Wests Tigers insiders say that Tim Sheens used to tell them during his time in charge of the club that the only player he'd ever coached who took defeat as hard as Robbie Farah was Ricky Stuart.

Farah may be a favourite of the Tigers faithful for his on-field heroics, but it is his off-field demeanour that has put him offside with coach Jason Taylor and others at the club.

Whether or not that justifies telling the Tigers' long-standing captain and the best hooker in NSW that his services are no longer wanted is something only those within the club could know. But the decision to tell Farah to move on has absolutely nothing to do with the salary cap.

To understand just how strained the relationship between Farah and those in charge of the club must be, consider the following:

• Taylor is prepared to allow one of the top three hookers in the game to play for a rival club;
• the Tigers are willing to carry a large percentage of his $1.9 million contract over the next two years on their salary cap;
• the joint-venture's longest-serving and most high-profile player has not only been told that he would play reserve grade if he stays but would also have to train with the part-time squad; and,
• another hooker may be signed to replace Farah next season while Manaia Cherrington develops, with Manly's Matt Ballin believed to be an option. 

In other words, Wests Tigers are prepared to do whatever it takes to remove Farah from the team, and Taylor would not be able to make such a controversial call if his long term coaching future hadn't been assured by the board.

The decision is also an indication that the Tigers do not expect to be premiership contenders in the remaining two years of Farah's contract and want to build a team around the likes of young playmakers Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses, star fullback James Tedesco and Cherrington.

Clearly, officials don't consider Farah to be a good mentor for those players and it has been reported that he is a poor dressing-room leader, particularly when the chips are down - as they have been for much of this season.

In fact, the Tigers have had little success since their 2005 grand final win and it is claimed that rather than consoling or encouraging teammates after a loss they have to tip-toe around him because of his reaction to defeat.

Farah revealed after a golden-point loss in 2010 that he deals with defeat by shutting himself off from family, friends and teammates, and has gone to such lengths as to turn his phone off for 36 hours after a game.

This columnist witnessed the vibe Farah can emit as a signal not to approach him in the dressing rooms at Wembley Stadium after a Test against England during the 2011 Four Nations tournament.

With concerns over the fitness of Darren Lockyer, Sheens had planned to move Cooper Cronk to five-eighth and play Farah off the interchange in a bid to ensure the Australian captain would be fit for the last game of his illustrious career in the final at Elland Road.

However, Lockyer passed a fitness test so Farah wasn't required and as the media waited in an outer dressing room after the Kangaroos' 36-20 win with members of the coaching staff, those players who didn't play and formula one driver Mark Webber, Farah's disappointment radiated through the room.

What can't be disputed is Farah's toughness - a characteristic often overlooked because of his skill but one which he has displayed repeatedly for NSW, including Origin II of this year's series when he played after dislocating his shoulder in the series opener.

He also played the deciding match of the 2013 series with a rib injury and went to extraordinary lengths to try and play in this year's decider after breaking his hand - although the Blues coaching staff had ruled him out before he even trained with the team.

To many outsiders, that would suggest he is an inspirational player. But Taylor and the Tigers hierarchy obviously don't see him that way.

For Farah, the choice now is whether to stay and try to embarrass Taylor into recalling him to the NRL squad next season or to find a new club - a task that has so far proven difficult for his manager Sam Ayoub after first being informed of the Tigers plans seven weeks ago.

Leeds appear to be the most genuine option available to Farah as the Challenge Cup winners are in the market for a hooker next season to replace Catalans-bound Paul Aiton and have recently signed Tigers prop and Farah's long-time team-mate Keith Galloway.

The Rhinos, who are also interested in Canberra's Josh McCrone, have a strict wage structure they won't break for any player but that should not matter if the Tigers are willing to pay the majority of Farah's wage.

However, Farah wants to continue playing Origin and is only interested in moving to another Sydney club capable of winning a premiership.

Gold Coast coach Neil Henry, who has ruled out an approach for Farah, suggested other clubs may be looking to re-structure their rosters to accommodate the 31-year-old.

"Clubs might be shuffling things around and thinking we will let it go for a bit, he is obviously on the market let's see what we can do," Henry told Triple M. "I think behind the scenes there would be a few clubs interested."