Fearing the “death” of the Wests Tigers following the dismissal of four of the club’s independent board members, Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne has organised a rally to “save” the joint-venture NRL outfit.
Former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, as well as Annabelle Williams, Charlie Viola and Michelle McDowell were on Monday sacked by the Holman Barnes Group, the Wests Tigers’ majority owners, less than 12 months after being elected to the board.
The quartet’s axing reportedly stemmed from a series of disputes, including next season’s jersey being “too orange”.
The turmoil has led to Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson considering his own future at the club.
“What the hell is going on?” Byrne posted on Instagram.
“It’s as clear as day that allowing the Holman Barnes Group to eliminate independent directors from the Wests Tigers board could mean the death of our famous rugby league club.
“We have to fight to save the mighty Wests Tigers.”
The Byrne-organised rally will take place on Saturday week at Pratten Park, and will be followed by a march towards Wests Ashfield Leagues Club. where fans will “demand” that the Leagues Club board, the Holman Barnes Group, resigns.
“Just when our club was really starting to make progress, improving its performance on the field, improving its financial performance, getting our governance right with independent directors, the same people who oversaw 15 years of failure, and three wooden spoons, are trying to drag the club back down by sacking all of the independent directors who are overseeing Wests Tigers,” Byrne said.
“This is not something that Tigers fans will take lying down. It’s time that we fought to make sure that our club can be successful and sustainable into the future.”
