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.
Barry O’Farrell with Charlie Viola and Michelle McDowell, who were appointed as independent directors in January.Credit: Steven Siewert
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.”
