Wests Tigers boss says club is no soft touch

Josh Aloiai slipped into a Manly jersey as Wests Tigers chair Lee Hagipantelis insisted the club had shown they were no longer a soft touch with their handling of his move to the Sea Eagles.

Former Wests Tigers prop Josh Aloiai has jumped ship to Manly

Josh Aloiai slipped into a Manly jersey on Monday as Wests Tigers chair Lee Hagipantelis insisted the club had shown they were no longer a soft touch with their handling of his controversial move to the Sea Eagles.

Hagipantelis had threatened to make Aloiai mow the lawns at Leichhardt and Campbelltown unless the club reached an agreement with Manly that was acceptable to the Tigers.

The Tigers eventually allowed him to leave, but only after they received financial compensation from the Sea Eagles and signing Brisbane and Queensland forward Joe Ofahengaue to fill the void created by Aloiai’s departure.

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The Tigers have been branded pushovers in the past, but Hagipantelis insists they showed with their handling of Aloiai that they would no longer be an easy mark.

“I said we would not be releasing him unless there was an advantageous outcome for the Wests Tigers,” Hagipantelis said.

“At the end of the day if a player comes to you and asks to be released in the manner Josh approached the club, his remaining at the club comes untenable.

“It wasn’t simply a matter of the player approaching the club and asking for the release. There was another level introduced into it — it was publicly reported that he threatened to never pull on the jersey again.

“The jersey has a certain intrinsic value that every supporter understands. It became clear from the outset that him remaining at the Tigers was untenable.

“What we have done is release a player who did not want to play for the Wests Tigers, we have secured a player who does want to play for the Wests Tigers, and there has been a financial accommodation with two of the clubs which serves the interest of the Wests Tigers.
“So we held firm and we fulfilled out expectations as to how it was going to pan out. I think from a Wests Tigers fan and member perspective you should be proud with the way the club dealt with this situation.”

Aloiai was at Manly’s Narrabeen headquarters on Monday, having made an immediate switch to the Sea Eagles after being released fro the final year of his contract with the Tigers.

Ofahengaue, whose deal will be paid in part by the Brisbane Broncos, is yet to begin training with the Tigers, although he is expected to join his new teammates later this week.

“Did Josh get what he wanted? Yes, he got released,” Hagipantelis said.
“Did the Wests Tigers set the conditions on which the release would be granted? Yes we did. Were those conditions fulfilled? Yes, they were.

“We had a player that made it very clear he didn’t want to play with us. I ask rhetorically, why would any fan or member want that player to remain?”

Asked wether he had a parting message for Aloiai, Hagipantelis said: “I just wish Josh all the very best. I hope he takes a moment to think about some of the more intemperate remarks he made about the Wests Tigers and that he may think better of them moving forward.

“I would hope he cherishes his time at the Wests Tigers and this incident hasn’t soured any of that.”