The hardest task in sport is to convince officials to surrender their blazers. Yet the board of Wests Tigers has done that, resigning in order for a more skills-based directorship to drag the club out of the NRL cellar. In fact, the board of the rich Wests Ashfield Leagues club, which owns 90 per cent of the NRL licence has, on the surface, ceded power to an interim board half controlled by two directors affiliated with Balmain, which owns only 10 per cent.

Barry O’Farrell, a former NSW premier and stalwart Balmain fan, along with Danny Stapleton, chairman of Balmain Tigers, will take two places on the interim board of four. Former cricketer and administrator Dave Gilbert, a Roosters supporter, will be Wests Ashfield’s sole representative while Wests Magpies will nominate a director.

Magpies loyalists like Rick Wayde and Tony Andreacchio have resigned from the Wests Tigers board yet have been prime movers of the restructure since September, endorsing the return of O’Farrell as chairman. They have retained their places as directors of Wests Ashfield, suggesting the club with all the money and power has handed control to the one whose debts it paid off.

No wonder Balmain great Benny Elias enthusiastically endorsed the new board, while former Magpies greats stared forlornly into the bottoms of their schooners.

But perhaps the old axiom – never commission a review unless you know the outcome – applies.

When the Holman Barnes Group (essentially the Wests Ashfield board, whose chief executive Simon Cook is one of the smartest operators in licensed club land) ordered a review following fan unrest, perhaps someone anticipated the outcome.

It’s been a rough two years for the Wests Tigers.Credit: NRL Photos

The review’s recommendations, by former NRL chief financial officer Tony Crawford and businessman Gary Barnier, effectively leave Wests Ashfield in control.

Crawford-Barnier have recommended Wests Ashfield separate out reserve powers for the benefit of their 90 per cent ownership of the NRL franchise. The powers hived off are considerable, with Wests Ashfield controlling the purse strings and directorships.