The new Tigers manager rejects a $4.5 million offer for a Test star, but he hasn’t taken the position yet.
Shane Richardson won’t officially start work as the Wests Tigers’ interim chief executive until next month but has already scrapped a lucrative offer for in-demand Warriors prop Addin Fonua-Blake.
Richardson had barely stepped inside the club’s centre of excellence on Wednesday when it emerged he had put an end to plans to pursue the homesick front-rower – with the blessing of rookie coach Benji Marshall.
Richardson told SEN, “We can add to our forward pack with our young players coming through. Our forward pack is really strong.”
“To be able to do the things we need to do to strengthen ourselves now, we need flexibility in our cap.”
“From that point of view, it’s my opinion and also Benji’s [Marshall] – because I wouldn’t do it without Benji – it’s not anything to do with that it’s got everything to do with where we need to focus our attention on.”
One of the first pledges Richardson made to Marshall was to state he would not recruit any player to the team that the rookie coach did not want.
Richardson told this masthead, “And it’s because Benji’s career is on the line, so you don’t want to give him players he doesn’t want when he is the one who has to front up every weekend.”
“Benji won’t be joining the Tigers if he doesn’t want a player. Although I’ve always had a big hand in recruiting, I’ve never signed a kid that a coach wasn’t interested in.
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