Michael Maguire has refused to explain the surprise decision to move Adam Doueihi to the centres despite admitting he's been the Wests Tigers' best player this NRL season.
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In a bold selection gamble, Doueihi is set to be shifted out of the five-eighth position he's starred in and into the centres when the struggling Tigers face Newcastle on Friday.
The switch has been practised all week at training with utility Moses Mbye moved into the halves alongside Luke Brooks as the Tigers hunt just their third win of 2021.
It's a daring move for Maguire, who did not care to explain his reasons on Thursday morning.
"I'll let him do the talking on the field," he said when asked why Doueihi had been moved.
"That's what it's all about.
"We know where we're at as a team and we want to get a really strong performance.
"We've tinkered with how we're going to play and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all transpires on the field.
"That's the key."
Doueihi was moved from fullback to five-eighth at the start of this season to give consistency in the halves, although all the pressure has been on halfback Brooks.
It's understood the latest selection call came as a shock to the playing group when it was announced on Tuesday, although Maguire said Doueihi himself took it well.
"Really good actually. It's obviously a difference, it's a bit of a change for him," Maguire said.
"Wherever you get selected to play you go out and play your best and that's one thing that Adam does."
The 22-year-old has been the standout for the Tigers this year but has been without peer in his on-field effort.
"He has been excellent. I'm looking forward to seeing him being excellent in the centres," Maguire said.
"He's a strong ball runner. We'll see how that all plays out."
The changes come after another disappointing loss, 36-28 to the Gold Coast on Sunday, in which the Tigers leaked three tries in the opening 12 minutes.
To stoke his young side into action Maguire has made several other changes for the clash with the Knights in Brisbane.
Teenage dummy-half Jake Simpkin has been dropped back to the extended bench with Jacob Liddle returning to the starting side.
"I've got two young hookers who are growing into their position, they're growing," Maguire said.
"Those guys, we'll let them flow in experience.
"This is an opportunity now for Lids to come back in and show what he's learnt over this period of time."
Australian Associated Press
