Cullen looks to recruit for 2006

By
May 7 2005

Warrington Wolves coach Paul Cullen has revealed he has a number of targets in mind as he attempts to improve the club's playing squad again next season.

Cullen spent more than £300,000 to bring in seven players in 2004 with the aid of financial backing from majority shareholder Simon Moran, and is keen to make further additions to give Wolves a better chance of competing with Super League's top clubs.

But he is fully aware that getting his first-choice targets to sign on the dotted line will not be an easy task, so the club need to keep their options open in the search for new talent.

He said: "Our policy is two-fold. We have specific targets and then there's a generalised process.

"It's always wise to have plans A, B, C, D and sometimes E, because you don't always get what you want in your first thought process.

"But our target list is expansive - it's not just one person because you can't guarantee you're going to get him."

Cullen has taken advantage of a free weekend in Wolves' calendar - they are not in action until they face Wigan Warriors at The Halliwell Jones Stadium on May 15 after suffering an early exit from the Challenge Cup - to fly out to Australia for a week to assess some of those targets.

He departed on Saturday - the day after Wolves' 31-30 defeat at St Helens - and is due to make the return trip on Monday, after also taking the opportunity to view the training methods employed by clubs in the NRL.

Wolves' chief executive Andy Gatcliffe said: "He is looking at what's available and who's available, and has a lot to do in a short space of time.

"We're open-minded and he's talking to people - we want to progress and are being very pro-active in looking to take the club forward."

Wolves have been heavily linked with a bid for Melbourne Storm scrum-half Matt Orford, and speculation has reached fever pitch in recent weeks with several other names being thrown into the hat, including North Queensland Cowboys' New Zealand international prop Paul Rauhihi.

But Cullen is not prepared to talk about specific targets, both out of respect to other clubs and to avoid jeopardising any potential deal.

The Wolves chief's plans for the future also include tying existing players to longer contracts, as they have done recently with Lee Briers and Brent Grose.

That leaves 10 members of the current squad - including the likes of Mike Wainwright, Toa Kohe-Love and Mark Gleeson - out of contract at the end of the year, and Cullen says the subject of contract renewals is a constant consideration for the club.

He said: "We're speaking to one or two players, and the club is in the process - as it always is - of looking at this year, next year and beyond. It's a constant process and there's not a short-term timescale set aside for it."

Cullen is eager to get players contracted as early as possible to avoid an end-of-season rush, and cites the example of Ben Westwood's contract extension last April as an explanation for that strategy.

He said: "We were criticised last year when we gave Ben a three-year deal, but I think his form and confidence justifies that decision.

"The time to be negotiating with players out of contract is not just at the end of the year.

"We entered into that process last year in the off-season and will do so going forward."

But he was non-committal on the futures of Nathan Wood and Graham Appo, who are out of contract at the end of the year and currently fill two overseas spots - Grose has the other one until 2008.

"We have players that are out of contract and are fighting to have them renewed, and they have been offered the facility to do that," he said.

"We haven't found any other players to occupy those other two posts, but it's within our rights to have a look and we are doing so.

"The bottom line is that they are two players who are out of contract at the end of the season, and it's no secret that we are looking to bring the best players in the world to this club.

"It's an open and honest invitation - we want the best players in the best form in those positions."

One player in that category is 24-year-old centre Martin Gleeson, who on Tuesday was the only Wolves player named in Great Britain's 40-man training squad to prepare for the Tri-Nations Series later in the year. There was no place for Briers despite his impressive form this season.

Briers featured in the cruel defeat at St Helens on Friday even though his left leg was heavily strapped as he nursed a hamstring problem.

Cullen saw plenty of positives to take from the game, in which Wolves registered a club record points haul for a league match at Knowsley Road, where they have lost on their last 14 visits.

He said: "We lost the game on a matter of circumstance as opposed to technique, tactics, effort or ability, and that hasn't been the case in Super League.

"For us to be fighting toe to toe with a true heavyweight is a mark of how far we've come, and we're buoyed by the amount of improvement left in the team and the squad.

"The players will be delighted with the effort we put in, but bitterly disappointed that we came away with no points - and that in itself is a massive statement."

Source: Warrington Guardian