Wests Tigers prop Josh Aloiai has dropped a bombshell on the club, vowing to "never wear the jersey again" and demanding an immediate release to join Manly in 2021.
Tigers officials were left gobsmacked last week after one of their most committed players turned on the club in the hope of securing an immediate exit from the final year of his $350,000 contract.
Josh Aloiai is looking for the exit doors.CREDIT:NRL PHOTOS
Aloiai launched a fierce tirade against the Tigers just a month after his manager Tyran Smith approached the club for an extension, and two weeks after Smith emailed the club to tell them how well Aloiai had developed under coach Michael Maguire.
The sudden change of heart has caught the Tigers by surprise, especially considering how vocal Aloiai had been in support of the besieged Maguire throughout a turbulent season for the club.
Fed-up Wests Tigers officials privately believe the 25-year-old is taking a leaf out of Ryan Matterson's book and agitating for an early release because of a big-money offer at the Manly Sea Eagles.
"I find it very perplexing that only some four weeks ago, the player sat opposite to me and professed his love of the club and commitment," Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis told
The Herald.
The days of players, or others, thinking that they can use the Wests Tigers as a stepping stone are over
Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis
"Now we have a situation where a form of release has been sought, with a view to taking up a contract elsewhere obviously for more money. It is curious as to how that seems to generate welfare concerns."
Aloiai's manager also looks after Addin Fonua-Blake, who was granted a release from Manly to join the Warriors on one of the most lucrative deals for a prop in the history of the sport.
Sources within the game were shocked that Manly were willing to release Fonua-Blake, the best prop in the game
as voted by the players in a Sydney Morning Herald poll earlier in the year, for personal reasons without a replacement. However the recent events involving Aloiai could explain why.
"It is my understanding that he has agreed to terms with Manly for 2022 and 2023, but that is contingent upon a release in 2021," Hagipantelis said of the New Zealander who has played 90 games for the club since debuting in 2016.
Benji Marshall and Josh Aloiai at training together last year.CREDIT:GETTY
"In my view he has a contract with the Wests Tigers which he will fulfil in 2021 unless I can leverage a commercial advantage for the club. The days of players, or others, thinking that they can use the Wests Tigers as a stepping stone are over."
The Tigers are still reeling from missing out on Josh Addo-Carr's services last week after his manager, Mario Tartak, managed to use the club's four-year offer to extract an upgrade from the Storm, despite the winger requesting a release on compassionate grounds to be closer to family.
