{"id":809537,"date":"2026-07-19T04:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T04:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/809537\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T04:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T04:40:15","slug":"nrl-2026-two-wests-tigers-players-face-bans-as-reason-for-alex-twals-post-match-run-in-with-bulldog-josh-curran-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/809537\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Two Wests Tigers players face bans as reason for Alex Twal\u2019s post-match run-in with Bulldog Josh Curran revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Alex Twal was so angry after full-time in Saturday night\u2019s clash between Wests Tigers and the Bulldogs that he refused to shake hands with Canterbury forward Josh Curran following an incident in the 70th minute.<\/p>\n

After their fifth straight defeat, the NRL match review committee heaped more pain on the Tigers on Sunday with playmakers Latu Fainu and Adam Doueihi facing suspensions.<\/p>\n

\"AlexAlex Twal was still seething with Josh Curran after full-time.Fox Sports<\/p>\n

Twal let his emotions bubble over in the 70th minute when he lashed out at Bulldog Jaeman Salmon with his left hand. Twal was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes, and Salmon later admitted there were some \u201ctheatrics\u201d from him in the way he quickly fell to the ground.<\/p>\n

When Twal returned from the bin in the final minute of play, he tackled Salmon, only for Curran to object. Twal and Curran then squared off and had to be separated.<\/p>\n

While 30-year-old Twal shook hands with Salmon after the game, it was a different story when a smiling Curran came over to high five him.<\/p>\n

TV cameras captured Twal bumping into Curran with his chest and mutter some words before being accompanied from the field by a member of the Tigers staff and former player Tim Grant.<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh Curran and Alex Twal clash right on full-time in the middle of Accor Stadium.NRL Photos<\/p>\n

Sources with knowledge of the post-match incident, not authorised to speak publicly, said they were proud of the emotion Twal showed, rather than disappointed by his lack of sportsmanship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you rather see Twal hurting the way he was, or players patting each other on the back and laughing after a loss?\u201d the club source said.<\/p>\n

Twal was given the option of staying off the field at the end of his 10-minute stint in the sin bin, given the Bulldogs already had the game sewn up<\/a>, but he wanted to return to finish the job with his \u201cbrothers\u201d.<\/p>\n

When asked about the option of keeping Twal out of the action, especially after he had been ridiculed by Canterbury fans when he returned from the bin \u2013 and was even given the Arabic \u201ckhawd\u2033\u2063 hand gesture by several Bulldogs supporters \u2013 Tigers coach Benji Marshall said: \u201cI thought 30 seconds is enough time to not get in any more trouble.<\/p>\n

\"RefereeReferee Tyson Brough sends Alex Twal to the sin bin.NRL Photos<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing I love about \u2018Twally\u2019 is he loves the club, he\u2019s passionate, and he cares about the result.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t often see his frustrations. It\u2019s a reflection of a lot of us at the moment and how we\u2019re feeling as a club. It\u2019s tough at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twal was charged by the match review committee on Sunday with contrary conduct, but can escape with a fine.<\/p>\n

Fainu, however, who was also sent to the sin bin for making dangerous contact after going low and flipping prop Leo Thompson into a dangerous position, was hit with a grade-three dangerous contact charge and faces a two-match ban with an early plea.<\/p>\n

Doueihi also faces a match on the sidelines for a high shot on Harry Hayes.<\/p>\n

The double halves blow may force Marshall to accelerate plans to blood young gun Javon Andrews against Canberra next weekend.<\/p>\n

The embarrassing loss to the Bulldogs capped a horror week for the Tigers, who confirmed marquee man Jarome Luai would be leaving the club a season early to link with Parramatta. Luai tried hard against the Dogs but struggled to make an impact.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Departing<\/a><\/p>\n

The Tigers play the Raiders in Canberra next Saturday. The Raiders lost star Hudson Young to a season-ending Achilles injury in their 34-24 win over South Sydney on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Salmon, meanwhile, played down the incident with Twal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a bit of push and shove; I might have got under his skin a bit,\u201d Salmon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never really thought about throwing a punch; I\u2019m not much of a fighter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t hurt that much. There\u2019s a bit of theatrics in it [falling down], but what happens on the field stays on the field. \u2018Twally\u2019 is a good fella.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. I did shake hands [with Twal].\u201d<\/p>\n

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