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Bit out of left field
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Monday Buzz: Son of Manly Immortal Bob Fulton quits club to join Wests Tigers
Just one family member of Manly’s greatest player Bob Fulton remains at the club after Wests Tigers landed a significant poaching blow.
Phil Rothfield
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3 min read
April 30, 2023 - 1:00PM
News Corp Australia Sports
Manly
Sea Eagles recruitment guru Scott Fulton has quit the club to join the Wests Tigers.
After Saturday night’s stirring win over the Panthers, it is a hugely significant appointment for the wooden spooners, who have struggled for more than a decade to build a competitive roster.
Fulton has been largely credited for
Manly’s impressive list management in recent years. The likes of Haumole Olakau’atu, Tolu Koula, Jason Saab,
Josh Schuster, Taniela Paseka and Kelma Tuilagi were all identified and signed by Fulton.
The Wests Tigers have been terrible in recruitment for too long.
They paid over $800,000 for the likes of Moses Mbye, Josh Reynolds, Russell Packer and other players who just couldn’t aim up.
Fulton is expected to start straight away at the Wests Tigers.
While the club is celebrating Saturday night’s magnificent win, they are also being realistic about the amount of work ahead for the club to become a genuine premiership contender.
Hence the move for Fulton.
“It’s only one win and there’s still a long way to go,” said chairman Lee Hagipantelis said, “We won’t be getting ahead of ourselves.
“I’m just happy for the players, the coaching staff, our members, fans and our sponsors who have stuck solid over a tough period.”
It’s interesting that Hagipantelis personally accepts the blame for the Wests Tigers’ position while others have taken aim at CEO Justin Pascoe and called for axing.
“I don’t see how you can relate Justin’s role to on-field performance,” he said.
“People can think I’m being naive by saying that but Justin is fulfilling his role to the satisfaction of the board. He makes operational decisions on a day-to-day basis.
“He makes financial and commercial decisions – and we’ve done very well in those areas.
“His role with the football department is to ensure it’s fully resourced and funded.
“Justin has never appointed a coach or terminated a coach.
“He has never recruited a player. He does not have the authority to do that. The board signs off on that on the recommendation of a list management committee.”
Hagipantelis accepts full accountability himself for 273 days with a victory.
For the toughest days in the club’s history.
“I’m chairman of the and I’ll accept responsibility,” he said, “I’m accountable to the directors who appointed me.
“If they are dissatisfied with my performance they will tell me so and I will step down.
“It hasn’t got to that stage. After the win over Penrith I got some really encouraging messages from Nick Politis and Nick Pappas, two great chairman.
“It is very humbling. I’ve learnt a lot in this job but I have more to learn.”
He also insists the club is on the right track with veteran coach Tim Sheens and the plan for him to hand over Benji Marshall for 2025.
“Prior to the Penrith game we were pretty gutted,” he said.
“I can’t explain why we were zero from seven because I know how hard they’ve been working.
“As for Tim, I was in the sheds after the game in Bathurst.
“I watched as the players came in and the way they greeted Tim and how he is incredibly respected by the group.
“We have a two-year transition happening. And Tim thinks Benji has come far beyond where he expected him to be at this stage.
