Wests Tigers halfback Adam Doueihi has opened up about Jarome Luai's upcoming departure from the club as they face an uphill battle to finish their season inside the Top 8.
Luai will link up on a one-year deal with the Parramatta Eels before making the big trip to Port Moresby to kick off the PNG Chiefs franchise in 2028.
The bombshell news of Luai's exit from Concord has coincided with the club slipping in form and dropping rapidly out of finals contention.
The Samoan international signed with the Chiefs in April and was set to remain at the Tigers until the end of the 2027 season.
Although the club decided to prioritise the club's future generation of halves, as they may risk losing them to rivals if Luai stays for an extra 12 months.
It was then a mutual agreement from both parties that 2026 will be Luai's last in the orange and black.
The Tigers were nestled in the top four in Round 9, but have continually slipped down the ladder as the weeks go by, losing six of their past seven matches.
Doueihi admitted the optics aren't great around the timing during the past few weeks and revealed the conversations that occurred in Tigers camp.
“Just as a group, he spoke to us and told us where he was at,” Doueihi said to SEN 1170 Mornings.
“Both him and Benji spoke to us, very truthfully and honestly about the situation, and in terms of the long-term (future) of the club and where we're at.
“With Jarome signing with PNG for 2028, they just found it was the best decision for us as a club.
“That happened last week and, I guess the timing of it, (it) was the day before the Warriors game, which I guess isn't ideal, and, and then having press conferences last week before the Dogs game isn't ideal either, but it is what it is.
“Everyone's grown men and old enough to move on from it, so we try to do that.”
Doueihi escaped suspension for a high shot on Bulldogs' Harry Hayes at the judiciary on Tuesday night.
The Belmore-based club demolished the Tigers 32-0, recording their fifth straight loss.
Halves teammate Latu Fainu failed to have his dangerous throw charge overturned during the Dogs clash, leaving him with a three-match suspension.
When it rains, it pours in Leichhardt, but Doueihi remains confident the club can turn it around and is looking to simplify their game plan to block out the outside noise.
“I think we've just tried our best to just block out the ladder, block out finals talk, block out all the bad games we've had in the past month and just really try to dumb down and simple down (sic) our game,” Doueihi added.
“It's a tough time out there at the moment, when you're behind on the scoreboard so often.
“There's that word confidence and belief that everyone uses, that's this magic word.
“I guess when you go into a game like the Bulldogs last week, we did everything to prepare well during the week, come out of the blocks, and have a really good defensive set.
“They kick a 40/20 to start the game and they're on our try line and scoring within two minutes of the game… it's a dull feeling out there when that happens.
“You get punched in the face so early and you're fighting this confidence, you're fighting this form slump you're in, and it's just a dark place out there sometimes.
“I guess sometimes from the viewers or from the fans' perspective, it looks like you're not having a go, you're not trying, but it's just the complete opposite.
“Sometimes you're in a rut and you're just trying to fight back for everything, and just so many things are going against you that it's tough to get out of.
“But we're going back, we're training hard, we're gonna do everything we can this week to go down to Canberra and have our best performance and get back in the winning circle.”
The Tigers will make the trip to the nation's capital on Saturday to fight to get their season back on track.
