Despite being the first-choice fullback for the last 2 seasons, Daine Laurie's future in a Wests Tigers jersey seems uncertain as he is unable to lock down a starting spot in his final contracted year.
Laurie was relegated to the bench in the Tigers' Round 4 match against the Melbourne Storm where he would see just 9 minutes of action.
Despite being one of the only regular 'livewires' on the team, coach Tim Sheens opted to leave the fullback on the sideline for most of the fixture despite the club chasing a lead since the 18th minute.
Instead, the club seems set on giving Adam Doueihi another chance at fullback, a position he hasn't been the common choice for since the 2020 NRL season.
Though Laurie did still get a limited chance at fullback against Melbourne with Doueihi shifting to the centres, he was then forced to back up for NSW Cup, putting the 23-year-old's place in the first-grade team seem at risk.
This comes after the Tigers were actively chasing Mitchell Moses' signature before Parramatta was able to lock him up. Given the Tigers have shown time and time again they want to stand by Luke Brooks, a Moses and Brooks halves pairing was likely the club's end goal.
This means the club would likely cement Doueihi as a fullback and leave Laurie searching for a new contract, likely away from the joint venture.
While the ex-Panther featuring on the bench for the Tigers could have been a means of easing him back into the game from injury, Sheens sounds confident Doueihi can be the solution the club needs at fullback.
"Big fullbacks like Latrell and company are hard to nail one-on-one with the football," Sheens told AAP.
"He's got good skills to get the ball away, and he reads the game very well. It's just him reading the game and organising the offence that is a bonus for us."
