Richardson is contracted until July 2028 on a deal worth an estimated $750,000 per annum, but sources speaking on the condition of anonymity have indicated his deal contains termination clauses that protect a lucrative payout if there are board changes regarding the independent directors.
Despite a seemingly positive season on the field which saw the Tigers progress under coach Benji Marshall, with recruits Jarome Luai, Terrell May and Sunia Turuva lifting the club from the bottom of the ladder, majority owners the Holman Barnes Group dismissed the board’s independent directors in the club’s latest off-field drama.
HBG directors have grown frustrated with the approach of Richardson and the Tigers board, claiming they have been left out of key decisions, such as the football side’s stadia strategy, due to a lack of communication.
HBG chief executive Daniel Paton said in an interview with this masthead last week that club owners have been excluded from key decisions, such as the football side’s stadia strategy and player signings above a certain transaction limit.
Paton denied there was a desire among HGB directors for Wests Magpies to shunt Balmain Tigers out of the joint-venture, as had been claimed by former Tigers chairman Lee Hagiapantelis.
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ARL Chairman Peter V’landys and the state’s liquor and gaming watchdog, Liquor and Gaming NSW have confirmed they are monitoring the Tigers’ latest administrative drama, with V’landys promising the NRL would “safeguard” the club’s long-suffering fans.
“Our prime aim is to make sure that neither the Balmain or Wests side is diluted in any way,” V’landys said on Saturday.
“We will protect the Tigers fans and the Wests fans. It’s going to be a genuine Wests Tigers franchise … I stress, there will be no dilution, it will always be Wests Tigers. If they think they will change it to anything else, they’re in for a shock.”
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