By Michael Chammas
The Wests Tigers could be forced into a decision on the future of Scott Fulton as early as Monday, with club powerbrokers planning a meeting with the new recruitment manager and assistant coach Benji Marshall over the next 48 hours.
Tensions between Marshall and Fulton reached boiling point after Marshall’s manager was moved to deny what he believed was a suggestion his client owned a share in the management company trying to lure Aidan Sezer to the club.
This masthead can reveal two player agents with close relationships to Fulton held a meeting with the club last week to raise concerns about the development of their players under the Tim Sheens-Marshall coaching regime.
The agents are seeking assurances from the club that there will be change within the coaching staff for next season in response to concerns raised by their players. They also raised doubts over sending other players to the club under the current structure.
Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis is believed to have met with the agents but declined to comment about the meeting when contacted yesterday.
“The meeting was meant to be confidential,” Hagipantelis said.
Wests Tigers’ coach-in-waiting Benji Marshall.Credit: Getty Images
One of the agents in attendance was Mario Tartak, who pushed strongly with Tigers powerbrokers to employ Fulton. Tartak holds the key when it comes to the signature of highly sought-after Manly teenager Latu Fainu, who is one of his clients.
Fainu and his brother Samuela, who both featured in the NSW under 19 Origin win over Queensland on Thursday night, have been linked with a move to the Tigers given their relationship with Fulton but are holding off on making a decision.
The other agent present was Daniel O’Loughlin, the manager of NSW prop Stefano Utoikamanu and recent recruit Isaiah Papali’i.
Tigers officials are now trying to repair the relationship between Fulton and Marshall. Any move to sever ties with Fulton just two months after his appointment could have major ramifications.
Incoming coach Benji Marshall is keen on Penrith back-up playmaker Jack Cogger.Credit: Getty
This masthead reported on Sunday that Marshall’s camp believed Fulton’s godfather Peter Peters had intimated that Marshall preferred to pursue the signature of Aidan Sezer over Jack Cogger because he owned a 15-per-cent share in the company of the manager trying to bring Sezer back to the NRL.
The allegation was made on radio on Sunday morning by Peters. Fulton is now poised for emergency talks with Marshall. The Tigers board has asked chief executive Justin Pascoe to mediate talks between Fulton and Marshall, having grown increasingly frustrated with the pair’s inability to work together on recruitment targets.
The latest point of conflict revolves around Marshall’s desire to pursue Sezer, which is at odds with Fulton’s intention to sign Penrith back-up No.7 Cogger.
Marshall’s manager, Matt Desira, of ARIA Management, has been in dialogue with the Tigers for weeks about bringing Sezer back to the NRL next year. The former Raiders half is currently playing for Leeds in the English Super League.
A potential return to the NRL for Super League playmaker Aidan Sezer is the latest battlefront at the Tigers.Credit: Getty
While Desira manages out-of-favour fullback Daine Laurie, his only connection to head office at the club is Marshall, who was one of the company’s first clients when the agency started in 2019. Desira denied he had business connections with any other Tigers official. He vehemently denied what he interpreted were allegations made against him and Marshall by Peters on Sky Sports Radio.
“Benji Marshall doesn’t and never has had a stake in ARIA management group,” Desira told this masthead. “Any suggestion that is the case is not only wrong, but defamatory. I have spoken to Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe and chairman Lee Hagipantelis and have assured them that Benji doesn’t have a stake in the business.“
Desira was responding to comments made by Peters, claiming that he had been told that a Tigers official had a 15-per-cent share in the management company trying to sign Sezer at the club.
“Before I go any further I want to declare that Scott Fulton is my godson before people jump on that bandwagon and say I’m just supporting him. I’m not, I’m telling it as I see it,” Peters said.
“Aidan Sezer has been a client of the long-time highly respected manager Sam Ayoub for a long, long time. Currently, the deal with the Tigers, if it goes through, is being organised by another agency [ARIA management]. I’ve been told today - it’s a bit of a bombshell - that a current high-profile Tigers official is alleged to have 15 per cent share in the company trying to lure Sezer unbeknown to Sam Ayoub, who still thinks he is managing him.
“Now, Sam Ayoub has a lot of clout in a lot of clubs and also at the Tigers. Young [Jahream] Bula, the star fullback at the moment, is a Sam Ayoub client. I wouldn’t be getting him offside if I was Wests Tigers.”
This masthead approached Peters for clarification. “I never stated who the official was,” Peters said. “It’s up to the NRL to investigate it.“
Pascoe confirmed that Desira had been in contact with the club yesterday morning.
“If the suggestion made on radio today was in some way meant to implicate Benji, then we have received absolute assurance from Benji’s management that such an implication is not only erroneous but defamatory,” Pascoe said.
Captain Api Koroisau returned from a broken jaw for the Tigers this week.
The comments made by Peters haven’t gone down well with the Marshall camp, who already have concerns about his working relationship with Fulton.
Desira held a meeting with the club a few weeks ago to raise concerns about Fulton, who was appointed without consultation with either head coach Tim Sheens or assistant Marshall, who is scheduled to take over the head coaching role in 2024.
Concerns have been shared by other player managers, but captain Api Koroisau’s agent said his star client was satisfied with the coaching combination of Sheens and Marshall.
“In terms of coaching, Api’s got a very good relationship with Sheensy and Benji,” Giancarlo Lombardo said. “He has a lot of respect for them. Naturally, he’s frustrated with the performances on the field and wants the club to be successful.”
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