HBG takeover, Independent Directors Sacked

jrtiger said:
because compared to football clubs, leagues clubs are easy to run.

stack it with poker machines, ensure the food's half decent, throw at least four beers and three house wines on the taps and in the fridges, incentivise people with some promotions and live activations to come thru the doors and sure enough you've got a self-sustainable entity.

Liquor and Gaming are responsible for ensuring all clubs (sporting or otherwise) adhere to the Clubs Act. if HBG were found to be in breach of the Act, then they're in hot water.
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Ok .,. It seems a very stock standard response to a media enquiry and that they aren’t actually doing anything , but I would love to be wrong on this and they take some action … time will tell
 
mtd#2 said:
A 5 year old would probably also understand that if HBG had 2 representatives on the Wests tigers board - that there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY THAT DECISIONS WERE MADE WITHOUT THEM BEING THERE... That the fault sits with the representives from the HBG for not passing on messages...

I really don't know why it is so hard to understand?
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The claim from the HBG spokesperson is that things were happening without them knowing.
Without them knowing means decisions being made without being presented to the board.
You must have never worked for a company of any importance as you would or should know anything of importance goes before the board before it is approved, that is how it works.
If the HBG spokesperson is lying, he will be found out.
 
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hammertime said:
@BlackWhiteGold Can we run an anonymous poll here? See if people want

- Wests Tigers
- Magpies
- Balmain

Would be interesting to see if everyone is on the same page.
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Nah we are Wests Tigers. I'd rather us cease the discussion on Magpies v Balmain personally (I know that won't happen lol) and focus on effecting positive change at the governance level. It sh*ts me to tears all this crap tbh. The NRL has to step in and demand conditions around how we are governed as well as require those acting against the best interests of the club to remove themselves.
 
Bus 2 Terrigal said:
The “as it is” tag at the end of option B would seem problematic.

We’ve been living through “as it is” for a few decades now, and everyone here seems most unhappy with how it’s been going 🤣
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I don’t think “as it is” necessarily means without changes in performance, management etc. I take it to mean I want the entity WT to continue and not revert to Wests Magpies or Balmain Tigers.
 
Vicious said:
The claim from the HBG spokesperson is that things were happening without them knowing.
Without them knowing means decisions being made without being presented to the board.
You must have never worked for a company of any importance as you would or should know anything of importance goes before the board before it is approved, that is how it works.
If the HBG spokesperson is lying, he will be found out.
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Answer me this and if it's suffice I promise to stfu

1.How can a board meeting take place with two representatives from HBG yet HBG claim to not know what's happening?

2. How can BOARD DECIsions be made without HBG knowing, if they MUST be present for a vote?

You have my word, if you can give me a legit answer to these questions then I'll be on my merry way...
 
mtd#2 said:
Which players are you speaking to?
Because you just said that you could tell me the players aren't talking about it
So how do you know?
Which players are you talking to? The answer is none and that you talk sh1t and present it as fact

Where's @Tucker when we need him
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It is a general fact, a bit of common sense comes into play.
I do not know any current players, but know and have known a lot of ex players who played at various club and they do not care who is on the board and most of them would not know their teams board members if they fell over them.
Nobody is sating stating that the current issues arising from the board do not need to be resolved quickly, but it has very little relevance on the players way of thinking towards their current training and the upcoming season.
 
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jrtiger said:
The state’s liquor and gaming watchdog has put the majority owners of Wests Tigers on notice following the latest boardroom dramas engulfing the club.

The Holman Barnes Group, the Tigers’ 90 per cent shareholder, has sacked four independent Wests Tigers directors including chairman Barry O’Farrell, a move that has clouded the future of chief executive Shane Richardson.

The developments have piqued the interest of Liquor & Gaming NSW, the body that sacked the Parramatta Leagues Club board in 2016 for ceasing to become an effective governing body. They were the same directors who had sat on the Parramatta Eels club board when the club was embroiled in a salary cap scandal.

“Liquor & Gaming NSW is not currently investigating any matters involving Western Suburbs Leagues Club or the Holman Barnes Group,” said a spokesperson for Liquor & Gaming NSW.

“However, we are monitoring these latest developments involving the board.

“Registered clubs must operate with the highest standards of integrity in the interests of their members as required under the Registered Clubs Act.”

www.smh.com.au

NRL 2025: Clubs regulator puts Wests Tigers owners on notice

The watchdog that sacked the Parramatta Eels board over governance failings is now monitoring the owners of the Wests Tigers.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au

------

The NRL closely monitoring the situation, as are Liquor and Gaming. the walls are closing in on HBG.
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Just saw you have already posted JR lol I'm a few pages behind.
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
Nah we are Wests Tigers. I'd rather us cease the discussion on Magpies v Balmain personally (I know that won't happen lol) and focus on effecting positive change at the governance level. It sh*ts me to tears all this crap tbh. The NRL has to step in and demand conditions around how we are governed as well as require those acting against the best interests of the club to remove themselves.
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Have you written to the NRL mate? Often times people get outraged but do nothing. I hope as many fans as possible are voicing their concerns.
 
BAGNF05 said:
Have you written to the NRL mate? Often times people get outraged but do nothing. I hope as many fans as possible are voicing their concerns.
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Yes I have and embedded that graphic that @cochise posted last night.

I have the utmost confidence that PVL & Richo are working behind-the-scenes on a way forward. How that looks is anyone's guess.

The NRL owe Richo a lot for his work for them over the years, in recent times the ESL buy-out proposal situation. It's time for them to have his back.
 
mtd#2 said:
Answer me this and if it's suffice I promise to stfu

1.How can a board meeting take place with two representatives from HBG yet HBG claim to not know what's happening?

2. How can BOARD DECIsions be made without HBG knowing, if they MUST be present for a vote?

You have my word, if you can give me a legit answer to these questions then I'll be on my merry way...
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1. It has been suggested based on the statement from the HBG spokesperson that certain agendas were not being presented before the board.
If agendas are not being presented before the board, how could the board members know about them prior to being revealed ?
2. That’s the question that needs to be answered and you would imagine it will be revealed very soon. I don’t know the answer and I don’t know if it’s true or not, but neither do you, therefore I have the right to await the answers before blaming anybody.
 
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Lestronge said:
I think with PVL involved sanity might prevail , unless I’ve missed something whilst sleeping.
Sometimes I think the nrl encourages stories like X teams are the pinup teams Y teams are the dregs , and everyone else in between . Just as it creates drama and narratives , and adds to the spectacle . But I can’t see how letting the tigers be run. Off a cliff is good for business for the nrl. It was fun whilst it lasted re. 3 spoons , but now it f it continues our place in the nrl , surely should be in question , as a viable entity moving forward . Especially with consortiums in Brisbane , Adelaide , Christchurch , Rockhampton/Bundaberg , central coast , all waiting to stick thier hand up for a team.
The logo should be wests tigers at all grades. The Harold Matt’s kids should pull on the same jersey as luai and Bula . There should be connective tissue there.
But there’s literally zero. The first time you put on a wests tigers jersey is jersey flegg for a year or / then your back wearing the magpies again . Training in the middle of Sydney for some reason . It makes zero sense and never has … queue crazy magpies logic about how it does make sense …
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I know eh.
I recently saw a photo of four of our promising juniors all in different jumpers
 
Former Tigers co-captain Chris Lawrence takes swipe at club over boardroom war

Club legend Chris Lawrence has taken to social media to blast what he calls ulterior motives that have dismantled the Wests Tigers and stalled the club’s potential for more than a decade.

Pamela Whaley
December 3, 2025 - 12:00PM

Former Wests Tigers co-captain Chris Lawrence has taken aim at the ulterior motives, competing agendas and self-driven motivations that have rocked the club in the wake of another boardroom civil war.

Lawrence, a Wests Tigers legend who played 253 games for the club across a 15-year career, has taken to LinkedIn to express his frustrations after chair Barry O’Farrell and three independent board members were dumped by powerful owners Holman Barnes Group, casting the fragile the club back into familiar instability.

The senseless infighting follows the best Wests Tigers season of the past four years, finishing 13th with some quality recruits after three consecutive wooden spoons and 14 years since their last finals appearance.

Lawrence was a part of the 2011 team that made semi-finals under Tim Sheens and says he’s sick of internal politics preventing the club from once again reaching its potential.

“Sad to see the Wests Tigers in the headlines again!” he wrote.

“It’s disappointing to once again see the internal politics at the Wests Tigers playing out so publicly with the news of board members being removed.

“Without knowing the finer details, it’s fair to assume there are faults - and differing perspectives - on both sides. That’s usually the case in situations like this.

“But one issue that’s has sat over the club for a long time is the presence of ulterior motives, competing agendas and self-driven motivations among certain decision-makers or factions. These dynamics have consistently caused disruption at a club that desperately needs: stability, alignment, consistency, and a clear direction.

“The Tigers are an organisation with huge potential - potential that hasn’t been unlocked for many years. But without unity at the top no club can move forward.

“It’s sad to see the club I love back in the headlines for negative reasons when what everyone truly wants is progress and stability.”

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne is a passionate Wests Tigers fan and has organised a rally for December 13, with protesters to march from Pratten Park, a former home of the Western Sydney Magpies, to Wests Ashfield Leagues Club.

They will demand the Holman Barnes Group resign.

“It’s as clear as day that allowing the Holman Barnes Group to eliminate independent directors from the Wests Tigers board could mean the death of our famous rugby league club,” he wrote in a press release on Wednesday.

“The fact that the same people who oversaw 15 years of failure and three wooden spoons have now launched a coup to take back total control over Wests Tigers makes clear how dire the situation is.”

 
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