‘Needs an exorcism’: Tigers back on the brink amid ‘ugly’ Doueihi saga
Adam Doueihi’s decision not to play for the Tigers against the Raiders this weekend could mark the beginning of the end for the gun half’s career.
Days after the club successfully fought a one-match suspension at the judiciary, Doueihi elected not to play anyway after a falling out with coach Benji Marshall at training on Thursday.
Adam Doueihi will not play for the Tigers against the Raiders. Getty
Doueihi had reportedly been told he would be starting at lock against the Raiders, with Javon Andrews to make his debut in the halves alongside Jarome Luai.
The explosive walkout has divided the playing group. At least two players in the team have sprung to his defence.
But according to Brett Kimmorley, who was interim coach for the Tigers in 2022 after Michael Maguire was sacked, it’s not the first time Doueihi has thrown the toys out of the cot about not playing in the halves.
The Lebanon international had been returning to footy after an ACL injury, and played limited minutes off the bench in the first two games after his return.
Kimmorley said Doueihi then “held him to ransom” and demanded to play at No.6.
“He said if I’ve not been picked at five-eighth in first grade, I’d rather play five-eighth in reserve grade,” Kimmorley said on SEN.
“I didn’t have the balls to do it as the coach at that stage. I handed that conversation … to Tim Sheens (who) was the director of football at that stage at the Wests Tigers.”
“I’d been given some advice that centre is probably how he should play the rest of this year. His words were purely, ‘if I don’t play five-eighth in first grade, I’d rather be picked at five-eighth in reserve grade’.”
Are Doueihi’s days as a Tiger numbered?
Doueihi is signed at Concord until the end of 2029, but after this latest saga, it’s hard to imagine he would see it out.
And if rival clubs were thinking about making a play for his signature, Kimmorley’s revelation he has pulled this stunt before will no doubt catch their attention.
Chad Townsend, who retired from the NRL last year after a 268-game career, said while Doueihi was perfectly entitled to be upset with the decision to move him to lock, bailing on the whole team because of it was “a bit ugly”.
“I actually think Adam Doueihi should be halfback in this team. He’s been in form this year … he wants the ball in his hands, his running game is great,” he said in an Instagram post.
“He’s allowed to feel angry with Benji Marshall for making that decision.
Adam Doueihi has been the in-form half for the Tigers. NRL Images
“What I don’t like, and where it turns a bit ugly, you can’t step away from your team. Your team needs you … your guys’ season is on the line, hanging by the faintest heartbeat ever, and you’re just not going to play?
“How do you turn back up next week to training, and how do you front your teammates? To me, it’s an untenable situation. I don’t see a world where this can end on a positive note for Adam Doueihi.
“It’s a sad situation. It’s probably frustrating. But you just can’t do that to your teammates and the fans.”
Speaking of fans, reaction on the Wests Tigers subreddit has reflected a similar sentiment.
One fan suggested Marshall’s hand was forced somewhat by Latu Fainu’s suspension, and claimed to have inside knowledge his initial plan was to drop Luai – potentially for the rest of the season – and have Doueihi and Andrews in the halves.
With Luai heading down the M4 to Parramatta at season’s end, a Doueihi-Andrews halves pairing on paper appears to be a long-term option.
But it’s also another blow-up under Marshall, and those same fans are starting to lose their faith.
“Burn the club to the ground,” one wrote. “This club needs an exorcism, to fold, (or be) relocated to Adelaide and never spoken of again.”
Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall. Getty Images
Was that monster Benji contract the right call?
The Tigers effectively handed Marshall the keys to the club when, last December, he signed a monster contract extension that will keep him in the role until the end of 2030.
The announcement was seen as a sign of stability at a time the club was in complete disarray.
In the boardroom, tensions and infighting between the Wests and Balmain factions were at an all-time high.
Four directors of the joint venture were then sacked by majority owners the Holman Barnes Group, but three were reinstated following intervention by the NRL. The eccentric Dennis Burgess, the fourth director who was also chair of the Holman Barnes Group, quit amid a scandal over explicit Instagram accounts he followed.
At the same time, chief executive Shane Richardson resigned just 18 months into a four-year contract.
Things were, however, starting to look brighter in a football sense.
Benji lifted the club off the bottom of the ladder and ended a streak of three-straight wooden spoons. The Tigers still finished 13th on the ladder and never realistically looked like playing into September, but moving the joint venture out of the bottom four was widely viewed as a big tick for the rookie coach.
While results were on the up, drama was never far away.
The players were still reeling in the wake of the Lachlan Galvin saga. Marshall and Richardson had also been fighting to remove clauses in Luai’s contract that effectively made him a free agent. They were unsuccessful, and barely six months later came confirmation he was to become a foundation player for the PNG Chiefs.
The side was also one of the most injury-prone in the competition.
And the veneer started to crack when Luai announced he was signing with the Chiefs at a time when the Tigers were flying. It immediately seemed to have the effect of letting the air out of the balloon.
While the focus had been on Luai of late, attention has turned back to Marshall in the past couple of weeks. And if senior players are unhappy with decisions the coach is making, the longevity of his contract means there is little incentive for them to stay and help rebuild a club that has been rebuilding for a decade and just barely finished the basement.
Where does that leave the Tigers’ spine?
Already losing Luai, where would a Doueihi departure leave the Tigers’ spine for next season?
Jock Madden has bounced between No.6 and No.7 this season so would more than likely remain. Latu Fainu is also starting to gain experience in the halves and is viewed as a player with a high ceiling. Andrews is just getting started as a first grader and now has to debut under the hottest of glares.
Jahream Bula is still only 24, a superstar in the making, and has been locked in as the long-term fullback. Heath Mason is off-contract at the end of the season.
Api Koriosau is contracted to remain at Concord until the end of 2028 and is still in good form.
But the arrival of the versatile Jake Averillo next season will give Marshall options. He has NRL starts across each of the back five positions, as well as in the halves.
Despite Luai’s departure, the Tigers could still have a strong spine. Getty
And Junior Tupou is on a train-and-trial deal for next season as well.
If the club can somehow find a way to mend this bridge between Doueihi and Marshall, the prospect of a Koroisau-Madden-Doueihi-Bula spine with Averillo as cover in the centres would be a tasty prospect, and one fans should be able to get around.
But if Marshall cannot find a way to galvanise his troops, another Tigers rebuild will be destined to fail.
