Shane Richardson has urged Peter V'landys to look after Wests Tigers fans and declared Benji Marshall must stay on as coach, after resigning as the NRL club's CEO.
Two years after arriving as the Tigers' white knight, Richardson capped a tumultuous week at the club on Monday by confirming his immediate exit.
His decision to quit comes after the club's owners, the Holman Barnes Group, removed the four independent directors from their board last week.
After telling staff of his exit, Richardson walked out and delivered a passionate six-minute monologue to media, incidentally with a dead magpie lying just metres away.
In it, the veteran administrator made clear he had taken up the role of CEO on the condition he could work under a majority independent board.
That board was appointed in January after recommendations from an external review, only for the Holman Barnes Group to axe the independents last week.
Richardson on Monday stood by those directors, backed ousted chairman Barry O'Farrell and denied the owners' claim they had been kept in the dark on decisions.
He also maintained his decision to leave had nothing to do with a complaint to the NRL about his dealings at the club, adamant there had been no wrongdoing.
The departing CEO refused to publicly criticise the club's owners, but at the same time urged the NRL to look after Tigers fans after calls from head office intervention.
"PVL made a comment the other day that it's all about the fans and we've got to support the fans," Richardson said.
"Well I hope he carries that through because at the end of the day our fans are magnificent.
"A great friend of mine, Harry Eaton, used to say to me all the time, 'Richo, they know mate, they know'.
"And they know. They know."
Richardson also declared it was vital for the club to remain a joint-venture of Western Suburbs and Balmain, with the Holman Barnes Group also the Magpies owners.
"It's the Wests Tigers. That's what it is. The Wests Tigers," Richardson said.
"Twenty-five years of history and one premiership."
The club's owners responded on Monday by thanking Richardson, while maintaining they had no plans to boot Balmain out of the merged club.
In their brief stint at the club, Richardson and O'Farrell had turned a profit, locked in ground upgrades for Leichhardt and Campbelltown and helped lifted the Tigers from last on the ladder.
Richardson's exit will raise questions over the futures of stars Jahream Bula and Jarome Luai, after he told AAP a fortnight ago he was very confident they would stay.
The departing CEO said on Monday the club now "has a task" to keep the fullback and five-eighth, but backed Marshall and football boss Shaun Mielekamp to do so.
He also insisted Marshall was the right man to return the Tigers to the finals, after 15 years in the doldrums.
"Benji Marshall loves this club," Richardson said, while becoming emotional.
"You can't start (turning it around) until you get somebody who loves this club and he does. So stick with him and you'll go a long way.
"What Benji Marshall does, and his word is his bond ... If you haven't got your integrity you've got nothing. Benji's got a load of it."
AAP understands Mielekamp is the frontrunner to replace Richardson, and is likely to be appointed as interim CEO this week.
Mielekamp was CEO of Central Coast Mariners between 2015 and 2024, lifting them from the bottom of the ladder and financial difficulties to back-to-back champions.
Richardson also said he'd welcome an NRL investigation into the club contracting a digital marketing company he part owns with his son, following a complaint.
The former Cronulla, South Sydney and Penrith boss has maintained all dealings were transparent and approved by the club's board after a tender process, and the situation would not impact his exit fee.
"There's nothing to hide and I've got no qualms whatsoever about it," Richardson, who wants to stay in the NRL, said.
