Wests Tigers have appointed former Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes as the club's new high performance manager. Folkes, who guided the Bulldogs to the 2004 NRL premiership, will work alongside Tigers head coach Tim Sheens and his assistants Royce Simmons and Peter Gentle.
"Steve brings a wealth of experience to our organisation. His appointment is the start of a new era for Wests Tigers as we step up across all areas in 2010," said Tigers chief executive Stephen Humphreys. Following his departure from the Bulldogs at the end of 2008, Folkes spent time as the strength and conditioning coach of the West Indies cricket team and Sheens said he was the ideal candidate for the role.
"Steve is the man I wanted," Sheens said.
I'll take it from here, Foxsports...
"Well", clarified Sheens, "I actually wanted to get Viv Richards. I think that cricket skills, you know, batting, bowling, sledging, infidelity, are essential in Rugby League. But Viv was unavailable, as were Curtley Ambrose, Richie Richardson and Brian Lara. We almost landed Warnie - he fits perfectly into the Rugby League mold - but he just texted us "back door's open". We also considered Roy Symonds, on the strength of his tackle of the streaker, but we rejected him because the players would be confused at being coached by Roy Symonds and Royce Simmons at the same time. It actually ended up being a close decision between Steve Folkes and Ian Chappell, but we thought that Chappelli might be a bit too lively for the role... but nonetheless, Steve is the man I wanted".
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