Brett Kimmorley has disclosed that star player Adam Doueihi confronted the Wests Tigers interim coach with an ultimatum: he must either be positioned in the halves in the NRL or play in the halves for reserve grade.
This confrontation occurred when Kimmorley stepped in as coach during the latter part of the 2022 season, following Michael Maguire's departure from the club.
Yesterday, the club informed News Corp that Doueihi would not feature in the crucial match against the Canberra Raiders after coach Benji Marshall decided to place the Lebanese international in the lock position rather than the halves.
Initial reports from the Daily Telegraph indicated that Doueihi refused to participate if assigned to the lock position, opting out after he did not train on Thursday, thereby leaving the team without key players for a vital game to salvage their season.
Emerging details reveal that this isn't the first instance of Doueihi making a positional demand; Kimmorley highlighted a similar situation from four years prior.
Meanwhile, young talent Javon Andrews is poised to make his NRL debut, joining Jarome Luai in the halves.
Although Doueihi successfully reduced his charge at the NRL judiciary and was tentatively named on the Tigers' extended bench, he will not participate in the match this Saturday afternoon in the nation's capital.