The Wests Tigers have sold a strong pitch to Penrith assistant coach Cameron Ciraldo by giving the NRL coach-in-waiting a guided tour of the club’s soon to be opened Centre of Excellence at Concord.

Foxsports.com.au has learned Ciraldo met with Wests Tigers key powerbrokers Tim Sheens and chairman Lee Hagipantelis on Monday.

Four-time premiership-winning coach Sheens sold the Tigers vision about the club being an NRL sleeping giant – with the catch being they need the right development coach to bring through the next generation of juniors.

Panthers assistant Ciraldo is the Tigers no.1 choice with the club having already discussed making a five-year offer to try and seal the deal.

Sheens and Hagipantelis led the Wests Tigers sales pitch with CEO Justin Pascoe also in attendance.

Ciraldo finds himself the most sought-after coach-in-waiting in the NRL with Canterbury-Bankstown also keen to try and land his signature.

The Tigers sales pitch revolves around why Ciraldo is the right fit for an organisation which has failed to make the finals since Sheens was last coach in 2011.

The Western Suburbs Magpies won the club’s first-ever Harold Matthews premiership earlier this year with Sheens renowned for being one of the best eyes in the game when it comes to emerging talent.

Ciraldo now has a major decision to make with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs still pitching to try and convince him to join the Belmore-based club next year.

Fox Sports can also reveal a Bulldogs director recently contacted Canberra coach Ricky Stuart to see if the retired champion halfback was any chance of joining the Bulldogs next year.

Stuart is contracted with the Green Machine until the end of next season and it’s difficult to envisage him being involved in any other club than the Raiders.