Wests Tigers withdraw from race for Fonua-Blake to focus on signing Luai

New Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson has made his first big call in the job after revealing that the club had withdrawn from the race to sign Tonga captain and prop Addin Fonua-Blake.

Just 24 hours after his appointment as interim CEO was announced, Richardson met with Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall and the pair agreed to focus on luring Samoa and Blues five-eighth Jarome Luai from Penrith.

Wests Tigers boast a strong forward pack, led by internationals John Bateman, Api Koroisau, Isaiah Papali'i, Stefano Utoikamanu, David Klemmer and Alex Twal, but are in need of a quality playmaker.

If the club was to land both Luai and Fonua-Blake, who has permission to leave the Warriors at the end of next season on the proviso he joins a Sydney club, there would be little room in the salary cap to bolster other areas.

Richardson has previously tried to recruit Luai to South Sydney and he made it clear at a press conference on Wednesday morning that the Penrith and NSW Origin star would be the No.1 target for Wests Tigers.

He was unaware of the state of negotiations with either player but the two-times premiership winning administrator later revealed that the club was no longer pursuing Fonua-Blake.

“We’ve actually withdrawn our offer for Addin Fonua-Blake,” Richardson told SEN radio.

“I think he’s a great player, he’s one of the top three front rowers in the game, but 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 and from that point of view, it’s my opinion - and also Benji’s, because I wouldn’t do it without Benji - that [it's not] where we need to focus our attention on."

Wests Tigers expect to have star five-eighth Adam Doueihi back from a ruptured ACL injury midway through next season, with new recruits Jayden Sullivan and Aidan Sezer likely to be halves partners until then.

The club also has young playmakers Latu Fainu and Lachlan Galvin in their top 30 squad.

However, Richardson believes Luai could have a huge impact on the fortunes of Wests Tigers if he agrees to make the move from Penrith.

"I've made my feelings well known on Luai for a long time," Richardson said. 

"In my opinion, he was the best young half coming through. He's proven at the highest level that he's the best young half coming through.

"Not only that, he's a great team leader – that Penrith side revolves around Luai. He is a great person off the field, despite what many people like to try and make out.

"You couldn't meet a better person than him or ask for a better person than him at the club."