Wests Tigers NRL assistant coach Peter Gentle has emerged as favourite to claim the top job at Super League club Hull for 2012.

Hull's new director of football, former South Sydney coach Shaun "Bomber" McRae, has drawn up a three-man shortlist of candidates to replace head coach Richard Agar.

The 51-year-old McRae, who coached Hull for five years up to the end of 2004, returns as part of a shake-up initiated by new owner Adam Pearson.

McRae, who brought his coaching career to an end after leaving Salford due to illness earlier this year, will have an overseeing role at the KC Stadium and his first job will be to unearth a successor to Agar, who will leave at the end of the season.

Gentle, currently assistant to Tim Sheens with both Wests Tigers and the Australian national team, is favoured to take over from Agar, who is expected to be unveiled as Wakefield's new coach.

Gentle, who shares the same agent as McRae, turned down Salford earlier this year and was also linked with the vacancies at Hull KR and Castleford.

"Peter is linked with every job," said McRae. "It's fair to say there are three very strong candidates.

"It's unfair to speculate but we would like to appoint sooner rather than later. I would hope it will be within a couple of weeks."

Agar, whose side take on Warrington in their last match of the regular season on Friday, joined Hull in 2005 as assistant to McRae's successor John Kear and took over from Peter Sharp three years later, guiding the Black and Whites to a Challenge Cup final appearance in 2008.

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