Adam Doueihi, Benji Marshall, and club CEO Shaun Mielekamp will be sitting down together in the next 72 hours in a bid to solve this week’s shock Wests Tigers crisis.
The meeting, which will be held on Monday at the latest according to Daily Telegraph reports, will revolve around the dramatic breakdown between Doueihi and Marshall at training on Thursday. The Tigers coach told Doueihi he would be playing off the bench and at lock, which then led to Doueihi blowing up and leaving Wests training.
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The 29-year-old then told Mielekamp that he wouldn’t be involved in the club’s game against the Canberra Raiders on Saturday in any capacity.
That in turn has led the Wests CEO to set up this emergency meeting, which will most likely be held after the fourteenth-placed Tigers play on Saturday afternoon down in the nation’s capital.
A major question will be raised at the moot: Can Doueihi and Marshall work together beyond this spectacular blow-up?
Reports suggest they both want peace, and quickly. What that looks like for either side remains to be seen, and with Mielekamp helming the discussion both sides will likely get the chance to say their piece.
But, Doueihi has remained very firm that he will play halfback or nothing.
There’s been no indication that Doueihi wants to break his contract with the Tigers yet, especially considering it runs through to 2029, nor does Wests management want to boot one of their best players.
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There may be no way back if it means Benji loses the dressing room, though; the Telegraph has reported another Tiger already approached him after Doueihi’s meltdown to speak about the issue.
All of this also means that Javon Andrews will definitely be debuting for Wests on Saturday as the team’s No.7, in what is a must-win game.
Andrews has played at five-eighth in NSW Cup all through this year.
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