‘We’ve lost faith in them’: Balmain consider shock exit from Wests Tigers merger

The Balmain board is set to call a crisis meeting to discuss removing the club from the joint venture with Western Suburbs in an ambitious bid to go it alone that could spell the end of the Wests Tigers.

In a move that will send shockwaves through the NRL, frustrated Balmain directors are preparing to call a vote on their involvement in the merger amid concern over decisions being made by the club’s majority owner, the Holman Barnes Group (HBG).

Balmain director and former Tigers first grade player Garry Leo told this masthead on Thursday he and his fellow board members had “lost faith” in HBG and was calling on fellow directors to endorse the end of the troubled joint venture 25 years after it was established.

“I really believe the time has come for us to step aside and resurrect the Balmain Tigers,” Leo, who played 156 games for Balmain in the 1960s and ’70s, told the Herald.

“We’ve got more of a following than the Wests side of the merger. To be honest, we have lost faith in them. We’re getting Leichhardt Oval upgraded and we could play there every second week. If we can find the right backers, we want a shot at returning to the NRL.

“I don’t think the NRL would continue to allow the Wests Tigers to operate with the Tigers name without any involvement from Balmain. I really do believe the NRL competition needs a Tigers team. And not the Wests Tigers.”

The current licensing agreement between the NRL and its clubs expires at the end of the season.

Balmain see it as an opportunity to put forward a proposal that could force the NRL to choose between the Balmain Tigers and Wests Magpies if the NRL team is unable to keep the Tigers name without Balmain’s involvement.

The Balmain side owns 10 per cent of the Wests Tigers, with the other 90 per cent owned by the Holman Barnes Group – of which 30 per cent is owned by the Western Suburbs Magpies.

HBG acquired 15 per cent of Balmain’s previous share in 2019 when it agreed to pay off Balmain’s $3.2 million debt to the NRL.

Balmain have already held private conversations about approaching 91-year-old billionaire property developer Harry Triguboff, a diehard Tigers fan, to gauge his interest in potentially backing a Balmain licence given their limited financial resources.

The other name being discussed is billionaire automotive businessman, Neville Crichton, also a Balmain fan.

“If we had the right backers, we could go to the NRL with a proposal to stand alone,” Leo said. “The joint venture hasn’t worked. I’d rather risk ending up in NSW Cup than continuing on with the Wests Tigers.”

It comes a day after the Herald revealed Wests Tigers chairman Barry O’Farrell is considering walking away from the club after he was recently told by HBG he would have to reapply for his job.

Balmain chairman Danny Stapleton, who is also the Balmain representative on the Wests Tigers’ four-person board, said: “I have no comment on behalf of Balmain.”

Balmain directors feel they were blindsided by the external review at the end of last year, and believe many of HBG’s decisions have had a negative impact on the NRL club.

“One day we’re being told Barry O’Farrell would be reappointed as one of the independent directors, now they’re saying he’s not,” Leo said.

“They want people they can control. Unfortunately, it’s why they have been going so bad all these years, and that’s because the Wests directors have had too much influence on what is happening at the club. I felt sorry for Justin Pascoe. He was basically being told what to do by Wests.”

Holman Barnes Group chair Julie Romero has not responded to calls.

The Wests Tigers NRL franchise began in 2000 as an equal joint venture between two foundation clubs.