Incoming Canterbury coach Trent Barrett is interested in bringing Manese Fainu to Belmore
Incoming Canterbury coach Trent Barrett has drawn up a hit-list of Sea Eagles players he wants to lure to Belmore. Find out who the new coach has his sights on.
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Incoming Canterbury coach Trent Barrett has set his sights on luring Manly’s Manese Fainu to Belmore in a bid to secure the club’s first long-term hooker since Michael Ennis.
News Corp can reveal Barrett, who coached Manly from 2016 to 2018, has called Fainu and at least two other Sea Eagles players to entice them to make the switch from Brookvale to Belmore.
It’s understood the other two players are Manly forwards Corey Waddell and Jack Gosiewski. Waddell is off contract at the end of this year, while Gosiewski’s deal at the Sea Eagles isn’t up until the end of 2021.
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Since losing Ennis, who played 136 games for Canterbury, at the end of 2015, the Bulldogs have struggled to find an established hooker.
Fainu is regarded as a potential long-term solution in the No.9 jumper at Belmore. But the club faces two major sticking points.
The 21-year-old is awaiting trial on the charge of wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and is banned under the NRL’s no-fault stand down policy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a backlog in the courts, meaning Fainu’s trial is unlikely to be completed before the end of the year. Fainu has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Despite facing serious charges, it’s understood the Sea Eagles have little interest in cutting Fainu before his deal with the club expires at the end of 2021.
It’s also believed Barrett has called Daly Cherry-Evans to consult the Sea Eagles skipper about his thoughts on Bulldogs playmaker Kieran Foran.
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The off-contract playmaker has expressed his desire to remain at the Bulldogs but the club is yet to offer a deal that Foran is willing to sign. Last month, News Corp revealed Canterbury made an initial offer, which was a one-year deal worth less than $400,000.
Foran’s management went back to the club and asked them to revise the offer.
There is also interest from the Wests Tigers and the Newcastle Knights for Foran’s services.
The Bulldogs are also in the midst of a coaching staff clean out, leaving Barrett with the task of assembling a new coaching roster.
Sea Eagles assistant coach John Cartwright’s name has been mentioned as a possible assistant to Barrett at Belmore. But Cartwright still has ambitions to make a comeback as a NRL head coach and is keen on taking over from Paul Green at North Queensland.
Melbourne winger Josh Addo-Carr is also on Canterbury’s radar but the club is remaining coy about their level of interest in signing the representative flyer.
The Tigers have also expressed interest in Addo-Carr. When News Corp contacted the Tigers about the winger, a senior club official confirmed the interest but said they were yet to have any formal discussions with his new manager, Mario Tartak.
If Addo-Carr does return Concord, there is a view he could be played at fullback with Adam Doueihi shifting into the halves to partner Luke Brooks.
It’s believed the Tigers are looking for more pace and explosiveness from their fullback.
Originally published as Incoming Canterbury coach Trent Barrett is interested in bringing Manese Fainu to Belmore