Breaking news: HBG takeover

Demps said:
✅️

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, one issue that led the HBG board to take action was the colour scheme of next season’s Wests Tigers home jersey, which was deemed to be too gold – a traditional colour of Balmain.
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Absolute clowns! Not a bad commercial decision given both sets of jerseys sold out within 2 weeks of their release.
 
Demps said:
Former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell has been sacked as chairman of Wests Tigers in a purge of the board by the NRL club’s owners.

The joint venture has been plagued by dysfunction at boardroom level since the merger between Balmain and Wests in 1999, and the latest round of firings plunges it into more turmoil.

Wests Tigers’ majority owner, Holman Barnes Group, confirmed on Monday a removal notice had been issued to the club’s four independent directors – O’Farrell, Annabelle Williams, Charlie Viola and Michelle McDowell.

They were only appointed to the board at the start of the year as part of sweeping recommendations arising from an independent review.

But HBG chief executive Daniel Paton said the new structure had not proven effective and was marked by poor communication between the owners and the Tigers’ board.

HBG, which runs the sprawling Wests Ashfield League Club, said it had been left out of the loop on some commercial announcements despite maintaining two directors on the Wests Tigers board including its chairman, Dennis Burgess.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, one issue that led the HBG board to take action was the colour scheme of next season’s Wests Tigers home jersey, which was deemed to be too gold – a traditional colour of Balmain.

“While it [the appointment of independent directors] has worked in some areas, it hasn’t worked in others,” Paton said. “And the Holman Barnes board has been left in the dark on some commercially sensitive announcements.

Further to this, the Holman Barnes board doesn’t believe the communication between the boards has been satisfactory.”

O’Farrell joined the board, firstly as interim chair, in December 2023, after the board then chaired by Lee Hagipantelis was removed in its entirety by HBG.

He declined to comment on Monday.

Paton said the governance changes would not impact Wests Tigers chief Shane Richardson or coach Benji Marshall.

“We don’t want to micro-manage the football operations, and we have full faith in Shane Richardson as CEO and Benji Marshall as coach,” he said. “We do, however, need to be consulted on decisions that will impact the club’s financial future.

“Yes, the club recently turned a profit, but we’re looking at the next 15 years, not just year to year.”

Paton said Balmain remained a huge part of the joint venture following concerns last year that it would have zero representation at board level.

Loading “Balmain isn’t going anywhere, we’re proud and committed supporters of Balmain; Balmain are very much a part of this joint venture, they maintain their 10 per cent share, and retain their seat on the board,” Paton said.

Holman Barnes Group owns 90 per cent of Wests Tigers and Monday’s axings appear to be a move to regain control of the football club.

“Our focus is on stability, unity and success both on and off the field,” Holman Barnes Group said in a statement. “Holman Barnes Group and the Wests Tigers share a deep commitment to the players, members, fans and communities, and we will continue to work together to build a strong, sustainable and successful long-term future for the

www.smh.com.au

Wests Tigers chairman Barry O’Farrell sacked amid board purge – and a wrong colour jersey

The Holman Barnes Group - which owns 90 per cent of the joint venture – confirmed O’Farrell and the three other independent directors on the club’s seven-person board had been removed.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au
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Stability, Unity and Long Term success - not the words to use when we have had 3 spoons and 2 significant changes of structure at the top within a few years.

HBG have zero idea.
 
Demps said:
✅️

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, one issue that led the HBG board to take action was the colour scheme of next season’s Wests Tigers home jersey, which was deemed to be too gold – a traditional colour of Balmain.
Click to expand...
Could be, the alternate & Campbelltown jersey used to have more black in it, it's basically white now, there's bugger all black there now. I can see why Dennis may be pissed about it....but SURELY the HBG group would have had to given the nod to it? Surely??
 
Tigerdazz2 said:
Could be, the alternate & Campbelltown jersey used to have more black in it, it's basically white now, there's bugger all black there now. I can see why Dennis may be pissed about it....but SURELY the HBG group would have had to given the nod to it? Surely??
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Is it his place to be pissed?

It's a business with the goal to make money and selling out the jerseys is... making money.

There's clearly an agenda.
 
coivtny said:
No need for that comment. Why drag him into it? He didn’t bring this about. Pretty lowbrow comment in fact.
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No man. I'm sorry. Enough is enough of this rubbish. A lot of us had very civil debates, but any continued support of these guys, is continued support of dragging down the Wests Tigers.

There were a lot of voices who warned of this.
 
hammertime said:
No man. I'm sorry. Enough is enough of this rubbish. A lot of us had very civil debates, but any continued support of these guys, is continued support of dragging down the Wests Tigers.

There were a lot of voices who warned of this.
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Mate, BZN has not uttered a word since this was announced. Why attack him? It’s almost like schoolyard bullying. I don’t agree with a lot of what he says but FFS he’s been silent on this so far. Some of the pile-ons in this forum give me the shits. Direct your venom at the source of the problem.
 
I quit my Membership of Wests Magpies the last time, no not when Julie got shown the door, the big one where it was first reported that Dennis & Co wanted to "bring back the Magpies".
I'm a legacy Magpie fan, having followed them from the age of 4 (I'm 58 next week) BUT I'm ashamed that people associated with the Mighty Magpies are destroying any chance of success for the Wests Tigers.
 
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