West Tigers centre Joey Leilua has been dropped to the reserves this week by coach Michael Maguire, and legend Andrew Johns has a message for the out of form Tiger - he has "one month to save his career".
Leilua come under scrutiny in the off season after being overweight after the COVID lockdown, but it's now not the weight that appears to be the issue, but rather the way he has been performing.
He has struggled for form and has been a shell of himself to start the season.
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Speaking on Nine's WWOS, John's said the dropping of Leilua was the correct decision.
“He needed to be dropped,” Johns said.
“There was no urgency. That edge had no talk, no desire.
“I think Joey’s got a
month to save his career.
“We spoke in the off-season about how he’s a lost a heap of weight, I don’t see that he’s fit.”
John's also added that he believes Leilua just doesn't look "interested" at the moment.
“I think he has a month to save his career, he’s got to go back and work on his game, desire and fitness." John's added.
“It’s going to be tough, he’s going to go back to Western Suburbs – playing in front of 400, 500 people.
“The talent’s there, you can see how talented he is and we’ve seen it during his career, but at the moment he doesn’t look interested.”
The Tigers play against Newcastle on Sunday afternoon at McDonald Jones Stadium.
