New Wests Tigers recruitment chief Scott Fulton says he won’t be motivated by spite when trying to secure players from the roster he built at Manly – but a lifelong association with the club won’t stand in his way either.
Fulton, the son of club legend and league Immortal Bob Fulton, helped create a highly successful junior pathway between western Sydney and Manly, but the Sea Eagles are now moving in another direction and Fulton knew it.
“Just because of the way things were headed at Manly, I knew it was time to move on … how they were treating my family, but I’m not motivated by that or by the need to be vindictive,” he said. “That doesn’t mean they are off limits either. If there is a good player there who is going to make the Wests Tigers better, then I’ll go for them. It’s not hands off.”
And Scott says his late dad Bob would have no problem with him leaving Manly for his new club.
“I’d have had his blessing for sure, given the way things were being done at Manly,” Fulton said. “I’d know he’d be happy with the move. He has a great association with so many old Tigers, like Blocker [Steve Roach], Siro [Paul Sironen] and Benny [Ben Elias], and from the Wests side of things Tommy [Raudonikis]. I’ve also got a strong association with the west from everything we set up at Manly, and I’m delighted to be at a club which has so much potential.
“I couldn’t have been more impressed with Lee [Hagipantelis, Tigers chairman] and Justin [Pascoe, Tigers chief executive] in my negotiations and they have a very exciting vision for the way this club is going to go.
Luke Brooks will be under the microscope.Credit: Getty Images
“[Tigers coach] Tim Sheens was a good friend of Dad’s and [assistant coach] Benji [Marshall] will be just great to work with.”
The key area the Tigers need to sort out is what to do with halfback Luke Brooks. He is being shopped around the NRL and overseas, and a new club is what he needs. Fulton knows that finding a settled halves combination is vital for the club’s future – and he has already made the running on luring Warriors half Shaun Johnson back to Sydney.
“Yes, we need to look at the halves – you don’t need to be Albert Einstein to establish that,” he said. “Luke Brooks is a good player and he has copped so much, too much crap over the years.
“I’ll listen to Tim and Benji on him and then give them my view on him.”
The Johnson approach says it all, however. Fulton isn’t one for making outrageous predictions.
“I think in a year or two we will have some real positives,” he said. “There is so much to be excited about at this club. We need to get the most out of the nursery and ensure the pathways are strong and bringing us the best talent.”
The pathways will fall to Warren McDonnell, who has been shifted to make way for Fulton. “I’m looking forward to working well with Warren and everyone else who has the club at heart,” Fulton said.
Betr judgment
As the NRL targets American betting revenue, rugby league’s governing body is also about to re-examine a gambling policy that has cost Laurie Daley and others a lot of money.
The code has been accused of being selective when it comes to the gambling links of key figures in the game. And privately they have been embarrassed by their stance in allowing Matt Tripp to be the chairman of the Melbourne Storm and the head of gambling company Betr, which is also majority owned by News Corp, another significant stakeholder in the game. It is, at best, inconsistent.
Tripp has been allowed to operate in his dual roles, and has gone unquestioned by the News Corp media, while Daley, Willie Mason and Robbie Farah have all been either stopped from being involved with gambling operators or questioned about their betting links.
Daley hosts Sky Sports Radio’s breakfast show and spruiks for the TAB on News Corp’s Fox Sports. He has had to knock back significant opportunities in coaching with the Wests Tigers and the Sea Eagles due to those links. Mason works for the Bulldogs and has a role with a gambling company, which is sponsoring his podcast. He has been investigated by the NRL. Farah had an arrangement with a betting operator while he was an assistant coach with the Tigers and was forced to relinquish his role with the gambling company.
Mason is never afraid to voice his opinion.
‘I’m completely confused why Willie Mason, Robbie Farah, Laurie Daley … why we can’t be ambassadors [for gambling operators].’
Willie Mason
“I don’t know why I’m being targeted,” he said. “I’m not some big fish at a club. I’m completely confused why Willie Mason, Robbie Farah, Laurie Daley … why we can’t be ambassadors [for gambling operators] and have roles at clubs, and why a bloke can be the big fish at a gambling organisation, like I mean the main man, and Matt Tripp is also the Storm chairman.
“It’s stuff from another universe. Talk about one rule for one and one for another. How does that pass through? I don’t care if Tripp runs both, but don’t tell former footy players what to do if you are not going to penalise the high-flyers.”
The NRL has justified its stance in the past by saying that Tripp has no direct involvement with the team, whereas assistant coaches do.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo.Credit: Edwina Pickles
But the NRL knows it may have to change its stance on gambling. Officials have been working behind the scenes and sources with knowledge of the situation have told me the wagering policy is being reviewed and will be presented to the ARL Commission.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo is about to fly to Las Vegas to sell the game to Americans in an attempt to grab a slice of that country’s betting market.
“We are aware of the inconsistencies,” he said. “I have asked for a full review and report by the integrity unit. Once finalised, it will be presented to the commission. We always aim to treat everyone the same.”
NRL considered handing Storm titles to Eels, Eagles
David Gallop had always been reluctant to comment on the Melbourne Storm’s salary-cap breaches, but he has made some significant observations on the issue in an upcoming episode of The Bye Round podcast, admitting the NRL considered awarding premierships to Manly (2007) and Parramatta (2009), the losing grand finalists in the years the Storm were stripped of their premierships.
Brett Finch and Billy Slater hoist the trophy after helping the Storm to victory over Parramatta in the 2009 grand final.Credit: Steve Christo
Gallop also told James Graham’s podcast he has no issue with the Storm celebrating the title “wins” at anniversaries, even though they were taken from them in 2010 due to systematic salary cap cheating.
Gallop also defends News Corp and its role in the ugly affair, as it owned the club at the time. News Corp washed its hands of the matter, putting all the blame on then chief executive Brian Waldron, who was labelled the “chief rat”. Gallop says News, which also owned 50 per cent of the game at that time, did not have a conflict of interest.
“I thought that was a bit strange, because you could accuse News of a conflict if they asked us to go soft and not take the premierships, but they didn’t do that at all,” Gallop said. “So, it was all a bit jumbled, people’s thinking around that time. And I think, you know, News would probably say now maybe they should have understood what was going on, inside a club they owned, better. But I certainly don’t think there was any conflict and there was no pressure to go soft.”
Gallop conceded there was thought given to handing the trophies to Parra and Manly. “I think we thought about it, but the answer that we all arrived at was that they hadn’t actually won the premiership and it would have been wrong to actually award it to Manly and Parramatta.”
Kyle Flanagan and Phil Gould.
Mad Dogs
Canterbury top dog Phil Gould doesn’t normally respond to agenda-driven stories designed to cause him or his club grief, but the Kyle Flanagan yarn has him seeing red.
News Corp reported as fact last week that Flanagan was bound for Brookvale immediately, despite the player telling the club he knew nothing of it. There is no doubt Sea Eagles assistant Shane Flanagan would think he could bring the best out of his son at Manly, and any father would want to help their child through a rough spot, but no one from Flanagan’s camp contacted Gould. There are some at Canterbury who think the story was planted on game day to damage them.
“The unfortunate truth for those peddling that false story, is that his manager never raised the issue with me, his father never raised the issue with me, nor has anyone from the Manly club raised the issue with me,” Gould said.
“Kyle himself was totally confused as to why the media story appeared. Kyle’s manager agrees with our plan to assist Kyle to become a very good NRL hooker. I’ve always believed that’s his destiny. No one has asked me, or anyone else, for a release.
“No one has suggested a player trade. The Bulldogs’ interest here is to turn Kyle into the best player he can be and we feel that’s as a hooker.
“I feel for Kyle with the position he has been put in because of the stories that have been pushed. There is an agenda that runs deep and I don’t need to point it out. It’s childish and irresponsible.”
Matt to be dislodged
Roosters big man Matt Lodge is being openly shopped around to rival teams. Lodge was outstanding last season and was in good enough form to be considered for representative teams.
With the Roosters looking to give Jared Waerea-Hargreaves another year and with the signing of Spencer Leniu from Penrith from next season, Lodge looks like being squeezed out.
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