LeagueNews.co | Jess Malloy
The Wests Tigers face a significant setback at the start of their 2026 NRL season, as young playmaker Latu Fainu will be sidelined for the initial rounds due to injury.
Latu, only 20 years old, suffered a shoulder injury during the club's final match against the Gold Coast and will require a complete shoulder reconstruction.
This injury not only rules Fainu out of the 2025 Pacific Championships for Tonga but also prevents him from participating in the opening games of the 2026 season. This mirrors his 2024 debut season when he missed the early matches due to a hamstring issue.
In his absence, Jarome Luai and Adam Doueihi are set to take on the starting halves role for the upcoming season.
"Latu's unfortunately got to have a shoulder recon so he'll [miss the] early rounds of next year before he comes back," stated CEO Shane Richardson during the Behind The Roar podcast.
"Other than that, we have no injury problems, which is a phenomenon. We probably have only seven players who will be tied up in the internationals." Richardson added, "Only one of them in three, and that's probably KPP, but the rest are only one-offs, so we should be able to go into the December portfolio with all of the players back training towards that first fixture."