Footage of Ricky Stuart and Tigers star Alex Twal sharing a brief embrace and and a joke after full-time on Saturday has gone viral for a hilarious reason.
The Tigers’ week from hell ended with a thumping 56-10 loss to the Raiders in Canberra on Saturday afternoon but Twal was in a good mood post-match chatting to the Canberra coach.
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And it had some suggesting tongue in cheek that Stuart was thanking him for whacking Bulldogs niggler Jaemon Salmon the previous weekend.
The Tigers lock was sin-binned for slapping Salmon in the face late in the game after the Bulldogs forward said something that Twal took exception to.
Neither he nor Salmon revealed what was said, with Twal copping nothing more than a fine for his actions.
Stuart has long had a feud with Salmon which stems from him striking hooker Tom Starling with a kick that injured him back in August 2022.
The Raiders coach stated after that match: “I’ve had history with that kid. I know that kid very well. He was a weak-gutted dog as a kid and he hasn’t changed now. He’s a weak-gutted dog person now”.
The true reason for his dislike of Salmon before that incident has never been revealed.
While Salmon has only stoked the flames since, visibly referencing the “weak-gutted dog” phrase twice, both times after scoring against the Raiders in 2023 and 2025.
And sections of the footy world are convinced Stuart would have appreciated Twal’s actions and thanked him for it.
“Ricky Stuart thanking Alex Twal for smacking Jaeman Salmon,” footy page NRL Central posted on X on Sunday, which quickly went viral with the post seen more than 30,000 times.
The words shared between the pair are unknown but they at the very least can bond over their mutual dislike for the Canterbury enforcer.
Api Koroisau detail hints at more drama in Tiger Town
Meanwhile, there are rumblings out of Tiger Town that club captain Api Koroisau may have been punished by the club for a discretion relating to training last week.
Adding fuel to the fire of that rumour, the Wests Tigers rake turned up to the game on Saturday with bleach blonde hair.
It is only the third time he has dyed his hair bleach blonde as a Tiger, a punishment used by Marshall in the past for players who break rules.
In February 2024, Koroisau went blonde after receiving it as a team-standard punishment for being late to training.
Speaking about the club standards under Marshall during the 2024 preseason, Koroisau admitted his blonde hair was not something he wanted
“We’ve been holding each other accountable. As you can tell with my hair this is not for fun it’s for punishment,” Koroisau said at the time about his new blonde hair.
“We do have standards around here and keep eachother accountable.”
Then in July 2025 he brought back the blonde look to celebrate signing a contract extension with the Wests Tigers through 2028.
It comes after it was reported by reporter David Riccio on Triple M last week that a senior member of the Tigers team approached the coach over the Doueihi situation while others have “voiced their concerns” over the matter.
News.com.au understands that player that approached Marshall was part of the senior playing group.
In finally some good news for the Tigers, the situation between Adam Doueihi and Benji Marshall has finally been smoothed over.
Claims the Lebanon international was set to depart the club imminently appear to be well off the mark, with the halfback set to return to training on Tuesday following successful peace talks with club officials on Monday morning.
Doueihi and his agent Isaac Moses met with Tigers coach Marshall and other officials at club headquarters in Concord in a meeting that lasted less than an hour.
Tigers chief executive Shaun Mielekamp then confirmed to awaiting media that Doueihi would resume training with the team tomorrow.
“It was a very positive and productive meeting,” Mielekamp said.
“Adam will be at training tomorrow, which is a very good sign.
“What’s really important is that what was said in that meeting stays in that room. That’s important for us as a club.
“We’re all doing what’s best for the club. I’ve got no further comment, thank you.”
The Doueihi drama overshadowed young gun Javon Andrews making his debut.
“That situation was a tough one to deal with this week, unexpected to be honest,” Marshall said after the Raiders loss.
“As a coach, I always try to make decisions on what I think is best for the team… for Adam, I can understand his disappointment, we asked him to play a different role and he just wasn’t in a good headspace to play this week, you have to respect that.
“We’ll try and get to a resolution next week some stage and put the noise to bed.”