The actions of disgruntled playmaker Adam Doueihi continue to come under fire, as a fresh allegation against the Wests Tigers threatens to plunge the embattled NRL club into further turmoil. Doueihi has been recalled at No.7 for Sunday’s game against Parramatta after returning to training on Tuesday. It comes after peace talks between Doueihi, coach Benji Marshall and club bosses 24 hours earlier, following a high-profile fallout that saw him dropped for last weekend’s drubbing by Canberra.
Marshall’s plan to move Doueihi out of halfback and shift him to lock sparked a heated disagreement between the pair. Doueihi subsequently missed the 46-point flogging by the Raiders after informing Marshall that he was not in the right head space to play.
Adam Doueihi returned to Wests Tigers training on Tuesday after his fallout with coach Benji Marshall, amid another ugly allegation against the embattled NRL club. Pic: Getty
It led to widespread criticism of the halfback, and Tigers legend Steve Roach was among those to insist Doueihi had let the team down. And it’s left the 27-year-old’s future at the Tigers in major doubt, despite being contracted until the end of 2029.
It’s understood Doueihi has committed to seeing out the rest of the season with the Tigers, but his future beyond 2026 is far from certain. Many have described the situation between the player and club as untenable, with NRL greats Braith Anasta and Gorden Tallis slamming Doueihi’s actions in the messy situation.
Adam Doueihi cops truth bomb over Tigers fallout
Anasta said Doueihi’s head space was no “excuse” for withdrawing from Saturday’s game. And Tallis agreed that Doueihi let his teammates down after claiming the star halfback had a responsibility to drive the standards and cultural change at the struggling club, as one of the senior players.
“If you want to change the culture, if you want to be leading, and if you want to be a leader of that organisation, you play wherever the coach wants you to play,” Tallis said on NRL 360. “I’m sure that there’s a lot of players that didn’t want to play in certain positions, but they did it for the blokes beside them. I was disappointed that he didn’t play for his teammates.”
Adam Doueihi (centre) has been criticised for letting his Wests Tigers teammates down by not playing in the Round 21 flogging by the Raiders. Pic: Getty
Ugly new allegation deepens drama at Wests Tigers
There have also been allegations of Tigers players vaping in the club gym, which only adds to the drama around the embattled club. But veteran league reporter Brent Read says if the allegations are true, then it raises even more questions around Doueihi’s decision not to play against Canberra.
“One allegation that I want to bring up is there’s a suggestion that some players are vaping in the gym,” News Corp NRL reporter Dean Ritchie said on NRL 360. “That’s unacceptable to me. The gym area is an area that comes with a work ethic that should be portrayed through all the four walls, and not vaping.”
Read fired back: “If Adam wants to change that (culture), you don’t change it by not playing football. You don’t change it by walking out of the footy club. You change it by staying there and driving standards. That’s how you change those sort of things.”