Appointment of Scott Fulton to Wests Tigers

Wounded_magpie said:

Inside the power play at Wests Tigers: Why board hid Fulton signing from Sheens​

By Michael Chammas and Adam Pengilly​

May 1, 2023 — 6.42pm
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Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis has defended the club’s decision to sign Scott Fulton as the club’s head of recruitment without consulting NRL coach Tim Sheens.
The Tigers last week secured the services of Bob Fulton’s son, a long-time talent scout at Manly, to join the club immediately.


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The decision came as a surprise to Sheens and his right-hand man, Warren McDonnell, whose role in recruitment at the club has now been diluted.
Hagipantelis said the board, alongside chief executive Justin Pascoe, were responsible for negotiations and didn’t feel they had an obligation to keep the coach, or McDonnell, in the loop with their plans for the club.
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“The decision was made in the best interest of the Wests Tigers,” Hagipantelis said. “An opportunity presented itself to the board. The board dealt with it quickly, undertaking all necessary due diligence. There was of course a great deal of commercial sensitivity given the gentleman involved was employed by another club, and we were very respectful of that.
“The decision was taken to deal with the matter at board level with our CEO. We acted promptly and in the best interest of the club. This is another resource which we’ve added to our football department and we’re very excited to welcome Scott to the Wests Tigers.”
Fulton will take over the recruitment of the NRL squad, while McDonnell has been told he will now focus on junior pathways.
The decision to pursue Fulton came after the club missed out on signing Parramatta’s Mitchell Moses after a widely publicised pursuit of the halfback.
Tim Sheens’ joy at the Tigers’ first win of the season was tempered by the news the club’s board had employed a new recruitment boss without his knowledge.

Tim Sheens’ joy at the Tigers’ first win of the season was tempered by the news the club’s board had employed a new recruitment boss without his knowledge.CREDIT: GETTY

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McDonnell had asked to negotiate on his own with Moses’ agent Isaac Moses given his relationship with the player-manager and his preference to keep discussions confidential.
The Tigers board granted McDonnell his request but were disappointed with the outcome of the negotiations. An offer was never taken back to the board for approval, leaving Tigers powerbrokers concerned the club had been used as leverage for Moses to extract more money out of Parramatta.
Tigers chief executive Justin Pascoe has twice previously moved on McDonnell from the club.
He returned to the club at the end of 2021 when Sheens made it a prerequisite for him accepting the job as the Tigers’ director of rugby league, with an ultimatum that forced the club to move on highly regarded former general manager Adam Hartigan.
Hartigan has since been employed by Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould to work alongside Cameron Ciraldo and the club’s recruitment staff.
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Tigers sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the delicate nature of the situation, say that Sheens’ nose has been put out of joint by Fulton’s appointment but Hagipanetlis said he did not envisage any tension as a result of the club’s decisions.
“I do not anticipate there will be any concerns or issues with what is a wonderful addition to our football department despite the efforts of some to suggest that there may be,” Hagipantelis said.
“Everyone that is employed by the Wests Tigers is employed for the sole purpose of furthering the interest of the Wests Tigers only. This was not a situation of our making in that the opportunity was presented to the board.
“The board fully explored the opportunity and made the decision that the engagement of Scott would be in the best interest of the Wests Tigers. He’s employed in addition to our current resources and we think he will greatly benefit our recruitment program.”
Fulton had been in talks with the Dragons about joining the embattled club, which risks missing the finals for the fifth successive year.
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But with the club yet to decide on who will be their coach beyond this season, the negotiations with Fulton never reached the pointy end. He became increasingly frustrated and was open to other opportunities.

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That was when the Tigers pounced. It was only last week the board floated the prospect of luring Fulton to Concord, and within days the agreement had been brokered.
The Tigers recognise the speed with which Fulton closes out player deals, and were impressed at the ease in which their own negotiations with him progressed.
“The board and I acted swiftly when the opportunity was presented to us and we believe the appointment of Scott Fulton will be a great addition to the club and the current football program,” Tigers chief executive Justin Pascoe said.
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I really really like the photo of Brooks and Wakeham.
To see such happiness from Wests Tigers players after the previous 257 (or whatever) days of disasters is worth all the tea in Sri Lanka 😆
 
hammertime said:
So, Pascoe and Lee have nothing to do with football operations? That will do me.

To do this in secrecy from your head coach is absolutely dumb as hell.
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Hasn't there been enough disharmony in Our club already.

Lee H is a bloody high-falutin lawyer for goodness' sake, so he should know how to talk to people like Sheens in a respectful way, and include them in the picture as to what is about to happen re Fulton before it actually happens.
Imo Lee H is trying to set himself up as the head of a dynasty like the Bulldogs had for so many years, which admittedly worked well for a few years then ended up in an all-out 💩 fight bringing the club to its knees similar to what WT have been thru for too many years already.
 
I did not realise that Waz was a prerequisite for Sheens to come back not a fan of that at all. If true him bungling the Moses negs or doing something shifty regarding them is true the board had to act.
I imagine the only reason not to keep Sheens in the loop is they knew what he was going to say, i don't believe however Benji had no idea of it.
Personally im not a fan of Mcdonalds and i think its one of the only smart moves the board has made moving him aside. The optics of the situation however arent good but if it brings us better outcomes with recruiting im all for it. Time will tell i guess but we certainly need some sort of leg up or leverage regarding recruitment or the status quo will remain the same.
 
WT2019 said:
The problem I have is..last week Lee is telling everyone that him and JP have nothing to do with the Football department and only provide the $ for support. This week he and JP make one of the most crucial appointments in the football department and don't involve the head coach or the future head coach
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I like the appointment but this is a good point. Lee, JP and the board deliberately didn't involved the footy operations team in a big footy operations decision.

The reason I like it is that this coaching team haven't proven anything yet.
 
Telltails said:
Hartigan had runs on the board too and failed to make big inroads with recruitment now working with Gus at the Bulldogs.
I have no problem with the appointment but Sheens is the General Manager of Football and they completely left him out of the loop and now it's all over the media - that can't have gone down well.
They either back him to make decisions based on football or they dont. He is not one to cross and if he and Fulton don't gel who are Lee H and Pascoe going to back? Seems they suspected Sheens may baulk at it and made the decision anyway.
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That or thought he may have run it by his mate first, who may have tried to derail it by leaking it to the media as it dilutes his influence at the joint.
 
I hope Fulton appointment is not to wrestle back control or to simply keep the board in the loop
Moving forward I wonder if sheens and benji likes or respects him.
 
We could've used someone with that resume quite a while ago tbh. I don't really understand the timing of this, after we've ALREADY, for the first time in a long time made some good recruitment and retention decisions recently. Api, Papalii, Tupou, Bula, Stefano, Bateman, Klemmer..

Did we really need someone to come and help us with recruitment at this point in time??
 
Coastie_Tiger said:
I did not realise that Waz was a prerequisite for Sheens to come back not a fan of that at all. If true him bungling the Moses negs or doing something shifty regarding them is true the board had to act.
I imagine the only reason not to keep Sheens in the loop is they knew what he was going to say, i don't believe however Benji had no idea of it.
Personally im not a fan of Mcdonalds and i think its one of the only smart moves the board has made moving him aside. The optics of the situation however arent good but if it brings us better outcomes with recruiting im all for it. Time will tell i guess but we certainly need some sort of leg up or leverage regarding recruitment or the status quo will remain the same.
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Agree with all youve said. Good post, had to check which forum i was on haha.
 
Telltails said:
Hartigan had runs on the board too and failed to make big inroads with recruitment now working with Gus at the Bulldogs.
I have no problem with the appointment but Sheens is the General Manager of Football and they completely left him out of the loop and now it's all over the media - that can't have gone down well.
They either back him to make decisions based on football or they dont. He is not one to cross and if he and Fulton don't gel who are Lee H and Pascoe going to back? Seems they suspected Sheens may baulk at it and made the decision anyway.
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Sheens is now head coach, not general manager. Whether he goes back to GM of football after benji takes the reigns who knows. I think he'll retire...
 
Spartan117 said:
Almost everyone in League Circles know that Moses was using WTs as leverage.
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100 percent, no doubt. I can't knock the club for trying, even though I don't think much of the guy, what I don't understand is why we didn't pull the offer once we knew.
 
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