Robbie Farah got paid by Wests Tigers before running out against them for Souths

SITTING in South Sydney’s dressing room last Friday night, Farah was preparing to face his former club, when he got an email from Wests Tigers.

ROBBIE Farah could only chuckle at the irony.

Sitting in South Sydney’s dressing room at ANZ Stadium last Friday night, Farah was preparing for a crucial match against his former club, Wests Tigers.

Farah left Concord last year in acrimonious circumstances, but was focused on the job at hand as he prepared to confront his former side.

As he was slipping on his red and green South Sydney jumper about an hour before the 8pm kick-off, Farah’s phone beeped, alerting him to a new email.

Much to his surprise, the email sender was the Tigers. It was Farah’s monthly pay slip from the Tigers.

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The timing was all too funny for Farah. Photo: Gregg Porteous

The NSW hooker could only laugh.

Because he had a year remaining on his Wests Tigers deal when he left the club, Farah still gets paid mid-monthly. He just didn’t expect to get a pay slip as he prepared to play his old team.

Rabbitohs teammates were left bemused at the timing of the email.

Being an automated email, there seems little chance the Tigers sent it to Farah deliberately just before kick-off. It certainly didn’t seem to bother Farah, who played a blinder in his side’s 28-8 win.

It was a performance which all but guaranteed Farah a spot in the NSW side for State of Origin I in Brisbane on May 31.

Blues coach Laurie Daley has been a long-time Farah fan.

“He (Farah) is a great player, but we have other options,” Daley told NRL 360.

“We’re looking at Nathan Peats from the Titans, Peter Wallace from Penrith, Cam McInnes from the Dragons — those types of guys. We’re looking at those guys very closely, there’s a few other guys.”

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Former NSW hooker Danny Burderus said this week that Farah must be the Blues’ No.9.

“There’s no one challenging Robbie at the moment,” Buderus said. “I understand which way Laurie will go.

“It’s maybe a good time to go in another direction but Robbie played some good footy last week so I would imagine Robbie would be there.”

Originally published as Robbie Farah got paid by Wests Tigers before running out against them for Souths