Can the sniping stop, and everyone stay on topic, please.
HBG, Independent Directors Sacked
- Thread starter BlackWhiteGold
- Start date
hank37w
Well-known member
Nah, nothing better to do, just a smart arse answer to someones smart arse post, but then you couldn't say for sure that anything is beyond V'landis in his quest for expansion and striving to make Rugba League the world game.
Bloody off season, sometimes I just get bored. 🥱
HUNT 101
Well-known member
Haha Yeah fair enough....
twentyforty
Well-known member
Anyone up to date with the current status of the HBG board?
Two of the three directors who were suspended, Rick Wayde and Tony Andreacchio who were elected by the members, I thought? And therefore shouldn’t those positions have been filled by member elected directors?
Two of the three directors who were suspended, Rick Wayde and Tony Andreacchio who were elected by the members, I thought? And therefore shouldn’t those positions have been filled by member elected directors?
supercoach
Well-known member
So right
weststigers
Well-known member
Yeah but HBG board seems constant...they are the owners right?
AI gave the below results. Seems like the same old farts with a couple of blokes booted because they weren't Magpies enough.
2012 – 2014
* Chairman: Tony Andreacchio
* Simon Cook (CEO)
* Dennis Burgess
* Rick Wayde
* Michael Liubinskas
* Julie Romero
* During this period, HBG (as Wests Ashfield) provided the financial lifelines that allowed the Wests Tigers to survive Balmain's insolvency.
2015 – 2019
* Chairman: Tony Andreacchio
* Simon Cook (CEO)
* Dennis Burgess
* Rick Wayde
* Michael Liubinskas
* Julie Romero
* Stephen Montgomery (Appointed 2018/19)
* While the Tigers board was being "professionalized" under Marina Go, this HBG group maintained the club’s underlying financial assets and Wests Magpies heritage.
2020 – 2023
* Chairman: Tony Andreacchio
* Deputy Chair: Julie Romero
* Simon Cook (CEO)
* Dennis Burgess
* Rick Wayde
* Michael Liubinskas
* Stephen Montgomery
* Vince Tropiano (Appointed 2020)
* In 2023, Tony Andreacchio personally commissioned the independent review that ultimately sacked the Wests Tigers board—effectively a parent company firing its subsidiary's leadership.
2024
* Chair: Julie Romero (Elected Chair early 2024)
* Deputy Chair: Dennis Burgess
* Simon Cook (CEO until mid-2024) / Daniel Paton (Appointed CEO)
* Tony Andreacchio (Director)
* Rick Wayde (Director)
* Michael Liubinskas
* Stephen Montgomery
* Vince Tropiano
* Dave Gilbert
* HBG underwent a major internal crisis late in the year when long-serving directors Andreacchio and Wayde were controversially banned from the board due to "historical misdemeanors."
2025
* Chairman: Dennis Burgess (Appointed Chair April 2025)
* Deputy Chair: Francesco (Frank) Primerano
* Daniel Paton (CEO)
* Julie Romero (Director)
* Michael Liubinskas
* Stephen Montgomery
* Vince Tropiano
* Rick Yabsley
* Peter Di Michiel
* Dennis Burgess replaced Julie Romero as Chair in April. This board made the explosive decision in December 2025 to sack the Tigers' independent directors.
2026 (Current)
* Chairman: Dennis Burgess
* Deputy Chair: Francesco (Frank) Primerano
* Daniel Paton (CEO)
* Stephen Montgomery
* Michael Liubinskas
* Vince Tropiano
* Rick Yabsley
* Peter Di Michiel
* The HBG board now holds almost total control over the Tigers, with Dennis Burgess and Stephen Montgomery holding dual seats on both the HBG and Wests Tigers boards.
WESTS TIGERS BOARD BELOW
2012
Chairman: Mike Bailey
Simon Cook
Tony Andreacchio
Danny Stapleton
Mark Crowe
James Myatt
Rick Wayde
The final year of the traditional 50/50 board split between Balmain and Western Suburbs.
2013
Chairman: Mike Bailey
Simon Cook
Tony Andreacchio
Danny Stapleton
Mark Crowe
James Myatt
Rick Wayde
Increasing financial pressure on the Balmain side of the joint venture began to impact board stability.
2014
Chairman: Mike Bailey (Jan–Sept) / Marina Go (Sept–Dec)
Tony Andreacchio
Simon Cook
Danny Stapleton
Mark Crowe
Lucio Di Bartolomeo (Independent)
Rosemary Sinclair (Independent)
The NRL intervened in September to restructure the board following a governance review.
2015 – 2018
Chairman: Marina Go
Rosemary Sinclair (Independent)
Lucio Di Bartolomeo (until 2016)
Tony Andreacchio
Simon Cook
Danny Stapleton
Michael Liubinskas
Rick Wayde
A period of "Independent Governance" aimed at reducing factionalism between the foundation clubs.
2019
Chairman: Marina Go (Jan–Mar) / Barry O’Farrell (Apr–Oct) / Lee Hagipantelis (Nov–Dec)
Tony Andreacchio
Simon Cook
Danny Stapleton
Rick Wayde
Dennis Burgess
Leadership shifted significantly this year, ending with major sponsor Lee Hagipantelis taking the Chair.
2020 – 2022
Chairman: Lee Hagipantelis
Tony Andreacchio
Simon Cook
Danny Stapleton
Dennis Burgess
Rick Wayde
Julie Romero (Appointed 2021)
Holman Barnes Group (Wests Ashfield) moved to 90% ownership during this era.
2023
Chairman: Lee Hagipantelis (until Dec 12) / Barry O'Farrell (Interim)
Tony Andreacchio
Simon Cook
Danny Stapleton
Rick Wayde
Dennis Burgess
Julie Romero
Following a dismal season, a landmark review led to the dismissal of the entire board on December 12.
2024
Interim Chairman: Barry O'Farrell
Dave Gilbert (Holman Barnes)
Danny Stapleton (Balmain)
Stephen Montgomery (Wests Magpies)
A small interim board managed the club while a new permanent governance structure was finalized.
2025
Chairman: Barry O'Farrell
Charlie Viola (Independent)
Michelle McDowell (Independent)
Annabelle Williams (Independent)
Dennis Burgess (HBG)
Danny Stapleton (Balmain)
Stephen Montgomery (Magpies)
A new board was formed in January, but dismissed by the owners in December before being partially reinstated after NRL pressure.
2026
Chairman: Barry O'Farrell
Michelle McDowell (Independent)
Annabelle Williams (Independent)
Dennis Burgess (HBG)
Danny Stapleton (Balmain)
Stephen Montgomery (Magpies)
Dave Gilbert (HBG)
Frank Primerano (HBG)
Mick Liubinskas (HBG)
The current board reflects the 90% majority ownership of the Holman Barnes Group.
supercoach
Well-known member
Very depressing reading
Rock Hopper Steve
Well-known member
The reality of their stella reign, somebody stop them from anymore future please.
Jedi_Tiger
Well-known member
HBG greatest rival is Success
hank37w
Well-known member
Failure is their future.
I won't even mention the past but the above seems to ring true.
I won't even mention the past but the above seems to ring true.
17 wooden spoons as the Magpies and 3 as WT tells you they could not run any organisation well unless they were sponsored by peoples addiction,sadly even then they fail miserably at being succesful.
426Tlgerland
Well-known member
So the above 2026 list , is that our new wests tigers board , as I see Burges back there again , surely not
weststigers
Well-known member
It's AI generated.
He is not on the WT board from my understanding as he stepped down, although he was.
He is still on the HBG board though.
6 of one, half a dozen of the other. They are 90% owners as they like to trumpet and any HBG aligned board member is just a lacky for the HBG board.
twentyforty
Well-known member
You nailed it Jedi.
Yes sad but true. There’s a battle raging between success and failure, both come with sacrifices.
Bus 2 Terrigal Lagoon
Member
Is Rick Yabsley related to former state pollie, Michael.
There is a facial resemblance ?
Some impressive individuals amongst that lot.
Stephen Montgomery sounds like a keeper and Dr Di Michiel is a very good man (I went to school with his son a thousand years ago).
Is that 2026 WT Board correct ? Last time I looked, I thought it was still being cobbled together
twentyforty
Well-known member
Agree, questions relating to the 3 boards need to be well framed, with continuous follow ups. I don’t have the skill or time to deal with AI over this.
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