Martin Gabor from Nca Newswire
June 19th, 2023 4:03 pm
Former Wests Tigers forward Joe Ofahengaue has opened up on his departure from the club, revealing he never wanted to leave but was forced out just months into a three-year deal.
The Tongan international has settled in nicely at the Eels but it’s foreign territory for a man who just last year won the Kelly-Barnes Medal as the best player at the Tigers.
The former Bronco - who wasn’t happy at that club either - collected the award hours after he inked a new deal to stay at the club because he could see a bright future despite the Tigers claiming the wooden spoon in 2022.
“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 said.
“I don’t think it was that hard when it wasn’t really my choice.
“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.
“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.”
The decision to release Ofahengaue was a strange one given he provided invaluable experience to a forward pack full of emerging stars who looked up to him.
It’s why there were emotional scenes at Leichhardt Oval when he crashed over for a try in his final game for the club before making the move to Parramatta.
“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.”
It’s been a hectic few weeks for Ofahengaue, who was rushed into the Eels starting side to take on the Cowboys just days after he’d played against them as a Tiger but lasted just 10 minutes in his Eels debut before he injured his calf.
He’s back to full fitness now and punched out 30 minutes off the bench in the big win over Manly, although he admits he still needs to learn the team song.
“I’m just glad I got to play more than 10 minutes,” he said, paying tribute to Eels coach Brad Arthur for believing in him.
“My first game was disappointing because I came off early with an injury.
“I’ve been around long enough to know that things just happen and you can’t control everything, but I promised Brad that I’d do everything I could to get back as quickly as possible.
“I was happy to get through a good chunk of the second half because I wanted to get through some work and test out the calf.”
Replies
I doubt he knows the Tigers team song given they hardly won any games when he was there LOL
I was gonna say, he'll be close to winning more games with Parra this year than at the Tigers in 2 years.
Yeah Joe sing us the song
Only joking we know u told a little porkey
Welcome in Joe show us some of those post contact metres
Only Grieg has nothing listed for 2024. Maka is contracted and Ogden has a Club Option.
This and the previous report that we were in talks with Emu before his injury, gives me hope that we'll keep all 3 at least for another year.
I think Greig is already agreed til 2026, it would be the final details in the contract for it to get done.
Rodwell and Momoisea are the two that will go. Makatoa is signed til 2024, Ogden has a year option. Plus Betham-Misa will be fast-tracked to be depth.
So yeah not concerned losing any of them, more so Rodwell and Momoisea are gone.
How's the Tigers form on recruitment. They finally get a consistent, hard working, rep calibre player - and they rissole him mid season. Why on earth would you get rid of your most consistent performer from last year when you are trying to rebuild a club that hasn't smelt like making the 8 for a decade?
Compare that against some of the players they have paid good money to retain/keep. Makes very little sense.
Glad he's with us now. I'm confident BA will have him knocking on QLD's door again soon enough.
They probably need his cap money to make a big offer for a halfback.
The Tigers are lopsided cap-wise because they big money is in their forward pack (Bateman, Klemmer, Api, Papali'i.
If they are paying a slice of Big Joe's contract, that would be even funnier. Quality pick up for us. BA will get him back playing for QLD next year.