"Untenable": Townsend pans Doueihi over withdrawal

With the Wests Tigers now in the midst of a situation between coach Benji Marshall and Adam Doueihi, Chad Townsend believes that the halfback's tenure at the club is now untenable.

It was reported this week that Marshall and Doueihi disagreed on where the 27-year-old would play against the Raiders, with Marshall wanting him to play lock rather than hold the No. 7 jersey.

As a result, the 127-game player for South Sydney and Wests has decided to withdraw from the match.

Reacting to the news, the 2016 Premiership player acknowledged that Doueihi was allowed to disagree with it but shouldn’t have acted in the manner that he has.

“Adam Doueihi has a right to not agree with the decision, and he has a right to be angry (and) to be frustrated because his form has been great,” Townsend said on SEN’s Kick Off.

“He deserves to be in the football side in my opinion, but, in saying that, your reaction now speaks volumes about how you go (and) who you are.

“I don't think that the reaction has been a positive one or a good one from Adam Doueihi.”

When asked by co-host Jimmy Smith as to whether the 27-year-old would be able to come back from this, Townsend believed it was unlikely.  

“I don't think so,” he added.

“How do you walk in the facility on Monday?

“If the Tigers win or the Tigers lose and you walk in and act like normal and carry on with your mates, let's just say, ‘Hey Terrell May, you're frustrated, you've lost, how are you, mate?’

“(Like) mate, get out of my face. I just don't see it happening, (it’s) untenable for me.

“I think he'll have to move on. If I'm a player there, I'd be frustrated.

“We need everyone on deck now.”

The embattled Tigers are off to the nation’s capital this week as they take on the Raiders on Saturday afternoon at GIO Stadium.

SEN League will have live coverage of the match from 12pm AEST with NRL Crunch Time, with the match kicking off at 3pm.