The Wests Tigers are a trainwreck, and the latest boardroom brawl at the Holman Barnes Group just proves it. On Tuesday night, chair Julie Romero got the boot in a heated meeting, replaced by Dennis Burgess as the new head of the dysfunctional ownership group. This is the same mob that runs the cash-rich Wests Ashfield leagues club and holds the majority stake in the Tigers. But instead of steering the ship, they’re fighting like drunks at pub closing. With CEO Shane Richardson off sipping cocktails at a family wedding in the US (perfect time to be holidaying…right?), the club’s a mess – and it’s no wonder things are crumbling on and off the field.
Romero’s ousting is just the latest chapter in a saga that makes Home and Away look tame. She led a coup last March to topple Tony Andreacchio as Holman Barnes chair, and then helped shove out directors Rick Wayde and Dave Gilbert, who copped bans totaling nearly 15 years on New Year’s Eve. Now, Burgess – who allegedly bragged about reviving the Wests Magpies last year, rattling Balmain’s Danny Stapleton and prompting Tigers chairman Barry O’Farrell to cry foul to NRL boss Peter V’landys – is in the big seat. Romero’s still on the board, but her influence is shot. This isn’t governance; it’s a soap opera.
And let’s not kid ourselves – this boardroom shit show is bleeding into the team. Look at the Lachlan Galvin drama. The 19-year-old star rejected a $5.5 million, six-year deal, saying he can’t develop under coach Benji Marshall. The club’s response? Drop him to reserve grade and watch senior players like Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva sling mud on Instagram. Luai’s ‘team first’ post and Turuva’s locker photo with “Money Talks” blaring were low blows, sparking accusations of bullying from league legends like Greg Alexander and Phil Gould. Galvin’s camp, led by manager Isaac Moses, is now lawyering up with top barrister Arthur Moses, and the club’s bracing for a legal stoush over claims of an unsafe workplace.
This is a club that can’t get out of its own way. The Holman Barnes Group’s infighting – with directors banned from their own club and meetings held over Zoom like a dodgy reality show – is a disgrace. Romero even fought an independent review last year by Tony Crawford and Gary Barnier, which was meant to fix the Tigers after their third straight wooden spoon. That review led to changes under Richardson, but with him AWOL and Burgess stirring old Magpies-Balmain tensions, any progress feels like a mirage. Fans are stuck watching a joint venture that’s been a flop for most of its 25 years, with only one premiership in 2005 to show for it.
The Galvin saga just shows how toxic things have become. Luai and Turuva, big-money signings from Penrith, should be leading, not piling on a kid who’s been at the club since his junior days. Their hypocrisy stinks – both left Penrith for fat contracts, yet they’re slamming Galvin for wanting the same freedom. The board’s chaos sets the tone: when the suits are at each other’s throats, why expect the players to play nice? Marshall’s trying to hold it together, but he’s got no backup from a leadership group that’s either overseas or feuding.
It’s Round 9 and the Wests Tigers are still a laughingstock. The Holman Barnes Group needs to sort its shit out, because this endless cycle of coups and bans is killing the club. Fans deserve better than a boardroom that can’t stop imploding and a team tearing itself apart online. I know they’re coming off a good win against the Sharks, but with a legal battle looming over Galvin and the season still wobbly, the Tigers are staring down another year of misery.
