Benji Marshall is facing an early baptism of fire as West Tigers head coach, with explosive allegations reportedly aimed at the 38-year-old by out-of-favour winger David Nofoaluma.
It has long looked like Nofoaluma’s days at the club were numbered and now he has been summoned to front the team’s new look board on Wednesday, with The Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Chammas reporting he has been served a termination letter.
The report claims the Tigers have offered Nofoaluma, who still has two years left on a deal worth just over $1 million, a payout of nearly $300,000.
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It comes after Nofoaluma was reportedly issued a second breach notice in a month, having first been sanctioned by the club for turning up late to an official pre-season training session.
This time around The Herald reported that the latest sanction came after he “failed to adhere to club protocols when it comes to missing training due to illness”.
Nofoaluma is said to have suffered a bout of gastro and told a club official he would not be able to attend a training session last Monday as a result.
The club’s doctor reportedly tried to get in touch with Nofoaluma over the next 48 hours but was unsuccessful and they were not the only one according to The Herald, with the report adding there were “numerous attempts by several people to contact him”.
With no response, the Tigers are said to have sent a player to Nofoaluma’s house to check on his welfare.
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That is only the start of the drama though, with The Herald reporting Nofoaluma has made allegations to the Rugby League Players’ Association that Marshall told him he would not play first grade again if he remained at the club.
Not only that, but Nofoaluma is also said to have sought legal advice over the matter and will likely attend the meeting with the Tigers’ board with the RLPA’s solicitor.
It is not the first time the Tigers have found themselves at the centre of an ugly drama including a club veteran, with former coach Jason Taylor telling legendary hooker Robbie Farah in 2016 that if he stayed with the team he would be doing so in reserve grade.
Former NRL player Justin Horo spoke on Nofoaluma’s potential split from the Tigers last December, suggesting his time at Melbourne was the “beginning of the end” for the winger.
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“They loaned him to Melbourne for a finals run because the Tigers were out of contention as they have been for a number of years,” Horo said on SEN Radio.
“He has State of Origin potential, he carries the ball really well, but defensively he has had a lot of issues like most wingers.
“He goes down to Melbourne and he immerses himself in a great system, everyone buys in and everyone does their job.
“He starts scoring tries and remember, he wasn’t scoring tries for the Tigers before he went down there.
“He then plays finals footy which he hadn’t done ever.
“He comes back to the Tigers and there’s just been issues ever since and Benji Marshall would have a really good relationship with David.
“The last thing you need is one player not buying in and David Nofoaluma is clearly not happy.
“I think it might be time for Nofoaluma to move on and it really coincides with his time down in Melbourne.
“He is looking for a fresh start and he was really happy down there.
“I think it’s best for all parties to move on.”
