Fresh after his forced exit of the Wests Tigers, Joe Ofahengaue has revealed the odd circumstances leading to his mid-season move to Parramatta.
In what was a surprise move, the Tigers moved him on just minutes before teams were named a few weeks ago.
It came after he had almost been released the week prior, only to have the deal pulled by the Tigers at the last minute, who wanted him to play that weekend.
It's believed the late move from the Tigers caused Ofahengaue to undergo medicals twice at Parramatta, once prior to the deal being pulled and once following his last game for the Concord-based club.
Ofahengaue told News Corp that he had never wanted to leave the Tigers.
“I don't want to go too far into details, but everyone knows I didn't want to leave that club. Sometimes you've just got to read the room. I just put my best foot forward and backed myself to come here,” Ofahengaue told News Corp.
Despite showing decent performances for the joint venture club, the former Origin representative was forced out the door by coach Tim Sheens likely to open up some game time for young gun Shawn Blore.
However, likely with more substance to the story, in a peculiar turn of events the 27-year-old said he was keen to buy into everything the Tigers were trying to accomplish before being sacked.
“Everyone knows how passionate I was about that club. I signed three years for a reason because I wanted to stay there to be a part of the changes that were going to come. Things changed, and what happened was out of my control," Ofahengaue said.
“It was a no-brainer for me to come to a club that really wanted me. I'm so grateful that I get to experience this locker room.”
Despite his arguably unfair treatment at Concord, the forward would not be doing much complaining this week following his efforts in helping Parramatta to a 34-4 win over Manly.
'Joe O' says he is extremely thankful to the Eels and he looks to revitalise his NRL career at his now third club.
“I felt for my mates because they didn't deserve for me to leave halfway through the year. I didn't think I deserved that either, but sometimes you can't control things,” he said.
“I'm just glad that the club wanted me here and that allowed me to bring a positive out of it.”
