Sport Confidential: Adam Doueihi set to face old teammates as Wests Tigers get ready to play Souths
After becoming a high-profile casualty from Latrell Mitchell’s arrival at Redfern, Adam Doueihi landed at Wests Tigers. And while the manner of his departure still stings, it’s a move he doesn’t regret.
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Adam Doueihi says being squeezed out of the Rabbitohs “hurt” him last year as he prepares to play his former club for the first time on Friday night.
Doueihi was the high-profile casualty from Latrell Mitchell’s arrival at Redfern during the off-season. He had made the No.1 jersey his own at the back end of last year and was expecting to fill the role again this year before Mitchell’s switch from the Roosters to South Sydney.
The move pushed Doueihi out of the Rabbitohs and into the welcoming arms of the Tigers.
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“It hurt me leaving,” Doueihi said.
“The Tigers are a fantastic club and I’m really happy I made the move.
“It’s been a good move. It’s another game of footy. I was there for a couple of years. I don’t look into that stuff. I’m really settled here now and we’re starting to grow our combinations. We’ve got some belief in this group.”
It won’t be the clash of the No.1s which Doueihi is looking forward to most. He knows who will be coming for him when the teams clash at Bankwest Stadium.
“The usual boys Cody and Reyno (Adam Reynolds) will try and get into me,” Doueihi said.
“There will be a bit of chatter. I’ll let Cody talk. I won’t be biting. It’ll be good fun.
“It’ll be exciting. Once you get into it you forget about all that stuff and just try to do what it takes to get the win. I don’t mind who the opposition is.”
Doueihi said he is starting to feel at ease in the fullback role after beginning the season at centre.
“I’m starting to feel comfortable there now,” Doueihi said.
“There are still some key moments in games that we aren’t icing. We’re working really hard at training to get our combinations up to scratch and lead the boys around the park.”
D-Day looms for Pay as Dogs try to lure stars
Next week looms as one of the most vital in Canterbury’s history.
A decision on coach Dean Pay’s future is expected to be made as early as next week as the Bulldogs look for some stability amid the ongoing uncertainty surrounding their head coach.
Pay’s contract ends at the end of the year and with just one win to start the year the pressure is mounting even if their roster is inferior.
There is plenty of pressure building off the field too for the Bulldogs who are desperate to add some marquee players to their squad.
The club is also in discussions with a handful of companies regarding a major sponsor.
The Bulldogs are the only team without a front of jersey sponsor and want to have an outcome either way next week.
Canterbury are also hoping to get an answer from Canberra star Nick Cotric next week. Cotric’s team are pushing for a five-year deal to secure the 21-year-old.
The Bulldogs are also eyeing some potential castaways from the Broncos who may be forced to move some players on.
In some good news for the club, they have secured back-rower Raymond Faitala-Mariner for another two years.
DOUEIHI HURT BY BUNNIES’ EXIT
MANLY SOUND OUT HAMSTRING GURUS
Manly has reached out to the hamstring gurus who saved Josh Reynolds’ career in a bid to protect Tom Trbojevic’s troublesome injuries.
Reynolds paid to get himself to Melbourne last year to work with the Australian Catholic University after an injury-plagued 2018 where he struggled with hamstring issues.
It is a path Manly are considering taking up with their superstar fullback who is in the midst of another stint on the sidelines after tearing his hamstring last month.
Obviously travel restrictions will hamper their efforts but Manly want to explore ways to ensure Trbojevic lasts the season when he gets back on the park. The injury cruelled a large chunk of Trbojevic’s 2019 season.
The university’s David Opar is considered the leading expert in Australia when it comes to hamstring issues. He spent two weeks repairing Reynolds’ broken body with great success.
Cronulla Matt Moylan did some work with Opar during the off-season.
NZ-TONGA TEST ON CARDS
Plans for an end-of-season Test between New Zealand and Tonga are gaining momentum as an appetite for some international football to be played grows.
It is hoped the teams will play at least one Test at the end of the year with a potential for more matches. The date being tossed around is November 7 and depending on travel restrictions, the match is intended to be played in Auckland.
The first Origin game is on November 4. At this stage it is unlikely Australia will play any matches at the end of the year. The proposed hybrid game between the Kangaroos and All Blacks is all but dead.
ROCK ON
Sunday Night with Matty Johns will host Aussie rock band DMA’s this Sunday. To help celebrate the launch of their new album The Glow, the band will perform a song on the show and chat with Johns about the album and career following the Dragons and Manly match on Sunday.
BIG FAREWELL FOR STALWART
A huge turnout from some of rugby league’s biggest names is expected to farewell Gold Coast rugby league stalwart Tom Searle on Friday. Searle died after a long battle with illness last month.
WHALE OF A TIME
Andrew Fifita, Sutherland Shire icon? The Cronulla star posting this great picture of himself taken by teammate Royce Hunt on Thursday. “Finally they put my statue up in the shire,’’ Fifita joked.
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Blast from the past: Arthur Kitinas
Nine top grade games (one for Eastern Suburbs and eight for Souths) in 1977-78. Coach of Souths (14 games) in 2004.
Churchill, Piggins, McCarthy ... and Kitinas. Arthur Kitinas sits alongside some of the greatest Rabbitohs achieving the rare feat of having played and coached at the foundation club.
A South Sydney junior, Kitinas made the switch to the Roosters ahead of the 1977, having been coaxed to join the club by Eastern Suburbs lower grade coach Bill Anderson.
He played one game off the bench — a 15-minute stint as a 17-year-old against Newtown.
“They wanted me to play earlier against South Sydney who had Piggins and John O’Neill and I said ‘not a chance’,” Kitinas said.
He followed Anderson to the Rabbitohs the following year, starting the majority of his games at hooker. By 22, Kitinas retired after one last season back at Easts playing lower grades.
In his late 20s Kitinas started to coach. He landed his first coaching gig at the Roosters in 1991 and spent a decade there as head coach of various teams including their under-23s, Jersey Flegg and reserve grade.
Ricky Stuart’s arrival at Bondi led to his exit before Phil Gould asked Kitinas to join Souths as part of the club’s re-entry into the competition in 2002. And midway through 2004 he replaced Paul Langmack as head coach.
“I had no aspirations to be a first grade coach,” Kitinas said. “I was more of a development coach. But having done it, I enjoyed it.
“The first game was a terrifying experience. When you’re on the sideline and down 16-0, you’re thinking ‘what the hell have I done’? That win will always sit there as a highlight.”
Souths beat Melbourne 28-26 in their first game, then Manly the next week, but won just one of their next 11.
Kitinas stayed on as an assistant the following season before a few seasons coaching reserve grade at the Tigers.
Nowadays he is the manager of the Roosters’ Harold Matthews team.
Originally published as Sport Confidential: Adam Doueihi set to face old teammates as Wests Tigers get ready to play Souths