Interim CEO of the Wests Tigers, Shane Richardson has confirmed to SEN that his club are officially out of the Addin Fonua-Blake sweepstakes.
The wantaway New Zealand Warriors forward was expected to negotiate a deal with the Tigers for the 2025 season but has had those plans scrapped after the sweeping changes at board level.
Fonua-Blake now has had his options cut down to two viable clubs, the Dragons and Bulldogs, both of whom are expected to offer in excess of a million dollars per season for the imposing forward.
Despite Fonua-Blake’s undeniable talent, Richardson admitted the massive contract he is due would limit the club and the plan that he wants to put in place for the future.
“I’ll give you an exclusive, we’ve actually withdrawn our offer for Addin Fonua-Blake,” Richardson said on SEN 1170 Sportsday.
“I think he’s a great player, he’s one of the top three front rowers in the game.
“Our forward pack is really strong, and we can add to that with our young players coming through.
“We need flexibility in our cap to be able to do things we need to do to make us stronger now.
“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.”
Richardson also re-instated his desire for the club to land Jarome Luai in the coming weeks.
Listen to the full chat below