Wests Tigers in crisis again as star half Adam Doueihi walks out after ‘dust-up’ with coach Benji Marshall

Wests Tigers’ crisis season has sunk to a new low after star man Adam Doueihi walked out of training and pulled himself out of this weekend’s clash with Canberra.

The 27-year-old was only just cleared for Saturday’s game after a successful judiciary challenge.

But coach Benji Marshall has still preferred untried teenager Javon Andrews, telling Doueihi he would either line up at lock or come off the bench against the Raiders — and that proved to be a final straw.

News Corp reports the pair had “a heated argument” over the issue, saying the “dust-up” was immediately followed by Doueihi walking out of Concord and withdrawing himself from the line-up.

“Adam won’t be playing this weekend,” Tigers boss Shaun Mielekamp told the outlet.

“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.”

The 27-year-old has played exclusively at halfback in 2026 to be the Tigers’ best player but he is also considered one of the league’s most versatile utilities.

The Doueihi saga is another unwanted setback for the Tigers, who are on a five-game losing streak amid a genuine collapse since Jarome Luai announced his move to the PNG Chiefs from 2028.

Luai, who has remained in the side all year, has since been granted a release from his contract for next year and will join Parramatta.

There is for now no suggestion Doueihi’s long-term future at the Tigers is under threat.

The Tigers must beat the Raiders to keep their remote NRL finals hopes alive.

With a loss, the 14th-placed Tigers will be unable to finish the season with a winning record, effectively ending their chances of playing finals for the first time since 2011.

Prior to news of Doueihi’s voluntary omission, Marshall confirmed he had plans for Andrews against the Raiders.

Andrews has impressed in NSW Cup this year and Latu Fainu’s three-game ban at the judiciary looked to have increased his chances of making his debut against Canberra.

Andrews is one of the up-and-coming playmakers whose presence has helped convince the Tigers to move PNG recruit Jarome Luai on at the end of the season.

The two will partner in the halves against Canberra.

“(Andrews) has obviously done some good stuff at Cup level and we like the way he plays,” Marshall said on Thursday.

“We’ve got plans, we’re just keeping them to ourselves.

“He can do both (five-eighth and halfback). He just plays footy a bit nonchalant, he just plays what he sees and that’s what we like.”

Andrews has already had to overcome significant adversity to make it to the NRL.

In 2021, he was tackled head-first into a goalpost during a representative game, fracturing two vertebrae and needing more than two years to return to the field.

But Andrews is now firmly in the frame as someone who could breathe new life into the embattled Tigers, though Marshall would not divulge his long-term plans for the playmaker.

“I just make decisions week to week based on what I think we need to win,” he said.

“Our recruitment identified that he was someone who we liked, and we just sat down and met him and he was keen to come.

“There’s no pressure on him ... we wanted him to — when he gets his opportunity — just play.”

— with AAP