That gave me a chuckle.

Gave me a chuckle also GNR.

 

[TigerNeddyK]

Once again everyone, we will need to consolidate our efforts through a representative group rather than just us individually.

There is a Fan Representative Group that reports to the WT administration which a number of WT Podcast members are on. @cochise @Joel Helmes let us know if there is anything as a group we can do to have our voices heard & heard hard?

The cross podcast or Claws Out uniting Zac/Toby from Tiger Town, Mac/Reedie from WT Faithful, Rob/Josh/Aaron with the WT Podcast team is great to get the word out through a single entity.

Let's unite again & use people power to work out strategies to destroy HBG in its current form!

The podcasts should reunite and organise an actual boots on the ground protest that all the fans that care can support with the agenda that the HBG group need to go and the WESTS TIGERS members can vote on a path forward that is best for the football club … anything better than the aholeS that have led us to the failures of the last 15 bloody years.. make it clear that we are behind Richo and the independent board and HBG is redundant … to hell with Burgess and his chook raffle debenture holding never wasses

 

[Chunk]

What about some picketing in front of the club or wherever they work? Get the press there and sticks microphones in their faces.

 

[Bellend]

Burgess is a puppet and nothing more.

 

[Lestronge]

I hope the nrl revokes the license , and it goes into administration pending the sale of the club . That would be brilliant ….

 

[BUGSY MALONE]

Correct me if I'm wrong,is this the first orange Wests Tigers jersey in 25 years ?
What a load of bullsh.t this is ....25 years ago there was 2 clubs that had to merge to servive..25years ago.. !!! there's no Wests Magpies and no Balmain Tigers . anymore ..It's the Wests Tigers now . colours include Black, white and ORANGE. or
How about we change to the Balmain Magpies .🙄FFS ...All we want is a winning team wear brown the colour you get when you mix black orange and white ..😔

"Hunt" your spelling and grammar aside, I agree with the point you are trying to make in that Wests MAGPIES and Balmain TIGERS no longer have a licence to operate as teams in the NRL! The merger 25 years ago between Wests and Balmain agreed to operate as the WESTS TIGERS. As a former Magpie supporter who went to games at Pratten Park and Lidcombe Oval I don't care about the colour and design of the 2026 Jersey nor do I care about Wests Ashfield (HBG) owning 90% of the JOINT-VENTURE. If this can't be sorted out ASAP then V'Landys needs to step in and threaten to cancel the licence. It is Wests Tigers whom I support and I don't care about a Magpie missing on the sleeve nor do I care if the jersey has too much orange. Wests Ashfield please put your time and effort into making the finals, as 2011 seems such a long time ago.

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

have a listen to 2sm talkin sport lol all the old magpies fans ringing in. Wow there is the problem

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I hope the nrl revokes the license , and it goes into administration pending the sale of the club . That would be brilliant ….

Is there precedence for that? Has the NRL ever revoked a licence due to the way a club has been run?

 

[Tigerwould]

I hope the nrl revokes the license , and it goes into administration pending the sale of the club . That would be brilliant ….

just about anything would be better than what we currently have

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

Central Coast Tigers lol

 

[diedpretty]

Most of us dinosaurs on here fought for your freedom in WW1>>WW2>>Korea and>>Vietnam.
We survived 4 wars and got battle scars in each one.
We aint goin anywhere digger.

they’re old as shit. surely the dinosaurs have started dropping off.

I saw a report on the news today how Gen Z can't hack the stresses of work and life in general and how mental health issues are soaring in workplaces among this age group. Judging by some of the comments and OTT hand wringing on here i would say the report was pretty close to the mark.

 

[Chunk]

I hope the nrl revokes the license , and it goes into administration pending the sale of the club . That would be brilliant ….

No the NRL would just kill us and give the MacArthur area to the dogs. There are too many Sydney teams

 

[BAGNF05]

have a listen to 2sm talkin sport lol all the old magpies fans ringing in. Wow there is the problem

I’m not sure where I left my tin can and string

 

[cochise]

The podcasts should reunite and organise an actual boots on the ground protest that all the fans that care can support with the agenda that the HBG group need to go and the WESTS TIGERS members can vote on a path forward that is best for the football club … anything better than the aholeS that have led us to the failures of the last 15 bloody years.. make it clear that we are behind Richo and the independent board and HBG is redundant … to hell with Burgess and his chook raffle debenture holding never wasses

Our first step will be announced tonight.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I’m not sure where I left my tin can and string

2SM is still a thing?

 

[diedpretty]

Is there a petition yet to sack these bozos? I’m not normally one for doing so but I’d sign that one.

Yea there is - the original one was Sack the Harvey Barnes Group - lot of planning went in to that one.

 

[hammertime]

Balmain had the credentials to get into the NRL … guess who didn’t and got punted until the Tigers saved their backsides?

Let's not make this a Wests v Tigers thing. It's a board competency and governance problem, despite what Lee says. There's a reason why that bloke still wears a fedora and trenchcoat inside - he can't read a room.

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

Depends what the conditions of an NRL license are and if the NRL believe there may have been a breach.

Highly unlikely the NRL would revoke the license unless HBG were bankrupt, broke the law or signifcantly tarnished the image of the game, however they could put certain conditions to them to comply to the license agreement if found in breach.

who knows may revoke if hbg pushes for magpies or something, rhe agreement with nrl is wests tigers.
nrl could kick out whoever they like