DAVID NOFOALUMA has broken his silence on his move to the Salford Red Devils following his messy exit from the Wests Tigers.
Despite being a Wests veteran, scoring 100 tries in 192 appearances for the Concord club, the 30-year-old was loaned out to the Melbourne Storm at the end of the 2022 NRL season before reportedly being told by new Tigers head coach Benji Marshall that he wouldn’t play first-grade with the club again.
That led to Nofoaluma taking the alleged comments to the Rugby League Players’ Association (RLPA) as the winger took legal advice over the issue.
He then refused to train with the Tigers which was seen as the first breach before arriving late to training after two weeks of talks between himself, Wests and the RLPA.
Nofoaluma was then released following a second breach of his contract, where he reportedly remained ‘untraceable’ whilst recovering from a stomach issue at home.
Now, the 30-year-old has revealed why he has made the move to Salford.
“I think it was a good move for me to get out of Sydney and also experience what it’s like overseas. I think there’s something exciting about it,” Nofoaluma told the Daily Telegraph.
“I kind of got a taste of that when I left Sydney to go down to Melbourne of what it’s like to have a fresh start there. So I know what it’s like to go into a new environment. It’ll be life changing.”
Despite the hardships, Nofoaluma never worried about getting a new club.
“I knew I had the ability. I knew for myself that my head wasn’t there at the Tigers. And with everything going on I couldn’t reach my potential and be motivated to be there.
“They obviously didn’t want me there and I made it clear to them I didn’t want to be there.
“So, it was best for both of us to part ways. I’ve done a lot for the club, a lot of achievements, I’m all-time highest try scorer at the club. I don’t want to harbour bad blood against that team. I had a lot of opportunities to go to other clubs every time I came off contract and I decided to stay.
“It might have been better for me to leave back then when I was younger. I understood that they (Tigers) struggling and I was performing.
“A few players left and I thought it’d be good for me to stay and without turns out, you know, it’s business. Unfortunately, for me I ended up in this position.”
Nofoaluma hasn’t ruled out a return to the NRL.
“I’m at the age (30) now that, you know, I’m open to everything. But at this present moment, all I’m focused on is going to Salford and putting my best foot forward for them.
“I’ve got a lot of experience, so I’m sure I can help them out in certain ways. I’m open to coming back or even staying in England if things work out.”
The former Wests man has also dismissed claims that he was lazy in training.
“There were a lot of outside people saying I was lazy. But you’re not lazy if you’ve played 12 years of NRL. But that talk had to come from internally, because the only people that had seen me training were the people inside the club.
“I was one of the veterans. After getting the wooden spoon last year, I took the off-season to clear my head. I understand you’re an athlete you have to train.
“It took a toll on me and I wanted to get away from footy. It also takes me a full two weeks to get back to full fitness. Some boys had started training earlier, I got put in with them and I was at the back of the pack when I started back.
“I’ve seen top trainers train the house down… you can train like Tarzan and play like Jane. I’ve seen that a lot. But there were a lot of eyes on me and anything I did I was criticised. It affected me mentally. I felt relieved when it was decided to part ways.”
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