Christian Nicolussi
Fan favourite Adam Doueihi has spoken like a true captain by delivering his Wests Tigers teammates a few blunt home truths, declaring they lacked effort against Newcastle and even “had that look of boys not putting in”.
On the same day as the Tigers failed in their bid to have five-eighth Jackson Hastings’ dangerous-throw charge downgraded at the judiciary on Tuesday night, Douehi told the Herald: “It’s not a good look to have.
“It was a disappointing performance on the weekend. We’ve played against two under-strength teams now, and we probably should have won them both.”
The Tigers desperately need some wins, which they will have to get without star recruit Hastings, who will miss the next three games after the decision to challenge the charge for the tackle on Newcastle’s Tex Hoy failed to pay off.
If Hastings had taken the early plea, he would have missed just two matches but the Tigers believed they had a strong enough case to have the charge downgraded. They were unable to convince the judiciary, however, and Hastings will now be unavailable to face the Warriors, the Titans and the Sharks.
It caps off a disappointing few days for the Tigers, who were completely outplayed and out-enthused by the Knights on Sunday afternoon.
“To go to Newcastle on the weekend and dish that up, it wasn’t good enough,” Douehi said. “The lack of effort [stood out for me]. It’s easy for me to say from the sideline and not being out there, but that look of boys not putting in, it’s not a good look to have.
“I know how hard they worked during the week, which is why it doesn’t make any sense. To go from putting in a good 40 minutes against Melbourne to dishing that up, it’s something we have to address quickly.”
Doueihi, who is eyeing a return from knee surgery in round 14 against Manly after the bye, can’t return quickly enough to a side looking to avoid a third successive loss against the New Zealand Warriors on Friday.
The playmaker said under-siege halfback Luke Brooks was more than happy at the club, but the criticism from fans and the media would continue until the club started winning. Brooks was linked to a move - twice - to Newcastle during the off-season, while Canterbury could do with a halves partner for Matt Burton.
The Herald asked Brooks if he still wanted to be at the Tigers after the trial against the Roosters, to which he replied: “I’m here.” When pressed if he intended going elsewhere, he said: “Not that I know of.”
Doueihi said of Brooks: “He’s a local junior, so am I, and when you’re local junior, you have a lot more passion and care for the club.
“People don’t see that about Brooksy. He tries hard. It’s disappointing the criticism he gets, but it’s deserved for all of us at the moment, not just him.
“You get annoyed, but it comes with his position, it comes with my position, it comes with losing for so many years. He cops more than other players, which I feel isn’t fair.
“We have chats. He always comes in with a smile on his face. When he stops working hard at training I’ll have a conversation with him, but he’s always ripping in and leading the way. Nobody is questioning that.”
Doueihi had a two-year deal on the table at the Roosters before choosing a four-year contract to return home to the Tigers. He has not once regretted the decision.
“There are no regrets at all,” said Doueihi, a proud Lebanese-Australian who helped launch the NRL’s Multicultural Round in Belmore on Tuesday.
“I’m glad I signed here. I knew it would be a bumpy ride, but I’m keen to get success at this club, it’s a big goal of mine - it’s a goal for the boys here - and until that happens I’ll be staying.
Laurie Daley mentioned on his Big Sports Breakfast radio program Tuesday how the Tigers should look to shift Brooks to dummy-half if things continued to falter at halfback.
Daley said Brooks was not helped playing behind a beaten pack most weeks, but the positional switch had merit in the short term.
“He’s a good defender, has good speed out of dummy-half, he has a good left-foot kick ... I think he’d make a really good No. 9,” Daley told the Herald.
Wish he was back already absolutely love his passion and leadership for this club.
It’ll be interesting to see if Madge is brave enough to give Hastings and Adam a go in the halves if where sitting on the bottom ladder by the time his back.
Also great to see that the Rooster’s where kind enough to have a 2 yr deal ready to go for Doueihi. 🤫
Doueihi is the missing link to this team … as was Robbie when he was in the same position. He still has a lot to prove (Adam) and I’m eagerly awaiting his return. I’ll state it here that I thought he should have been given the c last season. But he will get it solely when he returns. He won’t hold back to give it to a player on the field. Very unlike Joe’s kissing on the head.
I think Luke has taken over the reins of Moses title of under achieving, due mainly to his salary. Like Adam discusses we aren’t saying how much he tries, but the outcome and construction to his plays on the field. They aren’t getting better just progressively worse. It’s a shame Adam is injured because Luke wouldn’t be here now. That’s the only reason why Sheens didn’t want to let him go.
Gee his return date has moved yet again ....Rd 14
We need it changed to Rd 4 ...by some miracle
