The 2024 National Rugby League (NRL) season has delivered another devastating blow to the Wests Tigers, whose 13-year wait for a return to the finals now looks all but impossible after three of their first-grade players were hit with disciplinary charges following a lopsided 0-point loss to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Saturday. The result and subsequent disciplinary action have compounded a brutal five-game losing streak for the club, which has been reeling from off-field and on-field turbulence in recent weeks.
The most high-profile charges landed on young gun Latu Fainu and key playmaker Adam Doueihi, both of whom accepted early guilty plea offers that will see them sidelined for upcoming matches. Fainu received a Grade 3 dangerous contact charge stemming from a dangerous tackle that earned him a 10-minute sin bin during the clash, carrying an automatic two-match suspension if he takes the proposed deal. Doueihi, meanwhile, was handed a one-match ban for a high tackle on Bulldogs player Harry Hayes, and is set to miss the Tigers’ upcoming away fixture against Canberra. If either player chooses to challenge the charges at the NRL Judiciary and lose their appeal, they will face an additional one-week suspension on top of the proposed bans. With Doueihi out, five-eighth Jarome Luai — playing his first match for the Tigers since confirming his 2025 transfer to the Parramatta Eels — will be forced to carry a larger playmaking load for the depleted side.
The most shocking moment of the match came from veteran Tigers prop Alex Twal, a player widely known for his calm on-field demeanor, who lost his composure in two separate incidents. Twal was sent to the sin bin in the 69th minute for striking Bulldogs utility Jaeman Salmon in the face, with the Tigers already down to 12 men due to Fainu’s earlier sin binning. While he avoided a suspension, Twal will be required to pay a $1800 fine for contrary conduct if he accepts the early guilty plea. Just before full time, when Twal returned to the field, he clashed again with Bulldogs forward Josh Curran as the final siren sounded — an altercation that match officials opted not to penalize with a second sin bin.
Speaking to reporters in the Bulldogs’ changing rooms after the match, Salmon downplayed the incident, confirming the two shook hands post-game and noting that the physical exchange was nothing out of the ordinary for rugby league. “It didn’t hurt that much,” Salmon said. “It was a bit of theatrics with it I guess, but what happens on the field stays on the field and I’m sure Twal is a good fella. It was just a bit of push and shove. I might have got under his skin a bit, but it’s all good. It was rugby league.” Salmon also revealed he had played the entire match through significant pain, having undergone two finger surgeries in as many weeks after a tendon injury flared up. He had to get a local anaesthetic injection just to take the field, adding that he entered the match with a real chance of needing a third surgery if his stitches split again.
For the Bulldogs, the shutout win has kept their own 2024 finals hopes very much alive. Saturday’s result leaves Cameron Ciraldo’s side just two points outside the NRL’s top eight, with star captain Stephen Crichton expected to make his return from injury for their upcoming blockbuster against the in-form New Zealand Warriors. Ciraldo kept a long-held team tradition alive after the win, confirming the side will get free coffee at all team training sessions next week as a reward for holding the Tigers scoreless. Salmon said the shutout performance marked a return to the aggressive, disciplined identity the Bulldogs have been working to rebuild this season. “A couple of performances haven’t gone our way this year, but I can’t knock the way we’ve been training,” he said. “If we can put a couple more performances like that together, we’ll give ourselves a good shot to make the finals. We had to get back to our 2025 selves and I think tonight was a good step.”
The disciplinary announcements from the NRL also included charges for two other players across the league: Canberra Raiders forward Owen Pattie and South Sydney Rabbitohs veteran David Fifita, both of whom have been offered one-match bans for their own dangerous contact offences from Round X.