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.
Wests Tigers players.Credit: Getty Images
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.”
Only 24 hours earlier, Inner West Council mayor Darcy Byrne, who was pivotal in securing state and federal funding for Leichhardt Oval upgrades, called for Liquor and Gaming NSW to “investigate and intervene” in the club’s administrative issues.
Pointing to the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority’s previous investigation of disharmony and board directors being dismissed, Byrne said: “If this doesn’t demonstrate that there is a problem with governance in that organisation, then nothing will.”
The dramas come at a time when the Tigers are attempting to convince star players Jarome Luai and Jahream Bula to commit to the club long term. Sources not authorised to speak publicly have told this masthead that club powerbrokers were confident both would stay, although the situation could change after the latest string of adverse headlines.