Balmain will use the example of their AFL namesake Richmond in an audacious bid to save their shareholding in Wests Tigers and preserve a 106-year presence in top-level rugby league.

The foundation club's standing as a partner in the merged entity is in grave danger, with the original Tigers set to be denied representation on a newly assembled Wests Tigers board and facing the prospect of having their partnership bought out if they can't settle their debts within the next 18 months.

Well supported: Wests Tigers on the hill at Leichhardt Oval. Credit:Steve Christo

The new board was due to meet on Sunday night and elect a chairperson. Balmain's two representatives, Danny Stapleton and Jim Myatt, were expected to have a vote on that decision but be removed from the board by as early as Friday under the terms of a deal struck with the NRL in March.

The agreement is understood to state that the first call for funding from the joint venture partners can be made in as little as five days after the board convenes, meaning that by the end of the week Balmain's delegates will be asked whether they are financial, and when they inevitably confirm they are not, they will drop off as directors.