Tim Sheens insists his successor Benji Marshall and recruitment boss Scott Fulton can co-exist at the struggling Wests Tigers as they continue their pursuit of a winning halves pairing.
The Tigers board met on Tuesday night to discuss recruitment targets, addressing potential options to replace Manly-bound Luke Brooks and the injured Adam Doueihi to begin 2024.
Marshall, who will become the Tigers' head coach in 2025, has clashed with Fulton on the matter since the ex-Sea Eagles recruitment boss arrived without Sheens' or Marshall's approval this season.
The club has already missed out on Shaun Johnson, Cameron Munster and Mitchell Moses in recent times.
More recently, ex-Canberra grand final player Aidan Sezer has been linked with a move to the joint venture from the English Super League and Jack Cogger, Penrith's understudy for Nathan Cleary, is another option reportedly favoured by Fulton.
Even back-up halves Brandon Wakeham and Daine Laurie are off-contract at the end of 2023 so the Tigers' situation is becoming urgent, lest the transition from Sheens to Marshall in 2025 come without a functional, established halves pairing.
"That's what we're doing all the time, is talking about our recruitment," Sheens said.
"Not only from outside in, bringing people in or what we've got to do, it's our juniors and our own kids and obviously the halves situation at the club, by way of experienced halves is an obvious one.
"When we identify something (for the halves), we'll let you all know."
Ahead of Thursday's clash against St George Illawarra, Sheens was tight-lipped on the boardroom machinations but believed Fulton and Marshall were capable of putting their differences aside in pursuit of winning.
"I don't think there's going to be an issue where someone can't work with someone," he said.
"We've all got to be professional in these sorts of situations.That's what I expect from both guys."
The last-placed Tigers have won only three of 17 matches in Sheens' first season since returning to the head-coaching job.
They would be two wins and points differential behind the 16th-placed Dragons with a loss.
In that scenario, it would likely take three wins from their final six games to save them from consecutive last-placed finishes.
But Sheens said he would not use wooden spoon avoidance as motivation ahead of the clash in Wollongong.
"We don't talk about wooden spoons," he said.
"We've got to put another win on the board, that's for sure, to help shut all you guys (the media) down, to start with.
"It's no different, every week we're chasing the win."
