Warren McDonnell, the former Wests Tigers recruiter and 'loyal lieutenant' of Tim Sheens, is reportedly set to join the Manly Sea Eagles, taking Scott Fulton's old job at the club.
McDonnell was a long-standing member of the Wests Tigers' recruitment staff but was unceremoniously sacked due to the arrival of Scott Fulton. Brought in by Lee Hagipantelis and Justin Pascoe, Fulton and McDonnell failed to see eye-to-eye with one another, leading to the latter's exit from the club.
โScott and I are entirely different people,โ McDonnell toldย News Corp earlier this season following his departure from the Tigers.
โWe work in different ways and deal with people differently. It was never going to work but I take great pride in what we have achieved at the Tigers.
โThe club has never been in better shape. We have recruited some quality players and we have some great kids coming through.
โThe club is set up for long term success and I take great pride in the role I played in that.โ
The Sydney Morning Heraldย is reporting that McDonnell will now join Peter Gentle as the Manly Sea Eagles' list manager. It won't be the first time the two have worked together, with Gentle holding various coaching roles at the Tigers up until the 2011 season- positions Gentle held while at the Tigers include being an NRL assistant coach, an NYC Under 20s head coach, and helped coach the junior representatives.
While the reason for McDonnell's arrival has not been given, it may be due to his close and good relationship with player agent Isaac Moses- the agent of Anthony Seibold and other players at the club.
The club has multiple players off-contract at the season's end, including Matt Lodge, Aaron Woods, Brad Parker, Kaeo Weekes, Morgan Boyle, Morgan Harper and Ethan Bullemor. While some of the above may earn contract extensions, others will be asked to move on to new ventures freeing up the salary cap. This would allow McDonnell room to do some recruiting.
The Manly Sea Eagles will take the Penrith Panthers on Thursday evening, who will be without key duo Jarome Luai and Mitch Kenny. The club could also be without star trio Dylan Edwards, Brian To'o and Liam Martin, all of whom are in doubt for the game as they are under an injury cloud.
