There has been a massive twist in Adam Doueihi’s falling out with Benji Marshall, with a report claiming the drama has nothing to do with the Tigers coach’s request of a positional switch.
Doueihi sensationally withdrew from Saturday’s showdown with the Raiders following a reported dispute with Marshall.
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The club confirmed Doueihi won’t play in the nation’s capital, with young gun Javon Andrews named to make his NRL debut in the halves alongside Jarome Luai.
Code Sports first reported the news, with Doueihi not training on Thursday after he was told he’d be playing lock instead of in the halves where he’s shone as their best player this year.
“Adam won’t be playing this weekend,” Tigers chief executive Shaun Mielekamp told the Daily Telegraph.
“Adam and Benji met this morning to discuss a plan for the weekend. 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.”
The Tigers have called a crisis meeting between Doueihi and Marshall on Monday to try and reconcile their differences, with Code Sports reporting the Lebanon international’s stunning move is not solely motivated by the suggested positional switch.
Despite the dramatic aftermath, at this stage neither party is exploring an early release and there is said to be a legitimate desire to make peace and move on from the whole ordeal.
Read on for the latest news and reaction from the Doueihi saga below!
Adam Doueihi refuses to play for Tigers | 08:31
TWIST AS DOUEIHI SAGA TAKES BIGGER TURN
All the talk so far has been about Doueihi disagreeing with a positional switch that Marshall floated, but now that has been flipped on its head.
Code Sports reporter David Riccio has claimed that Doueihi’s decision to sit out the game against the Raiders goes far deeper than simply Marshall asking him to play lock forward.
“There’s so many layers to this story,” Riccio said on Triple M on Saturday.
“On the surface, I can certainly understand West Tigers fans’ point of view on seeing a player throw the toys out of the cot simply because he’s been told to move to the lock forward position.
“I can tell you there is much more to it than that. It’s probably only a matter of time and on the basis of what Benji and Adam and or the club want to let out that we learn more about the many layers of why Adam’s chosen to take this stance, first deciding not to train with the team on Thursday, before informing Benji Marshall I want to sit this one out against the Raiders on Saturday.
“I firmly believe not only is it the positional switch that Adam took umbrage with, it’s also too the fact that he is invested in the football club and has been invested in the footy club for a number of years, and he has a teammate that has decided to take his business elsewhere and that he wants to be part of this new beginning with Javon Andrews. I think that’s a factor.
“I think it’s standards also within the dressing room that Adam has been flagging with the coaching staff at least this season and certainly under a reset attitude from Benji Marshall at the start of the year, who went public with his declaration that there’s the door if you don’t want to meet standards.
“Now I think Adam’s been watching some of these standards slip over a number of weeks, and he basically has taken this line in the sand moment, dramatic as it is, to try and bring it to a head.”
Riccio went on to report that he had been told that after their first “heated” conversation, Doueihi later went back to see Marshall who asked if he wanted to play halfback on the weekend.
“It was at that point that Adam said still ‘No, it goes deeper than the positions’. So that’s what I’m hearing as far as why it’s more than just the positional switch,” Riccio added, although he said that version of events is yet to be confirmed by the club itself.
In further proof that this is far from a case of Doueihi only caring about himself, a report from the Sydney Morning Herald also claimed that the Tigers halfback told Marshall he was happy to not make his plans public until necessary because he wanted to be a distraction.
Further to that, the Herald revealed that Doueihi funded his own trip to Magic Round while injured to cheer on his Tigers teammates while others have not attended games in Sydney in similar circumstances this year.
Riccio went on to claim that he has been told there “wasn’t a great effort” shown by the Tigers towards getting Doueihi off his dangerous contact charge earlier in the week, reporting it was his understanding that Marshall was not in attendance for the hearing.
Adam Doueihi refuses to play for Tigers | 08:31
LATEST FALLOUT FROM THE DOUEIHI SAGA
The fallout from Doueihi’s stunning walkout has continued with Paul Kent claiming on Fanatics TV that there had already been speculation on Wednesday night that the halfback would not take the field and that it was “planned”.
To that extent, Kent floated a theory that there could be an ulterior motive behind Doueihi’s move and that the Tigers star could be angling for an early release from his contract.
“There’s a little bit of a whisper around Wednesday night that if this was going to unfold as it did, Doueihi would not play,” Kent said.
That is consistent with reporting from James Hooper, who also said on Fanatics TV that he got a phone call on Wednesday night from “someone in the game” claiming Doueihi was going to walk into Concord on Thursday and tell Marshall he wasn’t going to play.
“It was planned…. he’s an employee essentially and you do what the coach tells you to do,” added Kent.
“For years, if a player dared do this he’d be straight out the door.
“What I find interesting is that there are two new clubs coming into the competition and his manager Isaac Moses had a similar stunt last year with Lachlan Galvin where he caused disruption at the club.
“Doueihi’s never played better football than he has this year so you can correlate out of that, that he’s never been worth more.
“He’s basically tried to bully Benji. I think there could be kind of a motive around it to try and get released from his deal.”
As reported by CODE Sports on Friday afternoon, Doueihi will now meet with both coach Benji Marshall and CEO Shaun Mielekamp within the next 72 hours to settle their differences.
It is understood that Doueihi will not request a release, nor will the Tigers grant him permission to explore his options.
FULL REACTION: NRL greats slam ‘spoiled brat’ Doueihi as Benji urged to take big stand
TEAMMATES LEAP TO DOUEIHI’S DEFENCE
Meanwhile, some of Doueihi’s Tigers teammates have reportedly already made their feelings on the drama known to coach Marshall.
Speaking on Triple M on Thursday evening, Code Sports reporter David Riccio revealed another Tigers player met with Marshall over the situation while others have “voiced their concerns”.
“I would argue below the surface, there is still a lot more to play out here as far as the real reasons why Adam Doueihi has decided to step down from this game this weekend,” Riccio said.
“At least one other player also spoke with Benji Marshall today, in fact I know he did. I won’t name the player, I won’t embarrass the player, and the name isn’t ready to be reported as yet.
“There’s no doubt that there are other players that have voiced their concerns, probably to the immediate response of Adam Doueihi making this decision to leave training early.”
Elsewhere, nine.com.au has reported two players close to Doueihi have leapt to his defence.
“Two of Adam’s mates in the team believe we need him to win and are angry he won’t be there at halfback,” one Tigers player told the publication.
“It’s a game we need to win and Javon is a top prospect but this isn’t the time to blood him. I’m staying out of it, most of the young blokes are the same.
“The two players feel very strongly about it and have let the group know. It’s a mess.”
Riccio, meanwhile, said he did not believe there was underlying issues between Marshall and Doueihi but that it was a “line in the sand” moment for the disgruntled player.
“I don’t think there’s one real reason. I think there’s many layers to it, and I think the moving to the lock forward position is only one of those layers.
“I think the situation of Jarome Luai being retained in the halves – when he’s not at the football club – over Adam Doueihi, would be another layer.
“I am going on a number of conversations with key individuals that I’ve had today involved in the Wests Tigers club that suggest that Adam’s taking a line in the sand moment for some standards that he’s not willing to walk past inside the football club, and ultimately it led to this.”
Doueihi reportedly rules himself out | 01:11
Despite the drama engulfing the club, Doueihi and Marshall – Riccio doesn’t believe the relationship is untenable.
“I’m not ready to declare it’s all over for Adam Doueihi at the Wests Tigers.
“I think there is a genuine intent from CEO Shaun Mielekamp, who’s completely across the entire detail of today’s scenario, to at least meet on Monday morning to try and forge a relationship that allows Adam Doueihi to remain at the football club,” Riccio continued.
“My understanding and my information is that this has unsettled Benji. It’s disappointed him, that one of his greatest confidants in Adam Doueihi has decided to take this path.
“I think it’s a line in the sand moment for Adam Doueihi, it may be a line in the sand moment for the football club as well.”
EX-TIGERS COACH REVEALS PREVIOUS DOUEIHI ULTIMATUM
The development comes after former Tigers interim coach Brett Kimmorley revealed he found himself in a similar position with Doueihi previously.
Speaking on SEN Radio on Thursday evening, Kimmorley revealed he was forced to deal with a parallel situation when he was in charge of the joint venture in 2022.
“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,” Kimmorley said.
“(He) was playing limited minutes in a couple of games, playing centre in games to make sure his load was unavailable.
“I had a conversation with Adam Doueihi, (where he said) if I’ve not been picked at 5/8 in first grade, I’d rather play five-eighth in reserve grade. I didn’t have the balls to do it as the coach 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. This is after team selection, (he) had been picked to play centre a number of times, and his thoughts was his body was good enough to go back to the five-eighth position.
“I’d been given some advice that centre is probably how he should play the rest of this year and his words were purely, if he doesn’t play five-eighth in first grade, I’d rather be picked at five-eighth in reserve grade.”
The former NRL halfback admitted he wishes he had taken a stronger stance.
“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 and why you’re playing five-eighth for reserve grade’,” he added.
“But I didn’t have that strength in myself to do that probably as a rookie coach, so that’s why I handed it on to Tim Sheens.
“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 with an ACL injury.
“That’s where I think it would have come from. But, to approach it how you did… that’s probably the demand of holding me to ransom, a little bit of saying, ‘hey, you’ve gotta pick me’.”
Doueihi & Benji saga explained | 02:13
EARLY DETAILS EMERGE AFTER DOUEIHI BOMBSHELL
The revelation comes as fresh details surrounding the stunning falling out with Marshall.
Code Sports reports Doueihi was “highly frustrated” at the decision given his strong form and the fact Jarome Luai would be leaving the club at the end of the season to join the Parramatta Eels.
He was spotted in discussion Tigers football manager Pat Richards on Thursday morning before doing laps around the around the Tigers’ centre of excellence in his Range Rover.
“He was seen doing laps , looking visibly frustrated as he drove past the club’s training facility multiple times,” Code Sports reported.
Marshall then fronted the media at 9am while the situation threatened to boil over beind the scenes.
The club will hold a meeting with Doueihi on Monday.
Doueihi signed a contract extension back in March to remain at the Tigers until the end of the 2029 season, but it’s unclear if this latest development will affect that.
The Lebanese international was originally named on an extended bench for Saturday’s game but was cleared to play after a successful night at judiciary where he avoided a one-match ban for a high tackle.
He sounded like a guy who was keen to help his team pull off an upset in Canberra.
“I love being out there with the boys,” Doueihi said after the hearing.
“I want to help turn our season around again. It’s a good opportunity to go down to Canberra this week. They’re on the back of a few wins so we’ll go there with an ambush mentality.”
It was expected that he’d simply slot in at halfback to partner Luai, but Marshall had other plans, which led to him leaving the club’s Concord facilities.
Of course, lost in all the Doueihi headlines now is rookie Andrews, who on Saturday will run out for his NRL debut.
INITIAL REACTION FROM FORMER NRL STARS
It’s the latest drama for the Tigers, who have lost five games on the trot and made the call to let Luai leave early despite him being contracted for the 2027 season.
“I’m flabbergasted. You have to have that team-first ethos, don’t you?” former NRL forward Bryan Fletcher said on SEN Radio after hearing the news.
“Where a coach wants you to play irrespective of what you think (you play there) and I like Adam Doueihi but c’mon Adam.”
Justin Horo added, “I don’t like the decision to move him to lock. I think Adam Doueihi should be playing in the halves but if that coach makes the decision you have to play it mate.
“It would be so tough to be a Tigers player right now.”
Latu Fainu is also unavailable after he copped a three-match ban at the judiciary.
They can’t afford to lose Doueihi, who has been a key cog in their attack, with Marshall remaining coy when asked about team selections on Thursday morning.
“It’s going to hurt his career. I believe it’s going to leave a smell about him at other clubs,” Anthony Watmough said on Fanatics TV.
“I don’t understand it. I think it’s a great decision to stand him down and not have the bulls*** come in and fester. They’ve put a stop to it.
“Benji’s had a bit thrown at him and I like the way he’s put his stamp on it. The Tigers haven’t had that in a long time. They’ve sort of been walked over (in the past).
“We have no right as players to dicatate to a coach or a club who we are or where we want to play. We are told to do a job.
“We do our fuc**** job and we do it to the best of our ability til we can no longer do it… you don’t get to question the boss and why does he think his entitled to question the boss?”
— With Martin Gabor (NCA NewsWire)