‘Spoiled brat’ scolded as startling claim from ex-Tigers coach emerges

Adam Doueihi won’t play this weekend for the Wests Tigers following a heated argument with coach Benji Marshall, prompting a visceral reaction from a number of former NRL players and a startling revelation from a former coach.

The playmaker was named among the reserves on Tuesday afternoon, but after he successfully fronted the NRL judiciary later that day, was expected to come back into the halves for a must-win clash against the Raiders on Saturday.

However, coach Marshall reportedly informed him that he would be playing at lock instead, prompting a frustrated response and Doueihi walking out of training.

Tigers chief executive Shaun Mielekamp confirmed the news, while the official round 21 team list update reflected Doueihi’s withdrawal from the squad.

“Adam won’t be playing this weekend. Adam and Benji met this morning to discuss a plan for the weekend,” he said.

“Benji made a call on what’s best for the team but as a result Adam has asked for some time off and we agree to that.”

Javon Andrews is set to make his debut alongside Jarome Luai in the halves, despite Marshall remaining coy on his plans to use the teenager.

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“We want him, when he gets his opportunity, to just play. That’s the best thing,” he told media on Thursday morning prior to the Doueihi argument.

“Expectation wise, we don’t have any ... just do his job. We’ve got plans, we’ll just keep them to ourselves.”

During the half-time break of Nine’s broadcast on Thursday night, Brad Fittler questioned why Luai wasn’t the player to drop out, but still said there was “no excuse” for the way Doueihi handled the messy situation.

“I don’t know about the relationship moving forward, that’s up to them - but I’ve gotta say, it’s an extreme reaction,” Fittler said.

“He’s still playing in the team and Benji Marshall is the coach, it’s his responsibility to pick a team. The fact that he got picked in the team and still walked out is very confusing and what it tells you is there’s a lot going on at the Tigers.

“The kid they’re putting in there, Javon Andrews, he’s a half and Jarome Luai is actually leaving, so why wouldn’t you put him in Jarome Luai’s place? It’s still no excuse, what the coach says goes ... it’s a really extreme reaction.”

Roosters great Bryan Fletcher was stunned by the news and urged Doueihi to put his teammates first, especially with their season on the line.

“I’m flabbergasted. You have to have that team-first ethos,” he said on SEN.

“Where a coach wants you to play irrespective of what you think [you should play] ... and I like Adam Doueihi, but come on Adam.”

Eels legend Nathan Hindmarsh labelled the 28-year-old a “spoiled brat” on Fox League and urged the Tigers to drop him for the rest of the season.

“I’d be embarrassed. It is so bad. It is honestly so bad, not just for Doueihi but for Benji and the club,” Hindmarsh said on Thursday night.

But perhaps the most shocking comments came from Brett Kimmorley, who worked at the joint venture a few years ago.

Kimmorley, stepping in as interim coach after Michael Maguire was sacked in 2022, claims that Doueihi made demands over his position in the team.

“In my time as an interim head coach at the Wests Tigers, as a very green interim head coach, Adam was coming back from an ACL,” he said on SEN 1170.

“I had a conversation with Adam Doueihi [where he said] if I’ve not been picked at five-eighth in first grade, I’d rather play five-eighth in reserve grade.

“I didn’t have the balls to do it at that stage. I handed that conversation onto someone else at the club who was much more superior than myself. Tim Sheens was the director of football at that stage at the Wests Tigers.

“I was a bit unsure about where that left me as the coach. I took it a little bit of a ‘you’re coming at a rookie coach’ in some regards and my mind now looking back at it, I wish in some regards I was strong enough to go, ‘you come and tell your teammates on Thursday why you’re not playing first grade’ ... but I didn’t have that strength in myself to do that probably as a rookie coach.

“It was obviously a very, very difficult situation at the club. I can understand how he would have felt at the time. He’s been out for a long period of time. But to approach it how you did … that’s probably the demand of holding me to ransom.”

The situation surrounding Doueihi comes days after Billy Slater claimed the Tigers playing group weren’t on the same page, following a messy mid-season collapse.

Luke Keary said this situation could be a flow-on effect from Luai’s exit and the saga that has engulfed the club in recent weeks.

“It’s a bizarre situation,” Keary said on Fox League.

“In my career, no player has not played because they are played out of position.

“I’ve never heard of it before. I don’t know how he walks back into training on Monday. The other thing is when you do that to your coach, I’m unsure how the coach can bring him back. It’s almost untenable.

“I said it three weeks ago when the Luai stuff came out, you’d see things come out after about three or four weeks because there is going to be a lot of people in that club and team who weren’t happy ... and there’d be players that are against it and players who really back Luai and support his decision.

“He [Doueihi] is probably saying to Benji why isn’t Jarome not in the team, I’m going to be here next year ... that would be one of his arguments for sure.”