OFFICIAL Adam Doueihi #227

Has Adam Doueihi played his last game for Wests Tigers?

Christian Nicolussi
July 26, 2026 — 4:53pm





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There are fears Adam Doueihi has played his last game for Wests Tigers, with the disgruntled playmaker set to hold urgent peace talks with the club on Monday.

Sources with knowledge of the situation not authorised to speak publicly confirmed Doueihi was still clearing his head on Sunday and is yet to speak to coach Benji Marshall following their bust-up at training on Thursday.


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Doueihi clashed with Marshall early on Thursday when told he would be moved out of the halves to play lock to accommodate debutant Javon Andrews for Saturday’s clash with Canberra.

The same sources confirmed Doueihi and Marshall had met a second time that morning, with the coach telling Douiehi he would start in the halves after all.

Doueihi, however, told the coach he was no longer in the right headspace and it was best he took some time off so he was not a distraction to the playing group as they chased victory in a must-win clash against the Raiders.

At least one source close to Doueihi confirmed the 27-year-old has now realised he can no longer continue to play for the Tigers, despite being contracted until the end of 2029.



Adam Doueihi may have played his last game for the Tigers.Getty Images
Doueihi made it clear to Marshall and Tigers chief executive Shaun Mielekamp on Thursday he could no longer sit back and watch the club spiral out of control because of what he believes is a lack of professionalism and accountability.

The fact he was being asked to move positions, rather than Jarome Luai, who will join Parramatta next year and the PNG Chiefs for 2028, and had to wait several days to be told of the switch by Marshall, was enough to tip him over the edge.

To prove how much the Tigers mean to him, Doueihi funded his own flight to Brisbane to cheer his teammates at Magic Round while injured, and has regularly hosted barbecues to help with team harmony. Several teammates have been in contact with him since taking the drastic action he hopes will shine a spotlight on the club’s bigger issues.

Marshall confirmed the headlines involving Doueihi, which came a week after confirmation Luai would be finishing up at the end of the season, had taken a toll on the group.

Some of the defensive efforts on Saturday were not up to NRL standard, including Terrell May pleading with the referee for a knock-on as Simi Sasagi strolled straight past him, and Sunia Turuva failing to lay a hand on a Raiders player for a try late in the second half.

“We have to find a resolution, obviously,” said Marshall, who did not try to avoid answering any of the questions about Doueihi following the 56-10 defeat.

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‘We have to find a resolution’: Benji Marshall opens up on Doueihi drama
“That situation was a tough one to deal with this week – unexpected, to be honest. But at the same time, as a coach, I guess from my point of view, I’ll always try to make decisions on what I think is best for the team to try and win.

“For Adam, I can understand his disappointment around me asking him to play a different role. And then, he just wasn’t in a good headspace to play this week, you know? So you’ve got to respect that, which we did. Then we tried to move on, but yeah, it’s tough.”

Marshall, Doueihi and Mielekamp could not be contacted for comment, but the trio will be eager to reach a resolution before the playing group is due back on Tuesday to prepare for Sunday’s clash with western Sydney rivals Parramatta.

A potential Doueihi exit, along with Luai’s move to Parramatta, means the Tigers will be forced to find a new halves pairing for the 2027 season.
 
You know I never thought these kind of media histrionics were AD's style, I always thought he was a fairly straightforward dude.

Let us not forget AD played 24 games total between 2022-2025 on account of injury, not his fault, but the club stuck with him and he got paid, got a chance to perform when he returned, did perform and we offered him an extension. At all those moments there were not other clubs banging the door down to sign AD, it was Tigers giving him the chance to perform and stay on the books.

He has a few good months and now cannot play where Benji puts him? That's rich if true, because the reality is AD is a great athlete but not a good enough footballer to ever iron out one position, and that's saying a lot from being part of such an ordinary Tigers side for 7 seasons.

But even look at his time with Souths - 2018 he debuted at halfback Rd 2 and kicked goals, then off the bench for 4 rounds, then centre, fullback, centre before another 4 rounds on the bench. Finished the season on the wing and actually won 9 out of his final 10 games of 2018 before doing, surprise surprise, his ACL.

2019 played centre and halfback before settling in to fullback for 12 weeks including the finals series that ended with a loss to Raiders in the Prelim. Squeezed out of Souths to make way for Latrell - was told he would be second-choice and was permitted to explore options, so he did.

Most of 2020 as Tigers fullback, then 5/8th and centre mix for 2021. Bench, centre and 5/8th for 2022, 5/8th and FB for 2023, centre for all of his 7 matches in 2024, centre for most of 2025 but stints at HB, 5/8th and lock. HB all of 2026 for a win rate of 5W 7L.

Where in his personal history has Doueihi ever tied down a position as assuredly his own, no questions on his performances or selection. Answer is never, he has always been a positional journeyman because he's not quite agile enough in attack or defence, doesn't make great contact in tackles, but is a good ball runner and fit enough to play all game. But that's on him, two clubs have given AD more than enough time to cement a position.

Personally I think lock is OK, I think Tigers are lean in the backrow and if AD was to commit to adding some size he might be very useful. We have some good young halves on the books that need to either play or will leave. I don't think AD takes you to the Finals or a Premiership as your first-choice HB. I wish he was good enough to pick and stay in the centres where we are extremely lean.
 
You have to ask why this has happened, is it as simple as AD acting like a child?

AD seemed happy at the club and we need him for next year. We can't rely on two rookies...can we?

Surely it could have been managed in a way that kept everyone happy.

It seems so amateurish.
AD is here long term , AD plays on the right . Andrews is the future , Andrew’s plays on the left . Luai is a money hungry chaser , Luai plays on the left . Anyone with half a brain either leaves the status quo or drops luai for a seamless transition into first grade for Andrews . Benji has NFI!!!!!
 
AD is here long term , AD plays on the right . Andrews is the future , Andrew’s plays on the left . Luai is a money hungry chaser , Luai plays on the left . Anyone with half a brain either leaves the status quo or drops luai for a seamless transition into first grade for Andrews . Benji has NFI!!!!!
They both can go . I’d rather get a nikorima or even The oldest May to come in and transition next year to the future . Or we just go full raiders and do it . They did it . Why can’t we ? Sure it’s taken a while , but I feel like we are ahead of the curve getting through the teething problems now . Andruws is just as good potentially as Sanders and even Strange z they just have a 1-2 year jump on him . Same with Latu .
 
Reckon there’s any chance AD has watched Luai make his ‘business decisions’ this year and thought, why not me?
At least that’s what his manager is thinking . Especially with zero interest at the bears . There’s a prime position of marquee player ready for the taking . You gotta remember too the bears didn’t have the salary cap dispensation they have now , nor did anyone genuinely think the chiefs would have this much interest . As well as no one thought Vlandys would land this tv deal . They thought it would be the same as the last . .
It can’t be coincidence that this summer will be a potentially once in a lifetime a lifetime window for players to cash in .
 
It’s all driven by AD’ s actions/decisions the club can’t control his decisions

How did it get to this point?

Purely AD? They mighten be able to control his decisions but they should be able to influence them, for the clubs benefit.

What happened that made him change his mind so dramatically?

Does this happen at other clubs?
 

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