July 19, 2026 — 1:39pmAlex Twal was so angry after full-time on Saturday night he refused to shake hands with Canterbury forward Josh Curran.Then the NRL match review committee heaped more pain on the spluttering Wests Tigers on Sunday when they charged Adam Doueihi and Latu Fainu, which could force coach Benji Marshall to take a punt on teen sensation Javon Andrews for this weekend’s must-win clash in Canberra.Alex Twal was still seething with Josh Curran after full-time.Fox SportsDoueihi is facing a week on the sidelines for a grade-two careless high tackle on Harry Hayes, while Fainu risks a two-match ban for a grade-three dangerous contact offence on Leo Thompson.Queensland-raised Andrews, just 19, was excellent again for Wests during their win over Canterbury in the NSW Cup on Sunday, and is making an irresistible case to start in the halves alongside Jarome Luai, or secure a bench spot.The Tigers’ frustrations were best summed up after full-time at Accor Stadium when Twal, one of the most reserved players in the NRL, could not contain his emotions, and fronted Curran when he smiled and asked for a high five.Twal was sent to the sin bin in the 70th minute for slapping Jaeman Salmon, who later admitted to some “theatrics” when he quickly went to ground.Referee Tyson Brough sends Alex Twal to the sin bin.NRL PhotosThe 30-year-old Twal returned for the final minute and went straight after Salmon, which prompted Curran to step in.While Twal and Salmon buried the hatchet with a post-game handshake, things remained tense when a smiling Curran later approached the Tigers’ lock.TV cameras captured Twal bumping into Curran with his chest and muttering some words before needing to be accompanied from the field by Tigers staffer Tim Grant.Sources with knowledge of the post-match incident, not authorised to speak publicly, said they were proud of the emotion Twal showed, rather than disappointed by his lack of sportsmanship.“Would you rather see Twal hurting the way he was, or players patting each other on the back and laughing after a loss?” the club source said.Josh Curran and Alex Twal clash right on full-time in the middle of Accor Stadium.NRL PhotosTwal was given the option of staying off the field at the end of his 10-minute stint in the sin bin, but wanted to return to finish the job with his “brothers”, said the same sources.When asked about the option of keeping Twal out of the action, especially after he had been ridiculed by Canterbury fans when he returned from the bin – and even given the Arabic “khawd” hand gesture by several Bulldogs supporters – Marshall said: “I thought 30 seconds is enough time to not get in any more trouble.“The thing I love about ‘Twally’ is he loves the club, he’s passionate, and he cares about the result.“You don’t often see his frustrations. It’s a reflection of a lot of us at the moment.”Marshall will spend Monday working out whether to fight the Doueihi and Fainu charges, and whether to give Andrews his debut.Some fans will be calling for Andrews to be given his shot now after Luai confirmed last week he would leave the club a year early to take up a short-term deal with Parramatta.The Tigers’ blazing start to the season means they remain an outside chance of playing finals football for the first time in 15 years, but they will need to win their remaining six games.Fainu was deemed unlucky to be sent to the bin for his tackle on Thompson, let alone charged the following day.“He goes low, he makes the tackle low, and unfortunately Leo Thompson gets in a bit of a dangerous position,” Andrew Johns said on Channel Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.“But he’s done nothing wrong, he’s tackled low. You can’t take accidents out of the game; it’s not even a penalty.“You can’t tackle high because you’ll chin them … and you can’t go low? Where are you supposed to hit them?”The high risk of injury, however, prompted the match review committee to hand down the grade-three charge.From our partners