Despite Benji Marshall and Adam Doueihi presenting a united front at a Wednesday morning press conference, doubts have been cast over the mood among players at the Wests Tigers following a week of turmoil.
Doueihi stunned Tigers players and fans last week after withdrawing himself from the Canberra clash as reports emerged he was set to walk out of the club amid culture concerns and a strained relationship with Marshall.
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Speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, Doueihi said he missed the Raiders game due to a miscommunication between him and Marshall while also acknowledging that he can be “stubborn” at times.
He also admitted he should have played the game and that it “hurt” watching his teammate get beat up by the Raiders.
Doueihi spoke passionately about his love for the Tigers and quashed rumours that he was trying to get out of the club.
Despite his strong words, journalist Brent Read claimed on NRL 360 that some Tigers players still had a sour taste in their mouths over the saga.
“I’m not sure everyone in that playing group is overly happy with the way things have played out in the past week because there’s been reputational damage,” Read said.
“I acknowledge the players have accepted his apology and taken him back.
“I still think there’s a bit of lingering tension over what’s come out in the past week. With some of the players, it has to be because they’ve been dragged through the mud by this.”
‘Lingering tension’ after Doueihi saga? | 02:34
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Read was referencing the rumours and innuendo that were spread about things that were happening at the club like vaping in the gym, which Marshall denied was happening.
“That sort of stuff reflects on the playing group,” Read said.
“I’ve heard some players are unhappy with what came out. It’s come from people around Adam. It hasn’t come from the Tigers, it hasn’t come from other players of the Tigers, it’s come from people around Adam, right?
“This whole thing has stained the players.”
Read went on to say he wouldn’t have reinstated Doueihi into the first grade side straight away like Marshall has done.
“I think Adam should have paid some form of price for sitting out last week, and that should have been playing in the NSW Cup,” Read said.
Adam Doueihi’s actions during the past week have come under the microscopeSource: Supplied
Fellow journalist Michael Carayannis took the opposite view and argued Doueihi should be playing for the good of not just the team, but the club’s fan base as they try and end a six-game losing streak.
“He is their best option and it goes back to what Benji said, we need to give our fans some hope, we need to win games,” Carayannis said.
“I like the fact that both of them took ownership and had regrets over the way it all played out.”
One big admission from Marshall in his Wednesday press conference was that he may have been guilty of “walking past” poor standards, which Carayannis said was an acknowledgment that Doueihi raised some good points to the coach.
“Maybe some of the things Adam said was right,” Carayannis said.
“And maybe I’ve (Marshall) turned the blind eye to some things, or we’ve as a club turned a blind eye to things that we shouldn’t have.
“He was quite sure to say we don’t have a cultural problems, but there are some standards that are slipping here.”
Benji: “We’ve Sorted Things Out” | 11:42
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Read and Carayannis both agreed that Doueihi and his manager Isaac Moses haven’t been conspiring to agitate to get out of his contract with the Tigers.
“This was never part of the master plan to get him out of the footy club,” Read said.
“Do we believe that he will be a Wests Tiger?” Gorden Tallis asked.
“If he turns around the off-season and says, I want to go to this football club, how do you believe anything he’s ever said? Anything he’s ever going to say for the rest of his career,” Read said after Doueihi said he’d never broke a contract in his life.