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O'Farrell to return alongside sacked Tigers directors
Scott Bailey, AAP •  December 11th, 2025 7:20 pm
Look who's back: Barry O'Farrell is expected to return as Wests Tigers chair | Photo: Steven Markham/AAP
Barry O'Farrell is set to return as Wests Tigers chair alongside multiple ousted independent directors after the joint-venture club's owners bowed to NRL demands.
In the latest bizarre twist following 10 days of Tigers turmoil, the Holman Barnes Group on Thursday agreed to invite back the board members sacked last Monday.
It came after the NRL urged the club's majority owners to reconsider their stance, after head office met with the sacked independent directors earlier this week.
The quartet of former NSW premier O'Farrell, Michelle McDowell, Annabelle Williams and Charlie Viola were on Thursday considering their options, but the majority were expected to return.
Former club CEO Shane Richardson is not expected to return | Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP
The Holman-Barnes Group hold the licence with the NRL for the Wests Tigers, while having a 90 per cent ownership of the club.
The NRL had been considering intervening in the situation for the past week, while making enquiries about the political turmoil.
The Tigers board is due to meet again on Monday, where its structure going forward is set to be high on the agenda.
The situation is not expected to have any bearing on CEO Shane Richardson's decision to resign on Monday, with the veteran administrator not expected to return.
Former Central Coast Mariners boss Shaun Mielekamp is expected to be announced as Richardson's replacement, in an interim role, by the end of the week.
Mielekamp, who joined the Tigers last year and took over as head of football in October, is also the front-runner to take the role on a full-time basis.
Shaun Mielekamp is set to step into Richardson's role in an interim capacity | Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP
Outgoing Manly boss Tony Mestrov and former St George Illawarra CEO Ryan Webb are also considered to be other serious options.
The Holman Barnes Group had only appointed four independent directors to the Tigers' board in January, following recommendations from an external review.
In the time since January, the group has endured their own management changes with Daniel Paton taking over as CEO.
In a now-deleted statement on the Holman Barnes Group website last Monday, the Tigers' owners claimed they had been "left in the dark on commercially sensitive announcements".
O'Farrell responded by labelling the decision by the club's owners a "brain fart," a day after he resigned because he wanted to work for an independent board.
The Tigers' political turmoil also shone a light on Benji Marshall as coach, and whether the star duo of Jarome Luai and Jahream Bula will remain at the club.
Marshall's future will now likely be a key factor for the Tigers' administration, with stability in the coaching role likely to stop Luai taking up an option to leave the club.
Bula also has options in his contract to leave at the end of next season, but the Tigers had been working towards a long-term extension for the fullback before the latest drama.
Mielekamp's elevation to interim CEO should help both those causes, given he has been involved in negotiations as the club's head of football.
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