The Adam Doueihi saga has taken another twist with former Wests Tigers interim head coach Brett Kimmorley revealing that he found himself in a similar position involving the talented playmaker.
The revelation comes after the star halfback sensationally withdrew from Saturday’s showdown with the Raiders following a reported dispute with coach Benji Marshall.
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The club has 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, who will join the Eels next year before he moves to PNG.
Code Sports first reported the bombshell 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.”
Speaking on SEN Radio on Thursday evening, Kimmorley had revealed that Doueihi’s latest Tigers drama is nothing new, revealing he was forced to deal with a similar situation when he was in charge of the joint venture.
Doueihi reportedly rules himself out | 01:11
“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 5/8 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 5/8 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 5/8 in first grade, I’d rather be picked at 5/8 in reserve grade.
The former NRL halfback admitted that he now looks back and 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 5/8 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’.”
Premiership-winning five-eighth Luke Keary said the situation is “almost untenable” while Eels great Nathan Hindmarsh said he would be “embarrassed” if he was in Doueihi’s shoes and called for coach Marshall to drop him from the club’s next game against the Eels.
“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 Fox League.
“It’s not like he hasn’t played that position before. He’s had a few cracks in the middle and at 13 last year. The defence took it out of him a little bit. But you’re one of if not the best player in the side at the moment.
“Everyone is talking about how well you are playing. You are in the talk about Origin and then all of a sudden you turn around and tell your coach you don’t want to play 13… it sounds like a spoiled brat.
“Hopefully we’ve got it all wrong… there has to be more to it… not just the fact he’s been named at 13 and doesn’t want to play. And now he’s got the week off. Go play him in reserve grade.”
Doueihi & Benji saga explained | 02:13
Keary, meanwhile, had been vocal in the wake of Luai’s impending departure that it could lead to fractures in the playing group and suggested this could be evidence of it.
“It’s a bizarre situation,” Keary said.
“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 (with) that decision, 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.
“He said before he was all-in… and there’d be players that are against it and players who really back Luai and support his decision.
“He’s (Doueihi) 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.”
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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.”
Doueihi has been the club’s best player this year. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
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.
But Hindmarsh said Doueihi’s actions have spoiled the occasion, with Panthers great Greg Alexander calling it an “uncomfortable” situation for the talented teenager.
“How do you think young Javon will be feeling… how bad would you feel, ‘I’ve forced Adam Doueihi to have a blow-up with the coach’ because he has to play 13… you’d feel shocking,” added Hindmarsh.
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.”
Wests Tigers star Adam Doueihi. Pic: NRLSource: Supplied
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.
“You always want your best players playing, and for us, it’s no different,” he said.